The Blue and Gold http://www.maldenblueandgold.

com/
Malden High School Our 96th Year
Volume 96 Edition 2 November 2010
Sophomore Daniel Powers.
Fashion tips on page 19.

Malden Puts on its Poker Face

Tibet/China conflict on page 7.

The Malden High School marching band captured first place in the New England Scholastic Band Associa-
tion on October 30 at Reading High School. Director Matthew Tavares led the band with high scores dur-
ing their initial competitions and performed a Lady Gaga routine during the final competition, putting an
unorthodox style to their performances. According to Tavares, they exceeded expectations on their way to
winning the championship for the first time in seven years. The band worked extremely hard to bring home
the title with support from a very passionate family. Read Rebecca Broomstein’s article on page 13. Photo by
Rebecca Broomstein.

Haiti: Nine Months Later

In This Issue:

Noam Chomsky
page 5

To Write Love on
Sophomore Dawit Aynalem helping
Her Arms
the cross country team to victory.
Page 6 Article on page 25.

Monthly Profile
David Lucil
Page 11

Pine Banks
Renovations
Haitians fight with each other in a warehouse district in downtown Port-au- Page 13
Prince, Haiti, on Jan. 24, 2010. The downtown area of the city has become a
target for people to scavenge goods from the abandoned stores. (Al Diaz/Miami
Herald/MCT). More on Haiti on pages 8 and 9. Skateboarding
Page 18
Comics by sophomore Jimmy
Football
Malzone and senior Jeri Scibelli
Page 22 on pages 4 and 5.

Girls Cross
Country
Page 26 Opinion 2-5
World News 6-10
Boys Soccer Local News 10-17
Page 28
Entertainment 18-20
Sophomores Lauren Benoit, Bridget Furlong, Elyse Valente, and Caitlin Sports 21-28
Cala at the Blue and Gold Semi-Formal. More on the dance on page 14.
2
The Blue and Gold
Editorials November 2010
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
When Knowledge is Not Power

