Pro: Leave the Fashion Show Alone

It may be 2012, but it’s not the end of the world.

The Presentation Fashion Show is an event that is well attended but even more well known for its substantial contributions to Presentation’s work scholarship fund. As tradition goes, it’s a night filled with glitz and glam, where Pres alumni and parents gather to support the school as select members of the senior class strut their stuff on the runway.

However, the fashion show is also notoriously known for causing chaos among the senior class. Because students have to wait four years before they have a chance to be a model for the fashion show, they are especially peeved when they don’t get picked for the job. Furthermore, because the selection process is said to decide models based on a student’s involvement in the school, Pres girls are angered when their extracurricular activities are deemed unworthy.

While it’s definitely understandable for Pres girls to be a little upset if they are not chosen to model in the show, downright outrage is not the way to go. Students shouldn’t base their outlook on their entire high school career on whether or not they modeled in their high school fashion show. The knowledge gained and friendships made at this school are by far more important than the fleeting memories we will have of one fashion show weekend. In a few years, no one will even remember which senior was chosen for this event. As Ms. Miller reminded the senior class, even she wasn’t selected to be a model her senior year, but yet, life went on.

Moreover, contrary to popular belief, the fashion show is not about the models or hostesses—it’s supposed to be centered on raising money for other students’ tuition. If one steps back to look at the bigger picture, it may seem odd that an event that was originally focused on philanthropy has somehow grown into a competition throughout the senior class. Maybe if students took the main idea of the fashion show into consideration, there wouldn’t be such widespread unrest among the student body.

Therefore, the selection process that ‘elects’ models to the Fashion Show is just fine the way it is. Half the students are chosen by merit while the other half are selected based on pure luck of the draw. Furthermore, according to event coordinator Ms. Spencer, the physical drawing of participants in the fashion show was publicized to the students, outruling the possibility for a ‘conspiracy.’ This process leaves the majority of Presentation’s most involved students satisfied that their hard work paid off and another group of students who perhaps weren’t as involved pleasantly surprised with an opportunity to represent their class.

One must remember that, in the real world, models are typically assessed solely on exterior qualities: beauty and height. Given the stigma of fashion shows and modeling in general, Presentation does a fine job of choosing their models based on worthy qualities such as involvement and school spirit.

Pres-ents

We all have a favorite Christmas gift that we received as a child, but have you ever wondered what your teachers’ favorites were? I asked a few teachers what their favorite Christmas gift from childhood was to find out.

Mr. Wang: “One I remember right off the bat was a Star Wars speeder bike action figure play set from Return of the Jedi.”

Mrs. O’Byrne: “I got a pogo stick—that was awesome!”

Ms. Lagana: “My snow skis because I loved skiing and I wanted my own…and it was a big surprise.”

Ms. Rosenthal: “I remember being super super excited to get my ten speed bike when I was about 10 or 11. I remember I actually snuck out with my sister and brother to see if it was there because I had asked for it for two years and I finally got it. I had to hold back the ahhhh.”

Ms. Ford: “In 1976 I got a red, white and blue bicentennial with a banana seat. I had a broken arm and couldn’t ride it so my dad had to push me around the house.”

Ms. Perryman: “One year I got this awesome dollhouse. It was kind of full of trouble because you had to put all the stickers into all the rooms but I had so much fun putting all the stickers and furniture in…but then it kind of became an obsession because I constantly had to replace all the furniture into the rooms.

Mr. Buell: “The Nintendo Entertainment System, the NES, the original Nintendo was the greatest and still is the greatest gift ever given—that and Jesus.”

Ms. Newton: “My favorite Christmas gift that I remember as a youngster—this is weird—he was a reindeer made out of light blue and white leather. The reason I loved it was because it felt so good when I touched the leather. I remember it well.”

Ms. Rahmig: “I love stuffed animals so any stuffed animal I was overjoyed with.”

Ms. Dang: “A dress because I always liked to dress up.”

Mr. Blightman: “I was five years old and I got the original Nintendo—1986 remember it.”

Ms. Healy: “A pair of roller skates. Every year, I wanted a new pair because I would wear them out. I would play outside with all the neighborhood kids around the block and have kind of a roller derby.”

Ms. Schrader: “My favorite present was a bike back in the day where we didn’t have to wear helmets. It was a symbol of my independence and I loved it.”

Ms. Gutto: “My skip-it because everyone had one and it had a cool song. I don’t even know why it was fun to play with. If you could do it for a really long time you were really cool.”

