The Blue and Gold

Opinion 2-6
World News 7-9
Local News 10 - 15
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/ Entertainment 16 - 17
Malden High School Our 96th Year Sports 18 - 24
Volume 96 Edition 6 March 2011

Play Production Reaches Finals

W hen most people at Malden
High School think of March,
generally they think of the annual
Junior Varieties Show. But March
is not just a month for JVs -- it is a
month for a different stage produc-
tion as well; March is dedicated to
the annual Drama Fest.
While MHS competes every
year in Drama Fest, this year is the
first in seven that the MHS Play
Production has moved on from
the preliminaries to the semifinals.
Even more importantly, this is the
first year in recent MHS history that
PlayProduction has moved on to
the finals. But here is the real kicker:
they did so with the play American
Land, a production created and
written by the cast and crew of Play
Production -- in other words, it is
entirely student-written.
“I am thrilled,” stated Walsh
about moving on to finals. “It is
wonderful that the students are get-
ting recognized for their hard work,
talent, writing, and personal stories.
… I want to [congratulate] the kids also for their professionalism, their another. Their show is a multi-facet- piece of theater, and they handle [it]
for writing such an honest show, and work ethic, and their respect for one ed, intelligent, risky, [and] difficult continued on page 12

Japan Struggles New Wellness Policy

O n the morning of Friday

March 11, 2011 Japan was
struck with a devastating earth-
quake, followed by an extremely
destructive tsunami. Japan en-
dures earthquakes regularly, but
none have ever reached this mag-
nitude in recorded history which
spans 140 years. The 8.9 earth-
quake stunned the whole island of
Japan, and left the country para-
lyzed with 50+ aftershocks that are
still occurring, mostly averaging
at the magnitude of 6.0. Tsunami
warnings were broad-casted in
several other countries such as
Russia, Indonesia, New Zealand,
Chile, and the Philippines.
Once the quake ended, and
the Japanese thought nothing else
could be made worse, they were
flooded with several tsunami
continued on page 7
M any students, faculty, and
parents have been discuss-
ing the new wellness policy went
into effect on March 14, 2011 in all
Malden Public Schools as well as
other schools around the nation.
Within the policy, there exist
some basic rules: discouragement
of food being given as rewards
in class, prohibition of the sale of
food unless it is 30 minutes before
or after school, and the banning
of unhealthy foods such as those
sold in vending machines. During
school, the food has to meet spe-
cific requirements, and candy can
no longer be sold on the school
campus. Although senior privi-
leges will still be available, seniors
are not allowed to bring food back
to campus from off-campus sites
unless the food meets regulations.
continued on page 14

Protests in the Middle East - page 9 Baseball - page 21 Swimming State Tournament - page 18
2
The Blue and Gold
Editorials March 2011
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

Fleeting Addiction
Malden High School
T unisia. Yemen. Egypt. Yemen again. Libya. Wis-
consin. Charlie Sheen. Japan. Libya again. A day
or two of Rebecca Black. Libya.
And the US, for once, found itself watching and caring
about the outcome.
The problem with this newfound, otherwise
As a collective whole, the United States has helpful addiction to the news is not so much its exis-
The Blue and Gold gone from wholly apathetic to the rest of the world’s
problems to captivated by the selfless revolutionaries
tence as its fleeting nature. Egypt has already faded
from our radar despite new advancements in its
77 Salem St. in the Middle East to utterly addicted to the 24 hour political system. Even Japan with its nuclear crises
Malden, MA 02148 news cycle. and 10,000 death toll is less of a front-page headline
This began, of course, way back in August with yet another war at hand and the recent release
of 2010 when 33 miners were trapped in a mine in of explicit photographs taken by American soldiers of
Copiapó, Chile, causing the rest of the world’s collec- dead Afghan civilians.
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
tive ear to perk up momentarily, then settle back into Yet these stories remain vital to the future of the
João Nascimento
place for over two months until the rescue of the min- world, democratically and environmentally speaking.
Nidale Zouhir
ers in October captured the attention span of over 10 The fact remains that while stories seem to fade in
million people in the US alone. CNN’s ratings surged magnetism as time goes on, they are not over; rather,
MANAGING EDITORS
for the first time in months, averaging 5 million view- they tend to become more important when we stop
Brittany Foley
ers during the first fifteen minutes of the rescue. paying attention to them. The voting in Egypt alludes
Alexandra Mathieu
Then, for about three months, everything to rising Islamist power in the region, but responses to
seemed to return to normal. People got their news this voting allude to a lack of stability despite demo-
HEAD COPY EDITOR
from Yahoo or E!; Twitter trending topics remained cratic reforms; for example, presidential frontrunner
Brittany McFeeley
resolutely Justin-Bieber-related; local news stations Mohamed El Baradei was attacked when trying to vote
covered the premiere of the new Harry Potter movie in favor of these reforms, tweeting that the attacks by
ONLINE EDITOR
and celebrity divorces. Though crazed dictators and “organized thugs” were “disgusting” and that “hold-
Omar Khoshafa
repeals of unjust laws caused momentary blips in the ing [a] referendum in absence of law [and] order is
nation’s otherwise flat news-related heart rate, the an irresponsible act.” Meanwhile, nuclear concern in
HEAD LOCAL NEWS WRITER
focus remained on Miley Cyrus’s use of the (entirely Japan has led to discussions about clean energy and
Cristina Peters
legal) drug Salvia. what it entails, as well as discussions regarding the
But then, on Dec. 18, 2010, a Tunisian protester reliance of several other countries on nuclear energy.
HEAD WORLD NEWS WRITER
named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire and This is not to say that the protests in Libya and
Dan Holmqvist
something miraculous happened: people cared. the United Nations’ response to them are unimport-
Though initially, the response was almost non- ant; rather, the nature of the news coverage of these
HEAD ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
existent and reported mostly on international news attacks reflects a sort of anti-apathy that has taken the
Reginah Sanyu
networks like the BBC and Al-Jazeera, as the protests US by storm. While people care (or at least care long
in the Middle East grew, so, too, did the amount enough to turn on CNN for a few minutes instead of
HEAD SPORTS WRITER
of news time dedicated to covering them. When MTV), they do not care for extended periods of time,
Alfonse Femino
Egyptian protestors fought to expel President Hosni and certainly not long enough to allow full stories to
Mubarak, people all over the internet tuned in to develop. This leads to a lack of information regarding
HEAD OF BUSINESS
watch and cheer them on. When pro-union protes- political developments in the US and worldwide, con-
Alexander Gennigiorgis
tors in Wisconsin fought to maintain their collective tributing to the Information Age’s astoundingly large
bargaining rights, Americans watched and conveyed group of mis- or un-informed Americans. Unfortu-
HEADS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
their agreement or disagreement with Governor Scott nately, news stations, news websites, and newspapers
Lauren Benoit
Walker. do not boast this neglected news on their front pages;
Sharon Lee
As a result, Al-Jazeera English – a channel not as a result, in order to be properly informed about the
readily available in the US – has installed a livestream happenings in the rest of the world, one must read
HEAD OF SPECIAL PROJECTS
on its website providing live (and ballsy) footage beyond the headlines and past the stories constantly
Kayla Bramante
from North African protests. Meanwhile, BBC News’s conveyed through cable news stations to the seem-
livestream showed direct and terrifying footage from ingly less important news briefs tucked into the end
COPY EDITORS
the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan. of newscasts.
Haley DeFilippis
Catherine Poirier
Megan Kelly Nidale Zouhir
Natalie Fallano Co-Editor-in-Chief
Paige Yurek Editorial Policy
Joshua Kummins
The Blue and Gold is an open forum for
student expression. It is produced by students
REPORTERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS for the school and the community. The views
Rebecca Broomstein presented in this paper are not necessarily those
Kaela Bryan of the advisor or the school administration. The
Freddie DiPhillipo views presented in the editorials are those of the
Johanna Lai editors-in-chief or guests. The goal of The Blue
Kristen Leonard and Gold is to inform and entertain students as
Jacob Martino well as the community regarding issues that we
Vicki Ngan feel are important.
Amalia Quesada Nylen We strongly encourage readers to respond
to material printed in the form of signed letters to
Timothee Pierre
the editors. No libelous, malicious, defamatory, The Blue and Gold staff holding the first place award
Amanda Rosatone obscene, or unsigned material will be printed.
Joel Stevenson for Excellence in News Writing from the Suffolk Uni-
The Blue and Gold reserves the right to edit the let- versity Greater Boston High School Newspaper Com-
Lesley Ta ters. Names may be withheld upon request. Not
petition on March 10, 2011. Photo by Ryan Gallagher.
all letters will be printed.
ADVISOR Although The Blue and Gold appreciates the
Ryan Gallagher support of advertisers, we may refuse any ad- Corrections:
vertisement that violates the above policy or that
Established in 1915 promotes products questionable to student use. Page 1 - The photo of the Malden High
Any correspondence concerning this publi- School Swimming Team is Sophomore
cation should be directed to Mr. Ryan Gallagher’s Elyse Valente, not Amalia Quesada Nyl-
Check out our online edition:
room in C339 or to his mailbox in the main office. en.
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
The Blue and Gold Page 15 - Senior Ekaterina Taunova was
c/o Malden High School not mentioned as a Gold Key Winner.
77 Salem Street
Corrections to the editor can be submitted to
Malden, MA 02148
theblueandgold@gmail.com
The Blue and Gold
March 2011
Letter to the Editors
Jeraldine Scibelli
Senior
A s an eighteen year-old entering
the workforce, I was distraught
when I heard that Republican Gov-
ernor Scott Walker passed the anti-
union law in Wisconsin banning
unions’ rights to collective bargain-
ing, which goes against American
values. It constitutes the stripping
of American workers’ rights to be
heard and considered by the gov-
ernment.
The AFL-CIO was founded
to give working people a voice, a
voice that came in the form of col-
lective bargaining; their goal was
not purely for a pay increase, it was
to improve working conditions and
long hours, and, in the case of teach-
ers, allowed them to teach freely in
the classroom, giving them the right
to teach multiple points of view
without fearing the repercussions
of teaching a controversial subject
such as evolution. They were given
this freedom through the enactment
of the Wagner Act of 1953, which
applied rights of citizens - defined
in the Bill of Rights - to workers in
the workplace. Workers were, for
the first time, allowed to “pros-
ecute employers for unfair labor
practice,” which worked to regu-
Opinion 3
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
late and keep big business ethical.
By giving the union mem-
bers a voice, the Wagner Act im-
proved working conditions for
everyone in the US and made our
conditions a source of envy to many
other countries. By stealing away
union workers’ collective bargain-
ing rights, Walker is stealing their
rights as Americans. The Repub-
lican Party claims to represent the
average man, which was the focal
point in the 2008 elections when
Senator John McCain spoke avidly
of Joe the Plumber - who was meant
to represent the average worker - yet
they act to outlaw the rights of 15.8
million union workers in America. Mike Oren of Las Vegas, Nevada, known as the Peacewalker, joins in as
Pretty ironic. Walker claims this “ac- protesters flood the streets around the Wisconsin State Capitol on Sat-
tion will save jobs, protect taxpay- urday, March 12, 2011, to protest Governor Scott Walker’s elimination of
ers, reform government, and help union bargining rights for state and public employees. (Michael Sears/
balance the budget,” but again, his Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/MCT)
actions are filled with irony. To pass the budget by cutting union pay, he the AFL-CIO official website ex-
the bill, he cut out the parts that had turned to cutting collective bargain- plaining the purpose of collective
anything to do with the budget, but ing rights, which made the union bargaining: “The union movement
he did that only after the Demo- workers quickly backtrack and represents the only collective voice
cratic senators (who had fled to Il- agree to a dock in pay so that they for those who do the work, the only
linois) did not respond to his threat would not lose their rights. How- force capable of resisting the relent-
of firing 1,500 public workers. But ever, even with the unions’ compli- less forces of the competitive market,
this madness could all have been ance, Walker worked to take away the only movement that speaks for
avoided if the Union workers would both. This, somehow, fails to paint all working people—the unionized
have just taken a pay cut like Walker a picture of a man who cares about and the non unionized, the full-time
had wanted. So why did they not the American public, especially not and the part-time, the highly paid
just agree to it? Oh wait, they did. the working man. and the poorly paid.”
After Walker’s first attempt to cut I leave you with a quote from
4
Examining the Numbers
in AP Literature
Alexandra Mathieu
Managing Editor
I n Malden High School, it is com-
mon to see students around mid-
March begin to decide what classes
to enroll in for next year. Whether a
student decides to take another elec-
tive or an extra year of a language,
one of the biggest decisions a stu-
dent will have is deciding whether
or not to bump up to Advanced
Placement course work. AP classes
were designed to offer high achiev-
ing students a chance to further their
learning by challenging them with
college-level material. In particular,
the AP English and history courses
should also offer students a chance
to learn more about the world
through historical occurrences and
multifaceted literature. The AP
Literature and Composition exam
should then, in theory, test students
on literature from writers of differ-
ent backgrounds and different life
experience. However, in reality, the
AP exam does not choose writers of
diverse backgrounds.
The AP exams have existed
since 1952 when the Ford Founda-
tion wanted to create a study about
high schools and college level work.
Since 1955, College Board has taken
control of running the AP exam and
managing the courses. Therefore, it
is essentially up to College Board
to decide what writers and poets to
feature in the prose and poetry es-
says on the AP exam. Therefore, it
becomes a question of the College
Board’s ethics on why it does not
feature more racially diverse writers
on its exam. It is not hard to see that
the choice of writers on the exam
is surprisingly homogenous. Since
1970 there have been 43 AP Litera-
ture exams (including the make-up
exams for those who miss the test
date) meaning that there has been 43
poets and 43 prose writers featured
on the AP literature exam. Of those
86 writers, 89 percent are white,
67 percent are male, 46 percent are
American, and 36 percent are Eng-
lish.
It is understandable why Col-
lege Board chose the writers fea-
tured on the exam, since they are all
renowned writers. Ignoring writers
like Joseph Conrad and poets like
Edgar Allen Poe would be turning
a blind eye to men who have had a
huge impact on the literary world.
However, it has become a little bit
unreasonable to continue to ignore
the work and impact of female writ-
ers and poets. Yes, Emily Dickenson
and Jane Austen were rightfully
featured on the exam but looking
at the numbers, it is clear to see that
men dominate the exam. Having the
exam feature primarily male writers
is not only ignoring the work of in-
credible female writers but also de-
The Blue and Gold
Opinion March 2011
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
nying those taking the exam a female
perspective. It goes without saying
that women lead a different life than
men and have to deal with a wholly
different set of problems each day.
Reading literature by women offers
a new and possibly fresh outlook on
overused and perhaps clichéd topics
such as love, death, and the human
condition.
The same applies to the other
classifications of race and country of
origin. There are several writers of
literary merit that are not white and
European. In my AP Literature class,
we have gone over both prose and
poetry from several different writ-
ers. We have read Chinua Achebe’s
Things Fall Apart and Jhumpa
Lahiri’s The Namesake alongside
the classics of William Shakespeare
and Joseph Conrad. I was even in-
troduced to the fascinating work of
feminist poets such as Alice Notley
and Hoa Nguyen in my Literature
class. All of these writers are able to
create work with significant literary
and poetic meaning, once again of-
fering that different perspective and
take on the world.
The Massachusetts Math +
Science Initiative is a program that
MHS is a part of that aims at increas-
ing “participation and performance
in Advanced Placement courses…
to prepare students for college and
career success in science, technol-
ogy, engineering, and mathematics”
as stated on the program’s website.
In an email interview, the English
Content Director for MMSI, Laura
Cronin, expressed her beliefs about
the AP exam. “It is incredibly im-
portant that we continue to read
and study literature from a variety
of cultures and time periods. I am
not sure why most of the literature
on the AP examination comes from
only a few sources, but it is some-
thing that I have noticed and about
which I have been concerned.”
Cronin continues in the inter-
view to stress the importance of a
syllabus throughout the year that
offers the diversity the exam seems
to lack. However, to a student who
has experienced a year filled with
a variety of writers and poets, the
exam’s homogeneity feels like a let-
down. What is the point of studying
work from international and female
writers if it is not at all tested or
featured on the exam? I understand Data collected and organized by Alexandra Mathieu, Kayla Bramante, and
that the class is supposed to not only Catherine Poirier.
prepare me for the exam but for col-
lege and life as well. The novels read
in class are supposed to enlighten the exam but to the exceptional writ- respond. However, as the English
students and give them the material ers that the College Board ignores. Content Director for MMSI, she has
to do some critical thinking. I am all Cronin is just as befuddled by a lot more clout in this area than I do
for this and have actually enjoyed the situation as anyone else. “Un- and has promised to bring this up
my year in AP Literature. However, fortunately, I cannot give Malden with the College Board soon. “I will
when College Board only presents High School an answer as to why be attending the College Board Con-
European male writers, it does less- the examination is so one-sided,” ference this summer,” she wrote,
en the feeling of importance of the she wrote. Neither can I since when “and I promise to discuss this issue
other writers. It is an insult to not I attempted to contact the College on behalf of you, the students of
only the students who prepared for Board via email, it chose not to Malden High School.”
The Blue and Gold
March 2011 Opinion 5
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

