2012 March

Cops ‘n’

Kids Makes

452,000th

Connection

To provide every child in the

valley with a book of their

own—that is the ultimate goal of

the Lehigh Valley chapter of the

Cops ‘n’ Kids children’s non-

profit. Last month, the chapter

got that much closer to reaching

its goal, by raising its landmark

452,000th book.

The Cops ‘n’ Kids Children’s

Literacy Program is a national

initiative formally adopted in

2003 by Quota International of

Bethlehem. Through the pro-

gram, at-risk children are provid-

ed not only books, but the oppor-

tunity to view law enforcement

as a positive influence in their

lives, who participate by reading

(Continued on page 2-

COPS)

By Anna Thomas,

Asst. News Editor

Special Olympics Make a Difference

Volume 45 Issue 6

March 2012

Freedom High School - 3149 Chester Avenue - Bethlehem, PA 18020 - www.fhsforum.com

45 Years

Remembering the Past to Look Towards the Future

An exhibit in the Freedom

library is honoring the memory

of millions of innocent people

killed during the Holocaust.

The exhibit includes pictures,

interactive computer activities,

and belongings and letters left

behind by victims in the con-

centration camps and other

Jewish households. The exhibit

represents the long-term effects

of discrimination.

Later this month, students

will partake in an assembly that

ties the exhibit in with the No

Place for Hate initiative.

Students have an opportunity

to see what it was really like to

be Jewish in the Holocaust. The

letters, pictures, and interactive

activities give students the

chance to see how Jewish peo-

ple lived. It turns out that their

regular lives were not as differ-

ent as one might expect.

Jewish children in this time

went to school, spent time with

friends, read books, drew pic-

tures, and other everyday activ-

ities. The goal of the exhibit is

to make students realize how

Jewish people and their lives

did not differ from other peo-

ple’s lives.

Ms. Marylou Lordi, who set

up this detailed exhibit, wants

students to understand what it

was like to be involved in this

time period. The writings and

computer programs demon-

strated how the Jewish were

treated, scapegoated, and mur-

dered unfairly. Ms. Lordi is

giving students the same expe-

rience anyone would have got-

ten in a real Holocaust museum

all within the halls of Freedom

by relating the lives of innocent

Jews who were murdered to the

everyday life of a student.

She ensured propaganda ex-

amples made by Hitler were

displayed to show the manipu-

lation and deception he em-

ployed upon the people of Ger-

many. The exhibit also shows

(Continued on page 2-

LIBRARY)

By Kristen Dalton

Amanda Molinaro / Pates’ Post Editor Brian Uliana / Special to The Freedom Forum Tyler Alicea / Editor-in-Chief

On Feb. 22, Freedom High School hosted the Special Olympics. Members from student council and the Freedom and

Liberty boys’ basketball teams helped run the event. Mr. Richard Agretto, Director of Special Education in the

Bethlehem Area School District, stressed that this would be a humbling experience for all involved in the special day.

Over 200 students from all over the Lehigh Valley came to participate in the event with everyone leaving as a winner.

Freedom’s AP Scholars

Tyle

r A

lice

a / E

dit

or-

in-C

hie

f

[Top] Seniors Grace Mao, Devin Handwerk, Thomas

Nguyen, Abhinav Rangarajan, [bottom] Shaleen Oza,

Cindy Zheng, and Alexa Curto were all named Ad-

vanced Placement (AP) Scholars in February for their

hard work on the AP exams. Handwerk and Nguyen

were announced as AP Scholars who received scores

of a three (out of five) or higher on three or more AP

exams. The others were named AP Scholars with Dis-

tinction, an award given to those who received an aver-

age score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and

scores of three or higher on five or more AP exams.

Sixteen students who graduated from Freedom last

June were also named AP Scholars this year.

Inside this Issue

Corbett Cuts More to

Education Budget (p. 3)

Cheers and Jeers to the

Year of Greatness (p. 4)

Behind the Curtains of

Freedom’s Musical (p. 7)

The Hunger Games

Phenomenon (p. 10)

Spring Sports Previews

(p. 12-13)

Debate Team (p. 14)

An Update on the Bell

Count and How Freedom

Can Win the Bell (p. 16)

Be sure to be following

The Freedom Forum

(@fhsforum) on

Twitter!

Interested in becoming an

editor for the paper for the

upcoming school year?

Applications will be

available outside room 210

after March 21.

Ju

stin

Alic

ea / T

he F

reed

om

Fo

rum

2 News The Forum March 2012

Earlier this year, social media

giant Facebook recently an-

nounced they filed for public

stock offering, allowing for indi-

viduals to purchase shares of the

multibillion dollar company.

The documents submitted to

the U.S. Securities and Ex-

change Commission stated that

the company hoped to make $5

billion by becoming part of the

stock market. The IPO, or initial

public offering, will not be set

until about May, but in the

meantime, the value is expected

to increase as the demand for

shares continues to rise.

This is considered to be one of

the largest IPOs in US history as

Facebook is currently valued

between $75 billion and $100

billion. It has about 845 million

users found in countries all

across the globe.

Facebook becoming a publicly

traded company follows the

trend of major Internet firms

joining the market as well. Last

year, other social media stocks

LinkedIn and Groupon became

part of the market as well. How-

ever, while their initial prices

were rather high, they quickly

dropped to a lukewarm value.

Experts caution that Facebook

stocks will suffer the same fate.

Initially, the share may be of-

fered around $100, but that price

may quickly plummet when the

hype is over and demand drops.

The company has yet to an-

nounce

whether it

will be a

part of

Nasdaq or

the New

York

Stock

Exchange.

Its ticker

symbol

will be the

already

recogniza-

ble FB.

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

[email protected]

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

[email protected].

Corrections

In the Feb. 2012 issue,

Mrs. Pazzaglia’s name

was incorrectly printed

as “Pizzaglia.” We

would like to apologize

for this. Be sure to

welcome Madame

Pazzaglia to FHS.

pictures of Jewish businesses

being taken away and how free-

dom was completely stripped

from the Jewish people.

Ms. Lordi said, “The ramifi-

cation of the exhibit has been

very popular. It really gives stu-

dents the fortuity of being able

to relate to the lives of a Jew in

the Holocaust and how hatred,

discrimination, and manipula-

tion can affect the world.”

The Holocaust exhibit will be

in the library until the end of

March.

(Continued from page 1—

LIBRARY)

to kids and organizing events for

them.

“There is something empower-

ing about being able to witness

kids providing kids with an item

that might be the key to chang-

ing their lives,” says President

Beverly Bradley.

Bradley, who grew up in pov-

erty on the south side of Bethle-

hem, says that she became a

teacher because she wanted to

give back to the community that

had given to her as a girl.

“In some cases, the book that

the program provides a child

may be the only book that he or

she has ever received, but be-

comes the thing that makes them

passionate about learning. Books

give hope.”

Bradley is not alone in her

belief. “The most successful way

to improve the reading achieve-

ment of low-income children is

to increase their access to print,”

says JD Sanford Newman, au-

thor of America's Child Care

Crisis: A Crime Prevention

Tragedy. “Communities ranking

high in achievement tests have

several factors in common: an

abundance of books in public

libraries and easy access to

books in the community at

large.”

Junior Erin Ogozaly recently

had the opportunity to volunteer

at Cops ‘n’ Kids. “I think the

program is so awesome and tru-

ly impactful,” says Ogozaly.

“You never realize how im-

portant a single book and a little

bit of caring is to a child. It can

make all the difference.”

If you would like to get in-

volved with Cops ‘n’ Kids, Visit

copsnkidslv.org or email lvcops-

[email protected] for additional

information. You can also drop

off your new and gently used

books at either Bethlehem City

Hall on 10 East Church Street,

or the Northampton Community

College Fowler Family

Southside Center on 511 East

Third Street.

(Continued from page 1—COPS)

Facebook Makes Stock Available to the Public By Courtney Barrow,

Entertainment Editor

For the second year in a row,

President Barack Obama hosted

the White House Science Fair,

which presented scientific re-

search and inventions of stu-

dents from various regions of

the United States.

The White House Science Fair

was held on Feb. 7. Over 100

students from all over the coun-

try were given the chance to go

to the White House and present

their own science projects that

had won them their local compe-

titions.

Although recognition of excel-

lent students is necessary, many

believe that there is another rea-

son for holding this science fair.

A report released by President

Obama’s Council of Advisers in

Science and Technology found

that one million additional grad-

uates with the esteemed STEM

degrees (Science, Technology.

Engineering and Math) are need-

ed over the next decade to fill

the growing number of jobs re-

quiring these skills.

According to The White

House website, President Obama

said, “When students excel in

math and science, they help

America compete for the jobs

and industries of the future.

That’s why I’m proud to cele-

brate outstanding students at the

White House Science Fair, and

to announce new steps my Ad-

ministration and its partners are

taking to help more young peo-

ple succeed in these critical sub-

jects."

The President was able to see

talented students from all over

the country and enjoyed seeing

the varied presentations. He

even got to fire a marshmallow

cannon in the White House.

Many may recognize this as

the same White House Science

Fair that our own Freedom

alumni, Raina Jain, attended.

Jain got a chance to go in 2010

after winning the International

BioGENEius Challenge.

Although no one was named

winner at this science fair, many

heart-felt stories were shared

about the lives of students in

attendance. Samantha Garvey,

from New York, was a homeless

17 year old who became a final-

ist in the Intel Science competi-

tion. Angela Zhang found a po-

tential cure to cancer during her

after-school hours. The fair was

a way to showcase rising Ameri-

can talents.

In the future, who knows how

many other students might be

able to give President Barack

Obama a science lesson. It may

even be someone from Freedom

High School.

Science Takes Over The White House By Nainjot Singh

The Freedom Forum Photo Archive

Class Dues

Class dues are a one time payment of $40 ($10 per

each year attending Freedom). Dues must be paid to

class advisers in order for juniors and seniors to at-

tend prom and other class sponsored activities. All

students should pay their dues ASAP in order to en-

sure all future activities occur.

SENIORS Community Service is

due by April 13. Don’t

forget to turn in your

hours. Sixty (60) hours

are required to

graduate.

News 3 The Forum March 2012

Proposition 8 in California

has a pretty rocky history.

The bill was first introduced

on Nov.4, 2008. In May of

that year, the state of Califor-

nia had just done away with

Proposition 22, which limited

marriage to a man and a wom-

an. This meant that for a short

time same-sex marriage was

legal. Proposition 8 put a stop

to that. In short, Proposition 8

made same-sex marriage ille-

gal.

In May 2009, it was ruled

that marriages performed be-

fore November 2008 were

valid. Proposition 8 did not

nullify those marriages, but

the bill was not done yet.

Judge Vaughn Walker later

ruled the bill unconstitutional

in August 2010 in the Perry v.

Schwarzenegger case. How-

ever, due to the appeals that

his ruling would have to go

through, there had been little

movement concerning the bill.

