Op/Ed

Column: SLA and Promposals

February 21, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Deja Harrison

Staff Writer

It was an average Monday afternoon for me, or so I thought… I was heading to my Y band lunch with my friends like I normally do when I realized something was off.. The hallway seemed almost empty on one side of it. My friends seemed to all disappear except for one, Madison Harris. As her and I were walking down the hallway people started to hand us things. Candy, Teddy bears and flowers filled our hands and confusion filled my face. For some reason I could not guess what was going on but it was so obvious to everyone else. We walked further down the hall almost at the end and I stopped walking. I was scared to see who was at the corner waiting for me. I still had no idea what was happening my mind couldn’t put it together. My friends literally had to push me the rest of the way because I was so nervous. I closed my eyes and opened them and there he was. The sign said ¨ Can I spot a date to Prom with You¨. I thought it was cute with me being a cheerleader and all. It was one of the weirdest yet cutest moments of my life.

Promposals are a huge deal here at SLA. Everyone seems to go all out with the creative signs, flowers and gifts. It´s one of the best and cutest times of the year at school but no one really thinks about all the work that goes into it. One part is literally whipping up the courage to be publically rejected or not and the other person is put on the spot to give an answer. So here’s a little inside edition from all sides of a promposal.

Saamir Baker asked someone this year and these are his feelings about situation. ¨ It was talked about but I never really thought it would happen. Our moms actually put it together. I wasn’t mad about it or thought it was weird it was just something that was going to happen. We were friends I didn’t care if I went with someone or not but I’m glad I’m going with her. My mom pretty much made everything happen I just had to show up. Me being who I am I was very overwhelmed, it was unexpected honestly. After I digested that I was really going to ask her. Even though I already knew her and knew we were friends but I still didn’t know her answer. I was standing there and I was so nervous for her reaction. What would she do when she found out it was me? My heart was beating so fast and I felt a little sweaty, then everything stopped I held up the sign for her so see. She read it laughed and said yes then she hugged me. It was one of the most nerve wrecking moments of my life.¨

Teachers at SLA also witness these promposal and have opinions on them. English teacher Larissa Pahomov noticed what she said was about 40 kids with there phones out in front of the girls being asked. Ms. Pahomov goes on to say that the kids weren’t even trying to capture the girls reactions they were more focused on trying to get the entire scene.
It is still very early in the promposal game so I’m sure there are still plenty more to go in case you missed the ones that already happened. After all only one senior Peter Torelli has asked someone to the upcoming senior prom in May. We’re running out of time guys, let’s see some more promposals.

Column: Murder On the 3rd Floor

February 21, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Fatu Castillo

Staff Writer

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Deadly homicide on 3rd Floor!

There has been a grueling, double homicide in a 3rd floor men’s bathroom. The victims were an older bathroom stall couple, aged eleven and married for nine years, their doors had been savagely ripped from their hinges in an act of inhumane violence.

Children of the victims, two young ceramic sinks and plastic soap dispenser, were forced to watch. It was as if they were transfixed to the wall, as the suspect used brute force to tear their parents apart.

The children were left unharmed as the suspect fled the scene before conducting any further action. Authorities have since moved the survivors from the murder scene and transported them to Toilette Hospital. While unharmed, they were undoubtedly traumatized from the horrors they witnessed.

A fund has been started in their name by kind hospital personnel to cover the payments of the therapy sessions they will have to go through in order to recuperate.

Currently unidentified: the suspect is current still at large and authorities urge to the public to provide vital information in order to apprehend the murderer.

The suspect was not witnessed fleeing the murder scene but due to our incredible scientific inventions authorities can gather the suspect has eyes, hair, shoulders, and a mouth. Due to the location of the murder, authorities suspect the culprit may also be male but students and staff should be wary of any with hands.

If you see anyone matching this description, authorities urge you to call them with you information but warn to stay away from the suspect as he is dangerous.

With no way knowing of where or when suspect might strike next, anyone with hinges or screws is warned to be on alert.

College Admissions Limbo and the Home Stretch

February 2, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Aaron Watson-Sharer

Editor

Column-

We all know the first half of your senior year is when you have to prove to colleges that your first three years weren’t a fluke. Some courses become more demanding and you have more outside of the classroom responsibilities. Between assuming major roles in all your activities, you have the very important task of applying to college.

