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The Freedom Forum, Volume 45 Issue 5
Citation preview
New Laws Rule the Road for Teen Drivers
As of Dec. 27, a new set of
rules for teen drivers has taken
affect. Act 81, as the new restric-
tions are called, cracks down on
the number of passengers allowed
in the car and increases the num-
ber of training hours logged with
a learner‘s permit.
According to PennDOT‘s web-
site, the new rules state that junior
license holders who have had
their license for less than six
months cannot have more than
one passenger under the age of 18
who is not an immediate family
member. The only exception to
the rule is if the driver is also ac-
companied by a parent or guard-
ian.
(Continued on page 2-
LAWS)
By Courtney Barrow,
Entertainment Editor
Experience DeXperience
Freedom High School stu-
dents experienced an unforget-
table night on Jan. 19 provided
by none other than various tal-
ented musicians from its own
school.
The student-run Freedom
program Students Against De-
structive Decisions (SADD)
hosted a benefit concert featur-
ing a recently signed reggae-rap
group DeXperience and In
Aviation and Revelation, two
student bands at Freedom The
three groups performed in the
(Continued on page 2-
CONCERT)
Volume 45 Issue 5
February 2012
Freedom High School - 3149 Chester Avenue - Bethlehem, PA 18020 - www.fhsforum.com
45 Years
Penn State Cries Blue and White
Some say he died of a broken
heart.
However when in reality, it
was lung cancer that took away
Joe Paterno‘s final breaths. At
age 85, Paterno accomplished
more than most men at his age
could ever achieve.
As the head coach of Penn
State Univesrity for 46 years
(and on the coaching staff for
more than 60 years), Paterno
revolutionized Penn State‘s
football team with two unde-
feated regular seasons (1968
and 1969), two national cham-
pionships (1982 and 1986), and
appearances in at least 37 bowl
games. He also taught his play-
ers the importance of balancing
academics and athletics.
This past season, Paterno also
broke the record for the most
number of wins in the division.
He led the NCAA Division I
Football Bowl Subdivision
with 409 wins after his final
game as head coach against
Illinois.
(Continued on page 2-
PATERNO)
By Ashley Eichlin,
Features Editor
Important Information for Seniors (p. 2)
Dues Debts
Create
Concern for
Seniors
Frankly, asking for 40 dollars
over the course of four years is
not a large sum.
Well then, why are there so
many people who have not yet
paid their class dues?
Senior class adviser Miss Am-
ber Zehner is genuinely worried.
Miss Zehner says, ―There has
been a significant difference
between our class and past
classes.‖
Class dues are very important
for funding school events such
as prom, the class trip, and the
senior breakfast. The dues also
pay for caps and gowns.
Senior class treasurer, Tyler
Alicea, makes it clear that stu-
dents need to pay their dues.
(Continued on page 3-DUES)
By Thomas Nguyen
By Courtney Barrow,
Entertainment Editor and
Amanda Molinaro,
Pates’ Post Editor
For now, the Happy
Valley will not be so
happy.
Karanda Erdman / Penn State University
For more about Joe Paterno, turn to page 12.
Online Bonus Content:
For more bonus articles
scan this barcode with
your smart phone or
visit
www.fhsforum.com/
feb2012.html/.
Inside this Issue
Organizations in FHS
with Commitment Phobia
(p. 4)
The Fascination with
Hipsters (p. 4)
Freedom visits Emmaus
High School (p. 5)
Top Reasons Why
Freedom‘s Student
Section is the Best
(p. 6-7)
Rifle Team Profile (p. 9)
“If students don’t pay
their dues,
student government
will be unable to put
on activities,” says Ty-
ler Alicea, senior class
treasurer. [Above] Student bands In Aviation and Revelation pose together. [Right] DeXperience performing at the SADD benefit concert.
Amanda Molinaro / Pates’ Post Editor
Anna Thomas / Asst. News Editor
2 News The Forum February 2012
school auditorium and spent the
night bringing a fresh flavor of
music ringing across the stage.
The newly formed band In
Aviation is composed of seniors
Joey Volpe and Mike Ro-
manelli, who both feature guitar
and vocals, sophomore Brandon
Gubich on drums, and Moravian
Academy senior Ryan Manoff
on bass.
Volpe and Romanelli have
been good friends for a while
and have grown up enjoying
music together.
―Mike has been my friend for
ten years, and Ryan and I would
just play loud music in my base-
ment,‖ said Volpe. ―We went
through about five bassists be-
fo r e we fo u nd R ya n . ‖
In Aviation, who identifies its
style as alternative rock, per-
formed mostly their own compo-
sitions. They began the show
with ―Heart Me Too‖ and Sum
41‘s ―In Too Deep.‖ Other songs
were written by Volpe himself,
including ―Reaction to an Ex-
ception‖ and a guitar solo
―Beauty.‖ The band closed out
the set with Adele‘s ―Rolling in
the Deep.‖
After coming off the stage, the
boys could not wait to get back
on; the event was their first per-
formance in front of a live audi-
ence.
―I can‘t believe we put it to-
g e t h e r , ‖ G u b i c h s a i d .
―It felt amazing,‖ Volpe said.
Following In Aviation, another
student band, Revelation took
the stage.
The band is composed of junior
Greg Adams on lead vocals, his
freshman brother Ben Adams on
bass and back-up vocals, junior
Andy Kurtz on guitar, and junior
Brett Broskowski on drums.
The band has been together for
about three years and has per-
formed at numerous local
events. The classic rock band
has a new album being released
in about a month along with a
new band name not yet deter-
mined.
In regards to their perform-
ance, Kurtz said, ―Expect an
electrifying performance.‖
The final and long awaited act
for the night was the reggae-rap
group DeXperience. The lead
singer, Mario ―Qbah‖ Fernan-
dez , is a graduate of the Free-
dom class of 2002. He was a
member the theater com-
pany and says Ms. Jen-
nifer Wescoe was one of
his most inspiring teach-
ers.
Although the group has
recently reached a high
level of success, they
wanted to bring their
talents back home. To
accomplish this, Qbah
approached Ms. Wescoe
and arranged the con-
cert.
They were very excited
to be back in their home
town and to share their
talents with the Bethle-
hem community.
The band says their
name came from their
fans. People always told
them their shows were
―such an experience,‖ so
they decided to include
that in their title.
The students of Free-
dom High School would
definitely vouch for the
idea of this name. The
night was quite an ex-
perience for students and
brought a new twist of music to
the Freedom scene.
Proceeds from the concert as
well as band merchandise sold
afterwards went to SADD.
(Continued from page 1—
CONECERT)
The Freedom Forum A Publication of
Freedom High School
Bethlehem Area School District
3149 Chester Avenue
Bethlehem PA, 18020
(610) 867-5843
www.fhsforum.com
Editor-in-Chief
Tyler Alicea
News Editor
Luisa Marin
Editorial Editor
Julie Boylan
Features Editor
Ashley Eichlin
Entertainment Editor Courtney Barrow
Sports Editor Mike McGinty
Pates’ Post Editor
Amanda Molinaro
Centerspread Editor Zach Ward
Layout Editor Haroon Ahmad
Web Editor
Krystal Domin
Assistant Editors Anna Thomas
Faarah Ameerally Ryan Shaikh
Adam Duser
Adviser
Mrs. Karla Erdman
Principal Mr. Michael LaPorta
Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy
For our editorial statement and
corrections policy, please go to
www.fhsforum.com/about.html
Follow us on Twitter and like us on
Facebook!
http://fb.fhsforum.com
@fhsforum, #fhsforum
Sponsors
Ron and Patty Williams Gold Level
Laila Sanai Steel Level
Rosie Kaur Steel Level
Baljit Kaur Steel Level
Kim and Rick Giamportone
Steel Level
Interested in sponsoring The
Freedom Forum? Stop by
room 210 for a form or email
our adviser at
Today, sadness fills the hearts
of the worldwide Penn State
family.