That is, until February 7,

2012, when a Ninth Circuit

Court of Appeals ruled in

favor of Judge Walker’s deci-

sion. The court ruled 2-1 in

favor of ruling Prop 8 uncon-

stitutional and wrote,

“Proposition 8 served no pur-

pose, and had no effect, other

than to lessen the status and

human dignity of gays and

lesbians in California.”

Junior Brian Knarr supports

the repeal. “Marriage should-

n’t be limited by the type of

couple,” says Knarr. “Before

1967, interracial couples

weren’t allowed to get mar-

ried because of the law, but

that doesn’t mean it was

right.”

This does not mean that cou-

ples can get married, howev-

er. The ruling that Judge

Walker put in place is still

active.

What it does mean is that

Proposition 8 supporters can

take the ruling to the Supreme

Court. Proponents of Proposi-

tion 8 have stated that they

want to bring this case to the

Supreme Court as quickly as

possible. If the appeal reaches

the Supreme Court, it could

take a year or more to receive

a ruling.

Theoretical ruling will only

impact California’s definition

of marriage, but the decision

will have widespread effects

concerning same-sex marriage

nationwide.

However, the Supreme

Court may decide to not even

hear the case. For now, Cali-

fornians must wait. This rul-

ing may go nowhere, or it

may change the lives of thou-

sands.

Same-sex marriage isn’t a

hot topic in just California,

though. Washington and New

Jersey have both recently tak-

en steps towards legalizing

same-sex marriage. No laws

have been changed yet, but

the states are heading in that

direction. Whatever the out-

come, it is still clear that times

are changing for same-sex

couples.

Corbett Proposes Additional Budget Cuts to

Higher Education

After cutting almost 20 per-

cent of state funding to higher

education in last year’s budg-

et, Governor Tom Corbett is

pushing a 25 percent reduc-

tion in funding to state univer-

sities in the 2012-2013 pro-

posed budget.

Although the proposed

27.14 billion budget includes

no tax increases, higher edu-

cation is one of the areas look-

ing at deep cuts in state fund-

ing.

Of the total cuts, 330 mil-

lion, a 20 percent reduction, is

allotted from the budgets of

the 14 state-owned schools

including Kutztown and East

Stroudsburg. 147.4 million

(30 percent of total) is with-

held from three of the four

state-related universities in-

cluding Penn State, Temple,

and University of Pittsburgh.

Community colleges are not

overlooked either. Corbett

proposes a 4 percent decrease

in state funding for the com-

munity colleges, amounting to

$8.8 million. In addition, stu-

dent grants and loans adminis-

tered by the Pennsylvania

Higher Education Assistance

Agency are facing 6 percent

in cuts, totaling $362 million.

State education secretary

Ron Tomalis said that grants

would be directed toward stu-

dents who plan to pursue ca-

reers in “high priority and

economically stimulating

fields” such as energy, agri-

culture and manufacturing.

Corbett defends his budget,

saying that universities could

easily reduce operating costs

rather than raising tuition. He

also notes that the proposed

reductions come out to only a

small decrease in the overall

operating budgets for the

state’s biggest public universi-

ties.

For example, the millions

that the proposed budget

would cut from state funds

approximate 1.6 percent re-

duction in the total budget of

Penn State, 1.8 percent of the

Temple budget, 2.1 percent of

University of Pittsburgh’s

budget and 3.8 percent of the

budgets for the state-owned

schools.

Corbett points out that in the

over the ten-year period where

the state gave $3 billion to

Penn State, the tuition grew

110 percent.

Freedom teacher Ms. Jen-

nifer Deily worries about the

raising tuition these budget

cuts will ultimately bring.

“I look at my three-year old

and wonder how much college

is going to cost us fifteen

years from now.”

Senior Janice Lee however

sees the situation through the

government’s eye.

“The government has to do

what it has to do,” says Lee.

“If the universities have better

budgets, they will be able to

survive a cut like this and not

have any problems.”

By Julie Boylan,

Editorial Editor

Proposition 8 Ruled Unconstitutional By Sabrina Castaneda

Feb 20-23

The burning of Korans, the sacred

book of Islam, caused an increase in

tension in Afghanistan. Military per-

sonnel burned various copies of the

book and led to Afghan protests. The

violent protests resulted in the injury

of many Afghans, the death of seven

civilians, and the death of two Amer-

ican soldiers. The fear of the escalat-

ing violence, which was fueled by

the Taliban, led to President Obama

sending a letter apologizing for the

burnings.

Feb 24

An inspection of Iran took, as U.S.

agents went to look at the nuclear

power plants in Iran. Reportedly,

nothing seemed to alarm the inspec-

tors. There was no proof that a bomb

was being assembled. The findings

led to sigh of relief on behalf of U.N.

Countries that were planning on

placing embargos and restriction of

trade with Iran. The plan to build a

nuclear warhead in Iran was stopped

in 2003 and has been monitored by

various agencies.

Feb 27

A shooting at Chardon High School

left one dead and three wounded. At

around 7:40 am the shooter came

into the school and reportedly shot at

a group of students. Then he was

convinced by a teacher to walk out-

side the premises. A suspect was

eventually arrested that morning.

The police did not release his name

because he is a minor, but in a state-

ment in the evening, the family of

the suspected shooter identified him

as T.J. Lane. Chardon is a small

town with a population of about

5,000.

Feb 27

Russian TV reports that an assassina-

tion attempt against Putin was dis-

covered weeks before the election.

The suspects were detained in the

Ukraine. Putin's spokesperson con-

firmed the arrests and the plan. The

information was released a week

before the Russian election, which

Putin won.

Throughout February The Republican primaries continued

with Mitt Romney slimly in the lead

and Rick Santorum in a close se-

cond.

In Case You

Missed It

“I look at my three-

year old and wonder

how much college is

going to cost us fifteen

years from now,” says

Ms. Jennifer Deily


Last year, teachers gathered near the Bethlehem library to

protest Governor Corbett’s 2011 cuts to education.

Congrats to Forum staff members Tyler Alicea and Andrew Mattei for

winning Keystone Press awards for their work on the school newspaper.

Alicea earned an honorable mention in the Editorial category, and Mattei (alongside with

Freedom alumnus Sean Cassidy) won second

place for layout.

Flickr.com / sushiesque

4 Editorials The Forum March 2012

SOPA and

PIPA Need to

be Fought By Justin Alicea

Every year, the administra-

tion picks some one-line

cheesy “theme” to stuff down

the throats of the student body

until it becomes a school wide

joke. From “What’s Our Pur-

pose (porpoise)” to the ubiq-

uitous “Freedom to…,” the

school-wide annual theme has

traditionally has inspired the

administration more than the

students.

It would be virtually impos-

sible for the students of Free-

dom High School to be oblivi-

ous to this year’s administra-

tion-created theme, the “Year

of Greatness.” But unlike the

themes of years past, this

year’s theme appears to have

a quality about it that makes

me think that it may not be as

seemingly worthless of other

themes.

Most notably, this year’s

one-liner is abnormal in the

sense that it is not just an

administration-backed theme.

The students of Freedom are

actually adopting the Year of

Greatness theme, at least to a

certain extent. There has been

a surge of school spirit this

year that I have not witnessed

in my four years walking the-

se halls. It started with the

defeat of Liberty in football

and carried over into the win-

ter with the outstanding run of

boys’ basketball team.

But it is not the basketball

team nor the football team

themselves that contribute to

the greatness, no matter how

successful their seasons were.

It is the community and sup-

port that rallied around them

and the patriot pride that stood

out as truly being great. How-

ever, people would do well to

remember that true school

spirit is not just about support-

ing the teams that win but all

activities that represent the

school.

The theme also is being

used as a vessel by Mr.

LaPorta for highlighting the

accomplishments of Freedom

students on the morning an-

nouncements. As a girls’ ten-

nis player, it was admittedly

nice to hear the wins of my

team being broadcasted—and

not just the win over Liberty.

I agree that academic success

should get just as much recog-

nition as athletic ones, but this

is a step in the right direction.

I think that the strongest

criticism over the “Year of

Greatness” slogan is that it is

hypocritical because there are

ways this year cannot be con-

sidered great; however, the

theme is not the administra-

tion’s way of pretending eve-

rything is great just because

they proclaim it to be.

Rather, the theme is de-

signed to acknowledge the

greatness that does occur in

our school, from winning bas-

ketball games to bringing in

Rachel’s Challenge, and by

doing so, encourages it. So

perhaps next time you feel

ready to mock the “Year of

Greatness” you should think

about what it represents.

It’s a Year of Greatness…For Athletics

The Freedom Family is

certainly not your average

group of teenagers.

At times, they are a bunch

of loud-mouthed, heckling

teenagers who could been

seen by some as bullies. At

other times, they are some of

the classiest teenagers in the

Lehigh Valley. This is why

we love them.

Unfortunately, the Free-

dom Family is a small mi-

crocosm that only exists

within sporting events. This

dysfunctional family that

argues over what shirt to

wear to a particular sporting

event is a family that never

exists at anything academic.

This is not necessarily their

fault. Sporting events are

exciting, while debates just

do not live up to the hype of

a basketball game.

Similarly, the Year of Great-

ness suffers from the same

problem: it only truly recog-

nizes athletics. While Mr.

LaPorta recognizes both ath-

letics and academics, the stu-

dent body only focuses on

athletics when it comes to the

Year of Greatness.

How can we have a Year of

Greatness when Freedom is

no different than it was four

years ago when I first walked

in through its doors? While

there is a vast expansion of

the amount of school spirit

within the school, people are

still fighting, cursing, and

causing a raucous between

classes. Some family, right?

How can we have a Year of

Greatness when a large por-

tion of the student body has

failed at least one class re-

quired for graduation?

The Year of Greatness is a

phrase that is meant to inspire

students, but like the Freedom

Family, it is just that: a

phrase.

I am certainly not dis-

crediting any of the

school spirit that has

been built up since the

beginning of the school

year. I have stood on the

same sidelines and stands

that you have been stand-

ing on. I have heckled

opponents and cheered

for my team. I just think

that the Year of Great-

ness does not necessarily

always make its way into the

classroom.

Perhaps when we pass the

PSSAs, then we can have a

true year of greatness. Until

then, we need to add the cave-

at that this Year of Greatness

on the whole mostly applies to

athletics and our quest for the

bell.

By Tyler Alicea,

Editor-in-Chief

Kudos to the Year of Greatness By Julie Boylan,

Editorial Editor

In the month of January, internet

users were subjected to the news of

the growing concerns about two

bills, SOPA and PIPA.

SOPA or the “Stop Online Piracy

Act,” was a bill that began in the

House of Representatives in October

of 2011 and would intensify the pun-

ishment to a maximum of five years

in prison for streaming unauthorized

copyrighted content.

