Cardozo High School 57-00 223 Street Bayside, New York 11364

The November 2015 Volume 48 Issue 2

V erdictInform, enlighten, entertain.

Cool Carnival

Comes to Cardozo2 3 4 5 76 8Dr. Chan’s

Super Science

Supergirl, AHS: Hotel

Fall TV Reviews

Coca Colaequals

Obesity?

Beware Black Friday

Videogames,Good or

Bad?

METSMania

Photos By Adriana Kostakis

“When I say car- you say Dozo!” “Car-” “Dozo!” is what the crowd roared during the pep rally ninth period, before Homecoming on Friday, Oct 23. Yanni Lainis was dressed up in a judge’s costume, dancing around the gymnasium, trying to keep the crowd pumped. The Pep rally showcased most of the Cardozo teams, while the student body cheered them on. The girls track, boys wrestling, girls’ soccer, gymnastics, girls vol-leyball, step, and boys basketball teams, along with many others, showed off what they’re all about. Each team displayed their skills. The gymnastics team did a series of flips and different routines. Ev-eryone had their phones out to capture and Snapchat what was going on. The Pep Rally pumped up the Dozo spirit, getting view-ers ready for the main event to follow. Later that same day, we held our first tailgate which took place in the parking lot and trailers after school, which led up to the game that started at 6p.m. Students were able to purchase tickets for food, snacks, and hot chocolate,

take pictures, and have their faces painted, to promote school spirit. A barbecue also went on and members of Gateway, the Boys Wrestling Team and Leadership were there to help set up, sell tick-ets, serve food, take pictures, and paint faces. Around 500 people attended the tailgate. With only three days’ worth of advertising, 850 people had pur-chased tickets, and even more ended up paying at the door to participate in the event and sup-port our football team. When game time rolled around, everyone gathered at the bleach-ers, with snacks and jackets, to watch. People started to settle in on the track with snacks and jack-ets to watch the game. To start off, John Lee sang the National An-them before the Cardozo Judges faced the Long Island City Bull-dogs. In both the first and second quarter, Long Island City (LIC) scored 2 touchdowns, making the score 12-0. In the second half, LIC scored one more touchdown and the final score of the game was 18-0. We did have one good run, but it resulted in a minor injury.

Homecoming: School Spirit SoarsBy Renuka Surujnarain and Janelle Pottinger

During halftime, when the score stood 12-0 with LIC in the lead, there were three performances, one by a band of students called Winds of Saturn, another by Re-sounding and $traight Jacket E, and furthermore by Cardozo’s cheerleaders. Winds of Saturn, composed of vocalist Azure Maravilla, guitarist Larry Ross, bassist Russell Gomez, and drum-mer Eugenia Theodosopoulos, did a cover of “Another One Bites the Dust,” by Queen. “It was a lot of fun performing with my band outside, I just hat-ed how cold it was,” Ross said. In the stands, everyone was singing along and dancing. “The only thing that’d have re-ally made the whole event better would be if we won,” said. junior Lucy Liu. Although it was an unfortunate loss for Cardozo, the team did try their best and the game stayed hyped, with school spirit screaming from the bleach-ers, along with the cheerleaders. It was still a fun and successful night considering the fundraising and the spirit for our school.

Spectarors watch in awe in the stands.

The Cheer Squad performing stunts.

The Great Mascot Debate Have you ever questioned why we’re known as the Cardozo Judges, yet our school’s mascot is a bulldog? Well, there is an an-swer to that question that is much more interesting than you would imagine. In 2003, former Principal Rick Hallman asked the very same question. He suggested that The Verdict should look into uncover-ing the details of how and why The Bulldog came to represent Car-dozo. A Verdict reporter wrote to Cardozo alumni, on their website, to see what they remembered.One alumnus from the class of ‘78 responded, “‘ I actually don’t re-member the school’s mascot being a bulldog in my years at Cardozo. It may or may not have been.’” Another alumna from the class of ‘78 pointed out that “‘ The hon-orable Benjamin Cardozo was known as the ‘bulldog’ in defend-ing legislation that protected the civil rights of individuals.’” How-ever, no one ever verified this in-formation as a fact, and there is no written credible proof to support this theory. After having read the Verdict’s report, former COSA Barbra Klein pointed out that the bulldog actually came about after The Ver-dict had held a poll years ago, and the students voted on a new mas-

cot. However, no one followed up on the story. This year the question of wheth-er or not The Bulldog should continue to represent Cardozo is being revisited. Upon further reflection, Klein pointed out the a p p r o x i m a t e time period the voting took place somewhere be-tween 1993-96.Having put the pieces together, the Verdict in-vestigation be-gan with a closer look through the school archives, which revealed the cover story of the Febru-ary 1995 issue, “ M a m m o t h Search for Mas-cot”. The article explained that former S.O. Pres-ident Paul Bakac was inspired by Sonia Marickovics, who was the captain of the fencing team. She felt it was a great way to make the students more excited and inter-ested in our sports teams, and give them something to symbol-

ize their school spirit. In the “S.O. Speaks Out” letter on page two of The Verdict, Bakacs announced that the students were set to vote on March 6.The next issue on file, because of a

gap in the archives, was June 1995. The Bulldog is mentioned on the sports page when discussing the baseball team, “Mental Errors Bring End to Bulldog Baseball”. A little over twenty years ago, our

school adopted the Bulldog as the unofficial mascot in an attempt to spread school spirit. However, we continued to be officially known as The Judges, which relates to our namesake, Benjamin N. Cardozo,

the Supreme Court Judge.Ms. Klein who has been here for twenty-four years voiced her opinion on the mat-ter: “I was here when the change h a p p e n e d and I didn’t agree with it. There are two things a school should never change: Its colors and its mascot. I liked The Judge be-cause that’s who we are.

We’re the Cardozo Judges, not the Cardozo Bulldogs.” If you visit the PSAL website, you will see that we are referred to as the Judges. When local papers write about our teams, we are ac-

knowledged as The Judges. The one place that the Bulldog is rec-ognized is within the walls of our school. Klein also remembers purchas-ing The Bulldog costume in 1997 and explains that it was easier to find a bulldog costume than a judge’s costume. According to Klein, for the most part, The Bulldog did not make many appearance. He used to per-form with the cheerleaders at the S.O. run basketball games, and traveled with the team when they played at Madison Square Garden. “Occasionally he could be spotted in the hallways during spirit week, and rumor has it he had taken a couple of AP courses. He ever outright replaced The Judge. “We never had a judge costume, be-cause we couldn’t get one,” said Klein. The Bulldog continued to make sporadic appearances in The Ver-dict, and at school events, his first appearance in the yearbook was in ‘98.He was more popular in recent years; and generally made appearances upon special request. He currently appears on the web-site, on most of the senior mer-chandise over the years, and has appeared in the senior videos, as well as in the last few yearbooks. “If you go.... Continue on page 2.