Amelia Batcha, freshmen at
Penn State and Freedom gradu-
ate, agrees that there is a somber
tone at University Park.
―His death was very tragic as
far as timing goes,‖ said Batcha
regarding Paterno‘s passing.
―[The] whole atmosphere at
Penn State has totally shifted,‖
said Batcha. ―What is known to
be Happy Valley is the furthest
thing from it.‖
Although the mood is unhappy,
Batcha is relieved and surprised
to see ―so many students join as
one‖ in honor of Paterno.
As for science teacher and
Penn State graduate, Mr. Robert
Pearson, the passing of Paterno
has also hit him hard.
―I feel disappointed that his life
had to end now,‖ said Pearson.
―He was Penn State, so it feels
like a big part of the University
is no longer there.‖
Senior Nektaria Papadopoulos,
said she was ―sad to see him
go.‖
In remembrance of Paterno,
students, faculty, and admini-
stration gathered for a candle-
light vigil at University Park.
Some students even placed the
candles in the shape of Paterno‘s
most memorable thick rimmed
glasses and the word ―Joe‖ dur-
ing the ceremony.
Batcha said, ―I felt an over-
whelming peace.‖
For now, the Happy Valley will
not be so happy as many people
will be mourn the loss of their
coach.
―It‘s going to take awhile for
this to pass,‖ said Pearson.
(Continued from page 1—
PATERNO)
In addition, learner‘s permit
holders must have 65 hours of
behind-the-wheel training
logged in at least six months, an
increase from the former 50 hour
requirement. Ten of the extra
hours are to consist of night time
driving, and the other five are to
be done in inclement weather.
This is a significant change
from the relatively relaxed re-
strictions held on young drivers.
Prior to Act 81, the only major
limits set on a junior license
were the curfew (no driving be-
tween the hours of 11 pm and 5
am) and one passenger per seat
belt.
Pennsylvania‘s laws have been
comparatively less stringent than
New Jersey‘s laws, which al-
ready had the ―one minor pas-
senger‖ rule and requires junior
license holders to be 17 years of
age, not 16.5.
Freedom students with fresh
licenses are not too happy with
the rules.
―Its inconvenient,‖ said junior
Olivia Kolis. ―If you‘re hanging
out with a group of friends and
you need to go somewhere, you
can only take one other person.
You either leave your friends or
break the law.‖
Others, on the other hand, do
nor play the law any mind.
―Honestly, I break that law eve-
ryday,‖ said junior Chris
Maurer.
―Cops can‘t determine how old
you are as you drive by, so as
long as you don‘t mess up,
you‘re fine,‖ said John Silver,
junior.
So depending on one‘s integ-
rity, the new Act 81 laws will
have a significant impact on
student driving or not.
(Continued from page 1—LAWS)
The Bell Count
8-7
Liberty High School
Rifle Team, Loss Wrestling, Win
Important Information for Seniors
“I can’t believe we
put it together,”
Gubich said.
Amanda Molinaro / Pates’ Post Editor
Pay your class dues! Class dues are a one time
payment of 40 dollars that all high school students
are required to pay. Dues help pay for student
council-run activities, including graduation. If a
senior does not pay his or her class dues, he or she
will not be able to participate in the following
events:
Prom
Senior Class Trip
Senior Breakfast
Seniors may pay their class dues before school in
room 145.
News 3 The Forum February 2012
As of late, the candidates
vying for the Republican
nomination are Newt Gin-
grich, Ron Paul, Mitt Rom-
ney, and Rick Santorum.
Beginning with the Jan. 3
Iowa caucuses, the first con-
test of the primary season,
former Senator Rick Santo-
rum of Pennsylvania nar-
rowly prevailed over Mitt
Romney with a margin of 34
votes.
Then, in the Jan. 10 New
Hampshire primary, Rom-
ney came in first place with
39% of the popular vote.
This victory won him seven
of the state delegates while
three delegates went to Ron
Paul and the two remaining
delegates went to former
Utah Governor Jon Hunts-
man, Jr.
Having failed to garner the
significant support necessary
in the New Hampshire pri-
mary, Huntsman dropped out
of the race on Jan. 16, endors-
ing Romney in the process.
Perry, after finishing fifth in
Iowa and with 1% in New
Hampshire, dropped out two
days before the South Caro-
lina primary and lent his sup-
port to Gingrich.
Romney was expected by
many to carry on this momen-
tum going into South Carolina
to win, with some speculating
that he would lock up the
nomination. However, after
Gingrich‘s strong perform-
ances in the two debates in
South Carolina on the week of
the primary, Newt Gingrich
won the South Carolina pri-
mary, taking with him a pro-
jected 23 delegates while
Romney took two.
Even though it is still
early in the primary sea-
son, some Freedom stu-
dents have followed the
debates either to gain an
understanding of what to
expect in the November
elections, or for the pur-
pose of seeing the candi-
dates argue with each
other.
―All the candidates are a
little quirky,‖ says junior
Nick Maurer. ―Although
they all attack each other
publicly, it‘s an ironic
situation because they‘re
all essentially the same
person.‖
Senior Abhinav Ranga-
rajan says, ―It‘s fun to
watch the Republican
debates to see how they
bash each other. Political
maneuvers are always inter-
esting to observe.‖
Sex-Ed Hotline Gives “Sexting” a Positive Meaning
The sexual health education
group Planned Parenthood is
giving ―sexting‖ a new mean-
ing with a surge of sex-ed
texting hotlines around the
nation.
The first of the sex-ed text
hotlines was released of the
Orange and San Bernardino
Counties chapter of Planned
Parenthood. Since 1999, the
organization has
run a telephone
hotline, and in
2 0 0 6 , t h e y
added an online
hotline for the
purpose of ex-
panding the ac-
cess to sexual
health informa-
tion. Together,
those two hot-
lines have ser-
v i c e d o v e r
60,000 callers
and chatters.
In 2009, the
chapter added
the text hotline
program ―Tech
Support for
Your Body,‖
where users can
text their ques-
tions to a spe-
cific number to
receive personalized re-
sponses to their questions
from a certified health educa-
tor.
More recently, the Planned
Parenthood of the Rocky
Mountains started ―In Case
You‘re Curious‖ (ICYC), a
hotline similar to ―Tech Sup-
port for Your Body,‖ where
texters can send in their ques-
tions to a hotline number and
within 24 hours, receive a
response. In addition, the
website assures that all texts
are completely anonymous.
However, the ICYC program
makes it clear that the re-
sponders cannot diagnose
conditions or give personal
health advice though a text
message, and that the re-
sponses are not an alternate to
seeing a doctor.
―I think [the sex-ed text hot-
lines are] good because the
way that teenagers get infor-
mation is moving towards
that,‖ says Freedom High
School physical education
teacher Ms. Lisa Pfizenmayer.
―Any time you can get infor-
mation to people in their own
medium is awesome.‖
Junior Caterina Atiyeh is
not so sure about the program.
―I think it‘s a little weird,‖
says Atiyeh. ―It‘s a good idea
for some people but I don‘t
think I would ever use it. If
you have to use [the program],
I think you should think more
about what you‘re doing.‖
Brad McGarry, senior,
agrees with Atiyeh that the
hotline is ―weird.‖
―Anyone who really needs
answers from Planned Parent-
hood should just look them up
online or go into a center
themselves‖ says McGarry. ―I
guess it‘s alright if it‘s a certi-
fied health instructor. Some
people may want to do that for
convenience, but I‘d person-
ally stick with going into a
center.‖
By Julie Boylan,
Editorial Editor
Republican Primaries: And Then There Were Four By Anna Thomas,
Asst. News Editor
Jan 9 Statistically speaking, this was the
day that most people broke, forgot,
or disregarded their New Year's reso-
lution. This means that it only takes
nine days to break a promise. Of the
resolutions made this year, six out of
ten people made the same promise
they did the year before.