PIPA, or the “Protect IP Act,” is

very similar to SOPA except that

was written in the Senate. The bill is

a re-write of COICA, or the

“Combating Online Infringement

and Counterfeits Act.” If passed, the

bill would give the government and

Media producers the right to shut

down any site with copyrighted in-

formation.

These bills were highly supported

by big name media groups like

Dreamworks, Warner Brothers, and

NBC who find the piracy of their

content to be a negative impact on

their revenue. In January, large inter-

net companies such as Google and

Wikipedia stepped up to the plate to

help increase awareness of these

bills. From their prospective the bills

were too far reaching, and had the

ability to shut them down.

On Jan. 18, Wikipedia had a black

out day to give an example of what it

would be like if SOPA or PIPA were

passed, while Google started a peti-

tion against the bills to help spread

awareness. Due to these high sup-

ported campaigns, the support for the

bills in congress shrunk greatly. As

of today both bills have been tabled.

From my prospective, I believe

these bills are unnecessary when the

government already has a large

amount of influence on the internet.

The government already has the abil-

ity to shut down websites, which had

copyrighted information and media.

One website, Megaupload.com, was

shut down in January for piracy con-

cerns, without SOPA or PIPA even

being lawed. Why give the govern-

ment more power when they already

have the ability to control a good

portion of the internet?

The whole point of our government

is supposed to be for the people, but

there is also the concern that the big

media companies lobby to massage

the legislature to their ad-

vantage. Doing that is unfair to

American citizens because it takes

away our right of opinion. Although

the bills are currently tabled, that

does not mean that the bills could be

re-written and brought back as an-

other form at a later date. This time

Google and Wikipedia were there to

help sound the alarm, but next time it

is truly up to the American citizens

to help stop the continuation of bills

like these from being forced upon

the American people.

Everyone who continues to use the

internet should stay aware of bills

like these and monitor the plans of

their representation in the govern-

ment.

Tyler Alicea / Editor-in-Chief


How can we have

a Year of

Greatness when a

large portion of

the student body

has failed at least

one class required

for graduation?

The Pros and Cons of The YoG

Editorials 5 The Forum March 2012

Do Not Quit: Focus on the Good The idea of kids dropping out

of high school is one most of us

shrug off, due to the fact that

many of us do not have a first-

hand experience of knowing

peers, family members, or ac-

quaintances who have.

Dropping out of high school is

sadly a common thing, with

approximately 1.3 million stu-

dents failing to complete high

school per year in the United

States. There is no specific rea-

son for this, but there are many

factors which pressure kids,

sometimes force, into dropping

out.

The state of our economy is a

leading factor in high school

drop outs. Struggling families,

families with single parents and

kids living on their own are es-

sentially forced into finding jobs

so they can make by. This is not

something schools can help pre-

vent, which is a harsh reality to

accept. Teenagers facing situa-

tions like this may not even

want to drop out, but whether

they do or do not want to, it still

happens.

Another reason students drop

out is because of bully-

ing. Bullying is something many

of us do consciously or sub-

consciously, and a lot of us do

not assume it hurts people

much, but that is wrong. Com-

ments such as racist slurs, criti-

cism over appearances, and neg-

ative remarks about one’s sexu-

ality can follow

people around.

After a while,

they crack and

drop out of high

school. No mat-

ter what schools

do, some kids

will always bul-

ly others, but if

they realized the

effects maybe

they would stop.

The pressure

of school, sports

and college also

contribute to the

number of high

school drop

outs. Sports

captains put lots

of weight on

their shoulders,

and one loss can

totally crush

them. Along with that, just a

team member who ends up mak-

ing the mistake that costs the

team the big game sometimes

takes it too much to heart and

becomes depressed.

Schoolwork gets harder as the

years go by, and when students

are taking on too many hard

classes at once that can also

cause them to crack. That’s one

great thing about Freedom,

block scheduling. It reduces

stress greatly, and in a way,

helps prevent high school drop

outs. SATs, college applica-

tions and acceptance/rejection

letters from college are the last

big hill to climb in high school,

and it’s sometimes the breaking

point. Being rejected from that

one college you have always

dreamed of is devastating, and it

might cause enough depression

for you to drop out.

High school does entail stress

and frustration, but the comple-

tion of it makes it worthwhile,

along with the life you have

paved for yourself ahead. Not

dropping out is possible, it is

just a matter of keeping your

head up and treating each day

like a brand new one.

By Flannery Johnson

This Just In: Teachers Are Human

Contrary to the view that all

teachers are mass-produced au-

tomatons (I heard that the new

model that can throw erasers at

ninety-five miles per hour is in

testing), teachers actually are

human.

In other words, they have

emotions. This means that disre-

spectful rant last week and those

overhead dispersions on the

teacher’s character can actually

affect them. Remember, teach-

ers do care about their students.

No, not in the sappy, Barney

theme song kind of way.

Teachers care in part because

their skill as a teacher is reflect-

ed in the performance of their

students and in part because

they are human beings with

basic human decency (although,

as with all segments of the pop-

ulation, there are exceptions).

Teachers are widely viewed as

being socially naïve and hope-

lessly passé in regards to social

subtleties. In reality, one must

realize that the teacher is at the

front of the room, with a full

view of everyone in the class-

room, and the student is in his

seat, often with just a view of

the three-or-so students directly

in front of him. Now, of course

the teacher’s position in the

room does not mean he has a

greater insight into the social

dynamics of the classroom, be-

cause students definitely win in

the area of experience with the

14 to 18-year-old age range.

In fact, many (not all) teachers

have seen just about every per-

sonality type and can size up

new students within the first few

weeks. They can spot the prob-

lematic, smart, quiet, loud, in-

group and out-group students

fairly easily, and, although not

all wish to, they can even dis-

cern deeper social intricacies,

like abuse or bullying or attrac-

tion.

Certain students also believe

that teachers enjoy yelling at

them in front of the class just to

prove a point of authority. Yet,

it is actually the teacher’s job to

maintain order in his class.

Some teachers are more skillful

at this than others, and many

teachers avoid yelling to main-

tain order. But teachers know

that in the real world, a boss will

just fire disrespectful employ-

ees. There is no extra credit in

life.

By John Bennett

Blood Drive

Freedom High School

Thursday, March 29 8:30 am - 1:30 pm

To schedule an appointment please contact Mr. Harakal in

room 123.


Remember, teachers do

care about their

students. No, not in the

sappy, Barney theme

song kind of way.


6 Features The Forum March 2012

College Profile: American University

For students who are partici-

pating in the college search pro-

cess, American University may

be a school to consider.

American University is a pri-

vate institution located in the

neighborhood of northwest

Washington, D.C.

The university enrolls approx-

imately 1,500 freshmen each

year with a middle 50% GPA of

3.6–4.1 and middle 50% SAT

score of 1220–1390, critical

reading and mathematics only,

each year. Classes, on average,

are sizes of 23, and the student-

faculty ratio is 14:1. American University is ranked

82nd among "national universi-

ties" by US News & World Re-

port's college and university

rankings guide and is one of the

270 universities that house a

chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the

nation's oldest honor society.

The student body is interna-

tional and globally diverse, with

all 50 states and 146 countries

represented. Seven percent of

undergraduates and ten percent

of graduate students are interna-

tional.

The university’s mission is

carried out by 750 full-time fac-

ulty and 1,400 full-time staff. 95

percent of the full-time faculty

holds the highest degree in their

field. Among the more than 500

adjunct faculty are policy mak-

ers, diplomats, journalists, art-

ists, writers, scientists, and busi-

ness leaders.

The university is composed of

six divisions, referred to as col-

leges or schools, which house its

academic programs: College of

Arts and Sciences (CAS),

Kogod School of Busi-

ness (KSB), School of Commu-

nication (SOC), School of Inter-

national Service (SIS), School

of Public Affairs (SPA)

and Washington College of

Law (WCL).

With the exception of Wash-

ington College of Law, under-

graduate and graduate courses

are housed within the same divi-

sion, although they are orga-

nized into different programs.

By Faarah Ameerally

Mechanical Drawing Class Prepares

Future Engineers and Architects

With over 190 course offer-

ings here at Freedom and the

option to attend the BAVTS,

scheduling can make any stu-

dent's brain go in circles. Not only are there a multitude

of different core courses to

choose from, but there are also

many electives to choose from. Whatever post-high school

plans students have, there will

always be a class that will bring

her one step closer to a success-

ful future. Freedom offers everything

from Jazz Improvisation to Cis-

co Programming to Zoology.

Classes such as Foods & You

also exist for those with a culi-

nary interest. However, in this sea of clas-

ses to choose from, some get

lost in the mix.

These classes have the same

merits of any other class, but

they are overlooked just the

same. Mechanical drawing is cer-

tainly one of these classes. As a part of the Industrial

Arts Department, it is a prereq-

uisite to the architectural draw-

ing courses. Mechanical Drawing is, ac-

cording to the course handbook,

“an introduction to drafting

equipment and multi-view pro-

jection” with an “emphasis is

on the mechanical aspect of

drafting”. Senior Will Glaser says, “I

think the class is awesome, and

it’s different from all other clas-

ses. If someone is looking to

become a drawer or designer,

then they should take the class.

It also involves a lot of math, so

it’s not like a class you learn

nothing in.”

Mechanical drawing is obvi-

ously a class worth taking; so

why are people not taking it?

Many people who graduate

from Freedom will one day end

up as designers of something or

another, whether it been in an

engineering field, or even in

architecture. Being able to use the equip-

ment necessary to make suc-

cessful designs and having the

skills needed to know how to

design are invaluable in any

field, for that matter.

By Erin Ogogzaly

Overcoming and Fighting Bullying

For some students, dealing

with classmates and bullying in

high school are not easy tasks.

Thirty percent of teens are

bullied.

Miss Jennifer Maholick, Free-

dom graduate, Spanish teacher,

and head of Freedom’s Rachel’s

Challenge, was once a victim of

bullying.

She recalls being bullied as far

back as second grade, but says,

“It definitely made me a strong-

er person,”

Miss Maholick also offers a

word of advice to people who

are being bullied and says,

“Remove yourself from the situ-

ation and tell an adult.”

Fortunately for Miss Mahol-

ick, life got better after high

school. She gained a sense of

independence after studying

abroad and also discovered that

people are more mature in col-

lege.

Yet, bullying is not just about

the victim; the bully also factors

into the equation. There can be

many reasons, none of which

call for bullying, that someone

is bullied, but there is generally

only one reason someone bul-

lies.

“They have their own prob-

lems,” says Amanda Massaro,

former student at Freedom.

She says, “Everyone that bul-

lied me was deal-

ing with their own

things at the time.”

Massaro offers

her own advice and

says, ”Talk to peo-

ple. Find your tal-

ents and your hob-

bies.”

Nothing justifies

treating another

person like they are

useless. Everyone

has value, dreams

and deserves to be

treated like a hu-

man being.

The brightest point though,

was that both Miss Maholick

and Massaro both said, “It gets

better.”