Malden High School

The Blue and Gold
77 Salem St.
Malden, MA 02148
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
João Nascimento
Nidale Zouhir
MANAGING EDITORS
Brittany Foley
Alexandra Mathieu
HEAD COPY EDITOR
Brittany McFeeley
ONLINE EDITOR
Omar Khoshafa
HEAD LOCAL NEWS WRITER
Cristina Peters
HEAD WORLD NEWS WRITER
Dan Holmqvist
HEAD ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
Reginah Sanyu
HEAD SPORTS WRITER
Alfonse Femino
HEAD OF BUSINESS
Alexander Gennigiorgis
HEADS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Lauren Benoit
Sharon Lee
HEAD OF SPECIAL PROJECTS
Kayla Bramante
COPY EDITORS
Haley DeFilippis
Catherine Poirier
Megan Kelly
Natalie Fallano
Paige Yurek
Joshua Kummins
REPORTERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS
Rebecca Broomstein
Kaela Bryan
Freddie DiPhillipo
Johanna Lai
Kristen Leonard
Jacob Martino
Vicki Ngan
Amalia Quesada Nylen
Timothee Pierre
Amanda Rosatone
Joel Stevenson
Lesley Ta
ADVISOR
Ryan Gallagher
Established in 1915
Check out our online edition:
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
P rofessor Dolores Umbridge was loved by the al-
legorical Slytherins of Hogwarts School of Witch-
craft and Wizardry. Why? Because she knew nothing
about the political and social system in which she
worked, but believed that she was entitled to power
in that system anyway.
Christine O’Donnell, Republican Senate candi-
date from Delaware, was a theater major at Farleigh
Dickinson University who attended graduation
with her class without receiving a degree, though
she eventually earned a bachelor’s of art in English
literature. O’Donnell claimed to have taken gradu-
ate classes at Princeton and Oxford Universities,
but eventually retracted both statements. Former
Governor Sarah Palin, meanwhile, attended Hawaii
Pacific University, the University of Idaho, North
Idaho College, and Matanuska-Susitna College, all
over the course of about six years. Meanwhile, Presi-
dent Barack Obama attended Occidental College,
Columbia University, Harvard Law School, and the
University of Chicago Law School – all notoriously
selective and, in some cases, notoriously pretentious,
schools.
But the nation is unsatisfied with Obama and
his multiple degrees from such prestigious schools,
a dissatisfaction exemplified by the Democrats’ dev-
astating losses in the House of Representatives on
Election Day. This is not a new phenomenon; Senator
John Kerry failed to be elected in 2004, not only be-
cause of his wishy-washy politics, but also because
he was overconfident, both in his loquaciousness
and in his chances of winning. Unlike then-President
George W. Bush, Kerry seemed to know exactly what
he was talking about in debates; Bush’s floundering
came off as likable, while Kerry’s assertions came off
as pretentious. Americans could sympathize with
Bush, and, unsurprisingly, found Kerry condescend-
ing. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coak-
ley barely campaigned in the 2010 US Senate special
election, leading to the unprecedented election of
Republican Scott Brown.
The fact of the matter is, the vast majority of
Americans did not attend Ivy League schools. They
cannot relate to the rhetoric of the intellectual liber-
als, which they equate to playing Quidditch with
Democrats. This is not the public’s fault; after all, it
is the job of politicians to represent their people, not
the other way around. We live in a society that pre-
fers Jon and Kate plus Eight to MSNBC, Sarah Palin’s
Alaska to CNN. Keith Olbermann, with his Cornell
Editorial Policy
The Blue and Gold is an open forum for
student expression. It is produced by students
for the school and the community. The views
presented in this paper are not necessarily those
of the advisor or the school administration. The
views presented in the editorials are those of the
editors-in-chief or guests. The goal of The Blue
and Gold is to inform and entertain students as
well as the community regarding issues that we
feel are important.
We strongly encourage readers to respond
to material printed in the form of signed letters to
the editors. No libelous, malicious, defamatory,
obscene, or unsigned material will be printed.
The Blue and Gold reserves the right to edit the let-
ters. Names may be withheld upon request. Not
all letters will be printed.
Although The Blue and Gold appreciates the
support of advertisers, we may refuse any ad-
vertisement that violates the above policy or that
promotes products questionable to student use.
Any correspondence concerning this publi-
cation should be directed to Mr. Ryan Gallagher’s
room in C339 or to his mailbox in the main office.
The Blue and Gold
c/o Malden High School
77 Salem Street
Malden, MA 02148
degree, and Rachel Maddow, with her Stanford de-
gree, and Anderson Cooper, with his Yale degree, are
simply not as fun to watch as Palin and O’Donnell,
who make up words and disregard essential Consti-
tutional amendments on a regular basis.
Nor are they as relatable. The American people
are fed up with the over-intellectual, over-educated
politicians that have long made their nests in Wash-
ington. Palin is adorable in her ignorance; O’Donnell
is charmingly unknowledgeable about everything
from the Bible to the Constitution. They remind us
of ourselves; Palin and O’Donnell are not the annoy-
ingly over-knowledgeable students who were able to
recite the Bill of Rights from memory by age four.
Rather, they are the students who learned how to
socialize while future lawyers were learning how to
speak in front of large audiences.
Unfortunately, relatable as they may be, Palin,
O’Donnell, and those like them are simply not
qualified to lead the US, especially at a time when
diplomacy is so vital to the future of the world –
not because they are not Ivy League educated, but
because they are vapid. Palin believes Fox News is
“fair and balanced,” according to the BBC. She also
believed that Obama’s health care plan called for
“death panels” where “his bureaucrats [could] de-
cide, based on a subjective judgment...whether they
are worthy of health care,” according to her Face-
book page. O’Donnell, meanwhile, told Bill Maher
that “America is now a socialist economy.” In one
debate during the race for the Delaware US Senate,
she failed to recognize the line, “Government shall
make no establishment of religion,” as a paraphrase
of part of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
O’Donnell was also unable to cite a specific Supreme
Court judgment with which she disagreed, telling
the moderator that she would “put it up on [her]
website.”
It may be a sign of hope for the state of the
nation that O’Donnell lost the election for US Senate
in Delaware. Then again, perhaps it is lamentable
that she won the primary in the first place, beating
out the far more qualified and experienced Michael
Castle, and then went on to win 40 percent of the
state’s vote – only 50,000 less Delawareans voted for
her than that voted for her opponent, Democrat Chris
Coons – who, by the way, earned actual degrees be-
fore graduating with his class at both Amherst Col-
lege and Yale University.
Nidale Zouhir
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Corrections:
On the front page, Jeri Scibelli’s comic is on page
4, not page 3.
In the Flea Market article on page 14, senior
Samantha Saggese’s name is spelled incorrectly.
Also, Kayla Bramante is the Head of Special
Projects, not a Reporter.
In the football article on page 18, Wesly Bien-
Aime’s name is spelled incorrectly. Also, he only
tore his ACL, not his MCL and PCL.
On page 20, senior Patrick Keough is not listed in
the boys cross country photo caption. Also, junior
Cynthia Laurore is not listed in the girls cross
country caption.
On page 21, Christelle Jourdain is not listed as a
sophomore in the photo caption.
Corrections to the editor can be submitted to
theblueandgold@gmail.com
The Blue and Gold
November 2010
Tea Party
Tidal Wave
Dan Holmqvist
Head World News Writer
A fter winning his Senate chal-
lenge in the state of Kentucky,
prominent Republican and Tea
Party member Rand Paul exclaimed,
“We’ve come to take our govern-
ment back,” adding in his victory
speech that, “Tonight, there’s a Tea
Party tidal wave.” But despite the
apparent “success” of the Tea Party
this November, many Americans are
still in the dark over the emergence
of this new, radically conservative
faction of the Republican Party. Who
are they, what do they stand for, and
how are they changing the face of
politics in the United States?
The origins of the Tea Party
movement can be traced back to the
government bailouts of the financial
sector during the former George W.
Bush and current Barack Obama ad-
ministrations. Disgruntled citizens
and taxpayers, from New York to
Seattle, held impromptu “tea par-
ties,” protests meant to highlight
American discontent over exorbi-
tant taxes and reckless spending.
The name “Tea Party,” of course,
was drawn from the famous Boston
Tea Party of 1773, where colonial
citizens protested harsh British gov-
ernment policies by storming a ship
and dumping its tea overboard. The
movement eventually gained steam
and it was only a moment of time
before prominent political leaders
like Rand Paul and Sarah Palin de-
cided to call themselves tea partiers.
However, there are several
misconceptions that people still
harbor about the Tea Party. For one,
they are a decentralized grassroots
movements, with no formal political
leadership (although some people
argue that Sarah Palin is the de
facto leader of this phenomenon).
The Tea Party is also not affiliated
with the GOP in any way, although,
considering their extremely conser-
vative outlook, it is not surprising
that essentially every member of the
movement favors the Republican
Party over the Democratic Party.
But what exactly does the Tea
Party stand for? What is its political
platform? Well, the supposed “Con-
tract from America,” a 10 point
document modeled after the GOP’s
“Contract for America” in 1994,
tries to explain just that. The most
important of these political goals
include “protecting the constitution,
demanding a balanced budget, en-
acting tax reform, rejecting cap and
trade, and restoring fiscal responsi-
bility and constitutionally limited
government.”
Like it or not, the Tea Party
is here to stay - at least until 2012,
when we will see whether or not the
Tea Party will become an enduring
political establishment.
Opinion 3
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Emma Watson’s Hair in the Time of Cholera
Brittany Foley
Managing Editor
L et’s look at the numbers: over 160 mil-
lion (estimated amount in dollars of aid
needed to battle a raging epidemic over the
course of one year), 1.3 million (number
of people left homeless following a brutal
earthquake), 917 (current death toll), three
(number of oh-so tragic days spent trapped
on a luxury cruise liner).
How is it that reports of the soar-
ing death toll caused by epidemic in an
already-devastated developing country
could receive less attention from the gen-
eral internet-savvy public than a cruise
ship’s power outage? How do the deaths
of hundreds and disease of thousands
compare to the inconvenience of having to
eat canned meat for three days? While the
thought of being trapped in the middle of
the ocean with hundreds of strangers and
no power may even fit the label as horri-
fying to some, it certainly falls below the
raging outbreak of deadly disease in Haiti
on a scale of global significance. And yet, somehow,
the story of the Carnival Cruise ship’s power outage your standard celebrity gossip magazine. Inarguably,
stole the internet spotlight from the news of Haiti’s as far as newsprint goes, Jessica Simpson’s romantic
skyrocketing cholera-caused death toll—and the ab- affairs are only acceptable front-page content for The
surdities of priorities exist beyond this single case. National Enquirer, next to some byline regarding an
AOL’s website serves as prime evidence of alien woman giving birth to a three-headed Cyclops
America’s confused concerns. As of 8:00 PM on baby. On the internet scene, however, celebrity gos-
Nov. 14, 2010, “Ke$ha Hits the Beach” was a more sip and entertainment news are displayed next to
pronounced headline than stories of deadly blasts top world news stories; names like Justin Bieber and
in Mexico and kidnappings by Somali pirates. On Conan O’Brien are just as common, if not more so, than
their search page, both Sports News and Entertain- names like Barack Obama and Kim Jong Il. Thanks to
ment News are listed before World News. Reports of virtual news sources, teen pregnancy idol Bristol Palin
Jessica Simpson’s latest engagement rank just below is probably equally famous to her tea-partying mother,
a report of the political competition heating up be- and the general public probably knows more about last