Jan 20 The United States Senate decides
to call off the vote on PIPA and the
House decides to slow down their
initiative with SOPA. SOPA and
PIPA are the drafts for anti-piracy
laws in the House and Senate repsec-
tively. On Jan. 18, Wikipedia and
many other websites had a 24-hour
shutdown to show their protest for
both bills. Back in December the
heads of companies such as Twitter,
Google, and Youtube wrote a letter
saying the legislation would make
the U.S. like Iran and China with
their censorship.
Jan 23 The Bethlehem Area School Dis-
trict school board voted to rename
Freedom‘s gymnasium to the
―Joseph J. McIntyre Gymnasium‖ in
honor of Joseph J. McIntyre, the first
principal of Freedom High School.
Jan 25 A demonstration of 100,000 peo-
ple took place in the Tahrir Square in
Cairo, Egypt. The general crowd
was there to commemorate the first
anniversary of the Egyptian revolu-
tion and to celebrate the removal of
President Hosni Mubarak. The dem-
onstration, which consisted of
Islamists activists, was also thought
to be a rally against the current gen-
erals which have taken control of
Egypt.
Jan 29 About two dozen, if not more,
Chinese road workers were captured
by Sudan rebels. The workers were
at a camp frequently used by road
builders, when rebel groups attacked.
The camp was located in South Kor-
dofan which has become a battlefield
between Sudan and the rebel groups.
The diplomats are having emergency
sessions as they figure out what to
do, since there is no contact on be-
half of the rebel groups.
Jan 29 Syria begins to attack rebels who
live in the suburbs. Tanks and sol-
diers lined the streets as the govern-
ment hoped to squash rebel pockets
in the suburbs of Damascus. Al-
though the Arab League is not sup-
porting the fight, there is little they
can do to stop the violence. Syria
refuses to accept foreign interfer-
ence, and Russia has been resisting
any plans brought up by the Arab
League.
Throughout January Greece has been at odds with the
European Union. The battle contin-
ues as Greece's economy continues
to cause chaos. The country has re-
sorted to austerity measures which
limit the country's spending. How-
ever the measures might cause more
of a recession and can cause more of
a drop in the economy. Greece
hopes to receive a second bailout
from the European Union in hopes of
jump-starting the economy.
In Case You
Missed It
―If students don‘t pay their
dues, student government will
be unable to put on activities,‖
says Alicea. ―Even if we can
hold these activities, students
who don‘t pay their dues will
not be able to participate.‖
The senior class held an
assembly on Jan. 20, where
principal Mr. Michael La-
Porta, senior class president
John Buchner, and even Mr.
Joe Stellato urged seniors to
pay their class dues.
Perhaps the problem is that
not many people actually real-
ize this or, quite frankly, care.
―The use and importance of
class dues has not been
stressed to me, which makes
low on my list of priorities,‖
senior Mervyn Lopez says.
―Not being able to go on the
class trip or to the senior
breakfast does not really
bother me because I can do
those things on my own time.‖
Zehner also attributes the
lack of payments to forgetful-
ness. Since students have four
years to pay their class dues, it
is easy to procrastinate until
the last minute. There is never
a sense of urgency to pay
class dues until graduation
time when it is too late.
The repercussions for not
paying class dues are rather
significant.
In addition to not being able
to go on the class trip or to the
senior breakfast, students who
have not paid their class dues
are prohibited from going to
prom. Seniors will also have
to pay for their own caps and
gowns if they wish to attend
graduation.
Most importantly, the senior
class will not be able to give
the school a class gift or do-
nate their extra money to any
charities.
In past years, classes have
given Freedom High School
gifts such as the banner from
the class of 2011, located in
the lobby, and the Freedom
High School flags lining the
bus channel.
For whatever reason, stu-
dents have not been paying
their class dues. It does not
matter if they are forgetful or
just do not care; the senior
class does not have enough
money to fund all the events
that are planned.
It would be a shame if the
events had to be cancelled, but
that decision is not up to the
advisers. That decision is up
to the student body and
whether or not they will pay
their class dues.
(Continued from page 1—DUES)
Screenshot courtesy of Luisa Marin / News Editor
“Any time you can get
information to people in
their own medium is
awesome,” says Ms. Lisa
Pfizenmayer.
Gage Skidmore / flickr.com
Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul at a rally. Ron Paul is currently
in last place, yet he remains hopeful about his campaign as he garners the
support of young people.
4 Editorials The Forum February 2012
Student Council
with
Commitment
Phobia
By Luisa Marin,
News Editor
Any senior will have you
believe that they exclusively
have an excuse to slack off: it
is a syndrome called senior-
itis, they say.
My two cents: You are a
senior. You have worked hard
for three years, taking tests,
completing projects, joining
clubs, and preparing for col-
lege. It is tempting to just get
through the piles of college
applications and relax before
you head off to college, but
you are forgetting that al-
though your goals are finally
in sight, school is not over
yet, and colleges are still pay-
ing close attention to your
performance. Senior year—
the entire senior year—is ac-
tually of particular interest to
colleges.
Often, college acceptance
letters include warnings to
students such as "Your admis-
sion is contingent on your
continued successful perform-
ance." High schools send col-
leges the final transcripts of
the students they have ac-
cepted, and a senior slump
will be obvious in either a
weak schedule or weak
grades.
Imagine this scenario: you
take hard classes senior year,
apply Early Decision some-
where, stupidly expect accep-
tance, let your grades drop,
get deferred, and then proceed
to panic, and try to bring up
your grades, but it was too
much work because your
classes are too hard. You get
bad grades first semester sen-
ior year and screw up your-
chances at most of your dream
schools. If you have the moti-
vation then you are good, but
people burn out – and it hap-
pens to the best of students.
Okay, preach: senior year is
your opportunity to strengthen
your skills and broaden your
experience, in school and out,
to prepare for all the chal-
lenges ahead. A successful
senior year can help launch
you on the path to a success-
ful future. Just as you would
want to be in top condition for
the start of an athletic season,
so, too, do you want to be in
top condition for the academic
season. The habits you form
now—your academic strength
conditioning—will either help
or hurt you in your transition
from high school to college.
So the bottom line is if you
do not want to screw up your
chances for college, continue
taking the challenging classes
you had been
taking the
last three
years and
keep working
hard.
I mean,
let‘s face it: I
do not get
much home-
work any-
way. Having
s i x A P
classes this
year, I have
had on aver-
age half an
h o u r o f
h o m e w o r k
every night.
Even if you
are already
into college,
do you not
want to make
the most of
your senior
year?
The Hipster Fascination For decades, popularity has
come to not necessarily the
kids who are athletic, but to
the kids who have the latest
and greatest clothing, technol-
ogy, and tastes. That seems to
be changing.
Being labeled as a ―hipster‖
is now something people
strive to be and slowly liking
what is not popular is popular.
In case one does not know,
a hipster is usually someone
who likes indie music, old
fashioned clothing, eco-
friendly technology, and is
different without trying to be.
Many people strive to be hip-
sters, be it for bragging rights
or even self-confidence, and
some people listen to indie
artists so they can say they
discovered them before they
were big. It seems as if being
a hipster is somehow better
than just being yourself.
It is not bad to like pop
music, iPhones, Uggs and
similar things if that is one‘s
style. Nowhere is it stated that
those things are pointless or
that being modern and high-
tech is lame. Being yourself is
better than being something
that is just regarded as cool
for the time being.
The hipster culture is tak-
ing over wherever one looks.
Tumblr, an internet blogging
site, is defined by some as a
hipster website, but with the
hundreds of thousands of peo-
ple on it, it has become too
mainstream to truthfully be
called that. Still, the site al-
lows one to express them-
selves however they want. In
other words, it is a public,
online diary.
Naturally, some people have
always been hipsters, and now
many aspire to be like that.
Yet, a true hipster does not
long for popularity; they just
are who they are. Basically,
that would make all the peo-
ple trying to be hipsters just
wannabes.