Anyone can stop bullying. It

only takes small things to set off

something big. Stop friends

from shoving the “nerd” into the

locker, or talk to

an adult if friends

are being bullied.

There are always

options.

To get more

involved with anti

-bullying ideals,

Rachel’s Chal-

lenge meets

Thursdays after

school in room

225. New mem-

bers are always

welcome.

By Sabrina Castenada

University Information

Enrollment: 1,500 per year

Average Class Size: 23

Average GPA: 3.6 to 4.1

Average SAT (w/o Writing): 1220-1390

Student-Faculty Ratio: 14:1

International Undergraduates: 7% Colleges: College of Arts and Sciences, Kogod School of

Business, School of Communication, School of

International Service, School of Public Affairs, and

Washington College of Law.

NCinDC / flickr.com

Janice Lavranos / The Freedom Forum

“It gets better,” Miss

Maholick and Amanda

Massaro both said.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_News_%26_World_Report

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_News_%26_World_Report

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_and_university_rankings

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_and_university_rankings

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_Beta_Kappa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_University_College_of_Arts_and_Sciences

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kogod_School_of_Business

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kogod_School_of_Business

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_University_School_of_Communication

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_University_School_of_Communication

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_International_Service

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_University_School_of_Public_Affairs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_College_of_Law

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_College_of_Law

Features 7 The Forum March 2012

Where are They Now?

In college, teachers become

professors, responsibilities in-

crease, students become adults,

and independence peaks.

Life can change majorly or

hardly at all, but for a Freedom

alumnus, life has changed ma-

jorly. That is not necessarily a

bad thing and for this alumnus.

On the contrary, it is a great

thing.

Former editor-in-chief of The

Freedom Forum Jasmine

Ameerally experienced all of

these post-high school changes

within just her first semester at

Lehigh University.

Ameerally fell into a big melt-

ing pot of diverse individuals on

the first day of her freshman

year.

Within that melting pot, she

managed to find herself as the

assistant news editor of The

Brown & White, Lehigh Uni-

versity’s newspaper.

“The Freedom Forum helped

show me the basics and gave me

the experience that help me get

the position on Lehigh’s news-

paper,” said Ameerally.

Though the concepts of each

were exactly the same, The

Brown and White has a larger

audience since it is not only run

on hard copy, but it is also post-

ed on Lehigh Valley Live's web-

site, which has made it more

popular.

Ameerally did mention the

professional aspects of both The

Brown and White and The Free-

dom Forum are quite equal.

Experience was gained natu-

rally as far as Ameerally saw.

Working with the newspapers,

she was able to expand her ways

of writing. Different environ-

ments of writing also helped

Ameerally develop as a journal-

ist.

As of now, Ameerally’s major

is undecided, but she is looking

to go into political sciences or

economics. Thinking back on

high school journalism, Ameer-

ally realizes there is a lot she

would be able to do with a jour-

nalism degree as well.

Ideal profession options for

Ameerally all involve some way

of incorporating journalism in

with them.

The profession involving the

most journalism Ameerally is

interested in would be some-

thing along the lines of working

for The Wall Street Journal.

Another inviting idea for a pro-

fession would be a

lawyer which

Ameerally feels

would also incorpo-

rate journalism.

College is starting

to shape Jasmine

Ameerally into a

responsible and in-

dependent young

woman on her way

to a successful ca-

reer in economics,

political science, or

journalism.

By Samantha Lutz

Soaring Up to the Top to Become an Eagle Scout

For more serious boy scouts,

being a top-ranked Eagle Scout

is an enormous accomplishment.

Between the years of 1911 and

1925, the number of boy scouts

grew immensely from approxi-

mately 61,000 to a staggered

almost 760,000. Unfortunately,

for those who become Eagle

Scouts at this time had no rea-

son to return.

In 1925, the Knights of Du-

namis merged together with the

Boys Scouts of America in or-

der to keep these scouts in-

volved with the program even

after achieving this highly-

ranked position.

By 1972, the National Eagle

Scout Association, or NESA,

was created and is still known as

a successful organization to this

day.

It is no surprise that there are

Eagle Scouts within the school;

however, it is bit of a surprise

who these boys are.

Seniors Nathaniel Palmer and

Tyler Alicea have grown up

giving their time to the commu-

nity through boys scouts.

While most know his as a

track and cross-country star,

Palmer recently became an Ea-

gle Scout as of Nov. 10, 2011.

“It feels great,” says Palmer.

“I finally reached the main goal

I've been working on since I

was five.”

Palmer says he feels relieved.

“A huge weight is lifted from

[my] chest.”

This “weight” entails a heavy

amount of work in order to

reach this highly ranked posi-

tion.

Becoming an Eagle Scout

requires the completion of 21

merit badges and a final service

project that benefits the commu-

nity.

Palmer chose a project that

would not only help the commu-

nity, but also keep himself inter-

ested.

This past summer, Palmer

repaired Freedom's art class-

room.

“Because I love art and really

enjoyed the class, I wanted to

help out and give the room a

face lift,” says Palmer. Over the

course of five days, he repainted

the walls and bulletin boards,

while also sanding the cabinets.

Today, Palmer keeps himself

involved with the boy scouts.

“I usually just show up at

meetings and help some of the

younger guys,” says

Palmer.

While Palmer

looks back at his

successful accom-

plishments, the Al-

icea finalized his

Eagle project just

before his 18th

birthday.

“My project in-

volved reorganizing

the English depart-

ment book room at

Freedom,” says Al-

icea. With the help

of friends and a few

fellow scouts, he

was able to com-

plete the main por-

tion of his project in

two days.

Both Palmer and Alicea

strongly recommend to all boy

scouts that becoming an Eagle

Scout is a must.

“It really lets you put your

leadership skills to the test with

having to draft all your own

plans for your project, approach

different companies for dona-

tions, and manage to get all the

paperwork done,” says Palmer.

Alicea says, “It involves a lot

of work and a lot of dedication.

I'm very proud to have made it

this far.”

By Ashley Eichlin,

Features Editor

Behind the Curtains of “Millie” Everyone can see the perfec-

tion and effortless moves that

are achieved in Freedom High

School's school plays.

However, what no one seems

to notice all of the tremendous

amount of hard work and perse-

verance that actually goes into

the performances.

Getting ready for the play

takes weeks. From trying to find

volunteers to building and paint-

ing sets, it is not easy work.

It takes up to fifty people and

up to six days a week to finish

these sets, and with the help of

stage crew, the moving of these

sets becomes a lot easier.

Like many say; “practice

makes perfect.” This could be

the reason why the drama club

practices from six to seven days

a week.

A great amount of dedication,

time, and effort goes into the

preparation for the plays, but

they still find time to have plen-

ty of fun and enjoy being to-

gether for long periods of time.

“My favorite part of the play

is watching the students grow as

performers and people,” says

Miss Jennifer Wescoe, drama

teacher.

Many different components

are taken into consideration

during the process of getting

ready for the school production.

Some include rehearsing and

setting up. Student actors and

actresses must learn to block

scenes correctly, learn the mu-

sic, and even master the dances.

As everyone knows, costumes

play a big role in theater, which

is exactly why the parents of the

students assemble the costumes

every week on Saturday and

Wednesday mornings in the

stations set up by cast members.

Watching the play from the

audience makes it clear how

hard each and every student

worked to make every annual

play so successful.

However, many students do

not realize how crucial it can be

to perfect such dif-

ficult moves, lines,

and scenes.

Junior Kelly

Chemidlin says, “I

love it when some-

thing goes wrong

behind the scenes

during a show, but

everyone is running

around trying to fix

it and the split se-

cond before the

curtain opens, it all

comes together. It’s

a great feeling

knowing that we

can all work togeth-

er to fix things and

no one would ever know some-

thing went wrong.”

By Kirat Randhawa


“My favorite part of

the play is watching

the students grow as

performers and

people,” says Miss

Jennifer Wescoe

Willem Ystma / The Freedom Forum


Eagle scout Nathaniel Palmer [left] and Eagle scout candidate Tyler

Alicea [right].

March. It’s the awkward month

between Valentine’s Day and

Easter. Sometimes it’s freezing

cold; other times it is blazing

hot. Do I even need to mention

March allergies?

Let’s show some appreciation

for the misfit month March.

With daylight savings time beginning people are forced to move their clocks up an hour on March 11. This is a problem for those who love their

sleep, because they will loose a valuable hour of sleep. This change in time is not just a problem as much as it is a hassle to everyone in America who

has to remember to turn their clocks forward one hour. Those who forget to turn their clocks forward will sadly be living the next day an hour behind

everyone else.

With all these problems set aside why does America use daylight savings time? Well, daylight savings time started back on March of 1918 during

World War I as an effort to conserve fuel. Now it is promoted for increasing light during the evening. This sounds good to those who love to be active

and enjoy outdoor activities during spring and summer time, but others may say if that is the only reason why can’t America just stop enforcing the act

and become like the rest of the world who doesn’t practice it.

Only 70 countries in the world practice daylight savings time and all 70 don’t even practice it at the same time. For example this year America will

turn the clocks forward an hour on March 11 and back an hour on November 4, while the United Kingdom turns its clocks forward on March 27 and

back on October 28.

Another weird fact about daylight savings time is that not even all of the United States practices daylight sav-

ings time because Arizona and Hawaii are excluded from this act because they simply chose not to practice it.

With all of the reasoning and geography of daylight savings time over with, let’s get back to who the begin-

ning of daylight savings time affect, which is the sleep lovers of America. Freedom High school senior Kyle

Propsner is one who values his sleep “I enjoy my sleep and having to lose an hour of sleep for a day is kind of

disappointing.” While most high school students may feel like that because of how busy most students are these

days, Freedom High School junior Michael Burdo has a different view, “It doesn’t really matter to me because I

rarely sleep more than 6 hours a day.” Overall sleep is valuable to every human being in the fact that it helps

provide energy and on March 11 everyone is going to have to deal with the fact of losing an hour of sleep.

Spring Forward Towards the Light By Ryan Shaikh,

Asst. Sports Editor

Cold. White. Freezing. Ice. Snow. These words tend to be associated directly with winter.

However, our winter this year has been everything but. The weather has been abnormally mild so far here, in the northeast, with the temperature dur-

ing the day hardly dipping below freezing. The average temperature has been hovering at about 40-degrees Fahrenheit. These temperatures allow some

girls to dare to wear skirts outside without leggings and some boys to wear shorts. With days as warm as 60-degrees, it is as if winter forgot to stop by

in northeast America and left autumn and spring to cover its responsibility.

The temperature is not the only abnormal feature this winter. In addition, there has been a lack of snow, a very prominent feature of last year’s win-

ter. The number of times it has snowed here in the past couple of months can

be counted with the fingers of one hand whereas last year, there were several

large snowstorms that hit our area.

The snowstorms last year caused our school district to declare multiple

snow days and to surpass our allotted four days. This year, we have only

used two days, only one of which was actually caused by snow.

