High School Confidential

By Tory Elmore

	Victoria “Tori” Elmore is a lover, not a fighter. She passes her time playing lacrosse, taking naps, and, of course, recycling beer cans.

Some may say that chivalry is dead, but regardless, the boys aren’t the only ones misbehaving. I’ve personally witnessed the increasing popularity of what society has dubbed “cat fights” and quite frankly, I’ve never been so appalled.

We girls are certainly known for our scathing glances and malicious comments, but hitting one another? Not classy, ladies. Though I’m a feminist at heart, and sure, anything boys can do, girls can do better, but throwing punches is ludicrous, immature, and a waste of all your pretty faces.

Let’s get up to speed on some of Somers’ most infamous showdowns.

Scene 1: Lunch. Girl 1 makes fun of Boy. Girl 2, in Boy’s defense, dumps chocolate milk on Girl 1’s head. Fistfight ensues. Boy continues to be ridiculed.

Scene 2: Bonfire. Girl 1, en route to bathroom, spots Girl 2 entering premises. Girl 1 yells at Girl 2 for “stealing her boyfriend.” Fistfight ensues. Girl 3, innocent bystander, tries to break it up and gets punched. Girl 2 continues to date Girl 1’s ex boyfriend.

Scene 3: Party. Girl 1 “I hate you!” SLAP! Girl 2 PUNCH! Girl 1 still hates Girl 2.

So much violence, so little gained.

The kicker is; we’re fighting like boys…over boys. Every single fight I have witnessed or heard about is a tug-of-war over some unfaithful boyfriend, a battle for the star athlete who’s slept with half the girls at school, or the careless use of the word “slut.” Enough is enough. Dump the boyfriend, forget the player, and tailor your language. What are you trying to prove? That you have the biggest muscles? Something there strikes me as odd; “butch” is hardly a compliment in the female world.

It’s on TV, in Hollywood, and, thank you, pop star Brooke Valentine for these insightful lyrics, “Know you really don’t wanna step to dis/You ’bout to catch one right in the lip/It’s about to be a what? Girlfight!” But, now, it’s at school, too. Armed with only their fists, though Somers High School legend speaks of a battle involving a padlock, female students have come to tearing one another apart between classes. To any participant, I’ll be very frank; I’m embarrassed for you. The teachers that pull you apart from your opponent will never look at you the same way, the colleges you apply to will see “assault” on your permanent record. And have fun explaining the “he said/she said” to Mom and Dad.

Sure, I’m not perfect. I’ve had my share of “drama” and silly spats with other girls. I know how stubborn we can be, how defensive of our territory (and our men) we are. Still, I have yet to physically assault anyone. I think I’ll avoid committing a felony for as long as possible, thanks.

I recently took a road trip with my mother (I lead an exciting life, I know). As we got down to talking about current events, who is dating who, who broke up, and of course, the prom saga, I tossed “scene 3″ into the mix. As I told her the story, I immediately regretted bringing it up; I was sure she would go on and on about how tragically misbehaved today’s youth have become. To my relief, and utter surprise, she laughed. Not the cheesy, “Oh-honey-you-are-so-funny-har-har-yawn” laugh, but tears-streaming, cough-inducing, almost-drive-us-off-the-road laugh that’s as infectious as chicken pox.

That’s when it hit me; this must all be a joke. I mean, really though, next time another girl and I disagree should I head to the gym and pump some iron? Should I give her a time and place and wrestle her to prove who’s slept with fewer boys? I think I’d rather forget about it and pass my time with people who would rather not slap me across the face.

I’m not sure when everyone got so angry, but the fury isn’t flattering. I’m seeing nice, smart girls turn into monsters for the silliest of reasons. Is the “skank” in your English class really worth a school suspension that will haunt each and every one of your college applications? Is that “ho” “macking” on your date really worth a black eye on prom night? I doubt it.

So be the bigger person, wear the biggest smile, and save the fistfights for our testosterone-fueled counterparts.