This is not to say that people
should not try to be hipsters
necessarily, but peo-
ple should just be
who they are. High
school is a time to
try and figure that
out. One may come
in to high school
loving rap music
and dressing like a
skater and then
leave high school
listening to The
Kinks and The Roll-
ing Stones, dressing
in plaid shirts and
wearing Wayfarers.
So why is it so
cool to be un-
cool? It could just
be a trend that is in
style for a year or
two, or it could be a
reformation of cur-
rent day culture,
which seems a little
extreme. The hip-
ster culture is a neat
one to explore, so give it a
shot, but do not feel obliged.
Senior Year: A Time for Relaxation? By Grace Mao
Deja vu would be the best way to
describe elections for student council
year after year.
It seems like everyone is willing to
be a part. However that enthusiasm
is short-lived and one by one, mem-
bers fall off the face of the planet.
The list of 20 representatives per
class drops to 10 in a matter of
weeks, and drops even lower as the
year progresses. It seems that com-
mitment is a taboo subject within our
membership. Complaints are quickly
made but the fact remains that stu-
dents have to step up and do their
job.
It seems to be easier to leave it to
someone else. Someone is always
there to pick up the slack. In any
instance, what requires the work of
15 has to be done by five because
people do not show up. My experi-
ence with the class of 2012 has not
necessarily been delightful. In fact
hallway decorating was perhaps one
of my biggest nightmares for four
years. Our class size is around 500
and of those 500 if we had 15 people
show up we were ecstatic.
I am not saying that everything
about student council is terrible, and
not everyone is lazy, but I do think
that people have to realize that stu-
dent council is important. What hap-
pens to our school when no one is
there to clean up a mess? Students
cannot rely on others; they have to
take responsibility. Besides, if a stu-
dent willingly signs up to be a part of
student council, then that student
should feel obliged to help.
Working with peers may be a
challenge, but it is necessary to en-
sure that the activities flow
smoothly. Things do not just appear
done; they have to be completed.
When elections start at the end of
e a c h s c h o o l y e a r ( e x c e p t
for incoming freshmen), I ask that
people consider whether they really
do want to help. There is no point in
placing false hopes in the minds of
class advisers and then disappearing.
The bigger our student council, the
more opportunities we have to help
our community.
The Class of 2012 has a lot of
work to do in order to finish its year
in a good way. I hope that the other
classes can see that it is important to
start early and to plan efficiently.
After all, graduation arrives before
you know it.
By Flannery Johnson
Tyler Alicea / Editor-in-Chief
Tyler Alicea / Editor-in-Chief
Senior Adam Seltzer received a full-ride scholar-
ship from the University of Alabama back in Au-
gust. Since then, he has been the epitome of sen-
ioritis.
Features 5 The Forum February 2012
Suffering Through the Novels
Summers are meant to be
filled with carefree adventures,
long walks, and vacations on the
beach. However, for many
Freedom High School students,
summer is consumed by rushing
through AP and honors assign-
ments and cramming to finish
lengthy required reading.
Although many students en-
rolled in AP and honors courses
are willing to accept a challenge
and complete academic assign-
ments over the summer, it is
safe to say that the majority of
students do not begin these as-
signments until mid-July or
early August. Around this time,
one could log onto Facebook or
Twitter and see various statuses,
tweets, and comments express-
ing student frustration and com-
plaints with the dreaded summer
work.
Aside from the glorious pro-
crastination skills exhibited by
Freedom High School students,
many feel that if required read-
ing was more enjoyable, than
the assignments would be com-
pleted sooner than the last week
of summer.
Although many required nov-
els are not exactly what students
prefer to read, not all of them
are torturous. In fact, some stu-
dents claim they really enjoyed
some stories.
Freedom junior Doo Park said,
―My favorite story [from the
suggested reading list] was a A
Thousand Splendid Suns by
Khaled Hosseini.‖
Junior Erin Ogazaly said her
(Continued on page 9-BOOKS)
By Amanda Molinaro,
Pates’ Post Editor
Entering the Fort Knox of Emmaus
I was warned that entering Em-
maus High School to shadow a
student would be the equivalent
of breaking into Fort Knox or
breaking out of Alcatraz.
The amount of paperwork that
had to be filled out in order to
be a guest at Emmaus rivaled
the amount of paperwork a law-
yer‘s temps fill out in a year.
Even once I arrived at the
school, I was not permitted to
enter immediately due to a pa-
perwork mishap on Emmaus‘
part.
Nonetheless, when everything
was sorted out and junior
Terrance Cawley, the person
who I was shadowing for the
day, picked me up, I soon
learned that Emmaus is not as
scary as it sounds.
Emmaus and Freedom would
be fairly similar if Emmaus had
block scheduling. Instead, they
have a homeroom and nine peri-
ods. Each class lasts for 41 min-
utes, and there is no wasting any
time. Teachers begin their les-
sons as soon as the bell rings
and are often cut off mid-
sentence at the end of class.
Emmaus‘ cellphone policy is
also considered much stricter.
Out of all of the students I
asked, there was only one per-
son who said who would even
dare having his cellphone out
during class. Most people even
said having their phones on vi-
brate could be problematic.
In addition, Emmaus‘ class-
rooms each have a projector
hanging from the ceiling that
many teachers utilized, meaning
that the use of overhead notes
and slide shows were not un-
common during my visit.
The layout of Emmaus High is
close to a labyrinth, and I was
told that over time, one learns
the shortcuts of the school. Of-
ten, I saw myself walking
through the various courtyards
of Emmaus to get from one end
of the building to the other.
The highlight of my visit, of
course, was getting some time to
know the editor‘s of Emmaus‘
school paper, The Stinger, and
seeing Ms. Denise Reaman, who
was formerly the adviser of The
Forum before she left for Em-
maus.
Although Emmaus is intimi-
dating on the outside (mostly
because of the paperwork. Seri-
ously, who enjoys paperwork?),
it goes to show that you can not
judge a book by its cover.
By Tyler Alicea,
Editor-in-Chief
Mardi Gras: A Day of Celebration
Festive colors. Green. Purple.
Yellow. Costumes. Masks.
Beaded necklaces. New Or-
leans, Louisiana. Mardi Gras.
New Orleans is the heart of
America‘s modern day celebra-
tions and the most well-known
happens to be the Mardi Gras
celebration. Mardi Gras is
known as a day of celebration;
however, many people do not
know the reason why it is cele-
brated and/or the origins of this
holiday.
According to neworlean-
sonline.com, historians can con-
firm that it once was a Roman
festival honoring one of their
many gods, Lupercalia, god of
fertility, agriculture, and pas-
toral shepherds. This Roman
mid-February festival consists
of continuous days of feasting
and drinking.
Like most of the ancient Ro-
man and Greek festivals, Luper-
calia was adopted and adapted
by the Church as a way of sub-
tly converting the local pagans
to Christianity.
This carnival-like celebration
was somewhat of a last ―fling‖
for Christians to indulge right
before the Lenten period which
is when the religiously faithful
refrain from indulgences for 40
days. They do not indulge in
things such as meat and give up
something important to them,
such as cells phones or sweets,
for that time period.
On the other hand others, such
as those from mardigrasnewor-
leans.com, argue that the cele-
bration was not derived from the
Roman culture, but the holiday
actually originated in Louisiana
by early French settlers.
Each year, the French club at
Freedom has kept the French
culture alive through their own
Mardi Gras celebrations with
East Hills Middle School. The
students at East Hills make fun
colorful hats and venture over to
Freedom to continue celebrating
the French culture
through Mardi
Gras.
Senior and treas-
urer of French
Club Cindy Zheng
said, ―[Last year,]
F r e n c h C l u b
helped host...where
we planned many
events such as
crazy hat competi-
tions and French
bingo.‖
The East Hills
students even get
the chance to taste crepes (a
very thin pancake that is popular
in France).