Historical TV Hit: Modern-Day

America vs. The Bad Guys Slavery
Megan Kelly Kristen Leonard
Copy Editor Reporter

A merica is the home of the

free and the brave, though
the national anthem left out
another adjective to describe
H uman trafficking, which is
modern day slavery, is a ter-
rible and barbaric thing. It is esti-
the United States population:
mated that there are between 10
certifiably paranoid. Of course
and 30 million slaves worldwide.
with the 9/11 attacks in 2001,
Even though slavery is illegal in
there is a total right to be scared
every country it still happens in
as the attack was not targeted to
secrecy. Why does slavery even
a military base or to a US gov-
happen in the first place? Well, if
ernment official, the main tar-
you need someone to work for you
get was to destroy the civilian
instead of hiring someone that you
population’s confidence in their
have to pay, you buy a slave and
government. Though it was not
have them work for little or no
like America had never experi- Ward 6 School Committee member Steve Winslow discusses health issues in
money. But this is not always the
enced widespread panic before, schools around the nation during a public meeting on March 10, 2011. Photo by
case, sometimes people are slaves
much of the population at that Sharon Lee.
to work off their debts.
time had lived through the end
People known as bound la-
of the Cold War era and possibly the Reagan’s plan for a satellite secu- Afghanistan; sometimes these ac-
borers, work until their debts are
Pearl Harbor attacks of World War rity program nicknamed ‘Starwars’ tions were committed by the Taliban
that would protect the nation from and sometimes America did some paid off. This is what is happening
Two.
in Uttar Pradesh, India. The bound
This paranoia came was in re- nuclear attack by beaming down very nasty things as well. The last
laborers are working as brick mak-
sponse to the attack of course, but rays from specific points around the sentence may be shocking to a few
ers. They make bricks all day long
what is more important is that the earth’s orbit. as America is the country with the
The most interesting part of the worlds interest at heart, cough, in the hot sun. Even young chil-
history books have seen this reac-
plot though is not who our enemies cough; but it is undeniably true that dren, who should be enjoying their
tion from the US before. Historically,
are but how we manage to make there may be justifiable reasons for life playing, are forced to work.
we have grouped ourselves into the
them; sometimes we send in our why people do not see us as we do, This is against India’s child labor
metaphorical Jedi category of the
laws, but still goes on. Arun Singh,
world, the good guys, the new sher- military to kill their family mem- Saint America the martyr.
the supervisor of this brick making
iff in town who lives for justice but bers to send a message like an old As 2011 is underway and as the
school crime family; other times one country goes through its next set of site tells CNN, “Kids are working
might not play by the rules. While
here for food. They need food. If
someone who has offended us, time allies get to fight an American challenges we will get to meet our
they can’t fill their stomachs, they
whether it be a country, organiza- driven war and clean up an Ameri- newest villain in the soap opera of
need to work.” Bonded labor is il-
tion or political belief, becomes the can caused mess as in the case of America vs. The Bad Guys. It may
legal in India, but is not enforced.
Sith, the ruthless bank robber, the pre-Taliban Afghanistan. be a new age of technology and
For those who do not know, there are new forms of violence, but Some of the people do not
Mexican drug Cartel to our Leroy
Afghanistan in the eighties was our there is not going to be a new plot. even know how much they owe
Jethro Gibbs.
little brother with their Mujahidden America will always have an enemy, because they may not be the one
With the country’s fear over
that’s really in debt. If someone in
Islamic Extremists growing to such freedom fighters being a modern whether it be the Taliban, Canada or
your family is in debt you have to
a degree that a color coded national day version of our Revolutionary the Daleks, and along with it there
work to help pay it off. Lalti, mother
security system was implemented War; as they were fighting against will always be a paranoia over their
of seven, and her children all have
by President George W. Bush’s cabi- the pure personification of aggres- mere existence.
to work, to reimburse money bor-
net, it was only a call back to when sion and repression, the Soviet But instead of concentrating on
Union. Oh a rhyme, how lovely to eradicating our enemies world wide rowed from the landowner to treat
“Nuclear Drills” were run in the
her husband’s tuberculosis. She
Cold Era, which advised students introduce the fact that America lead and creating propaganda that makes
tells CNN, “If I don’t work, they
to cower under their wooden desks by legendary Texas congressman them comparable to a regiment
will beat me. They will abuse my
covering their heads and necks to Charlie Wilson supported the Mu- of purely evil, blood thirsty Orcs
jahidden by sending rocket launch- from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, daughter. If you don’t give in, they
prevent injury from the blast.
will sell your daughter or son.” So
Michael Moore’s 2002 docu- ers and other weapons so that our maybe we should just take responsi-
the family continues to work hop-
mentary Bowling for Columbine, long time objective of defeating the bility for what we did. Because our
ing one day, like most, to be free.
addresses this specific part of our Soviets would be accomplished in- nation is made up of humans, who
Many in the town of Uttar Pradesh
culture. Dubbing it the “Culture of directly by the government support- by the way do not always make the
have tried to escape. One named
Fear” it seems that just like after ing a little mountain country. most intelligent decisions, we are
When the Soviet’s left in em- bound to screw up and affect other Kharban Gagai tells CNN that he
9/11, America goes into periods of
has tried to escape, but was always
great fear and shock. That after each barrassment as the once strongest nations and peoples. But instead of
caught and brought back. Gagiai’s
fear inducing event America’s gone and most feared military in the blaming why people hate us on their
father had a loan of , 8000-rupee
through in the past century or so has world had been defeated by rebels just purely evil cultural ways look
(equivalent to $175), and after his
created reactions comparable to that who only had a few old Winchester to America vs. The Bad Guys. The
rifles; the victorious Afghanis were reruns whether interpreted by a Tea father died he is the one who has
of headless chickens.
to pay it off.
Though what is more impor- left out in the cold by their biggest Party Presidential Candidate who
On Mon. March 6, 2011,
tant than the many references to pop supporters, America. confuses Concord, New Hampshire
Leaving the new Afghani gov- with Massachusetts’s Concord and Saeeda Khan, a Pakistani woman,
culture is the fact that this is a rerun
ernment to clean up the nine years Lexington; or by a four year old was put on trial charged with
of American history. Remember the
of Soviet violence in their war torn preschool student who is wearing keeping a woman named Mwa-
internment camps that were cre-
nahamisi Mruke, from Tanzania,
ated in reaction in World War 2, by home might not have been the nicest mismatching shoes, the evidence of
as a slave. Mruke was expecting
the US government, to house ‘sus- thing or the smartest move either. As our past screw ups in history will be
to work as Khan’s house keeper in
pected’ spies for the Germans and the devastated state of the country there, recognized by politicians or
London, England, but instead of
Japanese? Or the Red Scares that allowed for the al-Queda regime to not.
being treated like a house keeper,
plagued US presidents with the ever gain membership, they found a new Maybe next season on America
enemy to point fingers at for all their vs. The Bad Guys there might be a she was treated like a slave. Mruke
possible Russian nuclear ‘threat’?
problems. new plot because, hey, sometimes worked 18 hour days and was not
The country let it’s paranoia and fear
Of course there are also hun- people get tired of watching the allowed to leave the house unless
control it and go to extreme lengths
dreds of other little things that lead same episode lines with new char- she was chaperoned by Khan. She
to ensure the “safety” of the country,
an example being President Ronald to our frenemy relationship with acters over and over again.
continued on page 7
6
The Blue and Gold
Opinion March 2011
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

Childhood Wellness Declines:

Government & Society Step In
Paige Yurek
Copy Editor

or her dance moves wins. In this

T he rise of obesity and other

preventable health-related is-
sues has forced the United States
government to resort to changing
what students eat in schools, in
hopes of creating a healthier gen-
eration of children, with new laws
being implemented starting on
March 14, 2011. Some students,
parents, and school staff alike have
their positive and negative opin-
ions about the change that has, and
will continue to be taking place
until all candy, sweets, and foods
that are high in fat and cholesterol
are eliminated.
Having dessert and treats
such as cake, candy, and ice cream
can be a delicious finisher to a
healthy lunch, or a sweet snack to
have during the afternoon. How-
ever, when children start over eating
and abusing this privilege, it affects
their health, not only for the time
they are children, but for the rest of
their lives, thus ruining the privileg-
es for those kids who do not overeat
sweets and have their privileges
taken away as well. This is similar
to how gum is not allowed in class,
because one legendary student had
to put his gum under his desk, and
thus to prevent any future mess-
making and germ-covered desk
undersides, teachers and principals
had to restrict chewing gum in class.
Nevertheless, the change is
obviously a positive approach to
thinning out American children,
and training them to live an overall
healthier lifestyle. By starting out
interested and craving foods that
are beneficial at a young age, the
student will look forward to those
foods in the future, and eventually,
Childhood Obesity and other health issues are reflected from how they are
brought up. (WRIGHT, CHILDHOOD OBESITY MCT Campus)
eating them will be natural. As a
child, when I went out to eat with
my grandparents, I used to actu-
ally order broccoli, because I liked
it. Quite unusual for a child of five,
but the point is, I was introduced to
healthy foods at a young age, and
adapted to it, and now today, I still
enjoy the same beneficial foods, and
so I eat healthier than other kids
might.
Malden’s new Wellness Policy
is an excellent approach to adapt-
ing students to a healthier eating
lifestyle. However, overeating is not
the only factor that affects children’s
health that is an issue today. Ad-
vances in technology may also add
to a decline in youth health. Because
handheld video games and iPods
are amongst the many common
electronics that everyone seems to
have in 2011, kids are becoming
less physically active because they
are just sitting there twiddling their
thumbs on their text messaging
phones or on their iPod Touches.
On the other hand, advances in tech-
nology may counteract the marked
decline in youth health. Video game
systems such as the Nintendo Wii
and the XBox Kinect promote physi-
cal activity, particularly in younger
generations, because in order to
play, one has to actually get up
and move one’s body, rather than
twitching one’s thumbs
and getting hand cramps.
A favorite game that
promotes a lot of physi-
cal activity is Just Dance
2, in which the player or
players dance along to hit
songs from different time
periods. The player who
is most accurate in his
game, there are different modes
that players can play, all of which
promote physical activity. Game
modes include: Free style, which is
a mode in which players can dance
to whatever song they choose, a
multi player mode, and a sweat
mode, which is a mode that pro-
motes extreme workout.
Little by little, future gen-
erations may be the healthiest they
have ever been if these approaches
work. From changing the Cookie
Monster on Sesame Street to the
Veggie Monster, and Nickelodeon
turning off their entire channel
once a year to persuade kids to get
out and play, to actually putting in
laws that enforce healthier eating
and making Physical Education a
necessity to graduate, children are
being more influenced into healthier
ways of life slowly but surely. Not
to forget all the Above the Influence
ads being shown on TV, in maga-
zines, and on the Internet, in which
smoking, alcohol abuse, and just
plain getting wasted is highly dis-
couraged. Change is happening lo-
cally, nationally, and internationally,
in hopes of making future citizens
happier and healthier, and much
wiser as well.

Are you Interested in Graphic Design, Market Research, Web Design, Photography, Political Cartoons, and
Writing? Joining The Blue and Gold is a great way to experience ‘real world’ application of these skills, build
your resume, and be a part of a great team.

The Blue and Gold is looking for some motivated, enthusiastic students to be a part of a diversely talented group.

If you are interested, please submit a formal letter to Mr. Gallagher’s Jenkins House (C) Mailbox by Friday,
April 2, 2011. (Ask one of your teachers, staff, or principals for help in crafting a ‘formal letter of interest’ if
you do not know how.)

Include the following in the letter: Your full name, homeroom & house, year of graduation, current English
teacher, why you would like to join the staff, and what you can offer. All letters must be typed. Letters that
do not address all of the above may not be considered.