By Emily Parker

	Emily Parker is a sophomore at John Jay High School. She loves to read and her passion is writing.

The doors to a high school are like an entry to a whole other world. Once someone enters, there is no turning back. Everything hits full blast, and one gets so overwhelmed that they tend to make the wrong choices with the wrong people. And if they continue down this path of wrongdoings, it becomes nearly impossible to double back and take a new route.

A high school is full of endless possibilities and endless regrets. There’s stress, drugs, cliques, peer pressure, and much more that can influence a teenager’s life. Some are able to look past all of these things and continue with their lives, while others get caught in the maze of distractions like a moth in a spider’s web. The more they struggle to get out, the more tangled up they get.

A high school is a place where one can recreate themselves. There are a variety of people: the jocks, the emos, the goths, the druggies, the nerds, the loners, the popular crowd, the preps, the sluts, and the people who just don’t belong to a particular group. One may get overwhelmed by all of the potential people that they can become and in the midst of all the anxiety, settle into the wrong crowd. There is so much pressure to make the perfect impression and not be deemed to be in the “nerd” or some other bad crowd.  Sometimes, the stress and pressure can become too much for someone and they will resort to drugs and get pulled into the “druggie” crowd. Once one becomes part of a group, they’re most likely to be known as by that for the rest of their high school career.

In order to become part of the “popular” crowd, people leave their own friends and start forming negative friendships with people that they don’t really like because they have a high status. The desire to be popular and fit in is so great that some people will resort to partaking in behavior deemed outside of their normal comfort zones, possibly disregarding certain morals and values. Peer pressure destroys who one really is and ends up turning them into someone else completely. Everyone always says to “be yourself,” and although it is a true statement that will make it so much easier to get through life, it just isn’t possible in high school.

People are constantly on edge about what everyone is thinking about them and whether they are “fitting in” or not. People fear that who they really are isn’t good enough; therefore they try to become someone they are not. Peer pressure can change someone so much that the person starts to believe that he or she is the person they have become and that it isn’t worth trying to change back into whom they once were. But they’re wrong. If someone really wanted to turn their life around and start fresh, they could, but only if they try. This is why so many people look forward to college. They can start over new and leave their high school lives behind.

Those who are of a high status sometimes fear leaving high school because it was the peak of their popularity. In college, and the real world for that matter, there’s no popular and unpopular because there are so many people that it is impossible to form groups like the ones formed in high school.

When one grows older and looks back on high school, they may think it silly that they had ever acted the way they did. But when you are actually in it, there is nothing silly about it. It is real and serious. Cliques are a way of life. There is nothing one can do to make it go away. One can never change who they really are, but they can disguise themselves pretty well.

High school can have drastic effects on people if they choose to allow it. If one walks through those double doors with their head held high and their mind open, they will have absolutely no problem adjusting to the ever-anticipated, ever-feared, high school life.

By Tory Elmore

	Tory Elmore is a senior at Somers High School. She loves animals, long walks on the beach and slipper socks. She tends to write about topics most people would rather avoid.

I’m not exactly sure when, but somewhere along the road from freshman to senior year, it seems like half of my grade turned 21.

Between older siblings, fake IDs, and the family fridge, getting beer was no longer an issue at high school parties. Our (well, my) generation contributes billions of dollars to American breweries every year. I’m not one to judge; whether or not someone drinks in high school hardly reflects on his or her character in the long run, if you ask me. What I am concerned about are the hundreds of thousands of pounds of aluminum litter that the teenage population has dumped into our environment.

Now, before all you parents start hunting me down to “set me straight” on my seemingly cavalier opinion on teenage drinking, hear me out. The fact of the matter is many kids experiment with alcohol in high school. By no means do all high schoolers “party,” but we’re all just growing up here and making mistakes is a part of that process.

Back to my point: It seems to me that while getting beer is easy, disposing of the cans poses more of a challenge. Tossed from car windows, dumped in an unsuspecting neighbors’ wooded property, or merely left behind when a suspicious parent interrupts a backyard game of beer pong, it’s not just the kids getting trashed.