Zheng said, ―It was a lot of
fun to spread around French
culture.‖
By Kristen Dalton
The Day in the Life of An Emmaus Student
At 6:30 in the morning when
Tyler and I left my house, I was
not on very good terms with
Emmaus High School. I mean, what school makes
their students start school an
ungodly 20 minutes earlier than
the 7:45 Freedom students start?
That‘s valuable sleeping time! By the time we made it to the
school, however, the day was
looking up. We only got lost in
the Emmaus parking lot, and all
of my paperwork (including
parent permission, immuniza-
tion forms, and a principal‘s
note) went through successfully. Walking through the school,
my first impression of Emmaus
was that the place was big. At
first I thought that perhaps it just
seemed big since I had no idea
where I was going the entire
day. But I‘m pretty sure that
any school that has four
gyms, a two-story cafeteria, a
driving simulation lab, and its
own branch of First Niagara
Bank could be considered
large by any reasonable stan-
dards. Not only was the school
bigger, but it was also a lot
more colorful. All along
many of the hallways of Em-
maus are murals similar to
the sunset and robot mural
Freedom has in the upstairs
main lobby. According to my
Emmaus student host, the
school has a mural club that
undertakes such projects. Besides the obvious physi-
cal differences, the most no-
ticeable difference between
Freedom and Emmaus is the
schedule. While Freedom oper-
ates on the block schedule with
four 85 minute classes, Emmaus
has nine 45 minute periods, in-
cluding lunch. Predictably, the
classes flew by quickly (except
for Trigonometry which would
need nothing short of a Time
Turner for it to pass by more
quickly). I will say in defense of the
nine-period system that I was
mildly impressed how readily
the class settled down and the
teacher jumped into the lesson.
Even so, at the end of the day at
2:30, I was surprisingly ex-
hausted. It felt like the day
lasted much longer than a day at
Freedom – and not just because
it actually did last half an hour
more. I suppose that the sched-
ule is just something you get
used to at whichever school. Despite the differences in
schedule and building, the envi-
ronments in Emmaus and Free-
dom are similar. Same uncom-
fortable chairs, same obnoxious
PDA, same ignoring of an-
nouncements. A high school, is
after all, still a high school.
By Julie Boylan,
Editorials Editor
Tyler Alicea / Editor-in-Chief
The Freedom Forum Photo Archive
February Produces New Enticing Films
This February has an amazing
line-up of films on the way for
viewers. The most anticipated
of them all seems to be The
Vow, starring Channing Tatum
and Rachel McAdams. This is a
classic love story about a mar-
ried couple that gets into a car
accident, leaving the wife with a
loss of all memories of her hus-
band. Throughout the movie,
her husband (Channing Tatum)
works to get his wife to fall in
love with him again.
Aleah Costello, a sophomore
at Freedom High School, said
that she was most excited to see
The Vow. She says, "It reminds
me of The Notebook, which is
my favorite movie, and who
doesn't like a cute love story?"
For those who aren't looking
for a love story, there's a horror
arriving at the box office called
The Woman In Black. When
asked about what movie she was
most excited to see, sophomore
Kasey Gallagher said, "The
Woman In Black, because it
stars David Radcliffe. Also, I
love scary movies and I get
scared by just watching the
coming attractions!" The movie
tells the story of a man that
moves into an apartment and is
haunted by a ghost of a small
girl always dressed in all black.
This movie is expected to be
extremely popular among fans
of the Harry Potter series, since
it is Radcliffe's first starring
movie after the series con-
cluded.
Another popular movie com-
ing out is The Chronicle. This
movie will satisfy those movie-
goers that are looking for some
action. It is a science fiction
release about a group of boys
that discover they have magical
powers. They are able to move,
destroy, and rebuild objects by
using only their minds. As they
learn how to use their powers,
they make up rules as to when
and how they are allowed to use
them, but one of the boys isn‘t
willing these rules. He torments
average citizens and causes
mass destruction. This movie
stars Michael B. Jordan, Mi-
chael Kelly, Alex Russel and
Dane Dehaan.
This February is jam-packed
with new releases that will thrill,
scare, and make audiences fall
in love. It will surely be an ex-
citing time for movie fanatics.
By Logan Handwerk
Goodbye Holidays, Hello Red Carpet
Award season is back and the
red carpet is full of stunning
stars. The People's Choice
Awards and the Golden Globes
kicked off the 2012 season with
many movies and shows win-
ning various awards.
The People's Choice Awards
allowed the audience to choose
winners for different categories.
Johnny Depp, Emma Stone, and
Harry Potter all won many
awards. However, Katy Perry
took home the top prizes, win-
ning five awards including Fa-
vorite Female Artist and Favor-
ite Song of the Year for ―E.T.,‖
which features Kanye West.
Senior Valeria Merced said
her favorite award show was
probably People's Choice. Her
favorite actress to look for on
the red carpet is Nina Dobrev,
who won Favorite TV
Drama Actress.
―[I watch the show
because] I like seeing
all the nice dresses
and my favorite ce-
lebrities together in
one place,‖ she said.
It is no surprise that
Emma Stone won so
many awards as she
has become one of
comedy's leading
ladies. Junior Brooke
Munion says she likes
Stone because ―she is
so funny.‖
The Golden Globes
were also a success
with host Ricky Ger-
vais, whose humor
was a little toned
down compared to
last year. Movies like
―The Descendants‖
and ―The Artist‖ took
the most awards
home. ―The Art-
ist‖ star, a lovely
dog, delighted the
audience with a
few tricks on
stage, and made
the crew back-
stage uneasy by
urinating. ―The
Adventures of
Tint in‖ took
home the award
for Best Feature
Film. Hollywood
heavyweights like
George Clooney,
Martin Scorsese,
Meryl Streep, and
Kate Winslet
were also among
the nights‘ win-
ners. In addition,
the Best TV Se-
ries-Comedy or
Musical went to
―Modern Family.‖
Award season is filled with
many shows, and winners are
elected by different people. Peo-
ple's Choice allows the audience
to choose, and the Screen Actors
Guild (which was held January
29) allows fellow actors to
choose. Furthermore, the
Golden Globes are handed out
by the Hollywood Foreign Press
Association and the Academy
Awards (the Oscars) are chosen
by the Academy members.
All in all, the red carpet is
filled with many stars and a lot
of excitement. The dresses and
the suits mold the latest fashion,
and they are worth seeing for
any movie-goer or TV aficio-
nado.
By Luisa Marin,
News Editor
8 Entertainment The Forum February 2012
Band Profile: Music Needs Sinclarity
Alternative-rock and central
Pennsylvania-based band, Sin-
clarity, is on its way to the top
of the music charts.
Former The Underwater gui-
tarist and drummer, Matt
Holmes and Pat Besecker, cre-
ated Sinclarity not long after the
lead singer of The Underwater
quit their band. Soon after, Vir-
ginia native, Will Nealy stole
the lead guitarist spot, and local
teacher at The Lesson Center,
Geoff Black, took on the bassist
position.
―We all have known each
other for a long time,‖ said
Black.
During the formation of Sin-
clarity, Black admits that he
―stalked Matt on MySpace‖ in
order to get recognized and be
given the opportunity to join the
band. Fortunately for Black, the
stalking paid off. Unfortunately,
the cost of the band was not in
Black's price range; however,
after he was given a job as a
guitar/bass teacher at The Les-
son Center, located in down-
town Bethlehem, he was asked
to rejoin Sinclarity.
Recently, Sinclarity began and
ended their tour with the band
Everclear.
Black said that working with
EverClear has been an ―amazing
privilege‖ and that the ―feelings
are mutual.‖
To kick off their tour, Black
and Holmes performed Sinclar-
ity's new single ―Forgive
Dreams‖ on the WFMZ morn-
ing news earlier last month.
According to reverbna-
tion.com/sinclarity, the band
believes that ―being in a band is
like being in a marriage.‖ There
is more work involved than
playing an instrument in
order to have a successful
band.
Black said, ―[The tour]
feels like a test to see if
we can take it seriously.‖
He stresses the impor-
tance of being a well-
rounded and humble per-
former.