tween Heath Shuler and Nancy Pelosi and updates week’s episode of Dancing With the Stars than they do
on the Tea Party on AOL’s “Latest Headlines” list. about their recent local elections.
Around the same time, Simpson’s engagement was Perhaps these past couple of years’ worth of
also featured on CNN.com, surrounded by images quality-slacking is due to the greater audience that in-
linking to college Quidditch news, a story regard- ternet reporting reels in. The majority of the younger
ing the apparent “24-carat gold tattoo trend,” and a folk visiting these websites likely have the time to care
report entitled “Bill Clinton joins cast of Hangover about their favorite celebrities, and there’s nothing
2.” To the side of this centered array of flags were wrong with that. Procrastinators, bored web-surfers
links that sounded like actual news—“Arizona voters and diehard fans alike all probably would find more
OK marijuana,” “Obama ready for clash with Repub- recreation in reading tabloid-y gossip stories and enter-
licans,” and “Vitamin D lack linked to stroke death,” tainment updates, and that is totally normal. Still, there
to name a few. is a place for stories of these sorts, and on a news site’s
As the virtual news sources begin to replace homepage—what would be the front page of a stan-
newsprint, as the public continues to choose con- dard printed publication—next to world news reports
venience, it seems they sacrifice quality of content. and political bulletins and economic updates is not that
While it enables constant, continuous, and repeated place. In reference to a popular quote from the iconic
updating of news articles, while it allows for practi- Emma Watson (because her new haircut is obviously
cally limitless image and video supplement, internet headline-worthy in itself) and jousting regards to the
reporting also seems to remove limits from story latest Harry Potter film just hitting theaters (the most
coverage. Try to imagine the story of Jessica Simp- likely “news” story to be brought up in common con-
son’s engagement on the front page of The New York versation these days), America, you really need to sort
Times, just below some Wall Street report; such an out your priorities.
occurrence is pretty much apocalyptic, a merger of
one of the world’s most respected publications and
4
Faster Technology Makes People Lose Patience
Alexandra Mathieu
Managing Editor
T he 2000s ushered in a new
age of technology; this “Infor-
mation Age” created a trend for
faster, smaller, and smarter gadgets.
Memory chips were condensed
into microchips that now power up
devices from cell phones to global
positioning systems. Playing music
has moved from compact disks
on CD players to MPEG-2 Audio
Layer 3, more commonly known as
MP3 files, on iPods and other MP3
players. Sending information across
the globe can be done in less than
one second via Internet chatting or
streamed video conferences. Getting
tasks done and finding information
faster has been a driving force be-
hind the technological revolution of
the new millennium. However, this
modernization comes with a conse-
quence too dire to go unnoticed: the
upsurge of instant gratification in
our global society.
Instant gratification is the
emotional response that describes
satisfactions derived from more
impulsive behavior. Although this
may not sound particularly danger-
ous to society, effects of this can be
seen in almost all aspects of life.
On the Internet, people can move
freely between pages, spending less
Have you ever wanted to be pub-
lished? Do you like drawing comics?
Writing opinion pieces? Submit your
work to theblueandgold@gmail.com!
Opinion
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than ten minutes on a page before
navigating to a new one. A steady
stream of information, no matter if
it is viral, through web articles or
through advertisements, is being
absorbed by those who browse the
Internet for any amount of time. In
an article from 2008, Science Daily
announced that most teens spend
on average 30 hours a week on the
Internet and thereby are faced with
30 hours of information bombard-
ment. This constant stimulation
and the expectation of immediate
responses from objects have become
part of the norm for many people
without them having recognized it.
Perhaps the best example of
this phenomenon is the lucrative
United States diet industry. In 2009,
the US diet industry had a net worth
of over $59.7 billion, testament to
its economic strength. What makes
it such a lucrative sector is that the
industry appeals to Americans’
need to see immediate results. Buzz-
words such as “fast acting” and
“immediate results” are employed
by diet companies in order to garner
more customers who may be naively
looking at short term forms of grati-
fication. Crash diets have become
increasingly popular in recent years
as many men and women severely
restrict their calorie intake to achieve
rapid weight loss. However, in their
search for immediate results, these
same customers end up unhealthy
and in worse conditions than they
were before the diet as the weight
lost tends to return in a few weeks.
Though this is alarming infor-
mation on its own, instant gratifica-
tion goes hand in hand with a de-
crease of patience. One of the main
reasons that people go on diets or
even to fast food restaurants is be-
cause they want results as quickly
as possible: in these cases, immedi-
ate weight loss or a double cheese-
burger on demand. Therefore, the
opposite proves true as well: people
do not want to wait or use a lot of
time on one task. More students now
are forgoing actually reading a book
in order to read a summary of each
chapter, essentially getting all of the
same information without having to
read since it is time consuming. This
habit, although helpful when used
to catch up in a book, prevents stu-
dents from formulating their own
ideas about the book as well as takes
away from the experience of reading
a novel in general.
This lack of patience can also
The Blue and Gold
November 2010
be taken out of the context of high
school and brought to a national
level. When he began in late Janu-
ary, President Barack Obama had
a 65 percent approval rating from
American citizens. However, almost
two years later, Obama’s rating
dropped to around 47 percent. That
is almost an 18 percent drop in a
very short amount of time. Why the
huge plummet? Obama’s platform
was built around the idea of change
in all aspects of the nation: economi-
cally and politically. Many Ameri-
can voters expected radical new
policies and laws that would im-
mediately benefit the nation in some
way. However, change takes time,
a concept that these Americans do
not understand. From the way his
approval ratings are continuously
falling, Obama will most likely not
find himself re-elected in 2012 but
will probably become a casualty of
our need for instant gratification.
Technology is continuously
progressing, with new inventions
and innovations made every day.
This is not bad news on its own but
taking the psychological effects into
account leads one to worry about
the future of society. What this situ-
ation boils down to is a simple ques-
The Blue and Gold
November 2010
Noam Chomsky On the Israeli Palestinian Conflict
Omar Khoshafa
Online Editor
M assachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology professor of linguistics
Noam Chomsky addressed an eager
audience at the Palestinian Cultural
Center for Peace in Boston on Oct.
14, 2010 on matters concerning the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The crowd was composed of a
variety of different groups defying
any lines drawn by race or religion.
Jewish men wearing the kippah, a
round cap usually clipped on the
back of the head, proudly displayed
their Jewish culture. Muslim women
wearing the hijab, a headscarf that
not only covers not only one’s hair,
but also meant in Islamic culture to
preserve a women’s modesty and
morality, also attended the lecture.
Catholics and Protestants were also
members of this vibrant audience,
with the lecture occurring ironically
in what once was a congregation
area of a Catholic Church. All of
these diverse citizens, citizens of the
global community, wanted to learn
more about the seemingly never-
ending Israeli-Palestinian conflict
through Chomsky. More important-
ly, they sought the ways in which
they could make a difference.
As members of the audience
gathered before the presentation,
a large array of Mediterranean
foods was offered to the enthusias-
tic crowd. It was a modest crowd
of about 100 people, with several
journalists and photographers also
present.
Opinion
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
The Gaza Mental Health Foun-
dation, a humanitarian organization
committed to the healthy develop-
ment of children in Gaza, specifically
those under 14 years of age, kicked
off the gathering with a presentation
that was critical to the overall pur-
pose of the event. Nancy Murray,
president of the organization, gave
a presentation on the horrors the
children of Gaza has been through.
Vivid and poignant pictures of the
current situation in the Gaza strip
and moving melodramatic melodies
were enough to transfix the audi-
ence. Gaza’s current despair was
obviously attributed to the Israeli
siege on the region, which Chom-
sky constantly called “the world’s
largest prison.” This presentation
enabled the audience to see this con-
flict in a completely different light.
It allowed the audience to see the
conflict for the humanitarian issue it
was, not the usual political chatter it
has always been.
After pleas for the continued fi-
nancial support of the cause, Chom-
sky took the stage to a long standing
ovation. There are certain points
that Chomsky reiterated through-
out his speech, more accurately
throughout every single speech I
have ever attended on this issue.
Chomsky stresses several points,
and including the fact that Israel
and the United States have failed to
ratify many international treatises
and conventions agreed upon by
almost the entire global community.
Among these were Protocols I and
II of the Geneva Conventions, the
international agreements that ad-
dressed the international rights of
war-faring nations and their civil-
ians. Another point is the addressing
Gaza as the “world’s largest prison.”
Mathematically speaking, the city of
Gaza is one of the most densely pop-
ulated areas on Earth. This can be at-
tributed to the gradual expansion of
Israeli settlement plans in the West
Bank that have displaced thousands
of Palestinians. Chomsky also refers
to the blockade of Gaza as a “viola-
tion of international law,” which is
a statement that can be challenged,
but the recognition that an Israeli
blockade is in place makes it more
than just a political issue; it makes it
a humanitarian issue as well.
The fact that Chomsky was able
to bring together this large variety
of people, Americans regardless of
religion or social standing, all under
one humanitarian cause, was truly
a milestone in itself. What we must
now do is increase this audience to
include the majority of the popula-
tion. We need the same dynamic
and enthusiastic audience that came
to hear Chomsky, but now they
need to hear the whispers of the op-
pressed, wherever in the world they
may be. Whether they are human
rights activists in China or refugees
in Sudan, we must also rise up for
the natural rights granted to every
human being, regardless of race or
religion.
5
Avram Noam Chomsky was
born on Dec. 7, 1928, to a Jewish
family residing in Philadelphia,
PA. His parents and his uncle
were political activists, and he at-
tributes his own activism to these
early influences. Chomsky studied
philosophy and linguistics (the
study of human language) while
at the University of Pennsylvania,
receiving a PhD in the field in
1955. Chomsky eventually com-
pleted his Doctorate in Linguistics
at Harvard University. Since then,
Chomsky has been a professor
in the Department of Linguistics
at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. Throughout his entire
life, Chomsky has been an outspo-
ken critic of U.S. foreign policy,
especially during the Vietnam War
and the “current Israeli occupation
of Palestine.” Whether or not we
completely agree with Chomsky’s
position on the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, it remains important that
we still absorb the fundamental
facts that he puts forth on the is-
sue, even if we must do so with a
grain of salt.
Visit our website,
www.maldenblueandgold.
com, for video and photos
from the talk.
6
The Blue and Gold
World News November 2010
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Suicide Patients
TWLOHA Spreading Awareness
Kept Waiting
Lauren Benoit
Head of Photography