Player Profile: Aly Murakami

Aly Murakami is currently a senior at Presentation High School and is one of the primary point guards on the varsity team. When out of the classroom, she can be seen wearing jersey #10, dribbling up and down the court executing impressive plays and scoring crucial points during high-intensity games. Even though she was injured during the majority of the last year’s season from suffering a tear in her ACL, she has recovered and is ready to bring her “A” game on the court. The Voice had the opportunity to speak with Aly about her basketball career and the upcoming season.

The Voice: When and why did you start playing basketball?
AM: I started playing basketball when I was in kindergarten because my brother used to play and I just wanted to be like him. My parents also played when they were younger too, so it just runs in the family.

The Voice: What’s your typical week schedule like during the season?
AM: During the season we practice Monday through Saturday and we have games at least twice a week. So after school I normally go home, do homework for a few hours and come back to Pres to practice. I try not to waste time and do my best to get things done as soon as possible.

The Voice: What’s your favorite thing about this sport? What’s the hardest thing about it?
AM: I like how basketball is a team sport.  My teammates push me as hard as I push them, which is helpful. But, I think the hardest part about the sport is just being able to read the game because it takes a lot of intelligence to understand what things need to be done, especially as a point guard.

The Voice: What are you most looking forward to this season?
AM: We have a really young team this season, so I’m looking forward to helping the new players because I was in their situation four years ago. Also, I’m looking forward to having a good season by keeping the C.C.S. title and hopefully win W.C.A.L. again.

The Voice: The team lost some key players from last year; how do you feel about this and how will this affect the team?
AM: We lost nine people; eight of them were seniors. Also, four out of our five starters are gone so we’re going to have a completely different team this year and a different style of playing.

The Voice: What makes Pres’ basketball team unique from all the other teams out there?
AM: I think this year we’re really close and we work well with each other around the court.

The Voice: Who’s your biggest rival and how will the team prepare?
AM: Our biggest rival has always been Mitty. We know their style because we play them all the time, so I think we’re just going to work hard in practices and prepare on defense and offense.

The Voice: If you didn’t play basketball, what other sport(s) would you play?
AM: I think soccer because I used to play when I was younger, until I stopped in eighth grade to play basketball.

The Voice: What was your proudest basketball moment?
AM: It might have been when our team won the C.C.S. championships last year.

The Voice: What advice would you give to a person who just started playing basketball?
AM: Probably just to work hard during practices and keep learning from your mistakes.

The Voice: What do you do in the off-season?
AM: I play basketball year-round, so there’s not much off-season for me.

The Voice: If you could play one on one against one player, alive or dead, who would it be? Why?
AM: I would probably want to play against Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics because I think he’s a really good player and I could learn a lot from him just by playing one-on-one.

Presentation Alumni Share Their Experiences as College Athletes

Today, college sports are glorified almost as much as professional sports. Players like Stanford’s Andrew Luck are garnering as much—if not more—media attention than current NFL stars. While college games are exciting to watch, and even more fun to attend, what the televised games do not portray is how the pressure of sports at the collegiate level affects its athletes. Our Pres alumnae gave The Voice an inside view to what it’s like to be a collegiate competitor.

While most college students arrive on campus for their first classes around mid-September, most student-athletes have already begun training for their intense pre-season during the summer. Athletes often characterize pre-season preparation as the most extreme because classes have yet to begin, so almost every minute of their day is dedicated towards their sport.

Emma Caringello, who plays soccer for Boston University, compares her pre-season schedule to that of a professional athlete: “We have breakfast, then a two-and-a-half hour morning session, a lunch break, followed by a two-and-a-half hour afternoon session, dinner, and then a two-hour team meeting.”

However, once school starts, athletes need to balance school and their sport. A Pres alum, who plays field hockey, but cannot be named due to her school’s media policies, says that as long as she makes schedules and manages her time, schoolwork doesn’t become too unbearable.

During the season, most athletes will practice two to three hours a day, followed by a weight training once a week. However, because some athletes must travel out of state, or even cross-country for away games, college students will often miss anywhere from one to two weeks of school.

Although missing class is a huge disadvantage of playing sports in college, universities often do as much as they can in order to ensure their athletes’ academic success. Caringello says that Boston University allows its collegiate athletes to register 30 minutes before their other classmates. BU also provides a student athlete support services building that offer tutoring for athletes. Stephanie Sorg, who plays soccer for Santa Clara University says that SCU’s athletic program works hard to help student-athletes combat procrastination. “To help us balance school and soccer our athetic academic support manager makes sure that we put in at least six hours of study time in the library a week. The time set aside allows us to complete our work and get in any studying that we need. Having mandatory study hall decreasese that margin of being “lazy” and skimming on our work.”