Come by and talk to Mr. Gallagher in room C339 or your guidance counselor if you have any questions.
The Blue and Gold
March 2011 WORLD NEWS 7
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

Natural Disaster
continued from page 5

was not even allowed to go back

home to visit her dying parents
or attend their funeral when
they died. Mruke was paid a
10 British pound allowance in
London and 50 British pounds
were put in a bank account in
Tanzania. Mruke’s living condi-
tions were bad, like most slaves.
Even though Khan has a three
bedroom house, Mruke slept on
a mattress in the kitchen.
Even in the United States,
which has stringent laws in place
meant to deter human trafficking,
it is estimated that between 14.5
thousand and 17.5 thousand peo-
ple, mostly women and children,
are directly affected by human
trafficking. In the United States,
most victims are introduced to
forced labor, although there are
cases of child labor and sexual
exploitation as well.
The most important piece
of American legislation relating
to human trafficking is the Vic-
tims of Trafficking and Violence
Protection Act of 2000, which
increased the severity of punish-
ments for traffickers, allocated
more government funds towards
fighting and preventing human
trafficking, and allowed victims
of trafficking to apply for per-
manent residency in the United
States.
Still, the prevalence of hu-
man trafficking in the United
States hints at the scope of the
problem worldwide. Even in
America, a developed country
whose government has the ca-
pacity to create effective legisla-
tion targeting human trafficking,
people have to grapple with the
illegal trade of humans each
day. Power lines were down, and
Imagine then, the scale of
human trafficking occurring in
places in the world without a
proper, functioning government.
This is why trafficking is such an
enormous problem in places like
Uttar Pradesh, India. The Indian
government does not have the
ability to crack down on human
traffickers when it has over 1 bil-
lion other people to think about.
There are many anti-
modern day slavery groups out
there who are working to end
this cruel practice. One group is
The CNN Freedom Project. The
group is going to “join the fight
to end modern-day slavery and
shine a spotlight on the horrors of
modern-day slavery, amplify the
voices of the victims, highlight
success stories and help unravel
the complicated tangle of crimi-
nal enterprises trading in human
life.” Though ending modern
day slavery for good seems like
an unreachable and unattainable
goal, anti-slavery laws will hope-
fully be properly enforced by
governments around the world
and the number of slaves will
decrease significantly over the
coming years.
Devastates Japan
Photo caption: (Left) Map locating epicenter of massive earthquake that struck Japan north of Tokyo. MCT 2011 .
(Right)The debris of the destroyed Natori neighborhood of Sendai, Japan, on Sunday, March 13, 2011, that was hit
hard by the tsunami in the aftermath of an 8.9 earthquake. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/MCT). On front page:
Yoshikatsu Hiratsuka weeps next to where his mother’s body remains buried under rubble in Onagawacho, Miyagi
Prefecture, on Thursday morning, March 17, 2011. (Yomiuri Shimbun/MCT)
continued from front page
Lauren Beniot
Head of Photography
waves that reached the height of 27
feet, and wiped out all coastal areas.
Boats on the streets of Japan, and
embedding buses into apartment
buildings were all common sights.
Resembling a Hollywood disaster
movie, the tsunami wiped away
everything in its path.
telephones could not get any ser-
vice which caused much distress to
the Japanese, and for other family
members around the world. Train
services were ceased, and the in-
ternational airport was shutdown.
Hundreds of cars traveled on what
was clear to try and get out of the
way of more aftershocks.
At midday police found more
than 400 bodies in the city of Sen-
dai which was the closest to the
earthquakes epicenter. More than
200 persons were reported missing.
A count of 550 were injured. As of
March 20, 2011, 8,450 people were
confirmed dead, and 12,931 have
been confirmed missing. About
360,000 people have been displaced
from their homes, and forced to take
shelter in evacuation homes.
Tsunami waves reached all the
way to the west coast of the United
States in California. The waves were
not as strong as the ones Japan ex-
perienced, but it did cause about $44
million in damage. The death toll in
California was obviously lower than
Japan. One man living in Crescent
City died because he was trying to
capture the moment with his cam-
era, and suddenly swept away by
the waves.
When the tsunami cleared
away, the surrounding areas of the
Fukushima nuclear power plant was
evacuated when confirmed that the
cooling system had failed. And also
there was a leak of deadly radiation.
Workers trying to fix the leak are at
risk of getting cancer, or even at risk
of immediate death. The crash of the
nuclear plants have caused massive
fires which seemed almost uncon-
trollable. Fire fighters struggled to
contain the fires in several areas. In
efforts to extinguish the fires and
try to prevent any more radiation
from leaking out, Japanese officials
dumped tons of sand and concrete
on the site. The problems of radia-
tion did not end there. There was a
concern over whether the food and
tap water was contaminated or not.
It was found to have some traces of
radiation, and caused more deaths.
Elevated levels of iodine were found
in samples of water which effect
many starving communities. There
is not enough food, fuel, or water to
sustain Japan for much longer.
The double disaster devastated
northeastern Japan. Houses, towns,
cities were destroyed. Families were
torn apart, a rising death toll and
businesses were all destroyed. A
train full of commuters was swal-
lowed by the tsunami, and roofs
were caved in by the quake. Once
the tsunami passed, it left oil leaks
which spurred into huge fires whose
flames were almost uncontrollable.
The total cost of these two
natural distastes in Japan, and many
uncontrollable fires came to be a jaw
dropping $10 billion. Scientists pre-
dict that this massive series of unfor-
tunate events launched an outbreak
in the Ring of Fire, setting off much
more volcanic activity in the years
to come which can create a tremen-
dous amount of natural disasters.
Myths say the Ring of Fire will be
most active in 2012 when all life as
we know it is suppose to come to an
end. The Ring of Fire extends all the
way across the Pacific Ocean to the
Americas.If the San Andreas fault
were to be devastated by a quake
near the Californian coast those mil-
lions of people living anywhere near
sea level will be greatly affected.
Some news articles report that
the double feature actually moved
the island of Japan closer towards
the United States and of the shifting
tectonic plates shifted the planets
axis. The areas of Japan closest to the
epicenter moved a full thirteen feet
closer to the US.
The earthquake felt in Japan lit-
erally and figuratively changed the
whole world. On the day of Mar. 11,
even though unnoticed the day was
actually shorter than usual days. Be-
cause the earths mass was shifted to-
wards the center planer earth spun
a bit faster.The Pacific tectonic plate
moved under the North American
plate which then shifted Eastern
Japan towards North America. The
earthquake rotated the earths axis
approximately 6.5 inches. Once the
worst of the quake terminated, in
result the island of Japan sunk two
feet, which made it more accessible
for the tsunami waves to come in
and further devastate the island.
With the still rising death
tolls Japan is in need of some seri-
ous economic help. Celebrities and
icons are extending their arms and
hearts out to those in Japan suffer-
ing. Others who are not celebs or
icons can help too. There are many
relief funds raising money to help
those in desperate need and taking
steps to restore Japan. The dona-
tion of anything would aid those in
Japan greatly. Every penny counts,
in times like these nothing can be
ignored or forgotten.
8
Unions Suffer Setback
in Wisconsin
Protesters rally outside the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday, February 25,
2011. Later, the state assembly passed Governor Scott Walker’s budget repair bill. (Tom Lynn/Mil-
waukee Journal Sentinel/MCT)
Natalie Fallano
Copy Editor
O n Valentine’s Day this year, the
state of Wisconsin was not feel-
ing the love, but quite the opposite:
anger. This was due to the wide-
spread public opposition to the new
provisions in legislation proposed
by Republican Governor of Wiscon-
sin Scott Walker.
This is because of the projected
$3.6 billion budget deficit that state
has. To lower this, Walker’s plan
includes state employees to give
5.8% of their salaries to cover pen-
sion costs, give 12.6% towards their
health care premiums, and would
weaken collective bargaining rights
for most public employee union
members. Many Democrats and
union leaders agreed to accept
Walker’s first two terms but refuse
to accept the third: eliminating their
collective bargaining rights. Walker
will not pass the bill without the
third term.
Tens of thousands of union
workers in Wisconsin have been
demonstrating outside of the Capi-
tol Building in Madison, WN as well
as a sit-in within it. Many teachers
called in sick for the protests and
some schools even canceled school
so teachers could attend. The “Kill
the Bill” story has gone worldwide
and even United States President
Barack Obama opposes Walker’s bill
stating it “seems more like an as-
sault on unions,” according to ABC
News.
Along with the president, over
half of Americans disagree with
World News
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Walker. A USA Today poll asked
Americans if they would approve or
oppose a bill like the Wisconsin bill
in their state and 61% opposed it
while 33% for it. Another poll by the
New York Times revealed that 60%
of Americans opposed restricting
collective bargaining rights while
33% were all for it.
Some may ask how such a bill
could even move on to the voting
stage with such a high percentage
of public opposition. The reason it is
since recent lections, the majority of
the Wisconsin senators are Repub-
lican. But that does not mean the
Democrats do not stand a chance.
They have been using other tactics
as well. Nicknamed the “Wisconsin
14” are 14 democratic members of
the Wisconsin Senate who flew to Il-
linois in order to delay voting on the
bill. For a bill to be passed their must
be 20 senators present, but there are
only 19 republican senators. The
senators planned on staying outside
of Wisconsin and did not plan to
anytime soon. The republican sena-
tors even attempted to have them
arrested for being “in contempt and
disorderly behavior,” according to
the Wisconsin State Journal.
Although Wisconsin may be
ten thousands of miles away, the
protesters have gained support
from people all over the country
including union members locally,
in Massachusetts. On Feb. 22, 2011
protesters crowded Boston street in
from of the state house in Boston,
MA. Many held up signs reading
“Stand Up for Wisconsin Workers”
and “We Stand with Wisconsin
Teacher.” Current Massachusetts
Governor Deval Patrick even
made an appearance showing his
support for the protesters in Wis-
consin and for unions in General.
He stated “Public sector unions
have demonstrated over and over
again their and your willingness
to work with us to build a stron-
ger commonwealth,” according to
The Boston Globe.
In the end the Republicans
were able to pass the bill without
the 14 missing democrats in Il-
linois. Walker adjusted the bill
so that there was no mention of
financial matters so that the vote
could be taken and be passed
quickly. On Mach 9, 2010 the
Wisconsin senate passed the bill
which restricts union rights and
the next day, March 10, 2010, the
Wisconsin Assembly passed the
collective bargaining bill with
a vote of 53 to 42. The following
day Walker signed the bill which
is now intact and stated that pass-
ing the bill “helped us save 1,500
middle-class jobs by moving for-
ward this week with the budget
repair. The state will now be able
to realize $30 million in savings
to balance the budget and allow
1,500 state employees to keep their
jobs” according to CBS News.
The Democrats returned
soon after and the protests con-
tinue their fight even with the bill
already passed. On March 12, 2010
there were 100,000 people outside
the Madison capitol, which ac-
cording to local police, is more
than the amount present years ago
during the Vietnam War.
The Blue and Gold
March 2011
Federal Budget
Showdown
Rebecca Broomstein
Reporter
T he Democratic Party has been
battling against the Republicans
to save the government from shut-
ting down over the country’s major
budget cuts.
In 2009, the United States had
experienced its first real recession in
years. The recession caused many
issues to surface here, in the states.
Not enough money was made to
support those who earned it. As
a result, unemployment rates in-
creased because companies didn’t
make enough money to pay their
workers.
On Feb. 1, 2010, President
Barack Obama issued the newest
budget deficit for 2011, which was
to begin on Oct. 1, 2010. In total
spending, the federal budget is
$3.83 trillion, and the federal defi-
cit has gone down to $1.27 trillion,
as opposed to the $1.56 trillion in
2010. The main priorities, Obama
has decided, include healthcare,
education, jobs, clean energy, and
infrastructure. The federal budget
includes $898 billion for health care,
$104.9 billion for education, $787.6
billion in pensions, $464.6 billion in
welfare spending, $928.5 billion in
defense spending, $57.3 billion in
protective services, $250.7 billion on
interest payments, 104.2 billion on
transportation services, $29 billion
on general government spending,
and $151.4 billion in other spending.
The disagreement between the
Democrats and the Republicans is
how much money the government
plans on cutting from this year’s
budget. Their views on the situa-
tion differ significantly, making a
compromise seemingly impossible.
The Democrats believe that the bud-
get cuts are taking away too much
federal spending money, while the
Republicans want to reduce fed-
eral spending as much as possible.
Specifically, they want an entire $61
billion cut from the budget. Many
Republicans have allied with the Tea
Party Caucus, who want to cut $100
billion from domestic, nondefense
discretionary spending for this
fiscal year. This action would com-
pletely disregard fighting the actual
culprits- defense spending and en-
titlements- and would, instead, an-
nihilate about 200,000-700,000 jobs
in the US.
Both parties have failed to meet
any common ground with each oth-
er, thus far. The US government has
threatened to shut down completely
if they cannot decide on a compro-
mise, but continues to approve more
recourse to keep running. In fact, the
cuts that both parties are fighting for
would make very little, if any, differ-
ence in the national budget, which
means that these “government shut-
down” scares could end easily if the
Democrats and Republicans were
able to resolve their senseless battle.
The Blue and Gold
March 2011
Qaddafi Represses Libyan Rebels
Haley DeFilippis
Copy-Editor
L ibya, located in North Africa, has
always been an oil-rich nation
under the unpredictable control of
Mummar el-Qaddafi ever since 1969.
In Feb. 2011, protests finally broke
out in several Libyan cities due to
unsatisfied citizens who demanded
change for better lives. The once or-
ganized anti-government protests in
Benghazi have spread to the capital
of Tripoli, and have grown to be-
come violent and fatal. After nearly
a month of intolerable and merciless
killing, several countries have made
the complex decision to launch their
country’s forces into Libya to send
the killing to a halt.
Beginning on Mar. 18, 2011,
forces from America and Europe
have been sent into Libya to first
destroy air defenses and establish
a no-fly zone over Libya, which has
proved to be accomplished.
Back on Feb. 22, 2011, Colonel
Qaddafi spoke to his residents in
Tripoli to address the uprisings. He
went on to fault the disorder in the
nation on adolescent young atives
who are seeking to replicate the
uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Sev-
eral politics from other nations have
spoken out in hope of contributing
to the madness, such as Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton, who protested
the violence in a speech, as well as
the United Nations secretary gen-
eral, Ban Ki-moon, who urged Colo-
nel Qaddafi to bring to a standstill
to the attacks on protesters imme-
diately. Ultimately, an incompatible
civil war has broken out, resulting
in Colonel Qaddafi sending his own
troops onto his own people, who are
outnumbered and lack the necessary
weaponry to defend them. Some-
how, in a time when things looked
as their bleakest, the constant bat-
tling and violence seemed to grow
as the days passed.
Attacks ultimately began when
Colonel Qaddafi’s government
waged fierce battles on the town of
Zawiya on Mar. 4, 2011, attacking the
oil-rich town and shooting at peace-
ful protestors. More than 35 people
were reported dead, more than 100
casualties were announced, and 65
went missing after the firing. The
next day, Colonel Qaddafi’s forces
were commanded to fire defenseless
protestors in Tripoli, the nation’s
capital, as well as Zawiyah. Militia
forces that have remained devoted
to Colonel Qaddafi launched an-
other attack day on March 6, where
the rebels won control of the oil port
in Raz Lanuf. The protestors there
even went as far as appointing an
executive committee made up of
three members who are in charge of
leading military and foreign affairs.
The next day, Mar. 7, air at-
tacks were executed by government
forces in Ras Lanuf. Rebels were at-
tacked on the coast of Bin Jawwad
by tanks, helicopters, and fighter
World News 9
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
The State of
Journalism
Lesley Ta
Reporter
T
he United States is famous for
its admission of uncensored free
speech, and its freedom of the press.
Since many countries have a certain
limits on free press, American jour-
nalists reporting overseas are often
being beaten, jailed, or murdered.
Recently, Libya and Egypt have
erupted into a revolutionary chaotic
mob, crying out for democracy as
a part of government reformation.
In certain outbursts such as these,
journalists are putting their lives at
risk by speeding to these isolated
locations. Interview do not neces-
sarily guarantee camera crews or
bodyguards. Female Journalists are
more likely to face sexual or racial
discrimination outside of the coun-
try and are at a higher risk for rape
and kidnapping than men.
Nevertheless, countries who
have banned press are frequently
assumed to be hiding government
secrets or keeping their citizens
“innocent” from beliefs of democ-
racy and government reformation.
China, for example, restricted the
public to freedom of speech in any
reality, virtual or real. The lack of In-
ternet access has kept their citizens
obscure from the ability to publicly
discuss their country’s affairs.
World Day against Cyber Cen-
sorship will be held on March 12,
2011. China, Burma, Iran, North Ko-
rea, Syria, and Cuba are only a few
of the countries that have extreme
cyber censorship. Popular search
engines (such as google) and web-
sites that have open forums are the
sites that haven been banned.
Reporters Without Borders, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to
aware the public of press freedom,
has reported that in 2011, seven
journalists have been confirmed
killed as well as one media assistant.
According to their tool count 153
journalists are imprisoned along
with 9 media assistants.
From top to bottom: Protestors gathered in New York City outside of the As reported on CNN, Ameri-
United Nations on Feb. 23, 2011 to get the organization to take action on can Ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr.
the Libyan protests. A young supporter of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi stated that “one reporter” in China
demonstrates in Tripoli’s Green Square. (Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/ was “severely beaten and detain for