Football team plays their hearts out.

By Miguel Salazar and Kyle Pineyro

Designed by Juliana Kim

The Verdict November 20152

NEWS

Partnering up with Francis Lewis High School, Cardozo had its An-nual College Fair. On Oct. 20. Ju-niors and seniors had the oppor-tunity to meet and talk to college recruiters, as well as sign up for scholarship opportunities, receive mail, and ask questions of their prospective colleges. Over a hundred recruiters came to represent their schools; some of the most popular universities were Adelphi, Hofstra, Penn State, Queens College, St. John’s, and Stony Brook. There were schools for every career interest: (fashion, medicine, journalism, teaching, cooking, technology, law, and even for those who are undecided of their major. Representatives set up booths around the school, gave out pens, flyers, and booklets, promoting their schools. Sasha Pezenik, a junior, said, “It was very informative and a wake-up call for not only me, but my mom, too.” Colleges placed emphasis on grades and extracurriculars, espe-cially community service. “We’d rather you be a prominent and involved member in a club or volunteer work, than join a bunch

of clubs and not be involved,” said a scout for Loyola University. Some of the things to consider when deciding what colleges to apply to: grades, extracurricu-lars, scholarship possibilities, ac-ceptance rates, the range of SAT and ACT scores accepted; in fact, some colleges are now SAT/ACT optional. Ms. Lois Wirtheim, who works at the college office, said that there was an “excellent turnout of par-ents, students, and representa-tives.” The College Office sends invites to five hundred different universi-ties, all across the nation, in June, inviting them to the College Fair. “There are always small percent-ages that don’t attend,” said Wirt-heim. “But those that don’t show up tend to attend day visits.” Ivy Leagues like Harvard and Princeton have many applicants every year and are therefore only interested in talking to a select few. Students can also visit schools that they are interested in apply-ing to and get a personal tour by calling the school, and setting up an appointment.

Dr. Chan Wins Science GrantBy Ariana Sweedler Cardozo’s Dr. Patrick Chan and Dr. Joan Petersen of Queens-borough Community College received a grant from the Ameri-can Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB). Dr. Petersen approached Dr. Chan and Dr. Sharafeddin, the As-sistant Principal of Science, and proposed that they collaborate and apply for the grant. The grant was writ-ten by Dr. Petersen with the aid of the Chairman of Biology from QCC, Dr. Monica Trujillo, Dr. Sharafeddin, and Car-dozo Principal Gerald Martori. This grant, known as a “Hands-on Opportu-nities to Promote En-gagement in Science” (HOPES), will permit Dr. Petersen and Dr. Chan to purchase sup-plies for Cardozo’s Bio Research Class. Students will also get the chance to learn how to isolate antibiotic-pro-ducing microorganisms from soil samples col-lected from various sites through-out New York City. This project is part of a larger grant-funded investigation that is examining the diversity of mi-croorganisms in soils. In another project, students will be learning about microorganisms in their

environment. They will grow mi-croorganisms on agar plates and observe differences in samples taken from varying areas. They will also learn how to extract DNA from environmental sam-ples, and analyze DNA sequences from these samples as a way of identifying different species of bacteria.

This grant will greatly benefit the teachers and their students. Dr. Chan would like to teach his stu-dents more about biotechnology. The materials to do this are quite expensive and the grant will sure-ly help cover the cost. Dr. Chan and Dr. Petersen are starting an

No Fear, College Fair Is HereBy Nidhi Gandhi

online to the PSAL website, you’ll see that Cardozo is represented by a Gavel not a Bulldog. We’re called the Cardozo Judges not the Cardozo Bulldogs. It would be nice if we went back to our original roots,” said Coach Daniel Scarola. At the most recent school event, the pep rally, The Judge made his first comeback. S.O. Vice Presi-dent Yanni Lainis wore a pow-dered wig, a gown, and carried a giant gavel. The Bulldog was M.I.A. After wearing the costume, Yanni Lanis said, “Although the judge is different from the norm, I believe it will have a positive effect on the student body. It shows that we are proud to be the Cardozo Judges, and it shows that we are unified under our name.”There are rumors that The Bull-dog costume has been thrown out. However, no one has admit-ted to discarding it, instead it is believed to have been misplaced. Like the student population, the coaches have varying opinions. J.V. Basketball Coach Peponakis explains that he doesn’t care who our mascot is, but it is confusing to have two. However, Assistant Football Coach Lou Decicco said, “I like the Bulldog better; they’re fierce, while The Judge isn’t.” To some, this mascot debate means nothing, but to others, it’s a very serious topic. A mascot represents not only our school’s teams, but its spirit, students, fac-ulty, and history. Not many are aware that the school held a vote because none of the students and most of the teachers were not here

twenty years ago, most of those who were here, aren’t here any-more. Current COSA Christopher Mi-lani said, “We were founded as The Judges and it’s an insult to the past to have changed what we were.” Those who are unhappy with the current mascot explain that it is not because of personal dislike of The Bulldog, but because they feel The Judge is an important aspect of the school’s identity. Senior advisor Mike Torem, who is also a Cardozo alumnus, said, “I think there is a way to fuse both ideas. I love this idea of giving our school one image to rally behind, to strengthen school spirit. But at the same time, there is a history here that we can’t ignore. Every year our senior class has put their own unique stamp on the bulldog by designing their versions of the senior shirt and senior hoodie. There’s got to be a way to de-sign something new and unique to represent our strong Judge’s NAME while still honoring our mascot’s history. Maybe it’s time to send our dog to law school and make him a proper judge.” But not everybody has an opin-ion on the matter. Cardozo’s Prin-cipal, Gerald Martori, was asked how he felt about the current de-bate and had this to say: “I want the Cardozo community to make the decision. I could easily do it, but that’s not who I am, that’s not how I run this school. I want to get the opinions of the students, parents, and faculty before a deci-sion is made.”

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investigation on microorganisms Streptomyces with Cardozo stu-dents. They are co-teaching and doing a small research project in-volving the analyzation of bacte-ria populations in Cardozo’s bath-rooms of the first floor. Dr. Chan is ecstatic to be work-ing on these projects. Also, scien-tists that worked with the same

microorganisms have actually won the Nobel Peace Prize in medicine.

A chemical that had been isolated from the microorganisms has even been found to ward of parasitic diseases. “Who knows what we can discover,” says Dr. Chan.