According to Pres alumni, other benefits to playing a sport in college are the close friendships that they develop with members on their team and with players in other sports. Because athletes operate on a different type of social calendar (one that does not include alcohol) than the typical college-goer, they often spend their weekends on creative outings with their team. Also, playing a sport is a fantastic way to meet new people, they say, especially if you’re new to the school and aren’t yet familiar with the student body.

While many students readily praise the advantages of playing sports at the collegiate levels, some Pres alumni have had negative experiences. Sarah Cole, who was recruited to play volleyball for Davis, quit the volleyball program before the onset of the academic year.

“My current major is mechanical engineering with materials science, which would have been virtually impossible [to manage] during the volleyball season,” she explains. Sarah also offered some helpful advice to student-athletes who discover that collegiate sports are not what they initially expected

“My advice to student-athletes would be to treat the recruitment process like a two-way street. I think when I was talking to coaches, I acted like I was being interviewed, but really, I should’ve been interviewing them as well. You’re going to be working with them every day for the next four years, so it’s important that your values and expectations align. I don’t regret quitting the Davis team at all; if it doesn’t feel right, it’s not and it is perfectly fine to change your mind.”

Overall, while most of our alumni describe collegiate sports as much more difficult than the high-school level, they still recommended pursuing playing a sport in college. “It’s a whole different college experience; it’s difficult and something that you have to work at every day, but it’s definitely worth it!” says Caringello.

Player Profile: Laura Vazquez

Laura Vazquez is currently a Presentation senior who runs for both the cross-country and track team; she has been a member of both teams since her sophomore year. She is looking forward to her final season and is hoping to continue running in college.

The Voice: How did you become interested in running?

LV: I became interested in running my freshman year—I wanted to try something new.

The Voice: How much do you run during practice?

LV: Our mileage changes depending on when we race. On average, we usually run six to seven miles a day. When we do not have a race we can run up to nine miles a day, however, when we have a race coming up we usually cut down our mileage to about three miles the day before.

The Voice: You are a member of both cross-country and track. Do you prefer one to the other?

LV: I don’t; I really like both of the sports. I like cross country because of the time of season and the hills, but I also like track because we have more races.

The Voice: How do you prepare for the cross-country season?

LV: I build my base mileage over the summer. This helps me recover from the track season and transition into cross country.

The Voice: What’s the fastest time you’ve run in your event?

LV: The fastest time I ran for three miles was an 18:10 just recently this season!

The Voice: What is your most memorable running experience?

LV: I have had many memorable experiences with my team, but I think the team trip to the Clovis Invitational last year was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to it this year. Another memorable experience was when my team placed first at the Lowell Invitational. I was really happy and it was nice to see everyone else excited too.

The Voice: How do you balance schoolwork and sports?

LV: By trying to complete the assignments on the day they were given. However, I also try to catch up on a lot of my school work when we have morning practice because then I have the whole afternoon to catch up. I also do a lot of work over the weekends.

The Voice: How has running affected you as a person?

LV: Running always makes me feel better. When I am having a bad day, running always makes me feel good.

The Voice: Do you have any advice for someone who might be considering joining cross-country or track and field?

LV: My advice for anyone that is interested in running is that you should try it! You don’t have to already be running; when I began my freshman year I had never run before and ended up enjoying it a lot. The team is very supportive and the sport is so much fun!

The Voice: Do you plan on running in college?

LV: Yes, I plan to run in college. I have sent out athletic resumes and letters to the colleges that I’m interested in. I’ve gotten a few calls from some of the coaches and have been staying in contact through email by sending them updates about my season.

The Pros of Nuclear Energy

The dramatic increase of carbon dioxide emissions between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has forced developed nations to search for a way to produce energy without the air-polluting byproduct. Nuclear energy is clearly the way to accomplish this.

Greenhouse gases, including CO2, trap heat in the atmosphere. Normal levels of greenhouse gases are necessary for the survival of life on Earth because they prevent the atmosphere from dropping to below freezing temperatures. However, an excess of greenhouse gases equals an excess of heat, resulting in global warming, the increase of Earth’s oceans and near-surface air.

“Recent warming coincides with rapid growth of human-made greenhouse gases. The observed rapid warming gives urgency to discussions about how to slow greenhouse gas emissions,” said James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

As a solution to this global problem, scientists have turned to the technology of American physicists at the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, who in 1948, discovered that the same technology that killed thousands of Japanese in Hiroshima and Nagasaki could be implemented as a CO2-free energy source.