Granted, I have the horrible disadvantage of looking my own age, but I’m not the “cool” kid that brings the beer, the one that “gets a party started.” Instead, I’m the weird one collecting hundreds – maybe thousands – of discarded Bud Lights, Coors, and the occasional Corona – and recycling them. Sometimes I feel like a homeless person, collecting cans for the nickel refund. But on any given weekend, I earn upwards of $10 at Stop & Shop and then I buy myself breakfast.

The trouble is I can only do so much on my own. I can’t pull over and snatch every discarded 18-pack on the shoulder of Route 202, nor can I make the rounds on a Friday night to clean up after everyone’s parties. I understand why people are hesitant to do what I do. My mother was furious with me when she found out. I didn’t know the consequences of being found with alcohol (empty regardless) in my car at the ripe old age of 17.

The irony of the situation is painful. In exchange for cleaning up our little town, I could get arrested. Not to mention the dirty looks I get on Sunday mornings at the Stop & Shop can deposit. Give me a break, people. I’m a straight-A student, the captain of two varsity athletic teams, and if you hadn’t guessed, a member of the Somers High School environmental club.

I’m not a bad kid, much less a delinquent. I’d just like to see a bit of green grass around this place in 20 years.

By Jacklin Aronchick

The holidays are past, the parties are over, and enough leftovers remain in the refrigerator to last you a lifetime. Going back to school seems like the bane of my existence and yet I miss the familiarity of its blanch walls. As much as I love vacation, being away from school for too long makes for a boring and meandering lifestyle. While we aren’t occupied with the repetitiveness of a school day, where would our path of activity wander off to?

What would I be doing if I weren’t in school for six hours a day every week? I’m pretty sure it would involve eating and sleeping a lot more than is healthy, or mindlessly playing whatever game is available. I’m sure that some people would be studying, but the majority would find many more amusing things to occupy their time.

The past two weeks were filled with videogames and whatever I found that was amusing. I’d much rather say that I got a great deal of important things done, but I didn’t and to say so would be lying and I prefer not to lie to a large mass of people I do not know. Actually, I got bored enough to completely clean up my room and start cleaning the house, but not in a productive way. Instead of tidying up the already clean space, I completely dumped everything out and started from scratch. Not a terribly productive endeavor but in the end positive.

I smile at the prospect of the end of vacation, and I’m no prodigy student. The early mornings, the boring classes, the procrastination that would come back in a flurry of late nights and assignments. The fact of the matter is I don’t mind being occupied by school. In fact, I like it and look forward to it.

Beyond looking forward to the next school day, I also look forward to the New Year. Coming back to school after New Years, though everything is physically the same, I find everything has freshness to it. Whether it is because it’s been void of the legions that call it school, or because of my new outlook after a reflection of the past year. My idealistic side insists that it is the latter and so I will believe that school is once again a beneficial endeavor worth pursuing. The renewing of this belief brought me to make a resolution suited to furthering that enterprise.

New Years was rather uneventful this year. I stayed home with my parents and brother and we watched the ball drop, stayed up for another hour or two and then went to bed. I thought it was the best way to ring in the holiday. No drinking at a random party or sneaking out, or something equally illegal. Why would you want to start off the New Year hung over or fearing the wrath of your parents? No thanks. I’ll take my quiet celebration at home and save all the real partying for St. Patrick’s Day!

That brings me to another hot topic: teen drinking. As an adolescent, it is normal to feel compelled to do what is considered “cool.” Consuming alcohol is definitely at the top of the list. There is nothing especially cool about puking your brains out or having a skull-splitting headache in the morning. Socially, it is widely accepted and even heavy drinking is accepted; it is simply hidden or hushed up and swept under the carpet. I blame a few things for teen drinking: No. 1 is, hands down, the teenage thirst for freedom from the hold of parents. If there is anything that a teenager can do that is against their parents’ wishes, they will do it. A close No. 2 is societal norms. Drinking is a socially acceptable activity, so it is something made to be desirable so as to tear down any social boundaries that would be put in place by a non-alcoholic lifestyle. Though highly debatable, I also believe that the drinking age has a hand in the teen drinking problem. In other countries where the drinking age is 18 or younger, the problem with alcohol is little if not non-existent, yet in the US, teen drinking is a major problem. One will always want what one cannot have.