MCT). Protestors in New York City hold up the old Libyan flag on Feb. 23, many hours” while covering an anti-
2011. Protest photos by Omar Khoshafa. On front page: A revolutionary vol- government protest. He continued
unteer keeps an AK-47 handy as he prays with other men preparing to take “I call on the Chinese government
part in a fight against forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi in nearby Port Brega, to hold the perpetrators accountable
Libya, Wednesday, March 2, 2011. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/MCT) for harassing and assaulting inno-
cent individuals and ask that they
planes sent by Colonel Qaddafi. On oil-rich town of Ras Lanuf after respect the rights of foreign journal-
Mar. 9, Colonel Qaddafi was restrict- driving away the rebels through ists to report in China.”
ed from flying over his country with land, air, and sea, with the intent Although Wiki leaks has
the intention of killing. The Libyan to extricate oil for their own per- caused controversy since its incep-
leader agreed to the established no- sonal benefit . Chaos retreated as tion, it can not be withheld due to
fly zone; however the crises did not the United States White House the nature of press freedom in ex-
stop there. On Mar. 10, rebel fighters announced a five-point program posing government secrets. Citizens
fled Ras Lanuf after rocket attacks. of steps to isolate Colonel Qadaffi of the United States and the world
Colonel Qaddafi planned on retak- and drive him from his 41 year ultimately have to ask themselves
ing several eastern oil cities that had reign. one important question: “Do I want
strayed from government control Despite the efforts of caring to know what the state is of my
due to uprisings. countries, Colonel Qadaffi and his country or do I want to be isolated
Loyal government forces to forces have yet to be completely from dirty little secrets?”
Colonel Qaddafi moved in on the stopped.
10
Monthly Profile: Maggie Pettit
Brittany Foley
Managing Editor
S kittles, Red Bull, triangles, Chuck
Taylors, and all things rhetoric,
of course—thus are the components
of the very center of Malden High
Schools’ 11th grade English teacher,
Maggie Pettit’s, personal universe.
Well, those things, and also en-
lightening the minds of young indi-
viduals and introducing them to the
power of the English language.
Perhaps it is Pettit’s ability to
project her voice through concrete
walls that earned her such respect
from her students, or maybe it is her
belief that there is little more satisfy-
ing, more “amazing” than “opening
a student’s eyes to reading.” After
her time teaching juvenile delin-
quents about English while she pur-
sued her undergraduate degree, she
came to this realization, which then
inspired her to become a teacher.
Pettit studied as an under-
graduate at Pepperdine University
in Malibu, California, a school she
now suggests to her students when
they ask her for college advice. At
Pepperdine, she enrolled with the
belief that she wanted to become
an editor before realizing that “sit-
ting in a room all day correcting
people’s grammar is hardly fulfill-
ing.” She eventually pursued her
studies of rhetoric and later went to
graduate school at Boston College,
studying the same thing, which she
Local News
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
now teaches at Malden High School
through her junior English classes,
including an AP Language and
Composition course. Pettit has been
teaching at MHS for eight years.
Labeled by more than one of
her students as a “hipster” teacher,
not only for her sense of fashion but
also for her uniqueness, Pettit is un-
arguably a favorite faculty member
of so many MHS students because
of her sincere love for the language
arts, her nonchalant character, and
her ability to stray from the main-
stream. Pettit is, after all, one of very
few teachers who choose to rock
Converse sneakers with their MHS
staff lanyards.
It is this down-to-earthedness
that, at least in part, causes her stu-
dents to admire her so. Senior Jimmy
Ngo admits he “love[s] her so much
even though [he] never had her” as a
teacher, as he has gotten to know the
vibrant MHS mentor of his friends
and classmates through their admir-
ing conversation and, undoubtedly,
her own outgoing character. “Her
bright and quirky personality add
liveliness and energy to the class-
room,” senior Alison Nguyen, who
has grown particularly close to her
over her years at MHS as a member
of the girls’ tennis team, which Pettit
coaches.
“Just how hyped up she gets
about [the content],” claims senior
Brian Young, “makes English class
more enjoyable. She gets into the
text a lot more than most teachers
The Blue and Gold
March 2011
do. Her English class was the best spends her lunch periods with
English class I’ve ever had.” Pettit is English teacher Ryan Gallagher and
widely known around Malden High French teacher Paul Degenkolb, en-
School for her explosive episodes of joying Starbucks and similar delica-
excitement towards rhetorical strat- cies.
egies, fallacies, and Capote. Nguyen summed Pettit up
“She makes learning English as the majority of her students un-
fun,” elaborates Young. “Everything doubtedly would: “a teacher…with
she does in class— it makes English a bold personality…who appreci-
class a lot more enjoyable, with ates any student who is willing to
her being your teacher.” However, put in the effort to do work.”
according to Nguyen, and surely
many others, “even more remark-
able is how she acknowledges each
student’s individual progress, from
the start of school to the end.”
Pettit is also so vastly known—
and appreciated—for her forward-
ness, as it exists not only in her per-
sonality, but in her professionalism,
in her role as an educator. In fact,
many are intimidated by the English
teacher known for her especially
rigorous workload assignments and
anonymously-called, by several in-
dividuals, “harsh grading.” “All of
her classes are notable for being rig-
orous, whether they are AP or not,”
testifies Nguyen. But for this, stu-
dents admire her as a teacher. “She
isn’t afraid to tell you
exactly what she thinks
of your writing,” junior
Mary Stathos explains.
“She’s a very tough
critic, but it forces you
to improve and become
such a strong writer.”
Pettit is also well-
liked by teachers. She
The Blue and Gold
March 2011
Spread the Word to End the Word
Kayla Bramante
Head of Special Projects
O n March 2, 2011, Malden High
School’s Captain Council and
student athletes camse together for
the third annual “Spread the Word
to End the Word” assembly to elimi-
nate the hurtful “R” word.
Individuals have been using
the “R” word as a slang word for
“dumb” and “stupid;” however,
the usage of the word can be insult-
ing and degrading to those who
live with a mental disability. This
is why MHS has pledged for three
years to be “R”-word-free. For
the past three years the Captains
Council and all student athletes
have worked together to help these
unique individuals feel united with
the rest of the school and the rest
of the Malden community. MHS
principal Dana Brown believes “the
Captains Council has the most effect
on the school,” which is why many
athletes dedicate their time to assist-
ing those in need. “They hosted a
great assembly and the best way for
them [to help prevent the use of the
‘R’ word] is to model good behavior
and never use the word,” Brown
stated. Fortunately, MHS sports are
unified sports, meaning that anyone
Dancing for the Future
Joel Stevenson
Reporter
O n March 18, 2011, the class of
2013 hosted the Just Dance
dance party in the library of Malden
High School. With students from
all classes showing their moves, the
night was filled with laughter and
excitment as everyone was having a
great time.
Tickets began selling on March
13, 2011, when officers as well as
students had devoted their lunch
time to sell tickets to the event. Voic-
es could be heard down the hall-
ways by enthusiastic sophomores
announcing the upcoming events.
Each day a large group of students
signed up to go. When that Friday
finally rolled around, there were
around forty kids who attended
the event, an impressive number at
MHS. Even more impressive, stu-
dents from each class showed up, as
exemplified by Junior Eddie Fisher
who enthusiastically exclaimed,
“I’m here to watch Patrick Keough
win.”
Set up began on Friday after-
noon, as students began mixing
Kool-Aid and popping popcorn.
With a few minor technical difficul-
ties when it came to setting up the
games, the class of 2011 was off to
have a great night, as stated by
sophomore Tina Dinh, “Its going
to be a great night, everyone loves
games.”
LOCAL news 11
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Malden High School athletes continue to en-
courage equality among the student body.
can be a part of a team, regardless of
disabilities.
The Captains Council has dedi-
school and on
the web
which one can
in
cated a class period to help teach put a pledge
special needs students play a variety to stop the
of sports. The assembly was not only end of the “R”
to make others aware of the hurtful word. Spread
word but also to award the students the Word to
who are continuously working to End the Word
combat its usage with a certificate. pledge posters
The council has also recently can be found in
helped out with the Pink Out bas- various schools,
ketball nights and will be volunteer- including MHS,
ing in the Special Olympics. where one can
MHS is not the only institution sign his or her
attempting to remove the “R” word name to pledge
from everyday lexicon; rallies and to stop using
pledges all around the United States the “R” word.
have emerged to support the cause To further ben-
against the hurtful slang term, and efit the cause,
ultimately, the dissemination of re- one can also
spect. The country has legislatively sign up to help
made strides on this respect: on Oct. with Malden’s
5, 2010, Barack Obama signed a bill Special Olym-
called Rosa’s Law. It was named pics later in the
after nine year-old Rosa Marcellino, year. Denis Pareja recieves his certificate with great joy at the
and removes the words “mental re- Spread the Word to End the Word assembly. Photo by Brit-
tardation” from the daily language, tany McFeeley.
replacing them with “intellectual
disability.”
There are many options in
As the doors
opened teachers and
students came together
to support the Class of
2013. The night started
off at five thirty and,
to the dismay of the at-
tendees, ended at eight
thirty. These three hours
gave students time to
participate at a variety
of dance games includ-
ing Just Dance Wii, and
Just Dance 2 Wii. These
two games gave a large
variety of song choices
to the players, provid-
ing something for every
one’s likings, as stated
by junior Justin Pham,
“The variety of choices
provided in the game
‘Just Dance’ brought Breakdancing stars junior Justin Pham and senior Pablo Rocha play Just Dance with chem-
together many different istry teacher Meaghan Galdos. Photo by Joel Stevenson.
styles of dance. From
hip-hop to even Egyptian dancing. class signed off on it optimistically. hosted by the class, it seems obvi-
It kept the crowd entertained by At the end of the night, the ous that they are on top of things,
bringing something new every next proceeds were counted and the total as stated by sophomore Tina Dinh,
song.” came to around one-seventy dollars. “We know that if we are active now,
As the night wound down, Students as well as teachers went we do not have to worry as much
there were individual battles for home exhausted from dancing, as later on.”
any brave soul who wanted to com- well as the feeling of success in the As every class wants, the soph-
pete. The prize for the winner was back of their heads. The night was a omore class has succeeded, having
a twenty five dollar gift card. After huge success. students who are committed to their
a series of intense battling, the win- It is an understatement to say class and can pull off events like Just
ner ended up being no more than that their night was successful. One Dance. Class treasurer Catlin Cala
mother of the whole idea Natalie can only say that the sophomore rightly points out that “[they’re]
Melo. The idea came to her one day class is doing something right. With raising a lot of money, while having
during a officer’s meeting, and the so many activities and events being fun doing it.”
12
LOCAL news
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Kaela Bryan
Reporter
continued from front page
with ease. [American Land is] represen-
tative of them as people, of Malden as a
community, and of our country as a whole.
I am extremely proud.”
The idea for the play sprang from
a quotation that Walsh heard an older
gentleman say in passing: “Malden used
to be an All-American city. Now it is noth-
ing but a bunch of Chinese restaurants and
nail salons.” Immediately, Walsh thought
to himself, “Aha -- that’s a good play idea.”
When this chance-quotation was combined
with Bruce Springsteen’s song “American
Land,” a class reading of The Colored Mu-
seum, and journal entries by the students,
the play took flight.
“We used Springsteen’s song and the
quotation for the initial improvisation,”
said Walsh, “and we used the reading for
structure. The journal entries were meant
to help students explore identity, and I
asked them to bring in photos and to com-
ment on other elements. Overall, we just
kept playing with stuff until we had tons
of voices and scenes.”
Play Production began writing the
play in mid-December of 2010, and com-
pleted most of the scenes by late-January
of 2011. The cast and crew worked for 32
hours during February vacation, which
is, according to Walsh, “when the real
work [began]; the show was transformed
- before that it lacked cohesion. We also
worked with the Boston Percussion Group
to help with the use of rhythms.”
A factor that perhaps further solidifies
and emphasizes how hard the Play Pro-
duction team has worked on this piece is
that there were some major complications
and worries that could have put it on hold,
and thus could have seriously jeopardized
the competition process.
“Snow [was a big issue]!” exclaimed
Walsh. “This affected time, but more so in
the staging and revising process. The wor-
ries from my point of view were obviously
The Blue and Gold
March 2011
the subject matter and the personal nature
of the play. As the director, who has to
shape this, I was concerned about creating
a unified play with a consistent message.
In some ways, I would have [liked to have]
been more exacting in scene choices ear-
lier and in other ways, I was perhaps too
controlling regarding certain scenes, and
should have let them develop organically.”
American Land is essentially a collec-
tion of monologues and scenes that come
together to convey one big idea about the
purpose of America, as well as what it was
in years past and what it has now become.
The play is not what you might call “Rated
PG,” as it does contain some mature ma-
terial. For example, included in the play
is a scene in which junior Daniel Rendon
angrily yells a stream of obscenities in
Spanish.
Furthermore, there exists a scene in
which Lady Liberty is on trial for “false
advertising.” Three “disgruntled witness-
es,” played by sophomore Crystal Araiza
and juniors Jaclyn Scales and Sarah Rose,
insist that although Lady Liberty claims
America is a free country, there is very
little that is truly free about it. Rose argues
that “everything is ‘Under God’ in this
country,” and that she is forced to say the
pledge (also “Under God”) despite being
an atheist; Araiza claims that she wanted
to build a mosque but was not allowed to;
and Scales, playing a lesbian, asserts that
she should be able to marry whomever
she wants. All three then say, in unison,
that they “thought this was [their] country,
too.” It is clear that although the content is
mature, scenes like this contribute to how
unique, powerful and moving the piece is
– it suggests something new about the core
of modern America.
Rendon also performs a monologue
that is a “personal account of the idea of
America. The first thing that popped into
my mind was my parent’s love story, so to
speak. It is [about] how they both came to
know each other, and their sacrifice in com-
ing to the US and leaving their dreams be-
hind in Colombia, so that, basically, I could
The Blue and Gold
March 2011
have dreams here in the United States...
and then there is a shift in the monologue
where I discuss, basically, what American
Land really is. It is a personal belief, and
some people may disagree with the mes-
sage. But that’s the beauty of American
Land – you can disagree.”
Sarah Fraas, a junior at MHS, per-
forms another personal monologue about
her experience growing up in Massachu-
setts with her two lesbian mothers, and
how it affected her. “My monologue en-
compasses my feelings about not having
a dad around and how it all relates to this
American ideal that is not reality. When
Mr. Walsh came to us and told us to write
about our identities, at first I didn’t think
I really had one -- I’m just a white girl
from Malden...but then I thought of my
mothers, and I thought that was really
unique. And I realized that I’m the first
generation of people who have gay par-
ents who have [kids and have adopted
kids], and that really has not happened
in this country before because [it was
illegal].” Fraas wanted the audience to
have an emotional reaction to her words
-- she wanted to be able to humanize the
issue of gay marriage and gay rights by
having the story come from her, a regular
girl. “I wanted people to see that if you
take away gay rights, gay adoption and
gay marriage, you would be taking away
a part of me and my family.”
American Land was initially per-
formed for upperclassmen at MHS in
the auditorium, as the cast and crew
wanted a chance to present the play for
an audience to see what can be improved
before going on stage before the Drama
Fest judges, and Walsh also supported
this decision. “For me,” said Walsh, “this
was a learning process…there are some
moments within scenes and monologues
where the writing can be tightened. I’d
like us to focus on really sharpening the
edge of the play, making the satire more
biting, honing in on strengthening our
performances, and tightening the transi-
LOCAL news 13
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Play Production cast
puts on a show of
American Land for a
Malden High School
audience. Photos by
Catherine Poirier,
Rebecca Broomstein,
and Sharon Lee. On
front page: junior
Edmund Fisher in the
process of murdering
junior Daniel Rendon
in a scene in the play.
Photo by Catherine
Poirier. Collage by
Brittany Foley.
tions.”
When performed for the MHS
audience, the play was received as
one which achieved a great balance
between a humorous comedy and
deeper, more serious issues. How-
ever, when the production was per-
formed for the audience in Manches-
ter, it was revered with a completely
different attitude.
“We had two totally different re-
actions from Malden -- diverse -- and
Manchester -- not diverse,” explained
Walsh. “The first was [acknowledged
with] … humor, in particular the
elements about class and race were
received with laughter and thought.
The reaction [in Manchester] was
more subdued, but intense -- they
were listening as if these were voices
[and ideas] that they don’t normally
hear.”
That being said, the audience at
Semifinals regarded the play with a
mixture of the two aforementioned
reactions: “There was more of a sense
of competition at semifinals,” contin-
ued Walsh. “You could sense the ten-
sion in the crowd. As far as how the
show was received, there were plenty
of laughs and the crowd was equally
stunned at the honesty of the stories.”
From here, MHS Play Produc-
tion will continue to work on their
play to flatten out any kinks they may
see in the hopes of bettering it even
more for the festival’s finals.
“I think it’s really impressive
that we [have created] this personal
play considering we are just high
school kids … It is [full of] issues
that [are] so complex and relevant to
today… I couldn’t be more proud of
our school and our play,” said Fraas.
“We have worked so hard for it, and
so has Mr. Walsh, and I think we all
really deserved moving on [to finals.]
This is a really big deal!”
14
The Blue and Gold
LOCAL news March 2011
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