Dr. Chan is very excited about what this grant can present in the class-room. The students in his research classes have already learned a lot from Dr. Petersen and will continue to learn more with the supplies and projects that the grant is permitting.

Dr. Chan is honored to have won this grant. It will pro-vide great learning experience for students. He even states, “Stu-dents in Cardozo can have hands on opportunities to do some au-thentic science research which is usually very difficult in a high school setting.”

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The Great Mascot Debate

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Dr. Chan’s grant will give students hands on experience.

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Wendy Weiss and Skylar Mejias at the Dog Hero Awards.

The Verdict November 2015

NEWS

The annual Halloween Carnival for kids which was sponsored by various S.O. clubs was held on Oct. 30. Each club had rooms throughout the first floor and came up with activities for the children to play. There was lots of laughter, festive music, and especially candy. After spending the night roaming the halls of Dozo, these were the most memorable rooms.

Kind Karing(Teens Against Bullying) This room was definitely my favorite. Not only did kids get to play a game and win candy, but they’d sign a pledge against bullying. President Joseph Gandelman, Junior, said, “It was so great seeing kids enjoying themselves and it warmed my heart that they were so eager to sign our pledge against bullying.”

Haunted House (Red Cross)Who could forget about the famous Haunted House? The “scarers” were all in character and they transformed the stage into a spooky set. I’ll admit that I flinched a few times.

Campfire Stories (Leadership)This room was absolutely ador-able. The readers always kept ev-eryone interested; even I came back a couple of times just to hear more stories. At the end of the sto-ry, the kids would get treats.

Find the Candy (Key Club) Kids would have to scramble around to get through the maze and to the candy. To make the task more chal-lenging, lights would flicker on and off and the kids yelled and laughed as they made their way.

Monster Chase(Red Cross) Last, but not least, the Monster Chase room. It was similar to Red Light Green Light, but of course the main difference is that students in costumes would chase you. At the end of the round, the little ones would get candy.

The Cool (Halloween) Carnival By Mahsa Shahbazi

S.O.SPEAKS OUT

Hey there fellow Judges! My name is Yanni Lainis and I am one of the S.O. Vice President(s) of the 2015-16 school year. I can honestly say that this year is starting to be one of the loudest and best years at Cardozo yet. In our first pep rally of the year, I cannot express how awe-some it was to see and hear the response to the new mascot. This pep rally was, by far, the flashiest and most energetic event in my past three years at Cardozo. Seeing all the teams and all the stu-dents cheer for each other helped me further realize how much of a family Cardozo is. Later that night, we had our first homecoming football game un-der the lights. Our boys played their hearts out and left everything on the field in front of 850 people. Our students came out with the intent of giving the team an edge and it showed, by how loud they were. Even to the very last second and the very last play, we showed that we are together, on one front, as the Cardozo Judges; and that no matter what the fact of the situation is, we will band together. The very next week, we continued a long-standing tradition of the Halloween Carnival. Although this wasn’t an event for Cardozo students, I am pleased to announce that we made our community proud. Seeing the faces of young children and their quirky laughs, made me remember that we are a school that doesn’t only worry about ourselves, but we worry about the community around us. You guys, as the student body of Cardozo, have set yourselves a high standard with the amount of people that showed not only at the pep rally, but also in the homecoming game. I hope to see that support continue to expand at our next major event, which is Foreign Food Night; and all the fall/winter events that follow. GO JUDGES!

Regards,Your Vice President, Yanni Lainis

Benjamin N. Cardozo H.S. fresh-man, Skylar Mejias, has recently taken it upon herself to start a club in our school. The focus of the club is to recognize animal cruelty, sicknesses, and experi-mentation, mostly pertaining to dogs. “It all started over the summer when I was at Warped Tour, a concert in New Jersey,” Mejias said. “There was a booth at the concert regarding Peta2, a non-profit organization that brings awareness to animal cruelty and tries to convince people to be-come vegans, or to donate mon-ey to organizations that benefit pets.” Skylar learned a lot from the Peta2 stand about the entertain-ment business, like Sea World and even television networks that take advantage of animals and mistreat them. All these factors motivated her to attempt to make a change in her community however she could, and although the club had a slow start, she’s determined to branch out and make it grow. Mejias entered Cardozo with all

this knowledge, and coinciden-tally landed in an English class-room with animal activist, Wendy Weiss, as her teacher. Weiss is just as passionate about informing the public of animal cruelty, and sav-ing pets. Mejias says, “Although I can’t have a dog, because my landlord doesn’t allow it, Ms. Weiss always tells me about hers, and I really wish I could do more. I wanted to be able to expand the club, and I knew I needed to make connec-tions.” Skylar wrote a letter to the American Hu-mane Associa-tion, explaining what she was trying to do in our school, and they wrote back inviting her and seven other people to the Hero Dog Awards at the Manhat-tan Penthouse, on Oct. 30. At the event, the guests were

moved by the speeches and stories heard that night. People came to this event from New York, California, South Carolina, etc. There were doctors, celebrities, and founders of ani-mal organizations, sponsors, and even a prince; all were awarded for their contributions benefiting the animals. One of the speakers, Jane Hoff-man, has been the President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals since its inception in

2002. She stated how many shel-ter dogs and other animals have been saved. “Adopt don’t shot,” Hoffman shouted and the crowd roared in agreement, all very enthusiastic about the improve-ments in the way animals are treated. Doctor Neil Barnard, an author and clinical researcher, is one of America’s leading advocates for nutrition, health, and higher stan-dards in research. He told a story of when he was in college in a lab experimentation center, “I was di-

rected to experiment on a small dog that would be strapped on the table, and by the end of the assignment you had killed your first patient.” He ex-plained. “Well I looked at my professor and I told him, ‘well I’m just not going to do it’, and he looked at me and said, ‘It’s required,’ and you would assume that I went through with it. But then, the boy

next to me says ‘Well if he’s not going to do it, then I’m not going to do it,’ and then it seemed as if we had a movement.” Since then, Dr. Barnard has saved millions of animals, by putting an end to sci-entific experimentation on them, and he intends on helping even more. The people hosting this event in-tend to reach out to the students. To teach them about animal cru-elty so that they can make a dif-ference, and start organizations or movements to help save animals and change the way scientists ex-periment, so that no one is being harmed in the process. Children can then teach their parents. “It was a really amazing experi-ence,” said Mejias, “And it’s so cool that these philanthropists wanted to sponsor me so I can continue this club at Cardozo.” The club meets at 3 p.m. on Thursdays, there are currently six members including Skylar, but it’s only the beginning. She plans to start a movement; volunteering at ASPCA and Best Friends Ani-mal Society, to get club members more involved.