I used to believe applying was as easy as finding your top choices, paying a fee, and clicking submit. It’s nowhere near that. Going into junior year, I could only name a handful of colleges which weren’t premiere athletic schools. Of the ten schools I applied to, I knew only three before this past summer. By the end of the application process, I wrote north of 15 supplemental essays; which are often required by moderately selective to very selective universities.

But now I stand here in what I like to call, the college admissions limbo, waiting for ten schools to reply back so I can make a decision. Two schools have responded thus far, and I’ve been admitted to both, which is a confidence booster. With my semester grades written in stone, what do I do now?

I have courses and a capstone that need my attention. But there is the feeling that the rest of the time between now and decisions is going to be a mellow experience. There’s a stigma that now we only have to pass. I’m experiencing a mild case of “senioritis”, that doesn’t reflect in my classes, I just don’t want to stay up until 2 A.M anymore doing schoolwork. I just want to put in one more semester and it enjoy it while it’s here.

February I’d like to learn a new skill in my classes or gain a new interest, I tried my best to have courses that would benefit me senior year. Part of me wants to take double history classes to keep an interest of mine strong but the other half in me says there’s no need and I should just rest easy.

This time of senior year is mentally exerting. It shows your dedication and care about something besides a statistic. Those teachers who wrote a recommendation vouching for me shouldn’t regret that because I’ve chosen to be lazy.

So for these next months, my mind will be in another place, college applications limbo. Where I hope I get into my top choices but I will do my best to keep up my grades along with making sure the baseball team is ready for the season. All I want to do is enjoy the end of my high school career, in and out of the classroom.

Column: The Muslim Ban

January 31, 2017 by lpahomov 1 Comment

Chiara Nemati

Opinion Editor

President Donald J. Trump’s first weeks in office have consisted of him bashing the media, signing executive orders, and turning America’s allies into enemies. The globe sits in front of the television watching with the American people with inexplicable emotion.

I am not immune to all this. My phone lights up and before looking at the screen, I already know what I am going to see. Yet another notification of some ridiculous executive order.

On January 27, Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting seven nations by denying entry to the United States for their citizens: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

President Donald Trump signed the executive order on Holocaust Remembrance Day portraying to the American people his true character and lack of care for history. Trump did not acknowledge the many Jewish victims that lost their lives that day and rather referred to them as “victims of Nazi Germany.”

The order, more commonly referred to as “the muslim ban,” immediately took effect across dozens of airports in the U.S. Many refugees and immigrants stepped off planes so close to a new home and in some cases their families, to be detained. It did not matter if those entering or reentering the U.S. held green cards or visas. Lawful U.S. residents were being detained across the nation, sparking protests outside of many major airports, including Philadelphia International and J.F.K. Airport.

While this order is directly impacting people seeking refuge, people with educational visas, business visas, and green card holders, it is also negatively impacting current citizens. A federal judge, granted emergency stay for those entering the United States with legal documentation, halting the immediate impact of the executive order.

However, this is still a huge blow to the foundations and morals of this country. The United States is referred to as the “melting pot for a reason:” this country is made up of immigrants. Many of our citizens were once here on visas and green cards. My own parents, who hail from Italy and Iran have gone through this process.

Contrary to popular belief, entering the country does not happen automatically for people who travel here. To be granted a visa for the United States, you must go through a two year vetting process. The United States holds one of the most rigorous vetting processes, yet President Trump has repeatedly said that terrorists can undercut the process. Currently the process of gaining citizenship includes an intricate and intense path. It is a process that can span over decades.

Many begin with applying for a visa. Many begin with an educational visa, then transfer to a working visa once they finish their studies. After a time they will apply for a green card, which allows them to stay indefinitely. Once they have been a lawful U.S. resident for a minimum of five years, they are able to apply for the naturalization test. Once they have passed this long process they are granted their U.S. citizenship.

I was born in the United States, and when I was two years, old I traveled to my father’s country, Iran. It was my first and last time traveling to the nation. While I do not remember my visit, I am left with tons of pictures of the beautiful sites and my entire family sitting together over dinner. These days, because traveling to Iran from the United States is virtually impossible due to the troubled political relations between our countries, my aunt and uncle travel here almost every summer.

Now they will be denied visas to visit us. A vast amount of the families living in the United States have other family members who live in one of those seven nations and are grappling with the same issue.