Wellness Policy Pushes

for Healthy Lifestyle
Kristen Leonard
Reporter

Paige Yurek
Copy Editor

continued from front page.

Students are still allowed to bring

lunches from home. Teachers and
faculty are no longer allowed to host
any in-class parties with food.
One obvious downside to the
wellness policy that has generated a
lot of buzz among students is its ef-
fect on fundraisers. Without the sale
popular candy boxes and bags as
well as bake sales, many clubs and
activities will have to resort to other
means of money making, which will
become difficult. Sarah Jones, MHS
crew coach and math teacher has
expressed that “for crew, candy is
a steady money-maker through out
the year,” referring to the candy bars
sold year-round in her classroom.
Senior Key Club President Andrew Ward 6 School Committee member Steve Winslow discusses health issues in schools around the nation dur-
Chen stated, “Every club relies on ing a public meeting on March 10, 2011. On front page: a shot of the cafeteria right before the lunchtime rush.
candy; lots of clubs will take a big Photos by Sharon Lee.
hit.” Chen explained how, like many
clubs, a majority of the Key Club’s
child. For example, if a child begins nutritional analysis of the week’s changed (will be low-fat and have a
profits are made through candy
eating vegetables at a young age, menu. The traditional meal pattern sugar limit), and the sodium and fat
fundraising. The club explains that
he or she adapts to this type of diet and enhanced meal pattern options in all foods will also be limited.
candy boxes can be bought in bulk
and subsequently craves these foods base their menu planning on mini- The Malden Public schools are
from stores such as BJ’s and Costco.
when he or she gets older. On the flip mum component quantities of meat trying to get away from processed
Each box, depending on its size, can
side, if a child eats unhealthy foods or meat alternate; vegetables and foods. The next step in the plan for a
make between 20 and 60 dollars.
on a regular basis at a young age, fruits; grains and breads; and milk. healthier generation will be increas-
So what can an organization
he or she adapts to this type of diet Malden High school follows ing physical activity.
like Key Club do? As Chen pon-
instead. In addition, as a child, he or the traditional meal pattern. The MHS Health Teacher Arlene
dered, “We will have to do some
she gains extra pounds, which are school prepares fresh made and pre- Ceppetelli voiced her opinion on
other fundraisers such as dances,
likely to be life-long consequences. made food. Costa Foods, Garelick, the policy, stating, “the school has
pizza nights at restaurants, carna-
Ward 6 School Committee Thurston Foods, and DeMarco are worked hard at trying to make the
tion sales and t-shirts.” Committee
member Steve Winslow compared some of the main distributors that food as nutritious as possible, while
member and food director Cheryl
the new wellness policy to how provides food to MHS. keeping a variety, and trying to
Maguire explained that “the school
cigarettes are gradually being faded The government also contrib- meet people’s needs as well as abid-
system understands this issue and
out of society. “The government utes to providing food as well. Terri ing by the law. This law is going
will try to help search alternatives
raised taxes and banned them from Tusa-Pelosi, Cafeteria Manager at to make people stand up, students
for fundraising. Schools such as the
restaurants and other public places MHS stated, “Malden School Food and adults are upset, but the school
Linden are already looking into al-
in hopes to fade them out, similarly Service meets the requirements of needs to abide by the law. Since it
ternative fundraisers.”
to this new wellness policy with un- the Wellness Policy. This has been is coming to a point where the law
An increase in allergies and
healthy foods. The wellness policy an ongoing process that we have needs to come and intervene, there
obesity has influenced the newly
wants to reset the clock based on worked on for a few years now. The is a problem. This law may be a good
implemented wellness policy. Obe-
this idea.” vending machines offer items from first step. As a health teacher, I see
sity can lead to heart disease, type
In Massachusetts, schools have an approved list of items that fol- a lot of students and young people
two diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea,
already started to help make this low the guidelines of the wellness with health problems they should
and in some cases, social discrimi-
problem vanish. Schools in MA policy. The Coffee Shop was opened not have to deal with until they are
nation. Between 1985 and 2009 the
have to follow regulations made by as a Teacher coffee shop and the older. This law is a starting point, as
obesity rate based on Body Mass In-
the National School Lunch Program. students do purchase from us, but we come through obstacles, work
dex reached a peak of 30 percent or
Schools meals need to provide one there will be changes coming and through them while abiding the law.
higher from 15 percent in the United
third of the Recommended Daily we are working on this as well.” There is no one size fits all.”
States. Another chilling effect of
Allowances of protein, vitamin A, Malden Public Schools have Healthier foods may cost more
obesity is the fact that children may
vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calo- already made healthy changes over for the city of Malden, but in the end
live ten years less than their parents.
ries. No more than 30 percent of an the years such as offering fresh fruit, the future has to be considered, and
Food loaded with sugar, i.e. fast
individual’s calories can come from fruit salads, salads, sandwiches, the future starts with the children.
food, is another factor playing a ma-
fat, and less than ten percent can low-fat milk, whole grain and whole “I care more about the students’
jor role in this condition. Teens alone
come from saturated fat. wheat items and using real chicken. health than the expense I’d rather
can consume on average three point
Schools have the option to Even though many changes have pay for healthy food then buy cheap,
five pounds of sugar weekly.
choose one of four meal plans. The been made, there is always room for unhealthy food [for the students.]”
It is worth noting that the ten-
Nutrient Standard Menu Planning more. stated Maguire.
dency to cling to unhealthy foods
and the Assisted Nutrient Standard Soon Malden Public Schools
starts at a young age. An adolescent
Menu Planning systems both base will offer free water, the size of
or adult brain craves the foods that
their planning on a computerized the milk and juice serving will be
its possessor adapted to eating as a
The Blue and Gold
March 2011
Sharon Lee
one city, one book Mole Music by David McPhail for
Head of Photography
F rom students to city officials
to business owners, residents
from all over Malden are joining to
participate in Malden Reads, a new
community reading program.
The idea originates from neigh-
boring cities, Medford and Somer-
ville. Medford has conducted the
city wide reading program twice, se-
lecting Dark Tide: The Great Boston
Molasses Flood of 1919 by Stephen
Puleo as their first book and Cod: A
Biography of Fish That Changed the
World by Mark Kurlansky as their
second book the following year. Last
year Somerville read The Things
They Carried by Tim O’Brien in
honor of their veterans. Malden
plans to take inspiration they have
gotten from neighboring cities to
make Malden Reads into a continu-
ous event, whether it is annual or
even bi-annual.
The very first book that Malden
will read as a community is The So-
loist by Steve Lopez. The selection of
this year’s book was decided upon
by a committee who suggested
books fitting the criteria of an easy
read as well as pertaining to an ur-
ban city like Malden. The book was
chosen because it touchesupon so
many life lessons.
Considering the different age
groups and reading levels through-
out Malden’s population, it was
decided that there would be more
books selected for different groups
by age. The Soloist is the main book
for adults and high school students;
there were several others chosen like
LOCAL news
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Pre-K to second grade, The Teddy
Bear by David McPhail intended for
Pre-K to Grade two, How To Steal A
Dog by Barbara O’Connor for third
through six grades, and Money
Hungry by Sandra Flake for grades
seven through nine.
Impacting citizens of all ages,
especially at Malden High School
where several dozen copies of The
Soloist are available for students to
read. Students are also getting in-
volved in ways like the logo contest
that was recently offered to Julie
Mullane’s Studio 3 Honors class.
Several months ago, Mullane intro-
duced the reading program to her
class, where her students could cre-
ate a logo that they thought would
capture the message and purpose of
the program. Logo contest winner
junior Vivian Le created a logo por-
traying how she believes the pro-
gram will “really get the community
involved [through reading].”
Although it is a reading pro-
gram for the community, many
residents throughout the city have
gotten involved in ways beyond
reading: some act as sponsors, plan-
ners, volunteers, and supporters of
the program. Many businesses, big
and small, help promote the pro-
gram by allowing several copies of
the book to be left in their businesses
therefore allowing it to circulate
throughout Malden. Many of those
behind this program are Malden
Public Library Trustees, part of Mal-
den’s Oak Grove Improvement As-
sociation, city officials, and several
other organizations. Supporters of
the program vary between school
Malden Reads commences their new community reading program in the Carr
and Ryder Gallery in the Malden Public Library. Photo by Sharon Lee.
systems which have been promot-
ing the book by providing several
dozen copies available to Malden
High School as well as the younger
level reading books to the K-8
schools and especially all citizens
who have simply referred the book
to friends or invited them to join the
community at its several events.
Not only has the program
helped Malden read the same book,
but it has also given residents the
opportunity to attend events open to
the community. Past events include
the Kick-Off event, book discus-
sions, library tours, movie screen-
ings, and several charity fundraisers
as well. One of the fundraiser for
charity include the Toiletry Col-
lection for Homeless which is an
ongoing event until April 9, 2011,
where the Malden Public Library is
holding a collection box for people
to donate toothpaste, toothbrushes,
15
and other toiletry items to homeless
families. Another upcoming service
activity is “Stone Soup” at the Im-
maculate Conception Church where
everyone contributes ingredients
to make a big pot of soup that will
be served at a Bread of Life dinner.
The idea for this event was based
off of a classic folk tale, Stone Soup,
where villagers claim to be too poor
to feed three hungry soldiers, but
since nobody would help them they
decided to start cooking a large pot
of soup. To start they boiled water
with three stones and one by one
villagers’ run home to get ingredi-
ents adding to the huge pot of soup,
showing the villagers that they
can come together as a community
similar to one of the purposes of the
Malden Reads community reading
program. By coming together as a
community Malden is also helping
those in need.
16
The Blue and Gold
Style March 2011
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
THE