By Adriana Kostakis

Photo by Mahsa Shabazi

Aspiring Animal Activist Inspired by Dog Heroes

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The Verdict November 20154

ENTERTAINMENT

By Lara moralesBy lydia kolesnikAMERICA TUNES IN FOR HORROR

The premiere of “Supergirl” on CBS was simply spectacular. Drawing in 12.95 million viewers, “Supergirl” was fall television’s biggest premier. This is even more impressive considering the fact that the pilot was leaked on the internet way back in May. One factor that may have contrib-uted to the show’s success is that there hasn’t been a live action television se-ries featuring a female superhero in a lead role since the 1970’s, when Lynda Carter portrayed Wonder Woman. Melissa Benoist, known for her role on “Glee”, plays the titular character, whose alter ego is Kara Danver. For those unfamiliar of her backstory, Kara was sent to Earth at age 13 to protect her cousin. However, her ship arrives to Earth 24 years too late,

Troye Sivan has skyrocketed to the top of the charts when his EP, “Wild”, was released on Sept. 4. Since he began his YouTube career in 2012, Sivan has been the talk of the teens. The Austra-lian native has 3.6 million subscribers and has won a Teen Choice Award for his video “The Boyfriend Tag” with fellow YouTuber, Tyler Oakley. When making the music videos for his EP, Sivan created a series called the “Blue Neighborhood” which featured the songs “FOOLS” and “WILD”. For the third part of the series he used the song “Talk Me Down” which will be on his album, “Blue Neighborhood” coming out December 4, 2015. His music video series depicts a gay love story about two boys who have been best friends since they were little and they fall in love, but unfortunately the father of Troye’s costar does not ap-prove of their relationship and abuses his son. Each of the songs on the EP has mean-ingful lyrics. The best songs on the EP are “WILD”, “EASE”, and “FOOLS”. The meaning behind “FOOLS” is that

This WILD EP Will Put You At EaseBy Nicole Gerber

he is a fool for falling in love, and it was a mistake, he still wants to be in love. Sivan’s EP has been recognized by some of the biggest names in pop mu-sic including Taylor Swift and Sam Smith. Sivan is defying the music in-dustry with his electro pop hits, up-beat, fast tunes and his music videos; his music is also significant for bring-ing attention to LGBT acceptance and rights.

There has been a lot of hype going around regarding the new season of “American Horror Story”. Each season is completely different, for example, the first four sea-sons have been Murder House taking place from 1590-2015, Asylum, set from the 19th century to 2012, Coven (1775-2014), and Freak Show (19th century-1960). Usually the seasons include a popular celebrity to attract more attention and viewers to the show. The fifth and current season features pop singer, Lady Gaga and is about a ho-tel called the Cortez Hotel which is set in 2015. This show is rated TVMA as it con-tains gore, death, some mature language, and some scenes not fit for the eyes of younger audiences. If you enjoy watching disturbing/scary movies, then this show is perfect for you. This season includes many interesting characters with various complex backsto-ries. Detective John Lowe, portrayed by Wes Bentley, is a police man who moves into the hotel in order to get space from his family after the loss of his son. The charac-ter, Iris (Kathy Bates) is the manager of the Cortez Hotel. She gets the job in order to

see her son Donovan who lives there, but hates her. Sally (Sarah Paulson) is a drug addict who has resided in the hotel ever since she was killed by Iris in 1994. James Patrick March (Evan Peters) is the heart-less builder and creator of the hotel from the 1920s whose sole purpose of creating it was to satisfy his need to torture and mur-der others. Elizabeth (Lady Gaga) is essen-tially a vampire with a craving for the taste of blood and sex. Donovan (Matt Bomer) was Elizabeth's lover until she met Tristan, a male model. There will definitely be more fascinating characters to come in future episodes. The plot of this season is how a psycho builds a hotel in order to assist him in mur-dering people and how all of the characters were impacted by this. It is quite interesting to see how the show progresses. “American Horror Story” is not as scary as some people say. It is more unsettling than actually being frightening and appeals to a wide variety of viewers. I would definitely recommend this show for anyone who doesn’t mind gore and watching scary/disturbing shows. Watching the story unfold and connecting

it to previous seasons is only part of the fun. The character develop-ment has always been one of the show’s strengths. The end of each episode leaves you at the edge of your seat wanting more. If you enjoy horror, tune in to FX Wednes-day nights, at 10pm for “American Horror Story”.

‘Supergirl’ Soarswhere her cousin is already known as Superman and does not need any pro-tection. So, he sets her up in a normal home and she grows up trying her best to fit in as he continues to save the world. That is, until her adopted sister’s plane encounters a broken en-gine and begins to fall. She then uses her powers to save the plane and all its passengers. Overall, the show is solid. The pilot serves as an introductory episode, and therefore is a bit basic, but everything else excels. Melissa Benoist shines playing Kara as quirky and endearing. Despite the climax be-ing a bit slow, the special effects are top notch. The pilot was an hour of pure entertainment and I’m excited to see where the show goes from here.

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The Verdict November 20155

FEATURES

Give Up or Shut Up?

Coca-Cola Gives Obesity a Fat Chance? By Jeevika Sidhu Coca Cola Company captures calories capacity cutting chubbi-ness. Coca Cola, one of the big-gest U.S companies has earned tremendous sales for sugary and diet drinks that have been falling due to obesity. For over 10 years, “Coca-Cola’s annual reports to the US Securities and Exchange Commission have listed obesity and its health consequences as the single greatest threat to the com-pany profits.” Coca Cola’s funding of the Global Energy Balance Net-work has been promoting the idea that to prevent obesity you don’t have to stop drinking our goods, but instead have to be more ac-tive. Coca Cola claims that they are not responsible for the obesity of their customers. In 1985 less than fifteen percent of the popula-tion was obese; twenty years later the national obesity rate reached about thirty four percent. Be-tween 1954 and 2000, Coca Cola’s profits jumped from $137 million to over $14 billion. Indeed as the company gotten richer, the whole nation got fatter as Coke contin-ued to play a major role in Obe-sity.