This year is another opportunity to try and break out of bad habits and self-destructive ways. Look on it as such. Be more self-aware and think about how you can better yourself. Try and see the good in people, and the good in yourself. As a senior in high school I know these may seem like empty words and blind statements, but seriously try it.

I know I will.

By Jeff Zalesin

	Jeff Zalesin is a junior at Briarcliff High School, where he serves as the arts editor for his school newspaper, The Briarcliff Bulletin. When he isn’t writing, Jeff runs track and field and listens to all types of music, except Christmas music.

In America, the frenzied holiday season is perennial fodder for B-list Hollywood studios, a much-needed shot of espresso for the comatose retail sector, and an annual excuse to indulge one’s fondness for red velvet hats. But for some discerning music listeners, the season to be jolly amounts to little more than a Holy Headache. As some of us wish Jesus a Happy 2008th and others celebrate the miracle of long-lasting oil, we are all once again victim to a relentless onslaught of holiday-themed music.

If you wanted to survive the month of December without ever hearing a holiday tune, you would need to make some severe lifestyle changes. You couldn’t walk into a grocery store or a coffee shop, or even along the sidewalk of a commercial street. You’d have to plug your ears and run at the sight of pedestrians in groups, for these might be carolers.  Television, of course, would be strictly off limits. And you wouldn’t dare touch your FM radio dial.

And for all that effort, you’d earn yourself a reputation as a social pariah. To most Americans, it would seem bizarre that anyone would want to avoid holiday music. Aversion to Christmastime fervor – Scroogism, if you will – is considered about as foreign to American culture as ritual foot binding. A real American, we are taught, has the warmth of heart to partake in the wholesome Christmas Spirit, and accordingly -themed music is part of the package.

Of all the types of conformity American society expects, this may be the one I find toughest to abide. It surely doesn’t help that I identify as a Jew, but what really stands between me and the Christmas Spirit is my distaste for the sonic trash that pollutes my musical environment this time of year. And though I do my best to judge all songs with a fair and open mind, I have grown convinced that holiday music is uncommonly derivative and predictable. Over the years, I have formulated the following categories for the easy classification of all holiday songs:

1. Winter Weather – Paradoxically, many holiday songs have little to do with an actual holiday. Instead, they espouse the defining meteorological feature of winter – namely, snow – and all the fun it entails. This category happens to include several of the most popular holiday songs of all time: “Jingle Bells,” “Winter Wonderland,” and Bing Crosby’’s enduring smash, “White Christmas.”
2. Santa Claus – Old Saint Nick may not be real, but you wouldn’t know it from the volume of pop music written in his honor. For the sake of convenience, we will classify all songs about reindeer in this category by association. Familiar examples: “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Little Saint Nick,” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
3. Christmas Wishes – These most generic of songs have so little thematic substance that they can do nothing more than simply wish us a Merry Christmas.  Think I’m exaggerating?  Consider the following: “Feliz Navidad,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
4. Jesus – He may be the birthday boy, but the actual airtime devoted to Christmas songs about Jesus is comparatively slim. The best-known ones tend to be old seasonal hymns that predate the advent of recorded music, such as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Silent Night.”
5. Christmas as Proxy for Something Else – Record executives know that for two months a year, they can shove anything down America’s collective throat, so long as it contains the word “Christmas.” So we get listless, formulaic pop that uses Christmas as a front for something even more mundane, like a run-of-the-mill love affair or a child’s dental woes. Instructive in the phenomenon: “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth,” and Jimmy Buffet’’s wretched “Christmas In The Caribbean.”
6. Christmas as Comedy: Snobs like me enjoy making a mockery of Christmas music, but a few recording artists have beaten us to the punch. Weird Al Yankovic won laughs as usual with “The Night Santa Went Crazy,”” but it’s hard not to feel a little sorry for Dr. Elmo, whose sole claim to fame is the omnipresent “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.”     
7. Hanukah Songs – So far, Kwanza has been spared the trivializing effect of pop songs in the Christmas mold.  Hanukah, sadly, has not been so lucky. Since most Jews can’t remember what Hanukah is about and most non-Jews never learned, popular Hanukah songs don’t get more specific than a vague allusion to “days long ago.” Three examples, all of roughly equal religious merit: “O, Hanukah,” “The Dreydel Song,” and Adam Sandler’s “Hanukah Song.”