The town of Arco, Idaho, pioneered the use of greenhouse gas-free power when it became the first community to run completely on nuclear energy in 1955. Two years later, the first large-scale nuclear power plant in United States opened in Shippingport, Pennsylvania.

The replacement of the use of coal and fossil fuels with nuclear energy to produce electricity reduces greenhouse gas emissions because CO2 is not a byproduct of nuclear energy. Nuclear energy has also reduced the United States’ reliance on foreign fossil fuels. As the price of fossil fuels continues to rise as a result of recent revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa, an increase in nuclear energy production will become necessary.

Yet, even though the production of nuclear energy has rapidly increased in the past 60 years, there are some who argue that this form of energy should be discontinued. Therefore, further production of nuclearenergy remains a heated debate among politicians. Dissenters of nuclear energy argue that the dangers associated with nuclear energy production, mainly radiation poisoning as a result of a leak, are too great.

The United States, however, has implemented a series of strictly enforced laws that ensure the safety of nuclear power production. All companies wishing to generate nuclear energy must obtain a license from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) which is responsible for research, safety standards and inspection of nuclear power plants. Currently, nuclear waste is stored safely in steel-lined concrete vaults, filled with water to keep the temperature low as the radioactive waste decays. In the near future, the government plans to either dispose of toxic nuclear waste in a deep geological respiratory or recycle used nuclear fuel by extracting energy remaining in the fuel.

Despite the use of nuclear energy, worldwide carbon emissions continue to swell. This is due to an increase in industrialization and materialism. Although the production of nuclear power is rising, the manufacturing of electricity from coal and fossil fuels continues to rise as well.

“If we are to meet the growing electricity demand in the United States without significantly increasing emissions of greenhouse gases, we must maintain a diverse supply of electricity, and nuclear power must be part of that mix,” said Congresswoman Judy Bigger.

The dramatic increase of carbon dioxide emissions between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has forced developed nations to search for a way to produce energy without the air-polluting byproduct. Nuclear energy is clearly the way to accomplish this.

Greenhouse gases, including CO2, trap heat in the atmosphere. Normal levels of greenhouse gases are necessary for the survival of life on Earth because they prevent the atmosphere from dropping to below freezing temperatures. However, an excess of greenhouse gases equals an excess of heat, resulting in global warming, the increase of Earth’s oceans and near-surface air.

“Recent warming coincides with rapid growth of human-made greenhouse gases. The observed rapid warming gives urgency to discussions about how to slow greenhouse gas emissions,” said James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

As a solution to this global problem, scientists have turned to the technology of American physicists at the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, who in 1948, discovered that the same technology that killed thousands of Japanese in Hiroshima and Nagasaki could be implemented as a CO2-free energy source.

The town of Arco, Idaho, pioneered the use of greenhouse gas-free power when it became the first community to run completely on nuclear energy in 1955. Two years later, the first large-scale nuclear power plant in United States opened in Shippingport, Pennsylvania.

The replacement of the use of coal and fossil fuels with nuclear energy to produce electricity reduces greenhouse gas emissions because CO2 is not a byproduct of nuclear energy. Nuclear energy has also reduced the United States’ reliance on foreign fossil fuels. As the price of fossil fuels continues to rise as a result of recent revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa, an increase in nuclear energy production will become necessary.

Yet, even though the production of nuclear energy has rapidly increased in the past 60 years, there are some who argue that this form of energy should be discontinued. Therefore, further production of nuclearenergy remains a heated debate among politicians. Dissenters of nuclear energy argue that the dangers associated with nuclear energy production, mainly radiation poisoning as a result of a leak, are too great.

The United States, however, has implemented a series of strictly enforced laws that ensure the safety of nuclear power production. All companies wishing to generate nuclear energy must obtain a license from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) which is responsible for research, safety standards and inspection of nuclear power plants. Currently, nuclear waste is stored safely in steel-lined concrete vaults, filled with water to keep the temperature low as the radioactive waste decays. In the near future, the government plans to either dispose of toxic nuclear waste in a deep geological respiratory or recycle used nuclear fuel by extracting energy remaining in the fuel.

Despite the use of nuclear energy, worldwide carbon emissions continue to swell. This is due to an increase in industrialization and materialism. Although the production of nuclear power is rising, the manufacturing of electricity from coal and fossil fuels continues to rise as well.

“If we are to meet the growing electricity demand in the United States without significantly increasing emissions of greenhouse gases, we must maintain a diverse supply of electricity, and nuclear power must be part of that mix,” said Congresswoman Judy Bigger.

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