A promotional video issued by The Global Energy Balance Net-work, a non-profit group promot-ing research into the causes of obesity states, “Most of the focus in the popular media and in the scientific press is ‘Oh, they’re eat-ing too much, eating too much, eating too much – blaming fast food, blaming sugary drinks.” Ironically, The GEBN states on its websites that it is supported financially by Coca Cola. Studies sponsored by Coca Cola report no association of sugary drinks with Obesity. Eighty-three per-cent probability that analyses funded by Coca Cola say that there is no harm in consum-ing soda. In contradiction to the previous claim, about the same percentage of analyses of studies not funded by Coca Cola, but by government agencies or indepen-dent foundations have found clear connections between sugary fat beverages and obesity. Likewise, Coca Cola does not make more money by selling less Coke. Coca Cola is present-ing a “scientific solution” to the obesity crisis. In order to obtain

your weight become more active and worry less about cutting your favorite drink. However, health professionals insist that this mes-sage is misleading, and part of a way for Coke to avert criticism about the leading role sugary drinks have played in the spread of obesity. Coke will not take full responsibility that their false mes-sage is influencing people and just making it worse for the obese population. Not only is Coca Cola sending the wrong message, but they are also inviting organiza-tions to help promote Coke as an ideal beverage regardless of weight. The American Society for Nutrition and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics have been criticized by public health advo-cates for forming partnerships with unhealthy companies. Di-etitians have also faced criticism for taking payments from Coke to present the company’s soda as a healthy snack. Many reporters say “Coke has long cast the obesity epidemic as primarily an exercise problem.” “The message is that obesity is not about the foods or bever-

ages you’re consuming, it’s that you’re not balancing those foods with exercise.” A 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola, for example, con-tains 140 calories and roughly 10 teaspoons of sugar. “It takes three miles of walking to offset that one can of Coke,” Dr. Popkin said. The research on sugary drinks, studies of physical activity funded by the beverage industry tend to reach conclusions that differ from the findings of studies by indepen-dent scientists. Incidentally, Coke has donated money to build fitness centers in more than 100 schools across the country. It sponsors a program called “Exercise is Medicine” to encourage doctors to prescribe physical activity to patients. Chi-cago’s City Council proposed a soda tax in 2012 to help address the city’s obesity problem which scared Coca-Cola. As a result, Coke donated three million dol-lars to establish fitness programs in more than 60 of Chicago’s city community centers. After all, Coke added, “Reversing the obesity trend won’t happen over-night.”

Are you on a sports team? Do you participate in PSAL sports? Have you ever been injured play-ing this sport? If you answered yes to any of these questions what do you consider the limit to give up on that sport? How many injuries will it take to determine if an ath-lete gives up or shuts up? As an athlete do you wait for the line to be drawn for you, or do you draw the line yourself and know when to call it quits? During a baseball game senior Ald-win Corona was fielding a ground ball to his right side and as the ball was entering his glove, it took a “bad hop” and hit him in his nose giving him a broken nose. “I was bummed out that I couldn’t play but I didn’t want to quit after” said Corona. Breaking your nose is a very painful thing yet Corona was determined to get back on the field and continue playing. Senior Tara Rosen who is on our school’s soccer team feels the same way. During a game, Rosen and a player from the opposing team collided and Rosen suffered head trauma while the other girl cracked her skull. “No the injury did not make me want to quit my sport. My injury just makes me want to get better so I can continue playing soccer” says Rosen when asked if her in-jury makes her want to quit soc-cer. When asked how the other girls injury made her feel towards

By Janelle Pottinger

Give me Aspirin or Give me DeathBy Lila Tabor

You wake up on the wrong side of the bed-again. You get ready for another long day ahead of you, head to school, and by the time the first late bell sounds, you have a headache. You are now forced to endure eight hours of diffi-cult work, while also coping with this painful condition, and there is nothing you can do about it. Why? Because students aren’t le-gally permitted to carry aspirin in their schoolbags. Aspirin is a salicylate, meaning it works by reducing the amount of certain substances in the body that often cause inflammation, fe-vers, and most often, pain. When dealing with a severe head-ache, people normally turn to the quickest solution, which just so happens to be an OTC medica-tion like aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or naproxen. These treatments provide almost imme-diate relief, which is very conve-nient when attending school, so that you don’t need to waste time calling home, visiting the nurse, or worse- having to deal with the headache all day. Schools all over the nation have a no-tolerance policy when it comes to OTC medications due to the fact that they can become dangerous or even addictive when improperly mixed or used with other drugs. Although this logic is sound, these issues can be avoided effi-ciently by informing the students of how these medicines work. If students are taught the dangers of OTC drug misuse, they could avoid the trap, and go about using

these medications in a safe way. Cardozo Nurse, Patricia Louis-sant, explained the reasons that the schools are concerned about aspirin, “We have to know what it really is that the student is taking.” Louissant is suggesting that while students may say that they’re in-gesting aspirin, we can’t be sure that it isn’t some other drug, so the DOE has made it their point to ban OTC medications alto-gether. Regarding this, we have to sim-ply trust the students are being honest in what they’re taking, the same way that we trust that they are drinking water rather than alcohol in their water bottles. Al-though we can’t be positive about what the students are consum-ing, it’s unfair to prohibit students from caring for themselves with something as trivial as aspirin. School nurses are not permitted to distribute medications like as-pirin to students without a medi-cal note, but if you are experienc-ing an unmanageable headache, Nurse Louissant suggests that you come to the medical office to rest, drink water, and call your parents. Having to suffer through head-aches can easily turn a productive day into a lethargic day, especially for students. Jose Altamirano, junior, said, “Headaches ruin my day, and make it hard to focus and learn. They make me sleepy, dizzy, and give me blurry vision.” Students have incredibly busy schedules, which are terribly worsened when having to cope with headaches.

quitting soccer she replied, “Al-though I hurt someone, it still doesn’t make me want to quit my sport. I know I didn’t do it inten-tionally…” Most athletes don’t draw the line themselves because of their love for the sport and dedication. Also, do the messages portrayed from sports slogans play a role in whether or not an athlete pushes through the pain? Nike has “Just

Do It” there are slogans on shirts that say “No pain no Gain” do these slogans make athletes want to push through the pain of in-juries? Some may argue that just because an athlete got injured playing a sport, doesn’t mean they should give up and just quit. When someone signs up to play a sport, the possibility of injury is always present. So, as an athlete, once you sign up to play and par-ticipate in a sport you have to be prepared that you can get injured. If you are dedicated and love the sport then when you get injured you just do your best to get better

so you can get back out there and play again. Lastly, parents play a huge role in student athletes. If a parent wants to take their child off a team due to a major or minor injury are they allowed to? This is very con-troversial because if they are a minor then parents do have a say. This would be someone drawing the line for the athlete but some-times this line can be drawn too

early. Whether an athlete quits a sport due to an injury should only be decided by the athlete and the athlete’s doctor. The playing field of sports is very dangerous, competitive, and en-joyable that will beat you down, but you can’t quit when things get hard. Nothing in life comes easy and if you quit every time some-thing hard comes in your life then you won’t make it anywhere. Hard work pays off but hard work can consist of injuries. It’s just a mat-ter of how you deal with it. Will you give up or shut up?