MHS
Reginah Sanyu JOSHUA JEROME
Head Entertainment Writer
other way, when I was younger, my my brothers and father. I just mix selves?
Q) How would you describe father used to comb my hair every and match, like making A) Do you because at the end
your style? morning; he told me that it is impor- a tie a bow tie. of the day, all that matters is you. It
A) Formal but at the same time tant to come correct. Dressing up does not mean insulting others or
casual. boosts self confidence which makes Q) Looking back putting other people’s lives in dan-
my day better. at your freshman year, ger but life is too short to live
Q) Where do you what would you in fear of what other people
get your style? Q) What is your favorite trend? tell yourself? think.
A) My in- A) Bow ties. A) I would
spiration consists tell myself to Q) Lets talk about
of Marvin Q) Why choose a bow tie over keep on doing your afro? What is the
Gaye, Fonzo- a tie? whatever I did. story behind it?
worth Bent- A) It’s not about choosing, it’s A) (laughter) Well,
ley. I have about being versatile. The most styl- Q) Why do this could be embarrasing,
sampled ish people in my honest opinion are you think it is im- but when I was younger, I
aspects of those whom are able to successfully portant for one to watched the Jackson 5 and
their style pull off various styles and looks. be themselves? I always admired their hair.
and made it A) Who you I fell in love with it and I
mine. Q) What do you mean by that? are says a lot in wanted to get it. I also hated
A) That means being able terms of your goals getting hair cuts, I just trim
Q) How to wear a white t-shirt, jeans and and aspirations. A once in a while.
do you manage sneakers one day while looking lot of people find
to dress up to good wearing a three piece suit the themselves trapped Q) What do you think
school everyday? next day. It is all about the versatil- in a stage of finding about “baggy pants”?
Is that comfort- ity. out who they are. A) I hate them. Pants are
able? Q) Do you think that for one to supposed to be worn in the
A) Of course have style one should be addicted to Q) What waist. I just want to know
it is. I love it. shopping? would you tell where the whole trend
I would not A) No, not at all. Some of the a person who i s came from?
have it any things I wear are passed down by afraid to be them-

Reginah Sanyu
Head Entertainment Writer
Q) How would you describe
your style?
A) I am not high maintenance
at all. it depends on my mood al-
though I would rather wear skirts
and dresses over pants. I guess that
makes my style girly.
Q) Where do you get your style
from?
A) its a combination of maga-
zines. I also like Rachel Bilson’s style.
SAMANTHA SAGGESE
Q)what would you tell some- way is more interesting because it
one who is afraid to be themselves? has more dialogue.
A) wear what you feel comfort-
able in because if you try too hard to Q) What are you looking to-
wear all the trends, you will (kinda) wards for spring style?
just look and feel stupid. A)Sandles, Flower print stuff.
We a r- ing dresses.
Q) Looking back at your fresh- I am just
man year, what would you change? happy to get rid
A) my freshman year, I wore of my winter
every color on the rainbow and a coat.
thousand hair pins. It was com-
pletely goofy but it was the cool
thing back then. I would not change
anything because it was fun.

Q) What is your favorite trend? Q) What do you think about

A)Probably gladiator sandals. I
can’t wait to wear them in the sum-
mer.
Q) Do you think that for one to
have style one should be addicted to
shopping?
A) Definitely not. i hardly ever
go shopping. you don’t need to shop
a lot to have style. You can make
everything work.
Ugg boots?
A) I think that they are ugly
but comfortable. I personally would
never pay for them.
Q) When you go shopping,
what do you consider?
A) I never pay too much for
anything. I do not like spending a
lot of money on clothes because I
might not even wear it that much.

Q) Why do you think its impor- Q) If you would have a “dream

tant for one to be themselves?
A) Individuality is important.
There is no point in looking like the
person next to you. There is nothing
wrong with expressing yourself es-
pecially at our school , people don’t
judge that much.
closet”, what would it have?
A) A thousand dresses and a
million pairs of shoes.
Top of page. Senior Joshua Jerome showing off his classy
style. In fashion you are either in or out. But if you are
Q) Project Runway verses
America’s Next Top Model (ANTM)? Senior Samantha Saggese, you are always in. Above
Saggese shows off her girly sassy style. Photos by Regi-
A) ANTM is a show that I
watch every week but Project Run- nah Sanyu.
The Blue and Gold
March 2011
Artist Profile:
Call Me Anything
Brittany Foley
Managing Editor
F rontman Will Tenney claims
that his quote to live by is as
follows: “We never grew out of this
feeling that we won’t give up.” As
a proud member of a project that
began when Tenney was a mere
seventh-grader, this quote could not
prove itself more appropriate. After
approximately six years, a name-
change, new management, several
tours, and countless immigrating
and emigrating band members, that
project, the band now known as Call
Me Anything, is ready to release its
debut record, set for a release sum-
mer 2011.
The band consists of 19-year-
old Tenney, 18-year-old Brandyn
Dougan, and 18-year-old Matt
McNulty. While Tenney is lead
vocals and guitarist and pianist/
keyboardist of the group, Dougan
covers the percussion, and McNulty
is the band’s bassist with talents in
drumming as well. According to
Tenney, this “wide range of abil-
ity helps the songwriting process.”
Their influences—among them
artists and bands ranging from the
Lady Gaga and Madonna: Born the Same Way?
Catherine Poirier
Copy Editor
O riginality: something music
artists search for when creating
their look. Almost all of the songs
on the top charts currently lack
just that. One would think there is
some hope for this with Lady Gaga,
an artist who seems to have found
her niche amongst the craziest out-
fits and stage
performances
ever created.
In the
past, many
have com-
pared Gaga
to Madonna.
The two sup-
port platinum
blonde hair,
or a wig in
Gaga’s case,
racy outfits,
and an upbeat
dance style in
their music.
These com-
parisons were typically vague, but
recently some have accused her of
plagiarism.
Gaga seems to have surpris-
ingly disappointed her “monsters”
with the release of her new single
“Born This Way.” The single is an al-
most exact dupe for Madonna’s 1989
release “Express Yourself,” some
say. “Born This Way” and “Express
Entertainment
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
infamous Blink 182, “to Bright Eyes,
to Jack’s Mannequin, to what’s on
the radio”—also contribute to this
process.
Having recently begun work-
ing with New Age Media Manage-
ment, the band has played several
shows and has even gone on tour
over the past few months, getting
their new name out there to potential
fans. They have played all around
New England, in places even as lo-
cal as Cambridge’s The Middle East
Restaurant & Nightclub, where they
opened for the up-and-coming pop-
rock band, Stereo Skyline.
Tenney admits that while he
supposes their music could be con-
sidered “pop/rock,” he would rather
avoid the labels that are genres and
their “stigmas.” Instead, he claims
that, he, Dougan, and McNulty are
“just a group of guys that love writ-
ing music that [they’re] really feel-
ing.” But where will that take them?
Tenney hopes that, within
the next year or two, Call Me Any-
thing will be “touring full time and
spreading [their] music to as many
people as possible.” This, however,
is obviously up to their currently-ev-
er-expanding fanbase. If you’re a fan
of the new, alternative pop-rock mu-
Yourself” both contain opening
word chants, ad-libbed speaking
parts, and 80’s style dance music.
Gaga openly admitted Ma-
donna is a muse for her music and
fashion sense. On The Tonight Show
with Jay Leno on Feb. 14, 2011, Gaga
expressed “There is no one that is
more of an adoring and loving Ma-
donna fan than me. I am the hugest
fan, personally and professionally.”
She then went
on to explain
“The good news
is that I got an
email from [Ma-
donna’s] people
and her sending
me their love and
support on be-
half of the single.
If the Queen says
it shall be, then it
shall be,” Gaga
added laughing.
In the rest
of the interview,
Lady Gaga de-
scribes the rest
of her upcoming album, “Born This
Way.” She promised it is an eclectic
record, and there will be diversity in
every song. “The rest of the songs on
the album are quite different from
‘Born This Way,’” she stated. Hope-
fully this will provide some relief
to those who are normally fans of
her work, but were surprisingly let
down by the new single.
17
sic scene, or are into bands
like Rocket to the Moon
and This Condition,
Call Me Anything
might just become
your new favor-
ite band, and as
both Tenney and
McNulty are
studying music
at Boston’s own
Northeastern
University, they’re
bound to become
a local hit. To keep
an eye out for
upcoming shows,
to check out their
music, or for more
information on
Call Me Anything,
please visit:
facebook.com/
callmeanythingband
and
callmeanything.
com.
From left:
Brandyn Dougan,
Will Tenney, Matt McNul-
ty. Photo by Brittany Foley.
Students at Malden High
School weighed in on the topic
as well. Their opinions ranged
from those in support of her
music, to those totally against
pop music in general. Senior
Andrew Terenzi said “I think
that ‘Born This Way’ is actually
really brilliant, because it sub-
tly argues for gay rights with-
out being super obvious about
it. The melody being similar
to express yourself?” He
asked rhetorically, “[It is] pop
music. All pop music already
sounds the same anyways.”
Sophomore Anthony Johnson
agrees with Terenzi about the
message in the music. “Music This occurrence does present
is intelligent, pop is not. Although a question to fans of pop music. If
it is a good tool for getting good the face of pop music herself can not
messages out there.” Senior Hong seem to find a place to be original,
Chung expressed her views on the according to her fans, then what will
music industry by adding “There the rest of music industry do? Radio
is no such thing as an original song is becoming boring quite frankly.
composition, same thing as there is Stations continually play the same
no such thing as a original creative ten songs on a loop all day, and most
story. Popular melodic beats and of them sound the same. Junior Kyle
saccharine sounding melodies tend Carvalho added in “Everything
to trickle down the musical genera- mainstream or on the radio is just re-
tion.” She finished by offering “If we ally uncreative. Same [four] chords,
as a majority push for music outside generic lyrics, and autotune. But I
of Lady Gaga and Lil Wayne and guess [it is] all preference!” When an
such, I’m sure the music industry artist as outrageous as Gaga comes
would be more compelled to breach along, you hope to find something
creative comfort zones and thus new and fresh on the radio, not a
instill confidence to their signed art- recycled 1980’s song.
ists more creative freedom as well.”
Left to right: Lady Gaga’s new single, pop icon Madonna. Wikimedia.
18
The Blue and Gold
Sports March 2011
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

Indoor Track’s States Success

Brittany McFeeley a time of 2:36, which surprisingly track team, Tsang, ran 37.64 seconds Unfortunately for Benoit, she was
Head Copy Editor was not his personal best, but it was in the 300 meter dash, ranking 16th extremely sick the day of the meet,
enough to qualify him for the MIAA overall. The boys 4 x 8 relay team, but still ran extremely well consider-
All-States meet on Feb. 26, 2011. consisting of Belatreche, Chan, Ke- ing her personal best is 1:45 seconds.

D
Terenzi, meanwhile, quali- ough, and Mohamed ranked 14th Overall, MHS was extremely
uring the winter season, the
fied to run in the one mile event out of a total of 23. successful in the last meet at the
Malden High School indoor
at the states meet. After breaking As for the girls indoor track Reggie-Lewis Center, sending two
track stars competed in a prestigious
his personal best time team, Mathieu and Darla partici- track stars on to All-
meet at the Reggie Lewis Center
by running a 4:43, pated in the shotput event and per- States. Mohamed again
in Boston. The team sent a hand-
he placed 18th formed well, but they did participated in the 1000
ful of athletes to the Massachusetts
overall, but unfor- n o t break their personal meter race, running a
Interscholastic Athletic Association
tunately was un- person best of 2:35.22,
indoor track states meet on Feb. 18,
able to move on while Germain
2011, consisting of senior captains
to the All-States placed at an as-
Patrick Keough, Andrew Terenzi,
meet with Mo- tonishing 10th
David Germain, Cynthia Antenor,
hamed. Germain, place in the
the Blue and Gold member Alex-
however, was able bests. high jump,
andra Mathieu, and Kelvin Tsang.
to reach the All- Mathieu threw 30 feet again
Senior Vanesha Darla, juniors Yusuf
States meet in the and nine inches, put-
Mohamed and Kevin Chan, and
high jump event, ting herself in 18th place,
sophomores Abdelhak Belatreche
jump- while Darla threw 30 feet
and the Blue and Gold member
i n g and three inches, ultimately jumping six feet
Lauren Benoit, also qualified for and
a n placing herself at 20th. An- and 2 inches.
competed at the state meet.
tenor participated in the 55 Hopefully, for the
In order to qualify for the state
meter hurdles placing her upcoming outdoor
meet, runners, jumpers, hurdlers,
at 24th place season, MHS will be just
and throwers had to have distances
aston- with a time of as successful in sending
and times that meet the standards
ishing six feet and two 9.67 seconds. numerous athletes to the
set by the MIAA.
inches, placing fourth in Benoit, one of outdoor states track meet.
Keough and Mohamed partici-
that event. Germain also the two MHS
pated in the 1000 meter race. Keough
participated in the 55 sophomores Senior Patrick Keough passes the
set his own personal goal to break
meter hurdles, finishing who made baton to junior Kevin Chan in the
a time of 2:40, and he succeeded in
in 8.38 seconds and plac- states, fin- ished in indoor track 4x800 meter relay. Photo
doing so when he ran a time of 2:39.
ing 19th. last place in the 600 meter by Lauren Benoit.
In the same event, Mohamed ran
The fourth captain of the indoor race, running a 1:48 seconds.