Iran took action against this ban and has decided to bar U.S. citizens from entering their nation. However, they are not barring people with legal documentation. Iran will be allowing people with valid Iranian visas access to their nation. This reflects a country that trusts their own vetting process. For the United States to throw their process out the window lets the unsubstantiated fear of Islam.. Iran’s actions follow a more favorable path rather than the unpopular actions taken by Trump’s executive order.

Donald Trump, we are tired of getting the notifications of your poorly-planned executive orders. We are tired of your selfishness and lack of respect for the people, for history, and for politics. We are angered and we will continue to protest. We will continue to push back on your policies and create pressure on your incomplete administration.

Column: Women’s March in D.C.

January 24, 2017 by lpahomov 1 Comment

Chiara Nemati

Opinion Editor

I woke up to the sound of ducks quacking at 4 a.m. and walked out of the house half asleep to the OCF coffee house, the meeting place for a group of 451 protesters on our way to D.C.

As soon as I arrived at the coffee shop, I was invigorated and ready to go. I was, and will forever be, touched by the people who were there. It is a new era of activism. There were girls in strollers, women in wheelchairs and every age in between. By 6:30 we were on our way out of Philadelphia and on the road to D.C.

A silent excitement bubbled through the bus for the next four hours, and as soon as we reached RFK Stadium in D.C. (our parking destination) the bus erupted with cheers. . Thousands of buses were parked in the lot, and out of them flowed even more people than I thought possible. All that was visible was a sea of pink pussy hats and busses coming into D.C.

The metro was packed, I used to think the most crowded subway I’d ever see was in New York, I was mistaken. By 11 A.M. the D.C. Metro reported it had 275,000 riders which was eight times the amount of riders on a regular weekday. This number beat out the number of riders for the Inauguration, which only reached 193,000 riders by 11 A.M. The number of riders continued to grow as the day went on.

I stepped off the metro and was met with a crowd moving towards the capitol. At first I was busy reading signs and soaking in the experience of all these wonderful people (not just women) coming together to march that I did not even take notice of the people sporting buttons or sashes representing the different states. 600,000 people (a rough estimate) came together to stand in unity and represent their concerns for this new government.

Unfortunately, I was not able to make it close enough to the stage for the rally to hear the speakers. Every turn brought me to a blocked-off section, often crowds came to a standstill, and once the march was set to begin there was no space for the crowds to move. The group I was with decided to take a small detour and make our way to the White House through an odd route. Avoiding the standstill crowds, we were able to make it to the National Monument. Here, the march was actually moving, and we joined in. There was various chants, most of which I am sure were heard here at the Philly march and at marches across the globe. But incase you missed any of these marches here are a few of the chants:

“Tell me what democracy looks like–This is what democracy looks like!”

“Keep your tiny hands off my healthcare plans!”

“Hey hey ho ho Trump has got to go.”

“We are the 99% and so are you!”

“Hands too small, can’t build a wall!”

“My body, my choice.”

While this was not my first march it was my first women’s march and my first march in D.C. The experience was a moving one and while I do not enjoy that this is something I need to protest, I am excited to do so again. I enjoyed meeting people from different states such as New York, Florida, California, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas. There was also a group of marchers from Canada!

Coming home, there was a sense of fulfillment and a new fire in the people around me. I read up on a few articles on my way back and while most were informative and supportive, I was disappointed to read an article that described the march as unorganized. It stated that there were so many different signs talking about a wide range of topics that no real message was getting out.

My response to that article is this: you got the message wrong.

We were not marching for a sole issue, our message was that we are here and we will not be ignored. We were not there to fight solely for one issue. We were there to make our voices heard. We were there to show that we will not be sitting quietly during this presidency and watch our rights and beliefs be ignored. We are here to defend healthcare. We are here to protect our climate. We are here to defend LGBTQ folks. We are here to defend the rights of immigrants and our nation’s foreign relations. Our message was that we are here and we cannot be silenced. We will be here united, fighting for our basic human rights until we are heard.

Not only was the women’s march able to gather 600,000 people in the nation’s capitol, it sparked a worldwide march in over 150 cities. The world united, and fought for their fundamental rights.
Now we cannot just fall back into our everyday patterns. We need to continue to come together to protest. We need to remain informed about the actions that the government is taking. For those who wish to continue fighting outside of protests should check out the first 100 days challenge on the Women’s March website. Get involved and work with others in your community!