Matthew Bowdem takes a break due to a knee injury.

Photo by Adriana Kostakis

Photo illustration by Keith Kalinsky

The serious dilemma when it comes to serious sports injuries.

The Verdict November 20156

FEATURES

Making a Movie Right Around the Corner

Black Friday - A Worker’s Nightmare If you think Black Friday is all enjoyment and sales for every-one, think again. The hectic day after Thanksgiving might be one of the most dreadful days of the year for the people who work in retail. Being forced to stay awake overnight and not spending time with family during the holidays are, without a doubt, something that would aggravate anyone, and thousands of employees asked to work during Black Friday are not happy about the event. The day after Thanksgiving, consum-ers start lining up in front of stores with their minds on getting a good sale. Undoubtedly, they are excited and expect to be buy-ing a lot. Employees, on the other hand, are busy preparing for the dreaded opening; they are no-where near as thrilled as the con-sumers. Victoria, a staff member at Justice, reveals her experiences

By Catherine Lin working on Black Friday. “You get extra-long shifts,she said. Every-one was scheduled to work that day and there were non-stop cus-tomers who all needed attention. Basically everything gets messed up and disorganized.” Black Friday is one of the most tiring days of the year for workers. Some employees have no choice but to work that day and they do not get any real perks for dealing with the mad rush. When asked if there were any good moments working during Black Friday, Vic-toria said she couldn’t think of one. There are no benefits for the employees who work during the sale. Victoria expresses how the workers get nothing while work-ing overtime, just headaches and annoying customers. When asked about the pay, she replied, “We worked longer shifts than normal and our pay didn’t change at all.

The only reason why we earned more ways was just the result of working lon-ger hours. Some people might think workers get paid more during Black Friday, but the federal law does not require employ-ers to pay the employees extra for working on holi-days.” Melissa, an employ-ee and Urban Outfitters, talks about her experienc-es with Black Friday. This year is going to be my second time working during Black Friday, and I’m nowhere near thrilled. The line to enter the store and the line to pay is never-end-ing, she said. “The worst part is probably looking at the mess after everyone’s done shopping. It’s a lot of work, the customers are all energetic and all I want to do is go

back to sleep.” The mentality of a retail worker is definitely different from customers. After being asked if she would go Black Friday shopping even though she knew how it feels to

be working that day, Victoria answers, “No”. And when I do, I make sure not to mess up what-ever I’m searching for. Every little thing counts for a worker.

By Adriana Kostakis

‘Cruisin’ on Franny Lew

Almost 30 years ago, Francis Lewis Boulevard, in Queens was the place to be. From cruising up and down the streets, to drag racing in cars, teens and young adults in the late 1980s spent most of their time on “the bou-levard”. These drag racing wars which started out as innocent fun, but led to several fatal accidents, inspired a new motion picture, called “Cruise”, produced by Gino Cafarelli. The plot is based on an incident that occurred on Francis Lewis Boulevard years ago, when twen-ty-year-old Kenneth Miret was racing another driver, his 1987 Ford Mustang convertible slipped on a strip of oil, which was poured on the street by a neighborhood man who was tired of the com-motion coming from the hun-dreds of kids on “Franny Lew.” According to Queens Resident, “Teens came from all over the tri-state area to cruise on ‘the boule-

vard.’ It was New York’s version of the Sunset Strip. They would drive up and down the streets day and night.” School-aide, Vincent D’orio, used to own a Carvel store on Francis Lewis Boulevard, and he described what it was like when he had his store. It had a small window where you could buy ice cream and cakes. “The kids in cars and motorcycles started to come around April, when it began to get warmer and a lot of them would come to my store to buy ice cream, and hang out in the large parking lot where they would park their vehicles.” D’orio explains, “There was always a long line of people, and constant noise. It was a rela-tively rough time for the people who lived there, and the com-munity started to blame the kids and my store that attracted all the business.” It became a real problem, and rumors spread about D’orio’s

Carvel, it even became violent at one point. “I was always ac-cused of things, being the owner,” D’orio said. “Even once in the Holy Cross High School Newspa-per there was an article with the headline, ‘if you want drugs, head

on over to Carvel on Franny Lew’. Of course it was a rumor, but it re-ally was busy and the police could only do so much.”

“I remember when that man from the neighborhood spilled oil on the street. I don’t know exactly who he was, but he wasn’t the only one that was tired of the kids rac-ing all the time and causing lots of trouble,” D’orio explained. “Even

after the young boy died in that accident, it didn’t really change much. No one knew the exact

truth in the beginning, and it be-came somewhat like a memorial for the boy. However, there was the same amount of kids coming every day, but a lot of people talk-ed about what happened.” Senior, John Yiantselis found out about the movie when they first started filming down the block from his house. He was in-terested in getting involved and talked to the filmmaker about be-ing an extra. After signing some papers, and getting fitted for the wardrobe, he was on the set, and behind the scenes with the actors. “It’s a very interesting experi-

ence,” Yiantselis said, “I’ve been [on set] about four times. They start filming at 6 p.m. and finish at about 6 a.m. But I leave earlier of course, because I have school the next day.” “I’ve learned a lot about how the film crew works; I do pretty much whatever I’m told and I’ve met fa-mous actors who are really cool. I’ve never really wanted to be an actor, but I saw a cool opportu-nity and there are always a lot of movies filming in the area so this could just be the beginning to other experiences.” Yiantselis ex-plained how the wardrobe really sets the tone for the movie, and only old cars are used to recreate the setting. So far, “Cruise” has filmed by the Carvel on Francis Lewis Boule-vard, Whitestone Lanes, and Hol-lis Hills Terrace on 73rd Ave, etc. The movie will most likely be re-leased in 6 to 10 months; there is no exact date yet.

From cruising up and down the streets,

to drag racing in cars, teens and young adults in the late 1980s spent most of their time on

“the boulevard”.

Photos submitted by John Yiantselis

Senior John Yiantselis and junior Adam Cohen on the set of the movie, “Cruise” with model, Emily Ratajkowski.

Yiantselis posing infront of a car that will be featured in “Cruise”.

Shoppers fill the mall.