T he economic situation in Amer-

ica is gradually improving, but
who would have thought that the
past economic troubles have kept
patients in the waiting room for
days in the midst of life or death
situations?
Meridith Viano of Leicester,
MA faced a devastating situation
when she was kept in a hospital
waiting room for three days until
her 15 year old son (whose name has
been kept anonymous) was treated
by docators. Viano allegedly began
hearing voices in his head and did
not recognize his own immediate
family members. He was then taken
to the MetroWest Medical Center
in Framingham, MA. The hospital
denied Viano to a room because, ac-
cording to Boston.com, they catego- The Blue and Gold staffmembers from left to right, sophomores Megan Kelly, Catherine Poirer, Kayla Bramante
rized Viano’s symptoms to be “too and Lauren Benoit show their support on TWLOHA Day, Nov. 12, 2010.
acute” for him to be admitted.
On the third day, Viano de-
manded that her son must be The taboo of practicing self injury is considered to NUMBERS THAT HELP
treated. The hospital called Viano’s
health insurance company, and
just be reserved for the “Emo.” Though the TW- The Samaritans of Boston

20 minutes later Viano was finally LOHA organization is helping spread the awareness * Befriending Hotline
moved into a room. He was treated about the issue of self injury, it is still vastly misun- (617) 247-0220
for two weeks. Viano is worried that
the two day waiting period in the derstood.
* Samariteens
waiting room traumatized her son 1-800-252-TEEN
because throughout their time wait- 1-800-252-8336
Megan Kelly WEBSITES THAT HELP
ing there “[they] had to hear adults 2pm-11pm Teen to Teen
www.twloha.com
screaming and being detoxed” ac- Copy Editor 11pm-2pm Adult to Teen
cording to an interview with Viano www.suicide.org
with the Boston Globe. What both-

ers Viano the most is the fact that
her son might not ask for help in the
future due to their past experience
in the waiting room of the hospital,
and actually going as far as commit-
ting suicide.
In the hospital’s defense, it has
been stated that Viano’s son was
“too troubled to have a roommate”
and that Viano wanted her son to
have a room all to his own. “The
financial pressure that has been put
on the units has made it increasingly
hard for them to take the difficult
patients,’’ David Matteodo execu-
tive director of the Massachusetts
Association of Behavioral Health
Systems stated during an interview
with the Boston Globe. “A difficult
patient may need a private room,
they can’t share a room, or they may
need a staffer 24/7 watching them.
That can be costly.” He also claimed
that “even though every bed is not
full, a decision is made to accept no
more patients because they cannot
be safely accommodated without
bringing in more staff.” Having a
nurse watch over a patient on all
hours is very costly and many staff
members were laid off because of
the economic depression America is
submerged in now.
Unemployment rates have
been rising around the country
for the past couple years. Budget
cuts have been made to schools
Continued on page 9.
W
alking around Malden High
School, a student may see
many things that would shock
graduates from 50 years ago: baggy
pants, boots that have jeans tucked
inside, tight tops, side bangs, band
tee shirts and copious amounts of
silly bands and friendship bracelets.
Too many each of these are com-
mons staples for teenage fashion
statements, a way to identify them-
selves and others in the enormous
student population and for a small
minority for others they are walls to
hide behind.
This minority known to many
students and parents as “cutters”
is regularly misunderstood and
misidentified to belong to the social
scene of “Emo” or to be clad in all
black and to be suicidal; however,
this is not usually the case.
For self injurers across the
world, country, state and school the
easiest way of covering up their scars
is with long sleeves and bracelets.
From personal experience, using the
latest fashion or fad can be the way
that the secret is not discovered. A
resident of Hanover, whose name
is being withheld because of her
age, explains why for her keeping
the secret was so important, “To the
self-injuring person, it makes per-
fect sense--in fact, self-injury is the
only thing that makes sense in such
a messed-up world,” keeping the
secret and covering up is the only
real stable things in their lives at the
moment.
The issue of self injury (SI), or
the much more technical term for
cutting is not all about razor blades,
crying while listening to depressing
music, and dealing with the pain of
losing your latest boyfriend or girl-
friend. The stereotype is not followed
by the majority of known cutters.
A junior at Andover High School,
whose name is also being withheld,
explains, “Most of the time, it’s the
people who seem perfect that have it
the worst, because everyone thinks
‘Oh, of course they’re not depressed.
They have such happy lives.”
Starting to practice SI is not
what most people turn to first when
they start dealing with difficult
emotional issues. For them, heavy
emotions start to gradually build up
so heavily that it seems that cutting
is the only way to resolve the ten-
sion inside of them.
Practicing SI is not also about
calling attention to oneself; why
would so many people be affected by
the issue and hide it if it were some-
thing they felt proud of? “It isn’t
something that people are proud
of, despite stereotypes. To have to
resort to hurting yourself to feel (as
“normal” people do naturally) is
an incredibly shameful thing,” the
Andover junior added. So why do
we see cutters as just “Emos,” and
not as people that are feeling such
traumatizing emotions? Probably
because the bad image of the stereo-
type is the ones people choose to see
more often. Even cutters are afraid
of sharing their “secret” to friends
because of how they would continue
to see them, “I clearly have no idea
what it’s like to be a self-inflictor. I’m
just being sympathetic, but maybe
that’s all people really need to be,”
Michael Chu Hoang a sophomore
at MHS expressed, stating what
cutters clearly need, sympathy. But
with how many see the cutting com-
munity, the only way to create more
sympathy is with more awareness.
To Write Love on Her Arms is
a non profit organization that since
2006 has been telling the public
about the issues of suicide, SI, drug
abuse and depression. Bands popu-
lar with MHS students, (Paramore,
Boys Like Girls and Between the
Trees) have been helping spread
the word on spreading awareness
on these issues, by wearing t-shirts
or simply writing the word love on
their arms.
It’s clear to see that with TW-
LOHA represented at MHS that the
sympathy is starting to grow, hope-
fully a step in the right direction for
those battling self injury.
The Blue and Gold
November 2010
Chokyab Serab:
A Student’s Journey
from Tibet
A Century Old Conflict
S enior Chokyab Serab experi-
enced the Tibet-China conflict
Paige Yurek
firsthand. Serab came to America
from India in 2008. His uncle, who
Copy Editor
is a Tibetan-Buddhist monk was
sent to prison for being a monk and
for protesting Chinese take-over.
His uncle helped people learn the
Tibetan language and culture, as
well as contributed to building a
small Tibetan school. Around the
time that the school was being built,
there was a bomb case in the same
city, in which Serab’s uncle was
falsely blamed for. Because of these
false accusations, Serab’s uncle had
to be hidden for two months. After
two months, he went out to the city,
and tried to hide, but was caught
and sent to prison for six years.
Serab was born in Tibet, and
his parents were also involved in
anti-Chinese programs. At age
five, his parents escaped to India
while Serab and his brother stayed
with his aunt. Five years later, his
parents hired a guide to reunite the
family, but it was a long and ardu-
ous journey.
Serab explains the fear he had
felt when he witnessed Tibetans
around him getting caught by ex-
plaining, “the scary thing is that
Chinese people came at night, and
the next day, people seemed to just
disappear,” he stated. “[We had
to] walk at night time, so not to be
caught by Chinese. We would walk
from eleven p.m. to four a.m. until
Chinese people would come, and
the we would hide in small caves or
valleys in the the Mountains.”
Serab continues to describe his
journey, explaining, “when we got
to Mt. Everest, we ran out of food,
it was really freezing. We couldn’t
even sleep. The snow was so deep,
if you walked over it, you would fall
in. In the morning we still had noth-
ing to eat. Then we walked for five
hours until we got to a town. There
we saw some foreigners that helped
us. They even spoke a little Tibetan.
They gave us food and drink, it was
really delicious. None of us talked,
we just ate and drank. I drank about
three large mugs of the juice.” Serab
explained, “when we left, everybody
was crying. I really felt a connection
with these people. They even told
us which way to walk so we would
not get caught by the Chinese.”
As Serab, his relatives, and
their guide came close to the Nepali
border, they had to be extra careful
not to get caught, or the 14 day walk
would be wasted. Adults caught
would be put in prison for one or
two years, but Guides would be put
in prison for up to ten years. Finally,
they succeeded in going to Nepal,
and were officially out of risk of get-
ting caught.
WORLD NEWS 7
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Tibet and china:
Tenzin Kunsang:
Meeting The Dalai
China and Tibet have been at odds for the better part of the last century,
with tensions flaring over issues of political and cultural independence.
Lama
Malden High School student
At Malden High School, there are several students that are Tibetan, and senior Tenzin Kunsang shares
have first hand experience with this conflict. These are their stories... the experience she had of when
she traveled to a Tibetan camp in
Dharamsala, India last summer,
where she went to a Tibetan board-
ing school and got the chance to
learn about her culture. “I learned a
lot more about my religion (Tibetan
Buddhism) and went to holy sites
and I got to meet the Dalai Lama.”
Here is the excerpt of Kun-
sang’s college essay where she de-
scribes her meeting with the Dalai
Lama:
“My palms were sweating,
my stomach was tossing and turn-
ing with nervousness, my eyes were
watery, and all of a sudden the room
felt hotter than it actually was. I
Senior contributor Tenzin Kunsang could not believe I was actually in
the palace of His Holiness the 14th
Dalai Lama of Tibet. This whole
time I was thinking “when in life am
I ever going to get this fortunate op-
portunity of asking H.H. The Dalai
Lama a question?”, therefore when
H.H. announced the time for the last
question, I shot my hand up like a
rocket. It felt so riveting when The
Dalai Lama picked me to ask the
last question. “Was it more difficult
to govern Tibet with the invasion of
Communist China or the arrival to
India and governing a whole nation
in exile?” His Holiness the 14th said
that it is more difficult to govern a
nation in exile because the existence
of the Tibetan culture was at stake
and that the future of the nation was
Senior contributor Choyab Serab uncertain. With this simple answer
that was directed towards me, I
felt so overjoyed and blessed that I
A Brief Historical Overview finally got myself to ask a question.”
One of Kunsang’s favorite
trips at the Tibetan Camp was to a
F or years, Tibet and China have been in conflict over Tibetan land,
culture, and independence. But when it all comes down, it is more
than just a conflict. It is a war.
holy site, Tso Pema (Lotus Lake) in
Rewalsar. There, the campers vis-
ited Guru Rinpoche’s cave where
It began in 1951 when Chinese troops led by communist leader he meditated and even left his foot-
Mao Zedong started occupying the land, and China expected Tibetans prints. “On top of the mountain, we
to gradually convert into Chinese culture over time. But throughout hung up prayer flags so the wind
the 1950s, when Tibetans refused to convert, then resisted, uproar rose would carry the prayers to everyone
causing the Dalai Lama to eventually flee. in the world,” Kunsang elaborated.
Through the 1960s, conditions only worsened. China also set “The trip to Tso Pema allowed me to
restrictions on Tibetan religion, forcing monks out of monasteries and get in touch with Tibetan Buddhism
destroying some temples. Even speaking the Tibetan language was a and made me realize [how] special it
crime. Then in the 1980s, hope began to shine on the Tibetan people is. This experience not only taught
when Deng Xiaoping took over after Mao Zedong’s death, and adjusted me more about my dying Tibetan
some of these policies, rebuilding monasteries and welcoming monks culture, but also taught me some
back home. Throughout the early to mid 2000s, the Dalai Lama and valuable lessons and change[d] me
the Chinese government made a few talks for reform, but they did not as a person. I have to say this trip
make much progress. After 2006, negotiations broke off. has been the far most influencing
Even today, Chinese-Tibetan tensions remain. On Tuesday, and touching experience.”
Oct. 19, 2010, several Tibetan students protested for their freedom to
express their culture. China is limiting the use of the Tibetan language To read Chokyab’s and Tenzin’s
in these students’ schools. The Chinese government is mandating that remarkable stories, go to:
all subjects are to be taught in Chinese and all textbooks will be in Chi- www.maldenblueandgold.com
nese, except for Tibetan and English language classes.
8
The Blue and Gold
WORLD NEWS November 2010
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