Black tends to live by
Sons of Anarchy's Kurt
Sutter's famous quote,
―Work hard and be nice
to people.‖
―Do it yourself if you
really want it [and] wear a
lot of hats,‖ Black added.
Sinclarity performed
along the east coast trav-
elling to cities such as
Philadelphia, Albany,
Lancaster, Charlottesville,
and Bethlehem. They are
―aiming international‖ in the
near future.
Check out Sinclarity‘s Face-
book page to listen to their new
song, ―Forgive Dreams‖ and to
stay posted for upcoming tour
dates.
By Ashley Eichlin,
Features Editor
The Freedom Forum Photo Archive
Karla Erdman / Adviser
Photo courtesy of Sinclarity
Sports 9 The Forum February 2012
Pinning and Winning
Few people have the ability to
say they can juggle a sport and
have straight A‘s. Even fewer
people can juggle many sports
and straight A‘s in all Honors
classes. Junior Josh Young is
one of the lucky few to be able
to say that he can.
After an extremely triumphant
football season, Young is con-
tinuing to represent Freedom
High School in wrestling and in
track. While he expects to do
well in track, right now Young
is focusing on wrestling. While
dominating at the school level is
an impressive feat, Young went
on to participate in last year‘s
Christmas Holiday wrestling
to urn a men t a t L ib e r t y .
―[Pennsylvania] is the most dif-
ficult state in terms of wres-
tlers,‖ Young said. ―And I went
against all of them and got
fourth place‖.
For any normal athlete, ruling
at one sport takes up much of
one‘s time, but Young thinks he
may be able to find time to join
two baseball teams over the
summer. He‘s been a member of
both these teams for years, but
this year he may put them aside
for other reasons. ―I want to
work on wrestling and football
for college,‖ he said
Even when football, wrestling,
and baseball sapped all of
Young‘s time, he still found a
way to maintain straight As in
all his classes. But Young is not
taking your run-of-the-mill Ce-
ramic‘s class, no; he‘s taking the
hardest classes he can bare.
Especially with Honors Phys-
ics, Young is finding it hard to
find much sleep at night.
―Sometimes I go to sleep and
wake up four hours later only to
find that I have to go to school,‖
Josh said. ―But I still find a rea-
son to get up every morning.‖
But the amount of sleep did
not repel Young from any extra
activities; he has still found time
to be the alter server at his
church. The weekly activity
saps another few hours from his
tightly packed schedule and eats
away at his waning sleep sched-
ule.
When compared to most of the
students at Freedom who com-
plain about their
classes taking too
much time away from
other act ivi t ies,
Young has had a
pretty impressive
track record in deal-
ing with his work-
load. ―I don‘t regret
taking on this much
work; I like it,‖ says
Young. If Young
keeps putting the
amount of work he
does now into his
work in the future,
who knows what he
may be able to ac-
complish?
By Haroon Ahmad,
Layout Editor
Throwing Opponents to the Mat
Most kindergarteners do not
give much thought to their fu-
ture in high school. However
junior Evan Kauffman started
wrestling at that age, and the
early steps he has taken molded
him into the premier wrestler
that he is today. ―I got into
wrestling because my dad was a
coach,‖ he said. For the last
decade, Kauffman has honed
his craft as a wrestler and is now
considered one of the top wres-
tlers at Freedom High School.
Even though Kauffman started
the season injured this year, he
trained hard and currently has a
7-0 record. According to
strength coach Jeff Longacre,
Kauffman spent a lot of time in
the weight room completing his
rehabilitation. ―The harder you
work in the weight room, the
more prepared you are. It gives
you a mental factor,‖ said Lon-
gacre. Although Kauffman spent
some time on rehabilitation, his
workouts were pretty similar to
normal. Longacre said, ―For a
big guy he is pretty agile and
coordinated.‖
When asked what Kauffman‘s
greatest achievement as a wres-
tler was, he replied that it was
his performance in states. He
made it to the semi-finals in the
PIAA Northeast regionals in
March 2011. According to
Kauffman, one of the hardest
parts of wrestling for him, is to
get mentally prepared. Kauff-
man enjoys solving problems
with math, his favorite subject.
Not that wrestling is like Calcu-
lus, but figuring out the best
approach on how to pin another
wrestler comes easy to Kauff-
man. ―Wrestling tends to take
up so much time that it‘s usually
all I do,‖ said Kauffman.
Kauffman‘s training, prepara-
tion, and dedication will hope-
fully help him have another
strong showing on the road to
states.
By Justin Alicea
Rifle Team Aims to Win For many years now, the rifle
team has been an exciting var-
sity sport at Freedom High
School.
―We practice as a team, but
practicing individually is what
really matters,‖ said junior
shooter Andrew Mattei.
The team consists of around
15 members and is coached by
East Hills Middle School art
teacher Mr. Court, who volun-
teers his time to help the team
improve.
The rifle team‘s season started
in late December, and the teams
that Freedom competes against
include Southern Lehigh, Lib-
erty, East Stroudsburg North,
and Berwick, just to name a
few. Matches consist of five
rounds, with two shooters com-
peting per round.
Although the team has been
hindered by equipment disad-
vantages, they still put in the
same if not more time into prac-
tice as the other schools in their
league do. Every day, the rifle
team travels by van to practice
their skills in an improvised
shooting range in the Liberty
High School basement. The
practices often begin late and
run long, which is a testament to
the team‘s dedication.
Although the league‘s matches
are judged on points scored for
accuracy, the format of the
event is much different than
other forms of competitive
shooting.
―This kind of shooting is more
recreational.‖ said Tyler Ku-
lanko, a junior who plans on
joining the military after gradua-
tion.
Tyler, one of the top shooters
on the team, said that the rifle
team is fun and interests him as
he gets closer to fulfilling his
goal in having a military career.
Freedom‘s rifle team is still
winless this season, but their
next match is against Berwick
on Jan. 26 and they hope they
can get their first win of the
season through hard work and
accurate shooting.
Skills as a marksman can
prove especially practical in Pa.,
the state that has the most li-
censed resident deer hunters in
the country (1,299,372) many of
them under the age of 18.
Schools all over Pa. even allow
students off of school for the
first day of deer hunting season
on Nov. 28. Whether you know
it or not, shooting and hunting
are integral parts of Pa.‘s unique
culture.
Win or lose, Freedom‘s rifle
team has proven this season that
they are serious about their
shooting.
By Greg Adams
favorite was Nineteen Minutes
by Jodi Picoult. A third favorite
for AP English 11 students was
Frank McCourt‘s Angela‘s
Ashes.
Despite McCourt‘s enjoyment
for Angela‘s Ashes, junior Cole
Donatelli felt otherwise.
―[Angela‘s Ashes] made me
never want to use the word
‗excitement‘ again,‖ said Do-
natelli.
Overshadowing the gems pre-
viously mentioned are a variety
of rather unenjoyable stories
that are required to be read;
these are the stories generally
not read until August.
Regarding these books, stu-
dents and teachers alike feel
there should be more flexibility
within the required reading
list. When asked what his opin-
ion on the overall required read-
ing list, English teacher ―We
should have a wider range of
choices in order to interest more
students,‖ Mr. David Kleist
said.
Mr. Kleist also said in order to
create more student interest in
reading, ―We should create a
collaboration of student prefer-
ence books and teacher prefer-
ence [books].‖
Aside from these negative
opinions about required reading,
students need to be sure to rec-
ognize the importance of learn-
ing from classic plays, novels,
and autobiographies. Many
readers and writers learn from
literature that they do not neces-
sarily prefer. However, a combi-
nation of modern-aged and clas-
sic literature would most likely
inspire students to get off of
Facebook and get their faces in
books.
(Continued from page 5—BOOKS)
Justin Alicea / The Freedom Forum
Justin Alicea / The Freedom Forum
Freedom says “Au Revoir” to Madame Stanley
It‘s been a long and fulfill-
ing road of teaching for
Stanley who began her teach-
ing career in France forty
years ago.