The Verdict November 20157

OPINIONS

Editors-in-Chief Juliana Kim Nia Canady Page EditorsJeevika Sidhu

Keith KalinskyRenuka Surujnarain

SportsAlec Goldman Copy Editor

Nidhi GandhiAdvisor

Georgia Mavromihalis

1st Place ASPA Award2006-2013, 2015

2nd Place ASPA Award 2014

Video Games have been a part of society for many years. The first video game was thought to be made in 1958; it was a simple ten-nis game called Tennis for Two. Now there are many consoles for gaming such as the computer, phone, PSP, 3DS, PlayStation, Wii and much more. This popular pastime has en-tertained people of all ages and includes many different genres, ranging from strategic, to ac-tion, to RPG (role playing game). Though it’s obvious that video games are a fun hobby, the ques-tion still remains in the minds of many, are these games good for you or not? While many compare gaming to watching television, gaming is not simply a non-active form of en-tertainment. There is a difference, being that video games require mental and physical engagement. Gameplay experience combines analysis, logistics, management,

Video Games: The Good, The Bad, The UglyBy Elizabeth Tse

learning, planning, problem solving, and much more. Action video games have been proven to enhance vision and provide better skills in multitask and paying at-tention. Perseverance and determina-tion is developed when the player loses, motivating them to work harder. It also helps people re-spond to challenges, frustrations, and teaches them how to explore and rethink goals. Games stimu-late creativity and imagination in children and makes learning fun. “People who played action-based video and computer games made decisions 25% faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, ac-cording to a study from the Uni-versity of Rochester.” Video Games are a good bond-ing activity because they appeal to both adults and children. Many have a multiplayer option and can be played with friends. This doesn’t make gamers ‘socially

isolated’, in fact it can help gam-ers make new friends with similar interests. Some may say that these games corrupt the brain, waste time, and turn people into mindless zom-bies. However, what video games really do is improve mental skills, as well as increase self-confidence. The most commonly used ex-cuses for why video games are bad are that they are violent, have negative health effects like postur-al and skeletal disorders, and may cause addiction. Whether the game a person plays directly affects their behavior de-pends on each person, but the re-

VERDICT STAFF

ality is that a game and real life are completely separate things. Mus-cle pain, obesity, and addiction are not the faults of video games, but of the person causing them. Up to an hour a day is an accept-able amount of playing, and of course they should be played after getting work done, not before as a distraction. If someone wants to play more it’s important to think about posture and take breaks. The fact is that video games are fun, and being able to enjoy your-self is good, but all things, even the good ones, must be in moderation.

By Seyed Fardin Nezami Next November, elections are going to take place all across the country; the Presidency, the en-tire House of Representatives, a third of the Senate, several gover-norships, positions in state hous-es, and local council and mayoral positions are all up for grabs in 2016. A representative democracy is important to all of us because whenever we are facing social, political, and economic issues in the country, the politicians we elect are supposed to address the problems of our society through government action. However, we have a serious problem on our hands right now, and it’s called voter apathy. What is voter apathy? Why is voter apathy such a serious prob-lem? And what can we do to solve the issue of voter apathy? Voter apathy is defined as the lack of interest, enthusiasm, or con-cern for voting, and that feeling is often expressed by individuals deciding not to vote because they don’t like any of the candidates on the ballot, or expressed by indi-viduals not bothering to register to vote because they don’t believe in voting or because they don’t believe that voting will have an impact on their lives. The general direction of the public is shifting more to-wards voter apathy year after year, regardless of the type of election; federal, state, local, they are all de-clining in terms of voter turnout rates. Newsday recently reported “LI voter participation hits new low amid growing cyn-icism,” that voter turnout in

Long Island was the lowest in 15 years. Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Poll-ing Institute said that about 21% of registered voters cast ballots in New Jersey, and that some coun-ties didn’t finish reporting elec-tion results, but Murray predicted that turnout wouldn’t be higher than 22%. If that’s true, it would conclude to the lowest voter turn-out in New Jersey’s history for any election. This trend isn’t just during the general election cycle, but also noted in both midterms and presidential elections. The United States Elections Project (USEP) reported that just 35.9 percent of the total voter-eligible popula-tion in 2014 voted in the midterm elections, the lowest since 1942, when midterm elections garnered a voter turnout of just 33.9 per-cent, though back in 1942, many millions of soldiers who were oth-erwise eligible voters were sent to Europe and Asia to fight the Axis powers in World War II. Throughout the 1800s, we used to have consistent voter turnout rates of more than 70 percent and in some cases, more than 80 per-cent in presidential elections, and

for midterm elections, we consis-tently hit 60 or 70 percent in voter turnout rates. The decline in voter turnout started in 1898 (midterm elec-tions) and 1900 (presidential elections) and even though the numbers have fluctuated here and there, the numbers have generally declined since the 1894 & 1896 elections. In 1894, 67.1 percent of eligible voters turned out in the general elections, contrast that to 2014, where just 35.9 percent of eligible voters actually turned out. In 1896, 79.6 percent of eli-gible voters took to the polls to cast their votes, contrast that with 2012, where 58.2 percent of quali-fied voters went to the polls and voted. If you’ve gone and asked stu-dents in a government class to ask about what’s happening in the elections, and who’s running in the elections, or even who’s their local representative, the majority would soundly avoid answering any of those questions, or give few or vague answers, if any at all. Fel-low students don’t seem to want to spark up a discussion about politics or if they do, there isn’t much substance to their words, or they’re mainly concerned about

what’s in their smartphones, or whatever isn’t politics.

What many of us don’t realize is that we’re fools fondling with our own minds, our own devices, and we’re slowly being fooled by our own government; our privacy rights are being violated by the NSA, taxes are far higher than what our Founding Fathers ever paid to the British, our money is worth less and less each year, racism is still prevalent and alive in our system, police officers are now armed with tanks and army equipment, and so on and so forth. From left and right, our rights are being taken away and we’re allowing it to happen as pol-iticians are being elected by fewer and fewer people representing less and less of the population, and corporations and unions seem to gain more and more rep-resentation with their money as the people seem to care less and less. Voting does make a difference, and the people who do vote and vote often tend to have their in-terests represented more and more, at least that’s what politics seems to dictate. The more in-formed we are, the more that we care, the more that we vote, the better our country will become. To those who are turning 18 before the next election or are already 18 years of age should register to vote, they should learn

more about all of the candidates running for local, state, and federal positions, volunteer for the candidate if you be-lieve in them enough, and vote them into power during the next election. Vote and vote often.

Rallies for the World Series, Sleeps on Election Day

Verdict Editorial Policy

The goal of the Verdict is to provide a medium thorough which the students of Benjamin N. Cardozo High School can express and accurately inform themselves regarding the issues surrounding the school’s student body. We encourage our readership to use the Verdict as a forum for thoughts and ideas. Readers are welcome to submit any letters concerning our content matter to the Verdict’s mailbox in Room 109 or Cardozohsverdict@gmail.com

JURY BOXWhat do you prefer for our

school mascot: a Bulldog or a Judge?