Haiti: A Forgotten Nation?

First-Hand AccountS
Senior Smeedhley Batraville was actually there when the
earthquake hit Haiti. Traumatized by what he witnessed, he
was so affected that he decided later to write his college essay
(excerpts of which are below) about his haunting experience.
“There [are] no word[s] to describe what it felt like,” says
Batraville of his experience. Batraville was travelling home by
bus when the earthquake reached him. “It was hard at first
to [live with] these scenes. I had nightmares after seeing the
wounded at the hospital and many other scenes that I don’t
need to mention.”

Smeedhley Batraville
Malden High School Senior

I would have never believed it even him in my hands was even harder
if I were told, even if I were shown than seeing him suffering on the
pictures. I would never think that ground. He was crying and yelling
35 seconds could lead to such an ir- so much. His pain must have been
reparable chaos. unbearable. He couldn’t stop asking
January 12th, 2010 was a sunny me to put him down, “ou met kite’m
and warm Tuesday. I was peacefully mouri , m pakab anko.” “You can
riding a bus to go home and at 5:22 let me die, I can’t take it anymore.”
p.m., when we were brutally pro- After putting him with the other
pelled to the left while the bus tilted wounded, I ran back to find my bag.
onto two wheels. We first thought Someone from the bus had thrown
that it was the power of a wind but it in the middle of the street. When Senior Smeedhley Batraville smiling. Photo by Kaela Bryan.
the trees weren’t moving. The bus I tried to use my phone, there was
was still shaking. Then we finally no signal. At the same time I heard a Kaela Bryan
understood what was happening. woman say “the phones don’t work,
The bus was stopped in the middle oh Jesus, it’s the end.” ing in like rain fall, there were so Reporter
many that the hospital, unprepared

M
of the street in downtown Port au Finally, after a few hours, I ar-
for such a rush, was already full alden High School senior
Prince, where there were the oldest rived back in my neighborhood. The
within the first thirty minutes of our Phedorah Rosiclair was
buildings. When I looked out the chaos that I was looking at made
arrival. Doctors didn’t have time to touched personally by the earth-
window, there were people yelling. my fears grow exponentially. All the
take good care of everyone, and they quake: her mother was in Haiti
I suddenly saw a woman running houses were down to the ground.
misdiagnosed a lot. Some had pieces during the ordeal. At first, her
from under a building; she didn’t All the people were crying and run-
of themselves amputated when they family didn’t know where their
even make four steps because a ce- ning around since they couldn’t find
could have healed on their own with mother was or how to reach her
ment block fell on her head. Cars their loved ones. I walked faster and
enough time and care. A few minutes -- the majority of communication
were hitting each other. A crowd faster to my house. When I came to
in the hospital and I couldn’t take it methods were destroyed during
of people started to run from the it, it was all the way on the ground.
anymore so I went back home. But I the natural attacks. Rosiclair and
buildings to go to the public square. The roof languished on the blocks
couldn’t sleep. her family didn’t even know if
Within minutes, a grey crowd of already crushed. I felt powerless; I
their mother was still alive. When
dust was formed that prevented us felt like I had no more reason to live.
they finally were able to contact
from seeing anything. All we could I felt like the roof was lying over my
each other, the family was over-
hear was the deafening “blow, heart, but I didn’t cry. I
whelmed with gratitude and re-
blaw” of the houses collapsing and didn’t want to cry. I ran to
lief. “It was shocking. It definitely
the terrified cries of the people. the pile of debris that used
brought the catastrophe much
Since we were all panicking, to be my house. I heard
closer to home, made it more real.
everyone was trying to get out of a voice say “Smeedhley,
It became relevant.” Rosiclair dealt
the bus at the same time. Finally, Smeedhley, here we are!” I
with the trauma of not knowing
after some painful effort we were turned over, searching for
whether her mother was alive
stepping on the sidewalks, and we the voice, looking every-
by staying strong and caring for
began to run. I realized that I had where. When I finally saw
her younger sisters. “[My sisters]
forgotten my bag in the bus which my mom, alive, with no
were way more upset because
had my phone and the key to my injuries, I knew what she,
they were very young at the time.
apartment. I had to run back to and the rest of my family,
I knew that I had to be a rock for
find it. Then I saw something on meant to me.
them, and that’s also what got me
the ground moving slowly. When This evening, due
through it -- just staying strong.
I came closer, I realized that it was to many emergency calls
My experience has given me a
a little boy. He had a serious injury coming from the hospital,
fresh perspective about what’s
on his right foot; it looked like a big my uncle, who is a doctor,
really important. And it made me
piece of cement had fallen onto it. had to go to the hospital
realize how much we [generally]
Looking at him as he suffered and to lend a strong hand. He
take America for granted and how
begged, I quickly saw that his safety brought another cousin
lucky we are to be living here. [I
was more important than all that and me with him. The hos-
didn’t] realize it until then.”
I could possibly have to do in that pital was the worst place
moment. So I lifted him on my arms to be after such disaster. Senior Phedorah Rosiclair smiling
and headed back to safety. Holding The wounded were flow- happily after her mother’s recovery
*Parts of the above college essay have been omitted. from the Haitian earthquake of
2010. Photo by Kaela Bryan.
The Blue and Gold
November 2010 WORLD NEWS 9
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