She achieved her BA in
Education in France and com-
pleted her Masters at
Lehigh.
―I really wanted,
always, to be in teach-
ing,‖ says Stanley who
especially likes lan-
guages. Her other op-
tion, besides teaching,
was doing interpreta-
tion.
After eleven years of
teaching both English
and French in French
middle school and
high schools, Stanley
made the jump across
the Atlantic Ocean to
the United States.
Before entering the
B e th lehe m Area
School District about
twenty-four years ago,
Stanley taught French
at Dartmouth College,
Lehigh University,
and Moravian Acad-
emy. After spending
about twelve years teaching
French at Liberty, Stanley has
spent the last twelve year at
Freedom.
According to Stanley, the
best part of teaching is ―the
interaction with students.‖
―Even though I‘ve had ups
and downs, I love teaching‖
says Stanley. ―I enjoy the
challenges of interacting [with
students]‖.
Stanley says that she likes
―showing kids that there is
more to French than just what
we learn in class.‖
―I have great memories, not
just of a particular year but
students who I‘ve taught and
who I‘ve kept in touch with.‖
Freedom senior Abigail
Stives definitely felt the pas-
sion that Stanley had for
teaching.
―Honestly, I really did like
her as a teacher,‖ says Stives.
―She really cared about her
students. Everyone‘s going to
miss her because she was an
awesome French teacher.‖
Meredith Marchese, Free-
dom sophomore, agrees with
Stives, saying that she liked
Stanley‘s teaching style and it
really felt like she was learn-
ing.
Freedom senior Derek Det-
weiler says that Stanley
―overall was one of the best
[teachers] I ever had. She
really got to know me and…
she understood that it was
hard but she tried to make it
easier for us.‖
―She as a teacher had a
really big impact‖ says Det-
weiler. ―She helped me
realize I could do things I
thought I couldn‘t. I hon-
estly didn‘t think I would
go this far in French.‖
In regards to her retire-
ment, Stanley says that it
feels ―strange‖ to be re-
tired and ―bittersweet‖.
Though, as of her last few
days in the halls of Free-
dom, she claims that the
retirement had not sunk in
yet and she had not really
been thinking about it.
Although Stanley is
quite sure she will never
play golf, like most retired
people, she is looking for-
ward to reading, sleeping
in the morning and travel-
ing in her retirement.
After a good twelve
years at Freedom, the
school is losing a great
language teacher. Merci
Madame Stanley for all
you have done for your stu-
dents.
We‘ve all been in this situation.
You‘re in the middle of a casual
chat when the person you‘re talking
to decides to be distracted by a text
message and types out a reply to a
friend.
While today‘s high exposure to
technology may at first seem to
make this scenario appropriate to
your conversational partner, the fact
of the matter is that the inappropriate
use of your cell phone in a social
setting makes you come across as
socially inept.
Nothing says ‗I‘m completely
oblivious to those around me‘ louder
than a person who fails to follow the
rules of basic human etiquette and
demonstrate respect for other people
over technology.
―I hate it when people text while
you‘re talking,‖ says junior Ricky
Castro. ―It upsets me and I feel like
they‘re not listening to me. Please
stop doing it.‖
Considering the fact that there is
already a large group of people who
commit cell phone related social
blunders, there is a definite possibil-
ity that the situation can only go
from bad to worse.
Take, for example, a text message
with the intention of asking someone
out. Should you ever be the recipient
of this type of text, treat it like the
deal breaker it is.
―It‘s completely inappropriate for
someone to ask someone out with a
text message,‖ says senior, Marissa
Langley. ―If you want to have a per-
sonal relationship with someone, ask
them out in person.‖
Eventually, interpersonal skills
may even decay to a point where
people can no longer communicate
effectively in face-to-face conversa-
tions.
―People don‘t know how to social-
ize anymore at all,‖ says Langley.
―They don‘t know how to interact
with others. Pretty soon everything
will have to be done via email or text
message.‖
Practice discretion when you de-
cide when to use your cellphone.
Have a real conversation, and stop
texting all the time.
10 Pates’ Post The Forum February 2012
Ask Fabio! Advice Column
“Bienvenue,” Madame Pizzaglia
As any good élève de fran-
çais may know, Freedom
High School‘s much loved
French teacher, Madame
Stanley, retired at the end of
the first semester.
Though she will be
missed, French students
will now have the great
opportunity to work with a
new French teacher, Ma-
dame Pizzaglia, who has
already stepped up to the
plate and is helping the
French club organize their
annual Mardi Gras celebra-
tion for the French students
of East Hills.
It was at this French club
meeting where many for-
mer French students were
able meet our new Freedom
Family member for the first
time - by the way, French
students may be interested
in knowing that the new
French room is 206, rather
than finding out by first
walking all the way to the
other end of the building.
Madame Pizzaglia stud-
ied French at Pennsylvania
State University and also
studied abroad in Nice,
France at L‘Institut de
Polytechnique de Nice.
She has been teaching
French for twelve years at
schools as nearby as Broughal
Middle School, a multi-
lingual school in Tyrone,
Pennsylvania, and as far away
as a school in Albuquerque,
New Mexico.
When asked what she was
looking forward to here at
Freedom, Madame Pizzaaglia
said, ―I‘m looking forward to
working with a wide variety
of levels, for the past four
years I‘ve just been teaching
French 1, and I‘m looking
forward to meeting new teach-
ers and students, and to work-
ing with the French club,
which I‘ve never had the op-
portunity to experience.‖
Not only has Madame Piz-
zaglia taught French, but also
English while she lived in
Italy for a year. Both she and
her family speak Italian, and
she says that all three of her
children study French, if not a
third language as well!
To all students studying
French, or any other language
for that matter, Madame Piz-
zaglia offers this advice: ―I
think it‘s really important that
you study a second language,
if not a third also, statistics
show that those who do per-
form better on their SAT
scores. It‘s definitely a global
economy with the internet
making the world so much
smaller now, so it‘s really an
asset to any student going to
college or beyond to be able
speak another language
whether it be French or
something different. I cer-
tainly would encourage
French because that‘s my
passion! But any language
they choose to study is im-
portant to continue.‖
So when you get a chance,
say ―hello,‖ or ―bonjour,‖ to
Madame Pizzaglia! Oh, and
the ―g‖ is silent.
By Kate Dawson
By Julie Boylan,
Features Editor
Julie Boylan / Editorial Editor
Photo courtesy of Mrs. Maryse Stanley
Patriot Pride: Going Back in Time
The Final(s) Countdown—A Reflection on Finals
The vision of Scantron sheets,
the sound of number two pencils
being meticulously sharpened,
the smell of grief, anxiety, and
annoyance in the air: ah, finals.
That special time that comes
around twice a school year
where a number of students self-
reflect, stating that ―frack, I
never actually learned this
stuff.‖ Finals have gone through
a complete overhaul this year,
with senior exemptions being
thrown out of the window while
making way for members of the
student body who take Ad-
vanced Placement courses to be
withheld from the final exam
experience. While the two-day
bump between first and second
semester may seem like a small
bump in a high-school student‘s
academic road, there are many
differing opinions throughout
the Freedom Family centered on
the hot topic of finals.
Taking final exams is much
like being stuck in a puddle of
quicksand, and as junior Dustin
Baughman says, ―The harder
you worry about [final exams],
the worse you do.‖ The worry
and anguish that is associated
with finals is the primary issue
that many students have with
them, and most students link the
worry to the study period that
does—or at times doesn‘t—
come with finals.
―My teachers made [my fel-
low classmates and me] pre-
pared for finals with packets,‖
says ninth grader Patrick Davis.