I once believed that anyone who records Christmas songs is an incorrigible sellout, but I abandoned that theory because the list was so overwhelming: Springsteen, the Beach Boys, Sinatra, B.B. King, U2, The Supremes, The Beatles – heck, most of the great artists in the history of popular music have at sometimes turned to Christmas music. To me, these recordings represent the low points in the otherwise stellar careers of highly talented performers. Sure, there are those who claim that the intrinsic joy of holiday season forgives its trite soundtrack. Bah, I say. Humbug.

By Alex Bleiweis

	Alex Bleiweis is a senior at Hendrick Hudson High School. He is the public relations officer of the student government. He enjoys studying French and watching sports.

Every successful musician will make the same assertion that Kevin Bacon did, saying that, “Music is the stuff that keeps us alive. It has the power to heal us, move us and stimulate our minds and our bodies. Kids need music as much as they need the education fundamentals.”

An unfortunate truth about local high schools is that music education is often overlooked if not forgotten. Although music education is becoming more prominent at Hendrick Hudson, the location of the band and orchestra rooms is particularly appropriate for the situation we’re in. Located down myriad flights of stairs, in what’s referred to as “the dungeon,” Hen Hud musicians, who are tirelessly rehearsing in order to achieve honors such as “Gold Ratings” at the annual NYSSMA festival, are flying under the radar. Music has proven to be an extremely vital component of education and needs further attention.

Much of my high school life has been dedicated to music. As a member of the Hendrick Hudson Wind Ensemble for four years, it’s been an exciting privilege to improve as a musician under the acclaimed band director, Joe Stamboni. As much as I’ve progressed personally, I’ve been disappointed by the lack of support for the music program as a whole. The band, for example, is still the same ignored group as it was four years ago. Every year, we play at least two major concerts, march in the Memorial Day Parade, play at three elementary schools, and do various other performances for community service, but it seems that these actions have gone unnoticed by everyone but our parents. In fact, even playing at fortissimo at every home football game has brought us more negative complaints from sports-absorbed coaches rather than compliments from community members. It drives me crazy.

Initially, you may not think there’s a lot to be said for music education, but the benefits of are so monumental that is a pity that it goes ignored by so many. Students who participate in music programs are proven to achieve higher standardized test scores than non-music students. Additionally, it’s been proven that music students are superior in basic math, thanks to being exposed to counting rhythms and beats at a young age. This is only what statistics have proven, but as a music student, I know that the benefits go beyond grades. Being part of the ensemble teaches me how to cooperate with a group of people in order to reach a common goal and it teaches the value of hard work and determination. These are important qualities that can’t be taught in textbooks.

Looking at all the hard work that’s put in by each student, I feel like we deserve to look out into the audience during a concert and see an auditorium packed with people intensely listening to our selections. Instead, I peer beyond the bell of my tuba and see a small scattering of people, mostly parents. Every single empty seat is a poor reflection on our student body and our community.