“Bulldog because it’s a lot better. It keeps the spirit up.”– Haseenah Abduly,

Senior

“I like the judge because it rep-resents Benja-

min N. Cardozo, the judge.”

– Ryan Cahn,

Sophomore

“Bulldog because it’s more intimi-

dating.”– Nicolette

Frisari, Junior

“Bulldog because it looks cooler and an animalmascot fits better.”– Amesh Sarecha, Sopho-more

By Renuka Surujnarain

CARDOZOS POR T S

The Verdict November 20158

How Mets FeverHeated Up Cardozo

Cardozo’s Girls Volleyball team breezed through their regular season, led by captains Christine Wu and Sarah Bae. The team managed to end the season with a spectacular record, winning 7 games and losing only 3. Coached by Daniel Scarola, the girls won an important game against Bayside, which guaran-teed them good seating in the playoffs. The game took place at Francis Lewis, on October 7th. It was an intense game; Dozo won the first set 1525, then Bayside came back to win the second set 2519, then lastly Dozo came to win the last set 2115. About the game, Captain Wu said, “We played well during the game even though we were sloppy. We were down by a few points but made a comeback due to hard-work and perseverance.” She continued to say, “So far our team is doing really well; we have a strong bond. We made playoffs but we are hoping to go further.” Coach Scarola said, “There are a lot of pretty tough teams we’re go-ing to have to go against, but if we continue playing well, we’re going to go far in the playoffs.”

By Lara Morales

Volleyball Team

Victorious

By Tania Taheri This season has been success-ful, stressful, and shocking for the Girls Soccer Team. Led by Cap-tains Jane Merino, Simone Gmu-ca, and Maria Lardas, Cardozo won 12 out of 14 games includ-ing matches against rivals Bayside and Francis Lewis. The girls played their hearts out in all of the 14 games; however, it was not enough to pull through and win the championship. They won every game except the last two; the final game of the regu-lar season and their first and only playoff game of the season. These two intense games put an end to Cardozo’s winning streak, leaving players bruised and sore. On Friday, Oct. 16 Cardozo lost against Francis Lewis, who they managed to beat earlier in the season. Multiple players had to be switched out due to inju-

Cardozo Girls Soccer Season in Review

ries. Senior Aline Barragan was taken out during the second half of the game, because of a nose-bleed. Sophomore Eleni Spiratos came off the field banged up and bloody. Lara Morales stopped playing at half time and suffered a fractured wrist. Morales said, “I was running up to a player to go and defend the ball. Then she kicked the ball to my face and I fell on my wrist, which caused me a lot of pain. It was unbearable, I couldn’t con-tinue playing.” The very last game before play-offs also resulted in a serious inju-ry. Cardozo played Frank Sinatra on Oct. 20, and the outcome was brutal. Senior Tara Rosen head butted a player on the opposing team by accident and was unable to play for the remainder of the game.

Girls golf, consisting of 17 mem-bers, has had an impressive sea-son, as a team and as individuals. Three students from the girls golf team competed at an individual tournament at North Shore Tow-ers on Oct. 21. Samantha Marcus, senior, Sarah Wallach, junior, and Haeylne Uhm, freshman, proudly represented their team that day. There were 40 girls competing; Uhm, ranked in top 15. Wallach was ranked in top 20. Schools from all over the borough attend-ed. The team had been undefeated, with a score of 11-0, until the Semi Finals where they lost against Tot-tenville High School. The compe-tition took place in Marine Park Golf Course in Brooklyn. The

girls lost 3-0. The golf team hasn't been to the semi finals since 2008, so this was definitely an achievement. Not to mention, they even played in the rain. The girls are division champs and have made their coach very proud of how they ended the season. Coach Pamela Goldberg said, “The girls played beautifully and gave Tottenville a tough match. Congratulations to a great team.” The girls are also content with how they did this season. Wallach said, “We weren’t ex-pected to get this far, so I’m so proud of my team. We couldn’t have done any better.” Let’s see if they win all the way during spring season!

The Club Can’t Handle Them By Mahsa Shahbazi

Rosen said, “I had set up the play perfectly where I was going to head the ball and run with it to score, but the girl and I ended up heading each other. We both fell and she put her head down, bleeding profusely. She ended up leaving the field in an ambulance and receiving over 50 stitches. I got checked out by the EMTS in another ambulance and I didn’t have to go to the hospital, but I wasn’t allowed to continue play-ing, which was really upsetting because that was my last game playing for Cardozo. And now I just have a head trauma/minor concussion and am waiting to be cleared to continue playing soc-cer.” Overall, the girls had a great season full of passion and deter-mination.

By Alec Goldman

For the first time in 15 years, the New York Mets reached the cov-eted World Series. The support for the Mets and their journey throughout the entire season was enormous, not just in Queens but at Cardozo. Mutual support of a local team can bring about cama-raderie between faculty and stu-dents, which otherwise, would not be present at all. While interview-ing Mr. Lindenauer, he opened up a can of potato chips, only to find a note conveniently left by one of his students. The note, said “Let’s Go Mets”, which was coinciden-tally left for him on the same day he wore a Mets shirt and drank out of a Mets mug, showing that the “Mets Fever” was prominently present in the school The spirit of our school due to the Mets success was present in all aspects. Teachers and students were seen wearing Mets apparel, or simply blue and orange shirts. The Mets heading to the World Series became the hot topic of the day and an inevitable discussion in classes. Teachers and students alike were seen talking about

the Mets, the World Series, and the competition that the Royals brought.The Mets season, however, did not begin with high expectations. English teacher Mr. Muradyan said, “I did not necessarily have high hopes for a great season, but being a Mets fan you get used to failure”. This negative attitude of Mets fans is reasonable due to the past history of sub-par seasons faced by the Mets. English teacher Mr. Lorentz said, “I was hoping they would break .500” because they have not surpassed .500 since 2009. The shock of this year’s suc-cess, coupled with the past failure, made the achievement of reach-ing the World Series all the more better. The term, “worst to first”, was exemplified by the Mets sea-son.The school was electric, even af-ter the Mets lost Games one, two, four, and five. However, the spirit of the school was unwavering. Even with the loss, the Mets sea-son transformed callous and apa-thetic students intro supportive and dedicated fans.

CardozoFever

Caught on Camera

The golf team calls it a day.

Photos submitted

by Samantha M

arcus