In addition, that particular snowfall was not even in winter; it was in Octo-

ber. Bringing mass amounts of snow and power outages, there were hopes

that the occurrence would not repeat itself, and it seems like Mother Nature

has listened, perhaps a little too well in some people’s opinions.

“I’d like some snow this year,” says junior Erin Ogozaly. “It doesn’t even

have to be much. It would just be nice to have a proper snowfall.” However,

her brother, a freshman Walter Ogozaly does not think there is a good chance

of it snowing a lot before the winter ends.

When asked if he would like it to snow, he said that he would not mind

either way. Since it is almost the end of winter and temperatures have contin-

ued to be relatively warm, his opinion is logical; the possibility of a large

snowfall gets more unlikely as it gets closer to spring.

However, with a history of odd weather occurrences in the past several

months, such as the October snowstorm as well as Hurricane Irene’s travel to

the northern areas in August, there is a possibility, slim as it may be that the

weather will defy expectations yet again and winter may swoop into the area

for a late visit.

Where’s the Snow?! By Tiana Van

This is what Freedom High School looked like this time last year. If

you haven’t noticed, it looks nothing like this now.


Things We Love About March:

Shamrock Milkshakes

Good weather

St. Patty’s Day

Sunlight

Free Rita’s on the first

day of Spring

Things We Hate About March:

Allergies

Possibly bad weather

Losing an hour of sleep to

daylight savings time

PSSAs

Pumpkin, apple, and cherry are pretty common answers when somebody is asked about their favorite pie, but nobody thinks of the humble number.

That’s right. I’m talking about pi, that mystical number that people around the world are trying to crack. People have set up computers to run for days

and days to find a pattern or the end. Trillions and trillions of digits later, they came up with nothing.

We all know it. You’re probably thinking about it right now. 3.141592653... and on it goes. You’re also thinking why does it matter? So what?

Pi is the mathematical constant that can be found by dividing the circumference of a circle by its diameter. This law is significant in multiple branches

of mathematics, including geometry, trigonometry, and calculus.

Pi is so revered in mathematics; it’s a cause for celebration. Recognized in 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives officially made March 14 Nation-

al Pi Day.

That means for all you math lovers out there, March 14 is a day to celebrate, and what better way to celebrate than by discussing and eating pi and

pie, respectively of course.

The tradition started back in 1988 when Larry Shaw celebrated Pi Day at the San Francisco Exploratorium by marching around one of its circular

spaces and eating pie. Since then, people have been celebrating the occasion in their own special ways.

Daniel Tammet, a savant in math, recited 22,514 digits of pi on National Pi Day in 2004.

Surprisingly, Daniel does not hold the world record for the most digits of pi memorized. In October 2006, Akira Haraguchi managed to recite

100,000 digits of pi, blowing away his previous record of 83,431 digits.

Schools around the world emulate Akira’s accomplishment by holding pi recitation competitions. Hopkins Elementary School in Mentor Ohio holds a

yearly competition on National Pi Day in which the winner has recited up to 100 digits of pi.

So grab a slice of pie and start celebrating because pi is something to remember.

The Mythical Pi Day By Thomas Nguyen

=

Every March 17, millions of people around the world celebrate the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick. But who was Saint Patrick?

Saint Patrick, believe it or not, was not Irish (and you thought Madonna’s flop single was shocking). He was actually born in what is the modern day

town of Ravenglass in England around 390 AD. He lived there with his aristocratic family until he was sixteen, at which point he was kidnapped and

taken to Ireland.

His kidnappers kept him captive as a slave for six years in Ireland, where he worked as a herdsman. After voices in his dreams told him he would be

returning home soon, Patrick escaped and found his way back to England on a pirate ship.

Upon his return to England, Patrick reunited with his family, then twenty-two. He promptly went about becoming a priest, having become very reli-

gious while in captivity. Despite having endured the hardships of slavery in Ireland, St. Patrick returned there once he was ordained a priest, and went

about converting the “pagans” there to Christianity.

While the modern celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day doesn’t really have so much to

do with the Saint Patrick of Ireland, there are still certain elements of this celebration

that are tributes to Saint Patrick.

Have you ever wondered why, out of all the plants that could be considered the sym-

bol of Ireland, the shamrock was chosen? Well, there actually is a reason. Saint Patrick

reportedly used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the holy trinity, the Father, the

Son, and the Holy Spirit to his converts. Today, the actual significance of the shamrock

has been lost, but Saint Patrick’s Day is still inextricably linked with the shamrock and

the signature 416 calorie milkshake found at your local McDonald’s.

Now, rather than being remembered and celebrated for who he was, Saint Patrick is

the figurehead of a holiday that celebrates being Irish. People dye whole rivers green,

throw huge parades, and wear whatever green, shamrock-covered clothing they have,

all in his name.

Saint Patrick’s Day has been largely commercialized, but then again what holiday

celebrated today has not been? Saint Patrick’s Day is a fun day for all to pretend they

have Irish heritage and get decked out in their best “Irish green” clothing, and what’s

the harm in that?

The Luck o’ the Irish By Erin Ogozaly

Who’s That “New Girl?”

When a single girl moves in

with three single guys, a sitcom

is easily formed.

Actress Zooey Deschanel

plays the adorable and bubbly

20-something year old Jess Day

on FOX's new hit TV show,

“New Girl.”

With its first air date on Sept.

20, 2011, many teen girls turned

in to see a show like no other.

By the second and third epi-

sodes of the season, those who

watched the show ritually were

able to quote lines from New

Girl.

Senior Julia Fox said, “It

probably has more of a cult fol-

lowing, though I am proud to be

a part of [it].”

However, the show is not just

about a day in the life of Jess; it

is also how the lives have

changed between her three very

different roommates, Nick,

Schmidt, and Winston.

Nick, played by Jake Johnson,

is a bartender and typically

known for his turtle faces and

close relationship with Jess.

Although this relationship is

strictly platonic, they have

shown some signs of interest in

each other.

Schmidt, on the other hand,

played by Max Greenfield, is

the snooty, white-collared work-

er who thinks he is God's gift to

women. On the contrary, he has

tendencies to say things that are

worthy of putting money in a

swear jar. Schmidt is also con-

vinced that he can successfully

hook up with Jess' model friend,

Cece, played by Hannah Simo-

ne.

Finally, there is Winston, who

recently returned home from his

basketball tournament in Latvia.

Played by Lamorne Morris,

Winston replaced Damone

Wayans Jr.'s character, Coach,

who only appeared in the pilot

episode.

The writing on New Girl

makes the show an obvious

stand out. With a few minor

innuendos, the show is fairly

clean and appropriate for its

viewers. The set up also accom-

modates for those viewers who

do not turn in every week.

“It's a great show because it's

short; it's not an hour long and is

really almost like a sitcom, so if

you miss a couple episodes you

aren't completely lost in the

plot,” said senior Shaleen Oza.

From most New Girl viewers,

the show has received

nothing but positive

reviews, especially

from junior Carly

Cussen. “New Girl is

hilarious. It makes my

week,” she said.

Tune into FOX on

Tuesdays at 9pm to

witness the odd behav-

ior that happens in this

apartment. Don't be

surprised to see one of

Nick's many turtle

faces.

By Ashley Eichlin,

Features Editor

Make no mistake; just because

the main character is a female

adolescent does not mean this is

a flimsy pseudo-emotional anec-

dote.

It’s written much more elo-

quently than… whatever you’re

thinking of, and there is not a

hint of the supernatural to be

found in the pages of T”he Hun-

ger Games.”

Instead, anticipate a cold ac-

count of the deadliest entertain-

ment for the enjoyment of the

ultimate oppressive government.

Think “Lord of the Flies” with a

dash of “1984.” Interested? If

you understand those two books,

then you must be.

Naming this book as an amal-

gam of the finest works of Gold-

ing and Orwell is a useful com-

parison. Collins has set her story

in a futuristic world where the

government frequently denies its

people the true limits of techno-

logical benefits.

The background is vague, and

ingeniously so. It makes sense

that we don’t receive a full his-

tory lesson on the world of T”he

Hunger Games”—that vague-

ness is one of many ways Col-

lins creates a believable cast. Every name in the book is

more than just a capitalized

word – from the little sister Prim

to the elite competitors, each

presence is given or strongly

implied to have a rich past. Nat-

urally this shines the brightest

with the protagonist.

The main character Katniss

gives a first-

person

stream-of-

conscious-

ness per-

spective.

This stylistic

choice is

certainly

what could

turn some

readers

away. Be-

fore you give

up on “The

Hunger

Games,”

understand

this: Collins

does have an

unorthodox

writing style.

However, no

one should

stress about

the writing

style; the

most im-

portant part

of the book

is its plot. A story

composed so brilliantly as “The

Hunger Games” should be read

without spoiler alerts. That be-

ing said, the short overview is

that an authoritarian government

has claimed power over what

may be all of humanity and forc-

es its citizens to offer sacrifices

for entertainment.

This “entertainment” comes in

the form of twenty-four adoles-

cents locked in a massive colise-

um until all but one of them hunt

and kill each other.

Twenty-four kids enter, one

kid leaves (at least, that’s what

you’re told at the beginning…).

It is like a sadistic Olympics - it

is supposedly an honor to be

selected for the Hunger Games,

but as Katniss’ brutal narrative

illustrates, there is no honor in

murder and death.

“The Hunger Games” is actu-

ally the first book in a series, but

let’s not jump too far ahead. The

New York Times praised the

novel as “brilliantly plotted” and

cited the depth of the main char-

acter as one of its greatest

strengths.

Renowned author Stephen

King called the book an

“addictive” experience. Oh, and

Stephanie Meyer called it

“amazing,” so take that as you

will.

A final observation deserves to

be made about the movie version

that will be released in the end

of March. This seems like a situ-

ation in which the book is better

than the movie. If it is not, then

the movie version of “The Hun-

ger Games” has to be literally

of “Titanic” quality; the book is

just that good.

By Bill Leeson

10 Entertainment The Forum March 2012

The Hunger Games Phenomenon

Welcome to Panem, the coun-

try that has arisen from the ash-

es of North America and will

soon be in theaters near you.

“The Hunger Games” is final-

ly coming to the big screen with

a star-studded cast. The trilogy

is one of The New York Times

bestsellers and Suzanne Collins'

most successful series of books.

Panem is divided into 12 dis-

tricts that are each specialized in

a certain industry. The main

character and narrator Katniss

Everdeen (portrayed by Jennifer

Lawrence) is from District 12,

the coal-mining district where

starving is the main course, un-

less you are from the town.

Everdeen lives in the Seam,

which is where most of the coal-

miners and their families live.

Her father died when she was

young, and her mother has nev-

er been the same. So Katniss,

since age eleven, has been re-

sponsible for getting food on the

table.