Maybe it’s not their fault, maybe it’s just that our society isn’t interested in music. Still, I can’t understand why the community packs the stands for a football game, but can’t come support the musicians. There are many improvements that need to be made to the music program, including new classes, new rehearsal spaces, and an acoustically sound auditorium. However, none of this can be done without support, which means more people have to start coming out to see us. We can raise all the money in the world, but we’ll never reach our full potential by playing to an empty hall.

You should ask anyone who heard last year’s epic Carmina Burana performance, a combined effort between the band and the chorus or any of the musical groups past selections including Respighi’s “Pines of the Appien Way.” They can vouch for us. Sacrificing two nights a year to come hear the group play for free is something that community members should be excited about.

So please, regardless of where you live in the county, find out when there are high school concerts in the area and attend them. You’ll be impressed with what you hear, and you’ll understand the importance of supporting this great cause.

By Ben Brenner

	Ben Brenner, a senior at Somers High, last wrote for this column on Feb. 20, 2008.

It was my first year in Somers, my first day at Primrose Elementary School, my first 30 minutes of recess in the first grade. My only friend was my neighbor, Robby, and as I searched frantically for my missing friend, my curious eyes drifted towards the middle of the Primrose field.

Two sets of bright orange traffic cones rested 10 feet apart from each other on opposite sides of the field as a mob of first graders chased after the black and white ball rolling between them. That was my first experience with the game that would dominate the next decade of my life, the game that would introduce me to new people and places, and the game that would teach me how to win – and how to lose.

Since my first grade year, my life has been dedicated to soccer as I played on several club teams—among them, two teams ranked in the Top 50 nationwide – junior varsity and varsity. Countless camps, countless practices and countless games have left me with memories of fun, memories of torture, memories of victory, and memories of defeat.

I remember the highs and the lows, the goals scored and goals allowed, the games when I played every minute and the games when I never left the bench. I remember the cleats, from the $30 size four, synthetic Adidas, to the $200 kangaroo leather, futuristic size 10 Nikes.Yet, every new pair of cleats were accompanied by a new blister, every turf field accompanied by a dirt field, and every win accompanied by a loss.

As the end of my career looms closer, what am I left with – which memories are destined for permanence? I will never forget that soccer has escorted me around the country, from the most remote areas in Virginia to Disney World in Florida, and has gifted me with mentors and teammates. It has taught me not to take success for granted and has shown me that winning is not the only type of success.With three varsity coaches in four years, it has enabled me to deal with change, to transition, and to accept what is out of my control.

More than anything, I know the influence that soccer has had on my life extends far beyond the field, and the most important skills it has left me with have nothing to do with a ball. My soccer game has not lasted a mere 90 minutes, it has been stretched to 10 years, and it has coached me into the best condition of my life.

So have I left everything on the field? I am confident that when I finally untie my cleats and take off my shin-guards, I will have the satisfaction of knowing that my endurance lasted 10 years and that everything I have gained far ourweighs everything I have left behind.

By Heather Clausen

	Heather Clausen is a senior at Hendrick Hudson High School.

We are in high school, which means we are invincible to everything. There is no such thing as death, injury, or disease. That is not until we are older – much older. Right?

This is my fourth and final year of walking the halls at Hendrick Hudson High School. We have been very lucky to not have suffered any tragedies like many other schools do, which may be the reason that so many of us think we are Superman.

I play for the varsity softball team. One of our teammates, Shannon, is the happiest person we know. We have never experienced a game or practice without her laughing hysterically or grinning from ear to ear. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with cancer this year. We realized we were not so invincible after all and knew we had to step up to the plate and help her any way we can.

When I heard about the Stay Awake-A-Thon, I immediately thought of getting our team together to participate in this event in honor of Shannon. The Stay-Awake -A-Thon, which is on May 3 at Hen Hud High School, is a community event designed to celebrate with cancer survivors, remember those who lost their battle, and provide support and encouragement to those currently battling this horrible disease. You can stay for an hour, or all night!

We are hoping that Shannon will be able to join us at the event and participate in the survivor parade and other fun activities that will be going on all night including a live band playing music from the ’50s on up, family wacky relay races, karaoke, and much much more!