Continued from page 6

Kaela Bryan
and hospitals. But what is more
Reporter important, children’s education
or the well being of the younger

O n Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2009, the

world was informed that Haiti
had been hit by an enormous earth-
generations? The organization
To Write Love On Her Arms is a
non-profit movement dedicated
quake. Reaching a power of 7.0 on to educating the public and find-
the moment magnitude scale (Mw), ing help for people who struggle
the earthquake only needed a few with depression, addiction, self-
minutes to devastate the country. injury, and suicide. TWLOHA
Over the course of the next few and many other organizations are
weeks, until Jan. 24, 2009, terrible af- specifically established to lower
tershocks of reportedly 4.5 Mw¬ rav- the death rates of teens that harm
aged through Haiti. Buildings and themselves in any way. Lauren, an
roads collapsed inward, onto them- intern at TWLOHA, thinks that
selves, onto surrounding structures “rescue is possible, and our hope
and cars, and onto people -- adults is that every person desiring help
and children. Haiti’s government will be able to receive it and see
later reported that an estimated the hope of a new day.” Luckily
250,000 resident building and 30,000 The U.N. started to evacuate Camp Croix-des Bouguets, and moving people
to hospital Bennett in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, on Thursday, November 4, these are non-profit organizations
commercial buildings had collapsed and budget cuts will not affect
or were severely damaged, and that 2010, before the effects of Tropical Storm Tomas arrived in the country. (Peter
Andrew Bosch/Miami Herald/MCT) them. Some might say these orga-
230,000 people had died; 300,000 nizations have saved, will save or
had been injured; 1,000,000 people potentially could save lives of mil-
were made homeless. Food and and raising as much money as they there was not enough medical at-
could to help the Haitian people. tention to go around to all the sick lions just by spreading awareness.
water supplies were limited, if even The more that self-inflicted harm
available at all, and many, children Large trucks stacked with water and the injured. Crime began to
and food began to arrive in Haiti, break out because people were is recognized, the more patients
included, starved. will be admitted into psychiatric
Almost immediately, the de- complete with volunteers to help desperate to feed their families and
pass the supplies to the struggling themselves. A man, while reaching hospitals. Lauren states “It’s hard
struction and despair of Haiti caught to predict what will happen in the
the eye of the world. News reporters population. Even with all the help, for some rice, was shot dead in the
there were so many men, women, street because it was thought that he future of mental health treatment,
began flying to Haiti to report on but we know that as an organi-
the overwhelming wreckage. Engi- and children who continued to live was trying to steal it. Nevertheless,
in tents on the dirty, muddy ground. the world continued to send aid. zation, we contribute funds to
neers and medical teams appeared treatment centers so that the cost
in Haiti, ready to help in any way Disease spread, causing more death According to a poll, more than $305
and suffering, especially because million dollars was raised for the ef- will be more affordable for each
they could. People began sending person.”
forts in Haiti.
The earthquake in January was Being in the economic slump
not the end to Haiti’s distressing cir- America is experiencing now, can
cumstances. Now, although many hospitals keep up with the admit-
have been helped and rescued, the tance of more patients? Or will
majority of people are still in need of there be more cases resembling
assistance. Almost a year has passed, Viano’s?
and yet the trauma still grows Past records show that this
amongst the rubble and the ruin. was not the first time this type
A tropical storm that later turned of incident occurred. The aver-
into a small hurricane struck the na- age amount of time spent in the
tion on Tuesday, Nov. 2, adding to waiting room for suicidal patients
the spread of suffering. Although range from eight to 24 hours.
the storm was not great, the dam- Studies show that patients with
age was: approximately six people psychiatric complaints are twice
were killed. There simply was no- as likely to walk out of the hos-
where to take shelter other than the pital before being treated. In the
flimsy tents that were meant to be past many hospitals around the
temporary. Furthermore, cholera (a country have been fined for dis-
disease that causes abdominal pain, charging suicidal patients before
Antonine Fizamey, 47, left, wails in grief after her mother, Virginia Sencilna, vomiting and diarrhea and, if not they are properly treated. Numer-
67, became gravely ill with cholera, which has spread into Gonaives, Haiti, treated, can become so severe that ous hospitals have been fined
from the surrounding areas. (Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT) it results in dehydration and even- for making patients wait in the
tually death) has broken out across waiting room for countless hours.
Haiti as well. And chances are it will These discoveries were made be-
Don’t Forget: spread because there is not enough fore the economic troubles started
in America. The doctors blamed
You Can Help! clean drinking water nor antibiotics
the economy in the most recent
• Visit the website store.causecast.org, which is the website for the available to most Haitians.
Evidently there is still a lot that act. What was their excuse back
organization The Goods: Relief to Haiti. The products bought in then? These types of incidents will
this online store will be used directly on the ground in Haiti. Al- must be done for Haiti. So where
has the media gone? Where has the eventually make victims of de-
ready, people have given $100,000 pression unwilling to seek help at
• The “Clinton Bush Haiti Fund,” run by former-Presidents Bill money that was meant to both help
house the homeless and to further hospitals, and have them attempt
Clinton and George W. Bush, accepts donations of all sizes for to take matters in their own hands.
Haiti. Large donations can be made online at www.clintonbush- the reconstruction of Haiti gone?
Rosiclair says she doesn’t know It almost seems as though the
haitifund.org; a $10 donation can be donated by texting HAITI to doctors and nurses of hospitals
20222. why the attention has dried up, but
that the more recent problems in brush off the mentally ill patients,
• The Mercy Corps Haiti Earthquake Fund accepts donations online and put them at the bottom of the
at www.mercycorps.org, or over the phone. 1-888-256-1900. Haiti may actually help. “Ironically
enough,” she says, “maybe it will emergency list. But in reality, these
• K.I.D.S, or Kids in Distressed Situations, delivers donated water, potentially suicidal people need
food, diapers, and clothing to the children of Haiti. K.I.D.S. also ac- give them a chance to start anew.
It’ll remind the world that those help just as much. Why is it that
cepts cash donations and product gifts. Visit www.kidsdonations. mentally ill persons, the people
org to get involved. people are still here, that they still
need help.” in society that are most vunerable
• Visit savethechildren.org, or text “SAVE” to 20222. The donations and in the most need of help, are
recieved by this organization go directly to children in need of at the bottom of the priority list?
medical attention and food and water..
10
Deval Patrick Reelected as Governor
Freddie DeFillipo
Reporter
The first African American
governor of Massachusetts, Deval L.
Patrick won reelection this Novem-
ber, after being locked in a three way
race with Republican Charlie Baker
and Independent Tim Cahill.
The exciting gubernato-
rial election drew President Barack
Obama to the Hynes Convention
Center this October, where he gave a
stump speech meant to support the
incumbent governor. Other speak-
ers included current Boston Mayor
Thomas Menino, United States
Senator John F Kerry, and a musical
performance from James Taylor.
After the votes were tallied up,
Deval Patrick recieved 48.4 percent
of the total vote, while his oppo-
nents Charlie Baker, Tim Cahill, and
Jill Stein recieved 42.1 percent, 8.0
percent, and 1.4 percent of the votes,
respectively.
Patrick is confident heading
into his second term as Massachu-
setts Governor. He is planning on
avoiding mistakes that he made
during his last term in office. Patrick
says he wants to work on creating
jobs by stimulating the alternative
energy industry and creating more
Should Students Care About Politics?
Natalie Fallano
Copy Editor
O ver the last few months, televi-
sion commercials have consist-
ed of infomercials about candidates
for Massachusetts governor due to
the November elections, but did any
teenagers actually pay any attention
to what they had to say? The fact
of the matter is these commercials
were not meant for the teenage
population. Their purpose was to
influence adults to vote for them.
The teenage population has no say
in politics, but does that mean they
should not care?
The truth is, most teenagers do
not care about politics and are not in-
formed about the happenings of the
world today. Malden High School
junior Wendy Tse stated “If I’m not
allowed to vote, why should I care?
When I become an adult I will care,
but right now, it doesn’t make a dif-
ference.’’ Tse and many others share
this point of view. Many teenagers
are unaware of the issues occurring
in the world. They have an overview
and briefly discuss it because of the
world and history classes they take
but of what they do know, they find
boring.
Although it seems that most
teenagers do not care about politics,
there are a significant number who
do. MHS sophomore Timothy Des-
mond explained, “Teenagers need
to understand the way the country
is moving, and what is going on,
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
educational opportunities. And that
means that means that he wants to
match up the mission statements of
local community colleges with the
expectations needed by the work
force. Patrick’s goals are also to bring
down the cost of health care in the
state by heading toward a “global
payment system.”
However, the governor is
against the introduction of gambling
to Massachusetts, an issue that has
drawn much controversy through-
out the state, both because it could
significantly boost the economy and
because some believe that it could
increase the levels of crime in and
around the gambling instituions.
This means that casinos will not be
introduced to the state during Pat-
rick’s term.
Patrick claims that he feels
more comfortable entering his sec-
ond term in office, because he has
leaned from his mistakes in the pre-
vious term.
The three ballot topics con-
cerned sales tax on alcohol, compre-
hensive permits for low to moderate
income housing and, sales taxes,
and the used tax rates. The question
on alcohol has to do with getting rid
of the tax all together on alcohol,
keeping it or just reducing it to three
percent.
especially the issues being argued
by the American people. If teenag-
ers stay up to date now, they will be
prepared for when they are able to
vote in a few years.” In only a few
years, today’s teenagers will serve as
the adults for society and will make
decisions that will affect them and
future generations to come.
If voters were informed and
ready by the age they are eligible
to vote, then this would not be a
setback. The past midterm elections,
for instance, saw a sharp decline in
young voter turnout from just two
years ago.
MHS history teacher Greg Hur-
ley expressed that “most [teenagers]
do not realize that what’s happen-
ing right now is, in reality, affecting
The Blue and Gold
November 2010
T h e
percentag-
es of people
who voted
for ques-
tion three,
cutting the
sale of al-
cohol taxes
down to
3 percent,
was 44 per-
cent for and
49 percent
against.
On the
national
level, Re-
publicans
were able
to win
back the
House of
Represen-
Deval Patrick was reelected this November against Republi-
tatives from
can candidate Charlie Baker and Independant candidate Tim
Democratic
Cahill. Photo from Wikimedia.org
control. The
GOP needed
a gain of 39 seats to get the house a low young voter turnout. With
majority for the first time since 2006. more control in US Congress, the
The party also saw large gains in Republicans are planning to push
the U.S. Senate. This resurgence in a more conservative agenda, while
GOP was due in part to enthusiasm trying to stop reforms proposed by
gap built by a radical conservative the Obama administration.
movement called the Tea Party and
money. Local and state elections,
which are considered more insignif-
icant than the larger elections, affect
teenagers more directly, a fact that is
not always noted.
A recent survey given to an
Advanced Placement United States
History class revealed that students
pay attention to major elections
but do not actually “care” about
the politics involved. Only ten out
the 18 did knew that Deval Patrick
had recently won the Massachu-
setts governor’s election. One out
of the 18 students that participated
answered that they are very inter-
ested in politics. 12 answered they
were somewhat interested and five
answered they were not interested.
Both of these pieces of data reveal
their lives.” Many laws actually do that teenagers are aware of what is
affect teenagers, just indirectly. The going on in our country but choose
truth is that the political decisions not to care. They are surrounded by
made today will affect teenagers in information about it all at school,
the long run, especially those who in the media, and by their parents.
are just reaching adulthood. This However, most believe that none of
includes the age that children are it affects them which causes them
separated from their parents’ health not to care.
care or even the availability of tu- It can also be noted that the
ition loans from banks. generations of the past did not pay
For instance, after the Obama attention to politics just as much
administration passed their new as teenagers today. Still, our gen-
health care legislation, children are eration, as well as the ones to come,
covered by their family health plan must take advantage of these oppor-
until they are 26. In addition, loans tunities to make our country a better
are an important part of paying for place. Having more people educat-
college, due to tuition being so ex- ed about the politics of our country
pensive. Our economy is in a reces- gets more people involved in voting
sion and this largely affects banks and contributes to the growth and
and where they are investing their future of society.
The Blue and Gold
November 2010 LOCAL news 11
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