The Hunger Games have noth-

ing to do with the starving peo-

ple in the Seam. In fact they are

the source of “entertainment”

for the Capitol. In the book, it

is the year of the 74th Hunger

Games and all children from

ages twelve to eighteen are

forced to line up in the town

square for the Reaping. A con-

tainer holds the name of all of

those children and two tributes

are chosen from each district.

The tributes are placed into an

arena and must fight to the

death; tragically, only one per-

son may come out alive. Effie

Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) pulls

the names out of the container

and the girl called for District

12 is Prim Everdeen (Willow

Shields) - Katniss's sister.

The movie promises to be as

exciting as the books. There are

thousands of fans waiting to see

their favorite novel come to life.

The cast includes Jennifer Law-

rence, who was nominated for

an Oscar for her performance in

“Winter's Bone.” Elizabeth

Banks plays the colorful Effie

Trinket, and Woody Harrelson

plays the drunk mentor Hay-

mitch. Liam Hemsworth from

“The Last Song” is Katniss's

best friend, Gale Hawthorne,

and Josh Hutcherson from

“Journey 2” and “Zathura” is

Peeta Mellark. The movie was

filmed in North Carolina and is

set to be released on March 23.

By Luisa Marin,

News Editor

Hungry for More: Book Review

May The Odds Be

Ever in Your Favor

barnesandnoble.com

Imdb.com

Imdb.com

Entertainment 11 The Forum March 2012

What do “roflcopters,” dou-

ble rainbows, and honey

badgers have in common?

If you guessed that they

were memes, then you are

correct. You may now go buy

yourself a cookie.

Memes (pronounced

‘meems,’ not ‘me-mes’) are

little jokes on the Internet that

nerds, geeks, and otakus on

the Internet have to prove how

nerdy they are. They were

created back when Al Gore

created the Internet in the

1990s, and since then they

have flourished on sites such

as Reddit, Tumblr, and 4chan.

Although many people think

that the Internet is made up of

wires and WiFi hotspots, they

would be wrong to realize that

the Internet is just a series of

cats shoved into tubes.

Popular memes often in-

clude videos that go viral,

such as the double rainbow or

Chocolate Rain videos, or just

pictures with captions. And

cats. For some reason the In-

ternet loves cats. They just

want to hug them all.

So next time someone asks

you, “U mad bro?” do not

take it the wrong way. Unless

you are actually mad, then in

which case, you should be

frustrated.

Finally, before I completely

discredit myself as a sane

human being on this planet,

can you guess how many

memes there were in this arti-

cle?

Did you guess over 9000? If

not, keep looking.

“U Mad Bro?”—Memes on the Internet

By Tyler Alicea,

Editor-in-Chief

It is that time of year again where

the snow disappears and the sun

comes out. The sweaters, Uggs, and

scarves are hidden and shorts and

dresses make a reappearance.

This spring, like every other, is full

of color, prints, and bold fashion

statements. Floral patterns are wel-

comed back with open arms, as well

as dramatic color block patterns.

With spring just around the corner,

it is time to update the closet. Keep

the essentials out in the open such as

scarves, blazers, and sheer lace car-

digans for important use to mix in

with new spring apparel.

What is big this season: tall riding

boots, pastel colored button down

shirts, floral printed silk shorts, bead-

ed belts, color block heels, bold,

chunky necklaces, matching printed

shoes, simple, feminine dresses and,

last but not least, lace.

Another big hit this season is col-

ored jeans. Colored jeans are not

exactly back, but jeans in the shades

of navy, gray, army green and sand

have been popular lately. They are

perfect for a casual look, but the

light, simple colors instantly make

an outfit ten times more sophisticat-

ed.

With the help of Marc Jacobs, Mi-

uccia, Tom Ford, Stella McCartney,

Stefano, and Karl Lagerfeld’s 2012

Spring RTW clothing collections, it

is hard not to look good during this

season. Clothing very similar to the-

se with much lower price tags can be

found in stores such as Forever 21,

New York and Company, Strawber-

ry, Express and Charlotte Russe.

With all this excitement in the

fashion industry for the upcoming

season, its impossible to not want to

join in. So say goodbye to the snow,

and say hello to spring and a whole

new wardrobe.

Florals and

Brights Spring

Back into

Fashion By Kirat Randhawa

The musical sensation Imo-

gean Heap first shared her

rhythmic beats with the world

in 1997 when she was signed

as a solo artist with Almo

Sounds.

The British singer and song-

writer studied classical music

and learned to play the clari-

net, cello, and piano as a child

and was greatly influenced by

her parents. She grew up in

Hassex, London where her

musical talents first began.

As a teenager, Heap discov-

ered alternative pop and rock

music and began to branch

away from her classical back-

ground. She started writing

songs at age thirteen and was

inspired by her art therapist

mother and construction rock

retailer father.

She is very well musically

versed and plays about twelve

different instruments includ-

ing the keyboard, guitar,

drums, keytar, organ, clarinet,

cello, piano, and, of course,

her lovely voice.

Now, thirty-five year old

Heap has released three al-

bums individually as well as

other musical collaborations

with the band Frou Frou.

Her solo career took off

when her debut album “I

Megaphone” was released in

1998. In 2005, her second

album “Speak for Yourself”

was released, and four years

later, her best known and

most recent album “Ellipse”

was produced.

Frou Frou is a duet group

between Imogean Heap and

musician Guy Sigsworth

formed briefly from 2002 to

2003 which was signed by

UK’s Island Records and later

by US label MCA. The group

released their only album

“Details” in early June of

2002 as well four singles

throughout the year.

Their most popular song is

“Let Go” from “Details,”

which was used for the ending

credits of the Zach Braff pro-

duced film Garden State. The

movie stars director and writ-

er Zach Braff and Natalie

Portman.

Heap, much like many per-

formers of our time, uses so-

cial media to personally con-

nect with her fans. In an in-

terview with journalist Karina

Halle for the musical blog

Consequence of Sound, Heap

said “My biggest strength…is

the connection I have with my

fans. Which is the most

amazing thing…I enjoy it so

much.”

Through her passionate and

unique songs, Heap uses her

creative musical talents and

her alternative-techno beats

paired with classical orches-

tral sounds to connect with

fans all over the world. If you

enjoy different types of music

and are looking for a change

from the usual B-104 tunes,

Google Heap right now.

Music Profile: Imogean Heap By Amanda Molinaro,

Pates’ Post Editor

Congrats to the 2010-2011 yearbook

team! The team’s hard work has paid off

as Student Services has selected the

2010-2011 FHS Yearbook as a national

sample. Students all over the country will

be able to see Freedom’s yearbook as a

sample.

Flick.com / Jason Hargrove

Cartoon by Tyler Alicea / Editor-in-Chief

45 to 42

65 to 62

12 Sports The Forum March 2012

Let’s Play Ball! With winter sports ending and

with spring approaching, the

Freedom baseball team to the

mount in hopes of winning the

LVC title.

For consecutive years, the

team has come up short by one

game in order to qualify for the

LVC tournament.

With motivated players and an

experienced head coach, Mr.

Nick D’Amico, this season will

be one for the books.

Senior Ryan Bell said, “We

hope to go over .500.” This rec-

ord would spell out a District 11

Playoff berth for the team.

In order to achieve this goal,

the team has been lifting since

October incorporating speed

training and batting practice in

the following months as well.

In the end of March, the Base-

ball team will go down to Myr-

tle Beach for a few days to

scrimmage other teams and

practice outdoors according to

senior Josh Recke.

“We plan to sharpen our skills

and become ready to enter into

regular season play,” said Bell.

Senior Cal Davis says, “This

team was together on JV two

years ago we did really well,

and all we have done [is] gotten

bigger and stronger.”

“I plan to bring everybody

together as one for a whole team

effort, because without team

chemistry you can't and won't

win games,” said Davis.

Freedom carries the right atti-

tude into this season as well.

“We are working hard to go

far this season,” said Recke,

especially since it is the last year

for the seniors to make some

noise in the LVC.

There are a lot of players who

are expected to make some

noise on the field especially,

“Kevin Rold, outfielder; Eddie

Milisits, catcher, pitcher, and

first baseman; Brian Uliana,

shortstop; Julian Lopez, second

baseman; and Frank Bucsi, out-

fielder,” said D’Amico.

With experience and leader-

ship, the Freedom Baseball

Team will make some noise this

year.

“The league is well balanced,

which well give us more oppor-

tunity to succeed,” says D’Ami-

co.

As one of the last teams to

match up against Liberty, once

at Coca-Cola Park and the other

at FBTAA, “[we] hope to de-

stroy Liberty and secure the

bell,” said Recke.

By Krystal Domin,

Web Editor

Girls’ Soccer to Meet their Goals for 2012

The Freedom girls’ soccer

team is looking forward to a

successful season this spring,

and they have many reasons to

expect success in 2012.

Although the team had only

four wins last year, many play-

ers, including the returning sen-

iors, feel that this season will be

much different.

“We’re definitely looking for

girls to really step up this year”

said senior player, Alex Lutz

when asked about the team.

Lutz, who rotates through

defensive positions, said that

defense will be a strength for the

team coming into the 2012 sea-

son. Notable players on the de-

fense include juniors Molly

Magnan and Bryna Pheiffe , as

well as seniors Alex Lutz and

Sarah Bilheimer.

Another factor that will help

the team this year is the abun-

dance of young talent on the

team. Although schools like

Easton, Parkland, and Emmaus

are known for talented girls’

soccer teams, they have all

been affected greatly by the

graduation of last year’s

seniors. However, this is not

the case for Freedom.

“The freshman we have this

year are very talented” said

Lutz.

Workouts for the team

started in the fall, and the

team has been working out

and playing indoors when-

ever they can to prepare for

the season.

Lutz continued to say that

the team’s goal for the pre-

season is to improve team

chemistry and teamwork skills

to give them a competitive edge

on the field.

This is an important element

for the team to develop, as many

upperclassmen lose the option to

play on club teams, stunting

further growth in players’ rela-

tionships with each other on the

field.

With an experienced defensive

squad, talented young players,

and a renewed team effort to

bond as a group, the Freedom

girls’ soccer team looks to make

a positive contribution to the

year of greatness this season.

By Greg Adams

Lacrosse Team Certainly not ReLAXing

The Freedom girls’ lacrosse

team is one of the newest varsity

sorts brought to our school.

Practices are held two days a

week now, but will begin run-

ning every day in March. Prac-

tice is essential for the team in

order to learn how we play to-

gether and get a true feel for the

game. Practice can be really fast

paced and complex, but also a

lot of fun. Their first game was

on March 11, with a scrimmage.

“The girls work really well

as a team overall. Everyone

helps each other and no one ever

feels left out or like an outsid-

er. Coach is a great new addi-

tion to the team. He helps a lot

of the new girls truly understand

the game, and helps the experi-

enced players learn a lot of new

things too,” says sophomore

captain, Macey Walker.

“Lacrosse is a great sport.