In order to raise money before the event, teams can do individual fundraising or team fundraising. We are doing several team fundraisers. Next week will be our main fundraising week. During the four lunch periods we will be holding a bake sale as well as selling lollipops. Also, we will be asking for donations and spare change. If we raise $1,000 or more, two of our teachers, Dr. Barcomb and Mr. Hallock, have agreed to shave their head in honor of all cancer victims!

We will also be hosting IPod Day where students will pay $1 in order to have the privilege of using their IPod for one day during study hall and lunch periods. In addition, we will have onsite fundraising which will include a pie-throwing booth!

No person should have to fight this terrible disease, especially someone so happy and so young. We need to find a cure for this. If you would like to make donations to Team Shannon please visit www.active.com/donate/cancerneversleeps/hhvs2007 or e-mail HClausen10@yahoo.com for information on how to send cash or check donations.

For more information about the event and how you can join us, visit www.henhudleos.org and follow the link to the Stay Awake-A-Thon.

Cancer never sleeps, and neither will we!

By Hannah Berkman

	Hannah Berkman is co-Editor-in-Chief of the Briarcliff Bulletin at Briarcliff High School.

Anyone growing up in today’s world has been exposed to enough prom references in pop culture to know basically how planning the event should go.

We’ve seen the trials and tribulations of Cameron and Joey as they plot to get Bianca to go to prom with them in the movie “10 Things I Hate About You.” We watched countless suntanned boys execute over-the-top gestures, most of them involving candles and limos, to ask their manicured counterparts to the prom on “Laguna Beach.” Ren won our hearts over in “Footloose” when he fought the authorities to protect the senior prom in all its holiness. We breathed a sigh of relief when Spicoli finally made it to the prom, despite his teacher’s attempts to keep him away, in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”

One common theme rings throughout all these pop culture staples. Prom is a huge deal, and planning it should be no less of an affair. At Briarcliff High School, this seems to be true as well.

There are undoubtedly elements of prom that must be planned months in advance. Finding a limo cannot be put off till June. Rates are ever-increasing, and availability is decreasing. Briarcliff students have not lost any time in organizing and booking their limos. However, they’ve also begun the processes of finding dates and dresses even earlier than last year – for an event that isn’t until June.

Whispers of “so-and-so’s already asked so-and-so to prom, and his ex-girlfriend doesn’t even know yet” started around February break. Back in March, such exchanges had become full-blown, out-loud conversations about those who have yet to find dates.

It’s easy to shrug and say that prom is silly and doesn’t mean anything.

It’s easy to be one of those people who act like they are above the anticipation of that one night at the end of their years in Briarcliff schools. It’s easy to say that prom is overrated. Prom is an event that sets itself up to be ridiculed as the most mainstream, corny American tradition that high school students regularly experience.

And yet, in renouncing prom, we are engaging in a practice that is possibly even more typical of teenagers than the fanfare itself. Without making the effort to make prom enjoyable, without trying to work it out in a way that fits our personal styles, those among us who renounce prom are participating in the single most conventional attitude that we as high school students are practically born with: feigned apathy.

When things don’t end up exactly how they were planned, the automatic reaction of people our age is to spit out something along the lines of “whatever, I don’t care.” (Although this phrase usually includes more harsh language that this newspaper can’t print.) Do we really not care or are we just copping out because we feel defeated by circumstances we think we can’t control?

Luckily, many of the trivial concerns we occupy ourselves with, such as prom dates and limos, are merely tests of personal attitude. So the person you wanted to go to prom with is taking someone else. So a junior has the same dress as you. So your group of friends is going in two different limos. The typical response of people in these situations is to turn against prom, to say that it is an overrated night that doesn’t have any bearing on our years in high school. And though prom may be built up to be more than it should be, we effectively rule out any possibility of having fun by assuming such a conventional attitude.