Underclassmen Shine at States Meet

Megan Kelly
Copy Editor

T his
some
Malden High
year,
of

School’s best
athletes, the
swim team,
received state- Above: freshman Bestine Cong swims in the state track meet. Right: freshman Bestine
wide recogni- Cong prepares to start her race. On front page: Cong swims the butterfly stroke. Photos by
tion. Six mem- Catherine Poirier.
bers of the team the aforementioned freestyle. that “[they] conquered [their]
qualified for the Massachusetts The varsity squad is led by own personal states” by
Interscholastic Athletic Associa- senior Kaela Bryan (who is also a qualifying for the tournament.
tion’s State Swimming and Diving reporter for The Blue and Gold), Another accomplishment is
Competition at the Blodgett Pool at and teammate senior Samantha credited to Cong who quali-
Harvard University on Feb. 20, 2011. Saggese. The team also featured two fied for three events. Luckily,
For the first time in a decade other staff members from The Blue for many of these members,
the MHS’s girls swim team quali- and Gold: sophomore copy editor there is still time to qualify for
fied for states in two events: the 200 Catherine Poirier and sophomore and potentially place in more
yard freestyle relay and the 200 yard reporter Amalia Quesada Nylen. state-wide tournaments, as of
medley relay, all with six swimmers. They competed alongside sopho- the qualifiers, only Saggese
A freestyle relay uses four different more Caitlin Cala and freshman and Bryan are seniors. Al-
swimmers, all swimming for 200 Bestine Cong. ready the team is pursuing
yards in any unregulated swim- This season’s swimmers have next year’s states; Cong stated, the state.” For the team it was just
ming style, though most swimmers made an incredible mark on MHS “I really hope I can go back to states qualifying for the state tournament
choose to use the front crawl, as it is history after a ten year gap of at- next year with more people.” For that mattered; even though there
considered the fastest. Meanwhile, a tendance at the MIAA’s Swimming Cong, it was not that she got to swim was no impressive placing from the
the 200 yard medley relay is a com- and Diving Competition despite the at the Harvard pool, which has been MHS team this year, the fact that a
bination of four different styles of team’s success in recent years. Even called one of the best in the nation, possible comeback for the team is in
swimming: the butterfly stroke, the though they did not bring home a but that she got to “compete against the near future is all that they seem
backstroke, the breaststroke, and top score, Bryan and Poirier agreed some of the fastest swimmers in the to want.
The Blue and Gold
March 2011
Waiting for the Weather to Change
Amanda Rosatone
Reporter
W ith hopes of good weather
in the spring, Malden High
School’s crew team is very excited
about the upcoming season. One
main aspect of having a good sea-
son this year is having a strong team
spirit and that is exactly what senior
captains Jeremy Bowser and Harout
Khodaverdian expect.
The team has had an influx of
joiners this season, and members
who have recently joined the team,
“are really fitting in which helps
[the] team grow,” Bowser explained,
which helps uphold the team’s posi-
tive spirit. With such a strong team
spirit, Bowser expects that, despite
the loss of players over the years, “it
will be no exception for [the team] to
do well, pushing the limits to show
what a Malden High crew team can
really do.” Khodaverdain also add-
ed that he feels very confident about
this season and stated that, “with
a lot of hard work and practice we
will get those medals we all want so
badly.”
Considering the new members
have adjusted so quickly, Head
Coach and MHS math teacher Sarah
Jones hopes that there will be more
freshmen, as well as underclassmen,
and even some upperclassmen, who
HOCKEY EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Joshua Kummins
Copy Editor
T he sold-out crowds and action-
packed games make the Hockey
East Championship at the TD Gar-
den very special each year and it
was no different on Mar. 18-19 as
fans were treated to an exciting col-
lege hockey atmosphere and a new
twist as far as teams on the ice.
On Mar. 17, the conference
hosted their annual Awards Banquet
at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cam-
bridge to kick off the weekend.
The big winner of the evening
was New Hampshire senior Paul
Thompson, who was named the
league’s scoring champion and
Player of the Year as he scored 28
goals and 52 points in 36 games for
the Wildcats.
In what was their fifth meet-
ing of the season in the semifinals,
BC came through again with a 5-4
win over Northeastern to advance
to the finals for the second year in a
row and the sixth instance in seven
seasons. Freshman Kevin Hayes
was the Eagles’ scoring leader in the
game as he scored a goal and two
assists.
BC junior defenseman Tommy
Cross scored a goal and an assist
in the game. The event has special
meaning to him as he grew up in
Connecticut and was drafted by the
Boston Bruins in 2007.
The Huskies did not go down
without a fight as MacLeod and
Sports 19
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Coach
Busted
Alfonse Femino
Head of Sports
W hen a child signs up for a
sport, whether wrestling,
horseback riding, and everything
in between, there is an expectation
from both parents and players that
the athletes will be put in the trust-
worthy hands of a coach. This past
month, however, that was not the
case on the North Andover High
School Wrestling team, as long
time wrestling coach Dave Castri-
cone was arrested on Feb. 15, 2011,
on the grounds of alleged posses-
sion of child pornography.
Crew team during training. Photo By Amanda Rosatone. Castricone, who grew up in
North Andover and graduated
also want to be a part of the team. ing and premptively training. Not NAHS, is seen as an all-around
Having more freshmen will result only does the team have high expec- legend when it comes to the sport
in more people having the chance of tations, but Bowser also has person- of wrestling. He has been coaching
getting to a higher division such as al goals he would like to accomplish the team for 25 years, and is recog-
the varsity level in the future. Jones considering that, as a senior, this nized as one of the best coaches in
stated that, “It takes a lot of time is his final year on the team. When the entire country, with 600 wins,
to develop skills and starting as a asked if he had any personal goals leading all other New England
freshman will help get people to the he would like to see accomplished, wrestling teams, and three state
varsity level,” just like any sport, Bowser answered that he would titles in the past six years, an ac-
in which skill is acquired through like “to do better than last year and complishment not many coaches
countless hours of training and set a good example as team captain in any sport have come close to.
dedication. so [the team] can follow in those The investigation started
Along with Bowser’s pro- footsteps and do better as a whole.” when Police Chief Richard Stan-
claimed strong team spirit come Khodaverdian also has hopes of, ley’s department received informa-
high expectations for the team, and “meddling each competition while tion that Casticone was in posses-
many have already started training still enjoying the sport.” sion of child pornography, leading
to prepare for the season by exercis- it to obtain a search warrant, and
begin a full-out investigation of
Castricone’s house the next day.
After the search, it was confirmed
that Castricone was in possession
sophomore Gar-
of child pornography and Cas-
rett Vermeersch
tricono was put on “paid leave,”
scored a pair of
goals in the final
five minutes, but
however he sent his letter of resig-
nation to North Andover schools’
superintendent Christopher Hot-
it was not enough
tel, because of “personal reasons.”
to come back all
Speaking as a Malden High
the way. BC se-
School athlete, I can say with con-
nior John Muse
fidence that every coach I have
was outstanding
ever played for as a Tornado could
in the goal, mak-
be fully trusted. This is a direct
ing 33 saves.
result of Malden’s strict policies
“I thought
for coaching, as a majority of the
the game was
coaches are recruited either from
fairly secure late
the Malden Public School system.
in the third pe- BC celebrates their win over Merrimack. Photo by
Nobody in particular (ex-
riod, then all of a Joshua Kummins
cept Castricone of course) can be
sudden Northeast-
blamed for this incident; however,
ern came to life,” Eagle head coach tough in a 5-3 win to clinch their
the NAHS school system, and any
Jerry York said. “Northeastern came league-record tenth Hockey East
school system across the country
very hard in the third and made championship.
“I thought we did almost ev- for that matter must take evasive
some outstanding plays.”
erything we needed to do except action to avoid another horrible
In the second semifinal game,
win,” said Merrimack head coach incident like this in the future. In
Merrimack defeated UNH, 4-1, to
this instance, the situation goes far
advance to the Championship for Mark Dennehy. “It is a good learn-
ing lesson for us, that is the bad beyond how many wins the coach
the first time ever.
has, but also brings into question
Merrimack had a struggling news. The good news is we continue
the athlete’s safety around the
program for many years, but the on.”
BC junior Cam Atkinson coach. Stricter policies for teachers
Warriors are finally hitting their
scored two goals and was named and extensive background checks
stride and getting great support
tournament MVP. Merrimack’s Ryan for coaches are just a few actions
from members of the local commu-
Flanigan also scored two goals and that can be taken to ensure the
nity and students at the school.
safety of student athletes, espe-
The game set up a match-up was selected to the All-Tournament
cially in more hands-on (literally)
between BC and Merrimack in the Team, but it was not enough
BC, UNH, and Merrimack sports such as wrestling, because
finals on Saturday, marking the
were all selected to participate in the if students and parents cannot
first time in the 27-year history of
NCAA National Tournament, which trust a coach, then the ultimate
Hockey East that the top seed faced
begins on Mar. 25. goal of developing young men and
the fourth seed in the title game.
women through athletics can never
Merrimack’s magical run fell
be reached.
just short, as the Eagles were too
20
The Blue and Gold
Sports March 2011
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

Girls Tennis Ready for battle

Joshua Kummins English teacher Maggie Pettit will the GBL is so competitive
return as the head coach. Both Bui makes puts it in perspec-
Copy Editor and Ton have a wealth of experience, tive how hard the student
as they have been competing at the athletes will be expected

T he Malden High School girls

tennis team is looking to im-
prove upon its disappointing season
last year in which they just missed
qualification for the Massachusetts
Interscholastic Athletic Association
state tournament.
Senior Alison Nguyen is one
of the three captains and she hopes
that the team can come through and
advance to states as “[they] have
always gotten so close into making
it” in the past. If Nguyen has learned
one thing over her four years of
Greater Boston League tennis, it is
that nothing comes easily.
Every team in the league poses
a threat to Malden, and with the title
constantly up for grabs throughout
the entire season, any team having
the opportunity to pull ahead at any
time with a league win. Because of
this fact, Nguyen and the rest of the
team are well aware that an incred-
ible amount of work has to be done
to even come close to a league cham-
pionship.
Her senior classmates Danielle
Ton and Ivy Bui are the other two
captains for the team this year, while
varsity level for multiple years. The
two, along with Nguyen, will be
looked upon to serve as role models
for the younger players on the team.
Two underclassmen, Lisa
Delacey and The Blue and Gold
member Natalie Fallano, are also
expected to contribute to the team
as sophomores that will be playing
singles. Both Fallano and Delacey
will be important members not only
this season, but also in the seasons
to come.
Nguyen feels that “they [have]
been key players for [the team]” and
will help the team achieve its goal of
reaching the tournament.
This season, the team thinks
that it can reach its goal and will
be preparing hard during each and
every practice to make that a real-
ity. During practice, the athletes
will have to work on their serving,
and other skills. Most importantly,
however, the members of the team
will have to spend countless hours
working on their agility training,
as agility is the number one aspect
that a tennis player needs to achieve
any kind of success. The fact that
to work. Nguyen says
that the team is “plan-
ning on [doing] lots of
conditioning, like court
suicides and running, in
order to improve endur-
ance,” showing that she
understands that she, and
the rest of the team can
not take any short cuts,
and must work diligently.
Although the team
is in no lack of talented
upperclassmen, they still
hope, as any high school
team, that the incoming
freshman will possess
numbers in players that
will be future of tennis at
MHS. However, a major-
ity of returning players Sophomore and The Blue and Gold
have put in an extensive amount of member Natalie Fallano prepares to
hours of training in the off-season, serve in a home match at Amridge
preparing themselves for their final Park during the 2010 season. Photo
season as a Golden Tornado. by Sharon Lee.
Malden will be playing their
first match against North Reading
High School on Apr. 8, 2011.

new coach, new directions?

Reginah Sanyu before.” Delacey added. “She has
agility workouts as well as rills for
Head Entertainment Writer the season that will work us harder
than we have worked in any of the