Community Bulletin

Monthly Profile: David Lucil, Spanish Teacher

Cristina Peters
Head Local News Writer

D e chiquito, bebía el jugo de

pepinas,” said Malden High
School’s David Lucil singing, not
a big advocate [of
the YMCA],” says
Lucil.
along to the tune of the world-wide When he is not
famous song “La Cucaracha”, but partaking in any
instead about how he drank pickle physical activities,
juice as a child; an example of when Lucil enjoys spend-
to use the Imperfect tense. “He’s ing time with his
enthusiastic about teaching,” stated family. “I live with
junior Eddie Fisher, “You can tell he my wife Jennifer
really loves what he does.” and our two boys
Surprisingly, Lucil did not in- Luke and Julian.”
tend on becoming a Spanish teacher. Feline Stella, a
In fact, at one point he considered long-haired Maine
becoming a priest, yet felt “it was Coon mix is also an
too serious.” While attending Ho- important member
bart College, Lucil majored in his- of the family, as she
tory and it was not until his experi- “puts up with the
ence studying abroad in Spain that boys’ abuse,” Lucil
he “fell in love with the language.” adds amusingly.
Although Lucil enjoys speaking the O r i g i n a l l y Spanish teacher David Lucil uses his smartboard to teach his students about the imperfect
language, his favorite part about from Harwich, Cape tense. Photo by Cristina Peters.
his profession is “getting folks to Cod, Lucil currently
appreciate learning languages and lives in Lowell and always wanted to “give back to the most significant part of what makes
[having the opportunity] to perform enjoys the “ethnic diversity and Latino community.” He lived in MHS so different from other high
in front of them.” good food similarly to Malden. Ecuador and Colombia, and his con- schools. Lucil’s fourth-floor A-house
His desire to always view situa- Lowell is quirky which [I] like.” tinuous desire to learn more about room serves as a welcoming envi-
tions optimistically and upbeat per- Lucil is rather unique himself, Spanish-speaking countries keeps ronment towards the diversity and
sonality is prevalent in all that Lucil as he is a member of the Freema- him captivated and excited about culture that MHS students bring,
does. When given the opportunity, sonry, a fraternal organization the teaching. something that make this Spanish
Lucil enjoys spending time at the begun in the early 16th century. Malden High School is a teacher genuinely compassionate.
YMCA playing racquetball, swim- His profession as a Span- “school that is super special,” for
ming, and participating in a variety ish teacher accounts for a significant Lucil, as the diversity and life stu-
of other activities as well. “[I’m] part of his daily life, as Lucil has dents bring to the high school is the
12
The Blue and Gold
LOCAL news November 2010
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

MHS’s 26th Hall of Fame race to

Sharon Lee
the top
Head of Photography
Paige Yurek
The 26th annual Hall of Fame Banquet held on Nov. 12, 2010 awarded the first annual “Got Grit” Award, Copy Editor
as well as two Peter Donoghue Golden Eagle Awards and the Peter Donoghue Golden Eagle Scholarship.