When it comes down to it, prom is just as much fun as we make it. If we feign apathy, pretend it doesn’t matter to us, and secretly sulk about everything that went wrong, we are doomed to go through the same motions of our miserable predecessors who renounced prom. But if we choose to enjoy it, to make the most of prom, we can not only surprise ourselves at how easy it is to make an attitude adjustment, but also we can have an incredible time. In the case of prom, but also so many life experiences, we really will get out what we put in.

Americans have long enjoyed watching people our age sweat over prom and whatever else comes our way because in the years of SATs, college admission, and innumerable physical and emotional changes, it’s easy to get “dazed and confused.” So perhaps the wisest advice we can listen to would be from someone who has not yet hit such an erratic stage. ‘Tween pop star Hannah Montana sings to thousands of 12-year-old girls at her concerts that “life’s what you make it.” Prom is revered as the ultimate celebration — a sendoff from our primary school education and to a certain extent, our childhoods.

We can choose to diminish its importance, or we can celebrate it.

By Rina Joshi

	Rina Joshi is a sophomore at Yorktown High School. She is co-editor of the Arts and Ideas section of The Voice. In addition to writing, she enjoys dance and competitive swimming.

Have you ever noticed a garden? When one weed emerges, it causes several others to sprout around it. The same theory can be applied to religion.

The creation of the Bible sparked three different interpretations of the messiah, messenger of God. The Bhagavad-Gita created new ways and ideas to perceive Hinduism all across India. The list can continue on forever, since there are millions of ways to decipher god(s). To some people, religion means the world. But to others, such as those who are atheists, don’t care for God. Why is it so hard to accept others for their religious differences? What makes religion so dominating?

Religion is important to many people. It is evident that their passion for religion is so powerful that nations continue to be torn apart. For example, during the mid-1900s Muslims felt inferior to Hindus. Muslims wanted to be free of Hindu rule. They fought for a separation of India into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. As the war between Hindus and Muslims raged on, the clearer it became that they both fought for one apparent reason: religion.

Even the Arab/Israeli conflict was fought over Jews and Muslims. They fought to decide who the “sacred land,” Israel, truly belonged to. Arab Muslims believed Mohammad was the messiah, who made his mark on Israel; where as, the Jews believed otherwise. For years, Jews were tormented by the Arabs and left homeless. The conflict ended, as the Jews slowly began to prevail in gaining Israel. However, gaining Israel was all the Jews received. No one in the Middle East respected them, or attempted to acknowledge them. Today, Jews are still fighting a century-long battle against Anti-Semitism.

Religious discrimination doesn’t just occur in the world. If you look hard enough, you can see it in our schools. There are some religious groups who are not accepting of others and who cause a lot of tension throughout the student body.

Through the eyes of a Hindu girl, I perceive school and academics differently than a Christian girl. That is not to say I’m less dedicated to my work, nor is the other girl. I’m just saying our religious backgrounds have a huge say in the way we understand and accept certain aspects placed in our lives.

Our school seems like a diverse learning center; even with a very small minority population .We still seem to see a good variety of religions walking the halls. However, some students are more accepting of religions than others. There have been numerous instances where a fight has broke out over a difference in religion. We are one family, one student body, and no matter how different we seem to be, we really are not.

I agree that religion is a huge part of life, if you choose to believe in God. But is that the only thing that separates Hindus and Muslims or Jews and Muslims? What it all comes down to is knowing that there is always someone to believe in, whether it is after death or during a tough situation. Religion is a reason to have faith, and to be spiritually connected, not only with the environment but with others.

Why is it so hard for the world to come to an agreement that religion is based on peace and having pride in who you are? What is the big deal about another man or woman sitting next to you on the train believing in a different religion? As long as you know that your messiah, bhagwan, prophet, or however you would like to word it, exists, then all is well.

Religion is a complex and nail-biting concept. It exists not only in the real world, but in our small community in school. Accept those who are different and learn from them, because that is the only way our hearts learn to love, and our minds begin to understand life.