A s spring is welcomed, the Mal-

den High School tennis team
is welcoming a new coach. Bernice
Diaz, a math teacher at MHS will be
coaching this season’s tennis team.
The team was previously coached
by Linden Middle School English
teacher Joshua Titcomb who is on a
leave of absence.
Although the team consists of
seniors who had Titcomb as coach
for a while, the team warmly wel-
comes Diaz to their family. “We are
excited to see her coaching skills,”
stated senior captain Andrew
Delacey. The team has made it to the
tournaments from the past seasons
and that is why their main focus
this season is to go all the way. “In
the past two years, we have made it
to the tournament; this season, we
hope to progress further.” Delacey
declared.
Progressing further will re-
quire the team to work harder than
they did in the past season. The
team members did not have a female
coach in their careers as high school
tennis players. However the change
in the coaching will not affect them
in any bad way. “No, I don’t think
that is going to affect the way our
team performs at all, many of our
players have had her as a teacher
past years,” Delacey continued to
speak of his new coach.
Diaz does not have tennis
coaching experience although that s
not keeping her from being excited
for his new experience. “I know the
kids and I love tennis,” she stated.
“Something about the speed and
the way you can generate so much
power; that is just awesome,” Diaz
added. One thing that Diaz loves
about this sport is that even if it is a
group sport, it is still an individual
spot. “It takes talent and skills to be
good at it,” Diaz added.
The team is ready to begin
playing. “My expectations have
grown throughout the years. This
is our last year since most of our
team is made of seniors; we expect
it to be our best year,” stated Co
captain senior Jackie Tran. “Hope-
fully, we can bring home the Greater
Boston League this year,” he added.
The team and the new coach have
one thing in common; they both
hope that this season is better than
the previous ones. “I hope to meet
their expectations and make it to the
GBL” stated Diaz.
With these expectations, a new
coach and hard work, the boy’s ten-
Senior Tuan Phan fires back a shot during a tennis match. Photo by
nis team could have a good season.
Lynn Tran.
The Blue and Gold
March 2011
MHS Baseball Season On Deck
Jacob Martino
Reporter
T he Malden High school boys
baseball team is looking forward
to the upcoming season this year
and looks to take its talents deep
into the state tournament.
Last year, the team made the
tournament but unfortunately lost
in the first round. Last season the
Another Shot at Success
Joel Stevenson
Reporter
B ottom of the seventh, things
are looking fair, both teams,
Malden High School and Central
Catholic are tied up, it still remains
anyone’s game. A whistle. All eyes
make a mad pursuit for the umpire,
hoping that the foul will be called
on the other team. This time, MHS
was not so fortunate. Penalty. From
that call, the game started to tilt one
way. Before everyone knew it, semi-
finals were over. As the saying goes,
“You’re outta here”, as Malden High
School’s Softball team hits the show-
ers feeling defeated.
As any good team knows, one’s
failures can only be measured by
one’s successes. A new season is
approaching, and this year they are
planning to go all the way, as stated
by Junior Rebecca Krigman. “We
want to be undefeated in the GBL
again and make it further in the
state tournament than last year. We
have plenty of skill and talent on the
team. We just need to work together
as a team and we will have a great
season.”
With less than a month before
the season starts, the team is taking
full advantage of their time. Every
week, twice a week, they are work-
ing on their previous skills. Batting,
pitching, as well as drills help them
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team made many key victories,
including one that was against the
seventh ranked team in the state,
Lawrence High School. “The team is
excited to start this year, everyone is
very confident in what we can do,”
said senior Kevin Valley.
Valley is only one of the seniors
that will be a huge asset to the team’s
success this year, as he has proven to
be as reliable at his shortstop posi-
tion as he is at the plate. Valley has
also been on the varsity roster since
his sophomore year.
Along with Valley, there are
two other seasoned veterans on the
team: Marc Woodman and Matt
Howe, both of whom have been
playing on the varsity team since
their sophomore years, Woodman
showcasing his brute strength at
the plate, and Howe showing off his
golden glove abilities at the position
of first base.
Valley also commented, “We
are confident in our coach and his
decisions we know that he is only
trying to do what is best for the team
at all times.”
The seniors on the team will
not just be the only contributions
to the team; the team has many
sophomore and juniors this year
who contributed last year. “They
are just going to get better as we go
on; it is good to know that they will
be able to lead the team when all of
us seniors are gone,” Valley com-
do better. After such a close year last
year, the team is giving it all they
can to so they can be do one thing,
be better. “Last year the team did
very well, I was the asst coach, but
I would think it was the toughest
schedule any Malden High Softball
team played…Hopefully we can get
back to the way we played last year
but we have some holes to fill and it
won’t be easy. We lost great leader-
ship and players in the 3 Seniors Jen
T, Kristina Dyer, and Casey Willcox.
This has been a dream come true for
me to be able to Coach at my old
High School and I look forward to
many successful years,” expressed
head coach John Furlong.
With a new softball coach, the
team is keeping optimistic about the
year, they are looking for nothing
but wins, as stated by senior captain
Ashley Powers. “This season is go-
ing to be the best. We already started
working hard for the season so were
only bound to get better from here.
We also have a new coach that I
think will really be a big contribu-
tion to this season.”
This upcoming year the team
is being led by seniors Francesca
Richardson, Powers, and Renee
Santo. These three are determined
to end their years of softball at MHS
on a high note. Richardson stated,
“We have won the GBL title since I
was a freshman, along with Powers
21
From top to bottom, left to right junior Austin Teal and senior Marc
Woodman practicing catching. Woodman practicing batting in the
cage. Photo by Reginah Sanyu. On front page: Cameron Lucey at
bat. Photo by Lynn Tran.
mented. Valley also said, “I do not school team, especially in Malden,
want to say anything that will end the baseball team has run into
up hurting us but I think we will some adversity before the first in-
have a very good season, and who ning is even played. Due to some
knows, maybe we will even win the unfortunate events that can not be
GBL title this year.” mentioned, two of the teams very
Valley says he would like to talented starters will be forced by
continue playing baseball at the the Massachusetts Interscholastic
college level as well he commented, Athletic Association to sit out the
“My favorite sport is baseball, I can first five games of the season. “It’s
play catch all day long, I would love going to be tough not having them
to be able to play at the next level.” out there, but the team and I are still
The boys baseball team games will confident that the team can still play
be held at Keizer field at Pine Banks at the same intense level that they
Park in Malden. have played with in recent seasons.”
Much like any other high
and Santo, and as the three senior have made it finals, they have come
Captains we are confident that we close every year, this year they want
will end our high school career with to win, the team has learned from its
another title.” failures, and now they are ready to
Another returning member that go all the way. “This year, our hopes
has a immense impact on the team is and goals are to make it to those fi-
junior Kiara Amos. Amos has been nals, and become State Champions.
winning athletic awards throughout With the talent on our team, this
her years at MHS, including the soft- goal is highly reachable. I would be
ball MVP award, and fastest pitch ecstatic to play my last High School
awards. When asked her what her softball game as a Malden Tornado
secret to success was, she explained in the State Championship,” Rich-
that her only secret was hard work, ardson.
as she modestly stated, “I’ve
been playing softball since I
was six. I’m good because I
work hard and train during
the off season.”
Prior to official tryouts,
the team practiced at Salem-
wood Middle School every
Tuesday and Thursday
from five to seven. There,
they worked on improving
upon their old skills, plus
learning new drills, from
batting, to three way pitch-
ing. They hope that all of
this hard work pays off, as
they strive to make states
this year.
With power house
players like Santo, Powers,
and Richardson, they are
bound to win a state title.
Year after year, since these
Senior Francesca Richardson pitches a ball at
three were freshman, they
softball practice. Photo by Joel Stevenson.
22
Starting Early for success
Trouncing The Record
Amalia Quesada Nylen
Reporter
T he Malden High School boys
lacrosse team looks forward to a
successful season this year. With an
unfortunate record of 2 wins and 14
losses last season, through plenty of
hard work and talent, the boys hope
to make more wins this year.
The program is still relatively
young, so any progress in the
numbers playing the sport will be
important. “We plan on fielding
a junior varsity team with a full
schedule,” coach Brendan Maney
stated, adding that “this will allow
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more student athletes to participate
in the sport. We have seem to have
more interest this year so that our
numbers will be up over last year.”
A junior varsity team would also
allow newly joined members to
develop their skills before joining
the varsity team, thus making for an
overall stronger varsity team in the
future.
This year, the team expects to
avoid the problems posed last year
that came with the adjustment to a
new coach, and a new system. In-
stead, the team can now develop on
the skills that Coach Maney began
installing last season. This adjust-
ment in the structure of the team
The Blue and Gold
March 2011
Vicki Ngan team will have a
Reporter strong foundation
once the season
M alden High School girls la-
crosse team eagerly prepares
for the upcoming season, drill by
begins. In addi-
tion, with an issue
on attendance last
drill. Starting off with early captain year, they de-
practices, they expect to win more cided on cutting
games. players if they
MHS lacrosse varsity coach are not com-
and physical education teacher Julie mitted.
Briggs plans on accepting no more “ I
than 18 members on her varsity hope to ac-
team this year and hoped for “a bet- complish
ter commitment to being physically together as
fit and a little more focus on basic a team and
skills” from the team. There are win,” ju-
more veteran players this year, and nior defen-
Briggs wants “them to learn to love sive midfielder
the game, to feel proud to play on Commie Ayuk said. A
the Malden High School team, and returning key player, she tore her
to get better within themselves.” ACL last year in a game and was
Holding the highest average unable to continue for the rest of
GPA of all sports at MHS, the la- the season. Getting back on track,
crosse team is determined to com- she wishes to concentrate on her
mit three months to this sport. “We stamina this year and intends to do
live and die by the team,” stated a considerable amount of running.
senior co-captain Mandy Liao. New With a head start, the MHS lacrosse
players are expected to work twice team works hard, using their time
as hard to catch up in terms of skill. improving their skills and unifying
Additionally, the rest of the team their sense of teamwork.
must improve by working “on men-
tality, skills, and community,” se- Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Sopho-
nior co-captain Patricia Aguinaldo more Anita Caceda, Co-captain
explained. Mandy Liao and Patricia Aguinaldo,
Repeatedly refining and pol- Senior Samantha Saggese. Photos by
ishing their basics, the girls lacrosse Sharon Lee and Vicki Ngan.
will inevitably lead to more fast Regardless of their record this year,
pace style of play, and ultimately the boys make sure to focus on not
more success on the field. only personal goals, but team goals
The team also had many seniors to remain closer and work better.
graduating last year that played “I want my teammates to enjoy the
significant roles on the roster, such time we have on and off the field as
as Tim Riordan, Sam Warton, and a team,” revealed Lam. “Just like
Xavier Leo, leaving the team with the previous seasons I want to cre-
huge footsteps to follow in. How- ate a bond between the players that
ever, the team is not showing a sign will remain even when the season is
of defeat at this loss. “This year we over.”
plan to have more
than just a couple
people to rely on.
We plan to work
better as a team
and less as com-
plete individual
efforts,” stated ju-
nior Dylan Sad-
owski.
Led by senior
captains Andy
Lam, Chance DiPi-
etro, and The Blue
and Gold member
Alfonse Femino,
the team plans to
take advantage
of its talent as a
collective whole.
Other than work-
ing hard to make
this season a suc-
cess, the boys look
forward to creat-
ing solid founda- Top to bottom, left to right: Senior tri-captains Andy
tions for previous Lam, Chance DiPietro, and Alfonse Femino. Senior
years to come. Luis Moreira prepares to catch a pass. Photos by Sha-
ron Lee and Vicki Ngan.
The Blue and Gold
March 2011
Alexander Gennigiorgis
Be Kind Rewind
Head of Business
T he Malden High School girls
track team is hoping to repeat
its success in this outdoor season,
following a very successful indoor
season. During the winter, the in-
door season seemed to be the most
successful season the team has had
in Coach Mitch Abbatessa’s career as
head coach. The only way to follow
up such a great season is by repeat-
ing it or improving upon it.
The difference between out-
door and indoor track is that out-
door there are 16 events in a meet
and indoor there are only 9. Luckily,
most of the events consist of field
events such as throwing and shot-
put are the team’s strongpoint.
There was only one setback last
season that the team really is hop-
ing to improve on which was the
loss to Somerville. The team seemed
to make all the others seem like
underdogs in each meet, “but not
Somerville,” stated Abbatessa. “On
paper we looked great, but Somer-
ville looked better.”
Abbatessa’s set goals for the
outdoor season are to put that loss
behind the team and improve, as
well as becoming “Undefeated
Greater Boston League Champi-
ons.”
Goal: Reclaiming GBL Title
Johanna Lai
Reporter
A fter the Malden High School
boys track team completed
their indoor track season with a
winning record, they are pumped
for their outdoor track season. Last
season, the boys indoor track team
was unable to achieve another
Greater Boston League title. How-
ever, the team was able to achieve
great success last season.
The boys track team has been
stronger than ever since their huge
success including their Greater Bos-
ton League title tied-up with Somer-
ville last year.
With most of the members of
the indoor track team, including key
members seniors Patrick Keough,
Andrew Terenzi, Kelvin Tsang and
David Germain, junior Yusuf Mo-
hamed, and head coaches English
teacher David Londino and fresh-
man English consulting teacher
Mitch Abbatessa, the boys outdoor
track team is back in session. The
team is prepared to defeat their
greatest challenge of all: reclaiming
their Greater Boston League title.
Underclassmen who are expected to
contribute to this outdoor track sea-
son include sophomores Franklin
Huynh and Tyler Williams.
Keough also has some expec-
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In order to achieve Abbatessa’s
goals, the team must show a lot of
work ethic, as they have every other
season, and “focus on [beating] ev-
ery team, one meet at a time.” One
major speed bump on the road to
success is the fact that the team needs
members. The team will hopefully
recruit “at least 16 people” to cover
each event, stated Abbatessa. “We
have some, but not enough.” Com-
placency does not appear, as when
Abbatessa was asked about whether
the team has a better chance at being
at the top of the GBL standings, he
stated that “there are five teams,”
giving the team a “one out of five
chance” at achieving glory.
This past winter has caused a
big blow to the team’s preparation
for the upcoming season due to the
fact that there were many feet of
snow covering McDonald stadium
after the many periods of heavy
snowfall. Hopefully the field will
fully clear up and be in the right
condition for the team to be able to
compete. There are many variables
in a winning season. These variables
go from weather to what the team
brings to the table at every meet.
The offseason is the perfect
time for an athlete to focus on school,
prepare for the next season, or rest.
Abbatessa sees the offfseason as a
tations for himself this season, and
one of the mutual ones is to win the
GBL title and go undefeated once
again. Keough stated, “I would like
to make states in multiple events
and have a successful 4x800 team
this season.” Keough hopes that the
team also defeats Somerville this
year, even though they tied with
Somerville for the Greater Boston
League title during the indoor track
season. Keough plans to “go into
the same intensity, stay focused, and
continue to work hard.”
Mohamed, who has been one
of the key members of the track
team, has some expectations for the
team as well. The personal goals
that Mohamed also has are to make
All-States again this season and to
place high at the states tournament.
As Mohamed expressed, “What
I’m planning to do differently is
to get more rest than last year...the
workouts should be intense and [I
should] trust myself a little more
during the meets.”
According to Londino, there
are 13 events that the team is com-
peting including distance, sprinting,
jumping, and throwing, including
other types of drills.
A lot of expectations are be-
ing put on the team this season. As
Londino stated, “The expectations
for the boys track team to be unde-
feated this season. Last season, dur-
23
time to be produc-
tive. “If an athlete
plays 3 seasons of
a sport and is tak-
ing lots of time for
sports, they should
take a break.” By
take a break, he
implies that they
should maintain
a steady, healthy
diet, but enjoy the
time off. Abbatessa
explained that
“Lots of athletes do
irrelevant sports
and then want to
sprint.” This af-
fects their fatigue,
training, and work
ethic. Athletes that
join track after hav-
ing played a differ-
ent sport may not
like track and are
more likely to quit. Senior Cera Nolan practices at MacDonald Stadium.
If an athlete com- Photo by Lynn Tran.
peted in a different
event during the
first two seasons, then “they should athleticism. Even with new recruits
train. Maybe hit the weight room.” almost every season, what sticks out
It is not at all a bad thing to most in the team is its success each
have athletes from other sports to season. It is not who makes up the
join track, it isactually more of a re- team that matters, it is what they do
quirement for athletes expand their that makes a difference.
ing indoor, they lost to Somerville only the distance runners had begun
by 2 points, and we are hoping to their practices. Official practices do
reclaim our GBL title.” Even though not begin until March 21, 2011 at
the team had success last season, MacDonald Stadium. The first track
the team still has some improve- meet of the season is on April 5, 2011
ments to make in order to build a against Cambridge High School.
stronger team. Londino
expressed, “Last year the
record was 3-0-1, and in
order to be 4-0 this year,
we’re going to need our
top athletes to score in
multiple events. We’re
also going to need our
unsung heroes as well.”
The captains of the
outdoor track team are
currently undecided, as
up until March 21, 2011,
24
The Blue and Gold
Sports March 2011
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Photos by Lauren Benoit, Catherine Poirier, Sharon Lee, Reginah Sanyu, Cristina Peters, Dan
Holmqvist, and Rebecca Broomstein. Collage by Brittany Foley.