The team is thrilled to be play-

ing varsity this year, and looks

forward to having a great sea-

son,” says Walker.

“We work very well with

each other and we all get along

great. Many girls have never

played lacrosse before, so us

experienced [players] will help

them as well as the coach. It’s a

team effort, so we all try to

make each other the best that we

can be,” says sophomore Lisa

Davis.

Freedoms boys’ lacrosse is

off to the same kick start. The

boys’ team has been preparing

for the season with workouts

and running. Preparing earlier

on in the year is sure to give

them an advantage once the

season starts.

“Practice really helps us get

our heads in the game, and work

together as a team better,” says

Bradon Gubich.

The team also has played in an

indoor league for the past few

weeks to mold as a team.

“The indoor league was all the

way in Pottsgrove which is

about an hour away, but it’s

really helped us come together

as a team,” said the team’s only

senior, Mike McGinty. “You

have to earn respect, so we’ve

been working hard to show the

Lehigh Valley that just because

it is our first year as a varsity

sport, doesn’t mean we’re not

going to be a force to be reck-

oned with. Our ultimate goal is

to make District playoffs, and I

think we can do it if we keep

working towards it.”

Be sure to check out these

rising sports in in the upcoming

season. Freedom lacrosse will

definitely not be something to

miss.

By Faarah Amerally,

Asst. Entertainment Editor

Ice Hockey Places in Lehigh

Valley Finals

Congrats to Freedom’s ice hockey team for winning second place in the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League finals. They were defeated in the championship game by Parkland on Wednesday, Feb. 1 after a well fought game, 5-1. The team’s only goal was scored by Brendan Driscoll.

Ms. Erica Hynes / Special to The Freedom Forum

Ms. Jennifer Maholick / Special to The Freedom Forum

Sports 13 The Forum March 2012

Boys’ Volleyball Expecting Big Things

The Freedom boys’ volleyball

team has been one of the most

competitive teams in the Lehigh

Valley Conference over the past

few years. This year, those same

expectations are carried into the

season.

The team certainly has a lot of

experience and is carried by the

the leadership of its seniors

Robert McVicker, Kevin Gam-

bocurta, Tom Robinson, Pat

Wersinger, Mike Romanelli,

and John DePadua. Most of the

seniors have played together

since their freshmen year and

are hoping to make this season

one to remember. Also new

senior additions, Kevin Leicht

and Moon Nguyen, along with

junior, Kevin McPeak, add

depth, athleticism, and talent to

the team as well.

Last year’s season ended in

disappointment with a loss to

Whitehall in the District 11

Playoffs. This season, Freedom

has the chance to set the record

straight.

“We want to win the division.

We expect to win LVCs. But

our goal is to win Disticts and

go even further,” said Robert

McVicker, senior captain of

the team.

This will be McVicker’s

third season as a captain and

he certainly feels a sense of

pride.

“[Being a captain] means

that everyone’s looking up to

me to pull us out of a bad

spot and play smart. Also, it

means taking responsibility

of being a vocal leader, help-

ing out younger players to

ensure good teams in the fu-

ture,” McVicker said.

With the bell count so close,

the team also feels certain

pressures when they face

Liberty twice this year, with

both games counting towards

the bell.

McVicker described how eve-

ry Freedom-Liberty game is

intense, but this year the final

meeting between the two teams

is at Freedom, Senior Night, and

to make it even more interest-

ing, it is the last of all the Spring

sports to play Liberty.

“So, there’s some obvious

pressure,” said McVicker. “But,

I’m just looking forward to

holding The Bell up when we

win.”

Volleyball can be played all

year round, so Freedom has its

own club team that plays in the

offseason. Though it may not be

the “real deal,” this team allows

players to shake the rust off

before the season starts.

Come the time for the team’s

first game, all the rust will be

shaken off, and as we have done

all year, the Riot Squad/

Freedom Family will be there to

mock the other team and sup-

port Freedom boys’ volleyball.

By Mike McGinty,

Sports Editor

Boys’ Tennis to Serve Up the Competition

The boys’ tennis team came

off a terrific 10-2 season last

year and is hopeful to meet and

raise their record from last sea-

son.

“Last year we were 10-2 and I

feel that we should be in the

same neighborhood,” says Mr.

Jeff Young, boys’ tennis coach.

Their hope seems to be well

founded.

“The team is pretty senior-

laden, and they’ve been playing

a lot,” says Young.

“We have six [of nine] starters

returning and a very promising

freshman,” says senior Adam

Seltzer.

The “promising freshman” is

Andrew Sinai. Although Sinai

has been unable to have the

chance to play with the team

yet due to injury, he says he

has been looking forward to

playing on the team for a

long time.

“I can’t wait to represent

my school in a sport,” says

Sinai. “I’m looking forward

to surprising the team and

playing number one as a

freshman, hopefully.”

Even before pre-season,

the team met once a week

for indoor team practices at

Northwood Racquet Club.

Although Young notes that

many boys on the team have

been practicing at least once

a week all year anyways, he

says the indoor practices

“are helpful for a couple

reasons.”

“For one thing, kids can

get familiar with their

swings. And for me, I

can see what we need to

improve on. It’s just fun

to be out there.”

As for this season’s

goals, Young says one

goal is to improve the

underclassmen in prepa-

ration for the heavy loss

of seniors the team will

take next year.

“Our other goal is to

try to at least finish 10-2

this year or better. I also

think we have a good

chance to beat Emmaus

this year.”

Beating Emmaus is

also something Seltzer

is looking forward to,

saying that the team has

not beat Emmaus in at

least sixteen years.

Despite a talented and

experienced team, Young is

looking to improve doubles

strategy and doubles skill level

in the preseason. He also says

that “one thing we can easily

change is footwork and agility,”

and states that is something to

work on throughout the season.

“I really like the guys and I’m

excited about the season,” con-

cludes Young.

By Julie Boylan,

Editorial Editor

Girls’ Softball Team: Not So Soft

Freedom High School’s soft-

ball team plans on having a

great season this year and help

take the bell back.

“We strive on optimism,” co-

captain Ashley Eichlin said.

“Optimism is always important

for a team because if one goes

in with doubts one is more

prone to lose. “

However, the team lost a few

players from last year.

“Four key players graduated

last year, and we recently lost a

few other varsity players to oth-

er interests”, Ashley said. Some

may think that is a negative, but

Ashley has a more optimistic

perspective about the youth of

the team.

Jenna Heffner is also a co-

captain. Every great team starts

with great senior leaders, and

Eichlin and Heffner are no ex-

ception.

With optimism and youth

aside many seem to forget that

softball is one of the last sports

that count for the bell. Free-

dom’s chance of getting The

Bell now lies in its spring

sports, and softball has two

chances to defeat Liberty. Last

year Freedom and Liberty split

the series 1-1, but this year they

hope to win both.

“I think we have a great shot at

going 2-0 against Liberty this

year”, said junior Corrine Kline.

With this softball team though,

pressure does not seem to mat-

ter.

“Liberty games add pressure

onto us to begin with, but we

can pull it off. There is no need

for added pressure,” Eichlin

said.

This year the softball team has

many young players, along with

great leadership, optimism, and

confidence. These characteris-

tics are the drive towards their

season and quest to help bring

the bell back to Freedom High

School.

By Ryan Shaikh,

Asst. Sports Editor


Mrs. Sheri Eichlin / Special to The Freedom Forum

Courtney Barrow / Entertainment Editor

Elle Woods once said, “Exercise

gives you endorphins. Endorphins

make you happy. Happy people just

don't shoot their husbands; they just

don't. ” While she was oversimplify-

ing the science of the brain’s cell

signals, and this was part of a fic-

tional murder trial, the famous soror-

ity-girl-turned-lawyer had the right

idea. Exercise is a natural mood

booster.

Grades, parents, and social dramas

may be significant downers with the

summer seemingly far too into the

future. However, throwing some

cardio onto the end of the day is an

easy way to perk up. A “runner’s

high” is not just a myth; it is near

impossible to finish a long jog in a

bad mood.

If one is a stranger to regular physi-

cal activity, the task of beginning a

regular exercise routine may seem

daunting. Motivation is the biggest

hurdle to get over, but once con-

quered, working out becomes easier

with every session.

Set aside time specifically to get the

heart pumping; the ideal time is

probably right after school. The fit-

ness center is open most days to any-

one with a completed permission

slip. As long as there is a designated

slot to fill, one feels obligated to fill

the commitment more than the elu-

sive “I’ll do it later.” It also helps to

have a work out buddy, someone

who can provide that extra push to

finish the circuit. If nothing else, its

good not to be the wuss that could

not finish their workout.

Once the motivation is there, the

question may be what to do. Running

feels great, but is not for everyone;

treadmills are boring and random

jogs leave too much left to a novice’s

inexperienced judgment. Swimming

is even more of an acquired taste as

not everyone likes water that

much.

However, there is a reason Zumba

has become so popular; it involves a

fun dance routine while burning cal-

ories. People of all ages can partici-

pate in classes at the community

center or in the sanctuary of their

own living room with a DVD. Even

games like “Just Dance” or “Dance

Central” get the body moving. These

can all be done solitary or in a group

of people (some people should be

not be seen dancing by others).

No matter what approach one

takes, the perfect cure for a bad

mood is exercise. While it is difficult

at first, the joy that comes with it is a

reward in itself.

Women of the Month

This month, The Freedom

Forum highlights the excep-

tional performance of not only

one, but two Freedom High

School students. This month,

we recognize two women who

both greatly excel in what

they do.

Kelsey Ko is a ninth grad-

er here at Freedom High

School. Many people know

Kelsey as a smart and nice

person, but they might not

know that Kelsey is an ex-

cellent violinist.

Kelsey has been playing

violin since she was five

years old and states that she

is very passionate about

music. She has also played

a role in some theatre pro-

ductions in middle school,

and is currently taking part

in choir, pit orchestra, and

French Club here at Free-

dom High School.

Ko made orchestra dis-

tricts this year; she was one

of two violinists represent-

ing Freedom.

When asked how to de-

scribe her experience at dis-

tricts, Ko said, “I’d have to

say it’s something between

fun and life-changing.” Most

people would not describe

practicing challenging music

for eight hours a day “fun,”

but Kelsey said that the

friends she met at districts,

and their “amazing” conduc-

tor, Kenneth Jernigan, made it

worthwhile.

An honor student here at

Freedom High School, Kelsey

looks to keep her grades high

and move on to college of her

choice. Ko says that she will

probably continue playing

violin throughout her future.

Next, we go from orchestra

to swimming, where freshman

Helen Hsu gets ready for an-

other swim meet. Hsu joined

the started swimming because

her doctor thought it would

strengthen her immune sys-

tem, which is great because

Helen has progressed very fair

in swimming and absolutely

loves the sport.

Freshman Helen Hsu is on

the Freedom golf team, the

Freedom swimming team, and

is also a member of the Free-

dom Orchestra along with Ko.