Materials like study packets and
guides seem to be a big aid for
soothing the worry of final ex-
ams, as many students state the
guides are the root to their suc-
cess. However, some students
state that they maintain stuck in
finals quicksand due to lack of
study time. An eleventh grader
who asked from anonymity told
a personal account of how
―teachers teach [final exam ma-
terial] a day before finals.‖
Along with the study period
associated with final exams,
many students find issue with
the current deletion of senior
exemption from finals. In the
past, seniors that maintained an
A average throughout a semes-
ter‘s course—along with other
criterion including having under
a set amount of absences—was
awarded the opportunity to be
exempt from the course‘s final
exam. The elimination of what
many viewed as a senior tradi-
tion has left many students from
the Class of 2012, and even
some from classes beneath, dis-
appointed.
―Seniors have no privileges
anymore,‖ twelfth grader Dmitri
Mitchell says.
Dedrea Becker, also a senior,
adds that seniors are less moti-
vated now that senior exemption
is no more.
―None of the seniors care to
study for finals anymore be-
cause they worked throughout
their freshmen, sophomore, and
junior years of school to be ex-
empt,‖ Becker says. Tenth
grader Daniel Youngelman
agrees with Becker.
―I won‘t be happy when I am
a senior,‖ Youngelman states.
With first semester‘s final
exams done and over, students
have a handful of months before
their have to face another batch
of final exams splendor.
Whether students remain stuck
in the final exam quicksand or
escape unharmed is completely
up to them.
By Navea Frazier
Pates’ Post 11 The Forum February 2012
By Mrs. Pat Whirl,
Special to The Freedom Forum
To commemorate the 45th year of The Freedom Forum, I asked former faculty members for their most
memorable moments. Below are a few excerpts.
Maceo Connor: The Fan Favorite
If you asked most people
around Freedom High School
about Maceo Connor, they
would say how nice of a person
he is. Or go to a Freedom boys‘
basketball game and see how
the riot squad reacts when he
comes in the game.
Throughout the season, the
boys‘ basketball team has been
consistent. Junior player, Maceo
Connor, has been one of the
team‘s key players, playing de-
fense at an extremely high level.
Team expectations were high
going into the season, but Con-
nor expected to play in the game
and contribute. He certainly has
done more to contribute and has
become a fan favori te.
―I‘ve really had to try not to
[smile], as soon as I hear the
Maceo chant start,‖ said Con-
nor. ―But on the inside, I have
the biggest smile.‖
Connor saw the most playing
time he had all year against arch
-rival Liberty. He also played
excellent on the defensive side
of the court, causing a few turn-
overs and changing the momen-
tum in Freedom‘s favor.
―It was a great feeling,‖ Ma-
ceo said of his performance
against Liberty. ―Especially
since it was against Liberty and
one of my best friends since
elementary school. I was happy
to take advantage of the playing
time, however nothing in bas-
ketball can be done single hand-
ily. I have to show credit to the
rest of the team because they
played just as hard as I did.‖
The Patriots were ranked 9th
in the state at one point after
surging to a 13-0 start. Maceo
Connor noted that as a team
they simply hate to lose, which
is why the Parkland game (the
team‘s first loss) was so disap-
pointing to Connor and the rest
of the team.
―They just hit a lot of shots.
We knew we had to lose some-
time, and we couldn‘t stay un-
defeated forever. That being
said we can use that game as
motivation to not let it hap-
pen again,‖ Connor said.
Connor may not be a starter
this year on a senior-heavy
roster, but many forget that
he is only a Junior and has
not only the rest of this year,
but this offseason and next
year to improve his game.
―I get to see what parts of
my game need improvement
and have the drive to work
even harder in the offseason,
so that next year can be just
as successful,‖ said Connor.
The Boys‘ basketball team
has had a successful season thus
far, and Maceo Connor has been
a part of something truly special
that will continue its year of
greatness as the year progresses.
By Mike McGinty,
Sports Editor
Justin Alicea / The Freedom Forum
Riot Squad Spirit Week
Monday, Feb. 6
Sports
Jersey Day
Tuesday, Feb. 7
Celebrity
Day
Wednesday, Feb. 8
Retro Basketball
Day
Thursday, Feb. 9
1990’s
Day
Friday, Feb. 10
Freedom
Family Friday
FRED SHUNK - SOCIAL STUDIES - 24 YEARS
Seeing the accomplishments of each extra curricular activity as the Patriot Band, the Chorus, the Scholastic Scrimmage Team and the teams of each sport. At graduation feeling very satisfied knowing that with the rest of the teachers I had something significant to do with the success of the graduates and hoping each of them would achieve his/her goals in the years to come.
THOMAS JORDAN - DRIVER’S EDUCATION - 33 YEARS
Taught and met many wonderful students but the most famous was “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson. My grandchildren think this is awesome.
ROSEMARY MURDY-HABER - VOCAL MUSIC DIRECTOR - 12 YEARS
Traveling to Europe with the FHS Concert Choir in 2002 and singing for His Holiness Pope John Paul II in the Vatican. It was a truly a blessed and educational experience for all who participated.
SHIRLEY COSNER - FINANCIAL/LIBRARY SECRETARY
Spirit Week when all the halls were decorated and the theme days for the week before the FHS-LHS game.
HELEN FARRELL - LIBRARIAN - 13 YEARS
Wondering how to get the library ready with utter chaos in the beginning stages of the construction.. After much help, and 2 ½ months later, we were able to open for the students and faculty. It really was a modern facility and a hub for all academic activity in that pre-computer age.
FHS v. LHS Basketball
Girls: 6:00pm Boys: 7:30pm
@ Liberty High School
12 Pates’ Post The Forum February 2012
Celebrating Black History Month
The month of February: to
many it is the time frame where
roses are sold and winter is cold;
but for me it is symbolized by
the national observance of Black
History Month. I could go on
differentiating the two sides of
the debate over whether Black
History Month is necessary or
important, but you can Google
search ―black history month‖ if
you want to know that. I could
go on into my personal views on
Black History Month, but you
can ask me in person. Instead, I
will tell you about what Black
History Month—as its founder
Carter G. Woodson intended—
has taught me.
Black History Month taught
me that Fredrick Douglass and
Abraham Lincoln‘s birthdays
are in February. It taught me
what an abolitionist was, and it
helped me understand why a
book on Lincoln was advertised
in every single issue of my
mom‘s Ebony magazines. Black
History Month taught me to
understand the Underground
Railroad in a figurative sense,
and that once upon a time rope
was not for jumping, stones not
for skipping.
Black History Month taught
me that to many the primary
colors were not red, yellow, and
blue. It showed me that history
class was right, and that states
could make exceptions around
the Amendments the national
government set forth. Black
History Month taught me that if
someone wanted division to be
equal, there was a strong prob-
ability that rising action would
occur.
Black History Month taught
me that marching is not exclu-
sive to bands. Black History
Month taught me that sitting in
does not mean being in front of
your television at home; I
learned that even fire hoses
could not put out the flames of
injustice. Black History Month
taught me that sometimes you
have to learn of the worst to
understand the turmoil your
country is in. Sometimes the
worst has to happen to have
change. My 83 year-old tears
from when a certain President
was elected, Black History
Month told me why.
Black History Month told me
that you could dream with your
eyes wide awake.
By Navea Frazier
The afternoon of Joe Paterno‘s procession should have been a normal day, but
this particular was anything but ordinary.
That afternoon during work, a man came up to me and asked, "How can a univer-
sity love a football coach so much?"
My reply was both prompt and heartfelt.
Joe Paterno wasn't just a football coach. He strove to bring athletics and academ-
ics together.
That library I study in? He built it, so I would have the ability to get the best
marks possible.
That church I worship in? He built it so all religions had a place to worship on
campus.
He loved Penn State almost as much as he loved his wife, Sue. I can only hope to
be half the person he was.
The man and I walked outside together where we encountered the overwhelming
silence that surrounded downtown State College as Joe made his final ride through
his beloved hometown and university.
Thank you, Joe Pa for shaping Penn State into the wonderful university it is to-
day.
Giving Thanks to an Icon By Karanda Erdman,
Penn State University Photos by Karanda Erdman / Penn State University