Helen started competitively

swimming at the age of six,

just after her family moved to

the United States from Tai-

wan. She has been swimming

ever since. When asked what

her greatest accomplishment

in swimming has been, Helen

said it was when she was the

YMCA State Champion.

As for swimming at Free-

dom, Hsu thinks it is a great

swimming atmosphere. “We

are all very encour-

aging of each oth-

er,” says Helen.

Regarding the team,

she says, “They all

help you survive the

most difficult prac-

tices.” Helen

swims all different

strokes, but she is

not a fan of long

distance swimming,

such as the 500

Freestyle.

This season, Hsu

was also named

“The Express-

Times Swimmer of

the Week.”

Helen was very

excited receive this

honor, although she

knows there are

other swimmers

that are just as good

as her, if not better.

Hsu wants to continue

swimming as she moves fur-

ther in her high school ca-

reer. She says that she might

even want to continue swim-

ming in college.

By Nainjot Singh

14 Pates’ Post The Forum March 2012

Ask Fabio! Advice Column

Exercise is Good

for the Soul

Proving You Wrong Since October: Freedom Debate

Around Freedom, the sports

teams are given appropriate

recognition, and attention is

paid to academics, however;

clubs, such as the debate

team, contribute

more to Freedom

High School than

one may assume.

Even though they

do not wear jer-

seys, FHS’s debate

team still acquires

points and victo-

ries, as well.

Starting from

October and con-

tinuing to the be-

ginning of January,

the debate team

practices once a

week after school.

The team is com-

prised of students

from all four

grades, split into

separate teams

according to expe-

rience.

For those who

are not aware, they

receive a different

topic to debate

each season which they will

converse back and forth with

opposing schools in hopes of

earning a sufficient amount of

points which will lead to vic-

tory. The topic this year was

whether the commonwealth of

Pennsylvania should abolish

compulsory public education

in favor of voluntary private

education.

Meeting in a variety of high

schools, the debate team took

on many schools from the

area. In particular, the debate

team beat Liberty’s team. Un-

fortunately, debate does not

count for the bell, earning

Freedom only bragging rights.

According to junior Anna

Thomas, the highlight of the

year was “definitely when we

Kate Dawson, a junior, said

that the debate team gained

many new faces this year and

was able to build off of their

already solid basis of

knowledge and man power.

She also stated that this year,

they “improved a lot from last

year and were really close to

making districts.” She looks

forward to next year’s season

and hopes that they will con-

tinue to improve so that “next

year will be even stronger.”

Thomas is the captain of the

team this year and noted that

one of the most rewarding

aspects of being on the team is

witnessing the transition that

students make as the debate

season progresses.

She said, “When people

start the season, it’s noticeable

how gradual-

ly people

come from

being nerv-

ous to being

really excited

and confident

in them-

selves.”

Anna also

commented

on how in-

credibly close

the team was

this year and

that they are

able to give

each other

constructive

criticism,

which al-

lowed the

team to grow

and learn as a

unit.

Simply put,

the debate

team is a

“good network of people

where everyone is talented

and not to mention a very fun

group to be a part of.”

By Kaelee Alpha

Justin Alicea / The Freedom Forum

Photo courtesy of Anna Thomas / Asst. News Editor

Kelsey Ko [left] and Helen Hsu [right].

Patriot Pride: Going Back in Time

Pates’ Post 15 The Forum March 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.

A Day in the Life of an LVPA Student

LVPA Adds Some Drama to the Day

Despite listening to my best

friend gush about her school for

the past four years, the Lehigh

Valley Charter School for Per-

forming Arts was not a school I

had any interest in attending.

I cannot dance, act, draw, play

an instrument, figure skate, or,

least of all, sing. My normal

schedule at Freedom is full of

literary analysis, biological pro-

cesses, and simple random sam-

ples. It is worlds away from

mornings of dissecting my

peers’ play writings and choreo-

graphing a visual interpretation

of Greek messenger speeches.

Welcome to the life of an

LVPA drama major.

On a dreary February morning,

while the weather outside was

bleak and cheerless, the inside

was bright, animated,

and lively. While the

space is slightly more

cramped and nar-

rowed, there is a

sense of camaraderie

among the students.

The entire school

consists of about 500

kids; that’s about the

size of one class at

Freedom. In addition,

people within the

same major and

grade level have

spent every day to-

gether for the past

four years. The inti-

mate sense of family was palpa-

ble.

My shadow and dear friend,

Emily Knight, spends her morn-

ing with her fellow drama ma-

jors. As seniors, they focus on

play writing in addition to im-

proving their acting craft. For

the entire 2.5 hours, each stu-

dent was completely focused on

the task at hand. There was no

texting, no distracting side con-

versations, but just straight, dili-

gent working. As an outsider, I

was completely

lost; I better un-

derstand chromo-

somal genetics

than the interpre-

tation of a choreo-

graphed Greek

messenger speech.

At 10:35, we

were finally dis-

missed for lunch.

The senior lunch

privilege stripped

from students at

Freedom is availa-

ble to all students

at LVPA, but

mainly because

the school lacks a real cafeteria.

However, there is a Wawa con-

veniently next door that the stu-

dents frequent. With such a

wide variety of choices, Wawa

is definitely the preferred

choice.

Finally, normal academic clas-

ses follow the lunch period.

During my yearbook, algebra 3,

and government classes, jazz

music wafted in from the halls.

Dancers ran in and out of the

bathrooms dressed in leotards

and tights. The atmosphere was

very relaxed and informal; it

was incredibly refreshing to be

away from my rigorous AP clas-

ses with shouts of “Yo, miss!”

filtering into the classrooms.

With its maze of brightly

painted hallways, (having been

converted from an old factory

building) and close-knit feel,

LVPA has charm and camarade-

rie that Freedom lacks. While

the performing arts are not for

me, I wish I could spend another

day within the company of such

talented young people.

By Courtney Barrow,

Entertainment Editor

Bringing Color and Music into One’s Day

From the second Courtney and

I went into the parking lot at the

Lehigh Valley Performing Arts

School, I knew it was going to

be really different from our nor-

mal school days. However, dif-

ferent does not properly de-

scribe my experience at LVPA.

The first thing that I noticed

was the use of the bright color

throughout the school. There

were turquoise, lilac-colored,

pink, blue, and lime green walls

wherever you walked. It was a

breath of fresh air compared to

the beige colored walls and yel-

low and white tiles at Freedom.

The walls were my first indica-

tor that my day would definitely

be filled with unique experienc-

es.

My fear was that I was going

to feel like a complete stranger

and an outcast; however it was

quite the opposite. I was shad-

owing a lovely senior and in-

strumental major, Anna Baker.

She was kind enough to intro-

duce me to many people in her

classes, and I did not feel like a

complete alien.

The classes at LVPA are usu-

ally around an hour long, so it

was different from our block

schedule. Additionally, they

have a shortened day on

Wednesdays, so the classes felt

even shorter. The school has the

day divided by lunch. The first

three classes before lunch are art

classes for the upperclassmen

and academic classes for the

underclassmen. Then after lunch

the underclassmen have their art

classes and the upperclassmen

have their academic classes.

After homeroom, we went to

Anna's first class which is pi-

ano. This was my first music

class since middle school, so it

was little strange. The class-

room had keyboards, piano, and

three rooms with pianos. We

went into one of the rooms, and

I was entertained by a couple of

Baker's classmates playing pi-

ano. I got to hear music by dif-

ferent artists some of which I

had never heard of.

Our next stop was her Gospel

music class. The class started

with warm ups. The teacher

kindly asked me to join them in

warming up, but I declined to

save myself from embarrass-

ment because everyone else had

lovely voices. As a group they

sang, “Oh Happy Day” (a gos-

pel song from 1967). Then they

went on to practice their indi-

vidual songs.

As we got seated for third

period, I was delighted to hear

some of the seniors singing the

Dora the Explorer theme song.

This particular day, Anna was in

the Black Box Theater practic-

ing for the Senior Vocal Show-

case. The vocal majors decided

to do “The Circle of Life,” and

it was fun to watch them re-

hearse. I even helped Lisa, who

was playing the piano, by flip-

ping the pages for her.

Oddly enough LVPA has no

cafeteria; instead it has some-

thing called the Commons. Stu-

dents can get food from vending

machines, and they have access

to microwaves. Also upperclass-

men have senior lunch privileg-

es. They can leave the building

as long as they get their ID

scanned to go out and come

back in.

My afternoon consisted of

academic classes. First we went

to government class, where I

saw student presentations about

different polls. Then I went to

an AP English class which was

very similar to my AP English

class at Freedom. However, it

was interesting to actually see

some students (theater majors I

think) get excited about Shake-

speare plays, and the class

seemed to really like “The Ellen

DeGeneres Show.” My last

period at LVPA was a study hall

at the Commons. There I was

introduced to the Passport book,

which is a hall pass for the indi-

vidual students. Each student

carries it and teachers sign it as

a pass, which is really different

from Freedom.

LVPA was a great experience,

and the students I met were all

really nice. I do not know if I

could handle a performing arts

school, but it was really neat to

have the opportunity to pseudo

attend one.

By Luisa Marin,

News Editor

Courtney Barrow / Entertainment Editor

CAROL CHRISTINE - GUIDANCE SECRETARY - 18 YEARS

Transferring to Freedom from Nitschman, I arrived to find the office dark and empty. Turned on the lights and common sense jumped aboard, and I was off to a running start of 18 years of highs and lows; smiles and tears; and every-thing in between. The best memories are of all the wonderful, lifelong friends that were made. We were truly a family.

RAY SALABSKY - ENGLISH - 30 YEARS

As Head Baseball Coach, winning the District XI title in 1973 beating Hazleton for the first District Title. Winning three East Penn League titles (1972-73, 1974-75, 1984-85). The faculty and staff being a family and supporting all aspects of the school.

JAMES “TED” MEIXELL - MATH - 11 YEARS

As an Assistant Baseball Coach, winning the District XI championship in 1973 by beating Hazleton on a field that can best be described as an above ground coal mine (the infield dirt was black).

16 Pates’ Post The Forum March 2012

10 to 9, Liberty

Softball April 4 and May 10

Girls’ Soccer April 3 and May 3

Boys’ Volleyball April 5 and May 11

Boys’ Tennis April 24

Boys’ Baseball April 22 and May 10

Track & Field April 30

Dear Freedom High School,

Earlier this year, Mr. LaPorta issued us a challenge: make this a “Year of Greatness.” We are on our way to achieving

the goal both academically and athletically. But do you know what would make this year even more great? If we got the

bell back from Liberty High! We need to win 6 games in order to get the bell. So Freedom Family, we en-

courage you to go out there and make some noise for the spring sports. Basketball and football season may be over, but that

doesn’t mean we can’t still be loud and obnoxious together. Let’s get “that damn bell” for Mr. LaPorta.

Love, The Freedom Forum

Documents

2012 March