S
The banquet also introduced the newest inductees into the Golden Tornado Club Hall of Fame.
chools around the United
States are “racing to the top”
to be the best that they can be ev-
“Got Grit” described by Superintendent of Schools Sidney Smith eryday, but every student learns
is the “relentless pursuit of a long term goal,” a characteristic pos- at a different pace, and every
sessed by senior Kyriah Marcelin who was the recipient of the first teacher teaches differently.
annual “Got Grit” Award. Marcelin is currently part of the Captains To promote education,
Council and plays basketball in the winter and softball in the spring. president Barrack Obama and his
As the recipient of the “Got Grit” Award Marcelin wrote about her administration released the new
mentor, girls varsity basketball coach Joe Levine, who was one of the “Race to the Top” campaign this
two people given the Peter Donoghue Golden Eagle Award. summer. Massachusetts is one
of ten areas (Washington, D.C.,
Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Mary-
land, New York, North Carolina,
Ohio and Rhode Island) in the US
that were selected to receive $250
million over four years to im-
prove and reform the education
systems.
Some goals for the cam-
paign include setting high learn-
ing standards, obtaining the best
teachers in the schools, testing
students to evaluate how the
teachers, students, and school as
a whole are doing, and of course,
fixing problem schools, or schools
with below average grades.
When it all comes down,
The other Peter Donoghue Golden Eagle the idea of “Race to the Top” is
Award was given to coach Gary Rogers, also to encourage students to do their
known as “Bubba” to Malden High School’s best, and to let them know that
varsity football team. He had been the focus of there are people out there who
senior Frankie Dunn’s scholarship essay, who was chosen as the Nominating Athlete. As the nominating athlete, are willing to help them along the
he was able to introduce Rogers at the banquet and received the Peter Donoghue Golden Eagle Scholarship. way. However in order to be suc-
cessful, they also need to work at
it themselves.
At the National Urban
In addition to the 215 current members of the
League 100th Anniversary Con-
Golden Tornado Club Hall of Fame, there were sev-
vention at the Washington Con-
eral more inductees that night. Inductees include
vention Center in Washington,
Eliot Gventer (Class of 1952), Leo Mackey (Class
DC, on July 29, 2010, boston.com
of 1960), Theresa Coleman Gilbert (Class of 1976),
reported when, Obama spoke
Stanton Shernan (Class of 1977), and the 1976 mens’
about the campaign, “There are
soccer team. Co-captain of the 1976 mens’ soccer
all kinds of reasons for our chil-
team Kevin Cullen stated, as he spoke on behalf of
dren to say, ‘No, I can’t.’ But our
the team in his speech, “none of us were that good
job is to say to them, ‘Yes, you
[but] we worked extremely hard; [we were] the clas-
can. Yes, you can overcome. Yes,
sic team [and] every game a [different] player did
you can persevere. Yes, you can
something special.” The team ended that season
make what you will out of your
with a record of 11-4-2. These inductees were not
lives,” he stated.
chosen because they won first place prizes or went
“Our kids need to under-
undefeated, it was for their major role in team lead-
stand nobody is going to hand
ership and impact they had as student athletes.
them a future, and education is
not something you just tip your
(top to bottom, left to right) Malden High School Girls Varsity Basketball Coach Joe Levine and Senior Kyriah Marcelin. head and they pour it in your ear,
Malden High School Varsity Football Coach Gary “Bubba” Rogers accepting the Golden Eagle Award with Se- and you can’t make excuses.”
nior Frankie Dunn. All the new inductees of the Golden Tornado Club Hall of Fame with Principal Dana Brown
and Golden Tornado Club President Richard Brandsfield. Photos by Lauren Benoit.

Performer Joey Voice on

stage in the newly renovat-
ed Jenkins Auditorium dur-
ing the Thornton Jenkins
Rededication Ceremony on
November 14th. Photo by
Lauren Benoit.
The Blue and Gold
November 2010 LOCAL news 13
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

Pine Banks: One Malden Puts on Its

of One Fourteen
Poker Face
Lauren Benoit
Head of Photography

Dynamic duo Governor Deval Patrick

and Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray
promised a $6 million dollar grant to renovate
public parks across the Commonwealth while
running for office. Now their words are being
transformed into actions. The parks are being
redone by the Gateway City Parks program, and
is funded by the Energy and Environment Bond
Bill which Patrick signed back in Aug. 2008.
Just recently the governor’s office granted
the cities of Malden and Melrose to update Pine
Banks sports fields. The plan is to install field
lighting, an outdoor track, multi-purpose turf
field, another softball field, and a parking lot. If
on schedule, this plan should begin in the spring
of 2011 and the grand opening in scheduled for
2012.
One may ask why local park Pine Banks is
one of the chosen ones out of all the parks in
Massachusetts. There are 22 cities in the state
eligible for the renovation program, and the
chosen cities must follow these guidelines: have
a population larger than 35,000, median house-
hold incomes, and educational levels below
state average.
During a recent interview with Mayor of Malden High School marching band at final NESBA competition
Melrose Rob Dolan, he stated that once Pine on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010. Photos by Rebecca Broomstein.
Banks is finished, it will be the “best region-
alised park in the state.” He believes that this
collaboration will benefit both cities, as the col-
laboration turned turned the renovations into Rebecca Broomstein
a $3.5 million dollar project into a $1.5 million
project. Dolan believes that this will be an excel- Reporter
lent addition to both cities because it is on the

“
border of the two cities, in a healthy neighbor- ativity.” Cre-
Winning is the by-product of [the] process
hood, and “having a track in the middle of the ativity is what
in its successful form,” explains Mathew
cities leads to a healthy lifestyle.” constructed
Tavares, director of Malden High School’s
Over the last four years, the Patrick-Murray and immersed
marching band, humble of their victory. After
Administration funded 114 parks to be restored the band’s
placing second for four apprehensive weeks,
and updated across the Commonwealth. The conduct, and
the MHS marching band finally brought home
first five cities to have renovations go underway is exactly what
the gold, presenting Malden with a renewed,
were Chicopee, Fitchburg, Lawrence, Pittsfield the NESBA
dignified reputation. Though their scores far
and Taunton. The renovations in Fitchburg, competition
exceeded satisfactory, no competition this sea-
Pittsfield, and Taunton are estimated to be fin- sought out.
son could compare to the 93.7 they scored at
ished by the summer of 2011. All of these cities B e i n g
the New England Scholastic Band Association
are not undergoing the same renovations: while placed into the new environment of POP music,
competition, held at Reading High School, on
Malden and Melrose are getting a sports focus, the marching band has far exceeded Tavares’
Sat., Oct. 30, 2010. Because of their progressive
different cities receive other focuses such as expectations. With such high scores as a 78,
scoring throughout the five weeks of competi-
more wheelchair accessibility, a larger parking 81.3, 83.1, and 87.5, one would expect a sense
tions, the ultimate win was practically a given.
lot, picnic benches, trails, and playgrounds that of discouragement when the superiority
Not to mention their unorthodox choice of
are accessible to handicapped children. didn’t suffice for number one status standards,
music, which could have possibly given them
The generosity of the Patrick-Murray Ad- but not Tavares. “It was never about the score,”
the zest they needed, to demand the attention
ministration will change the Malden and Mel- he claims. “I was always about sending a mes-
of the judges and entranced audience.
rose sports teams, but should both communities sage and teaching first.” Their triumphant win
The composition of their piece was cre-
be happy that they were chosen, especially on the night of the NESBA competition was only
ated by no other than the band’s director,
when the educational levels are below state a momentous bonus to successfully conveying
Tavares. After four years of directing the MHS
average? This grant is rewarding the cities that their message.
band, Tavares decided to take on the risqué
lack an important factor in the educational sys- NESBA has given Malden a new name; one
genre of pop music. The entire performance
tem. Sure it is great that the Malden High foot- we can wave with pride and honor: passion. It
was composed of hit songs by the sensational
ball and outdoor track team could catch a break is quite evident that every member of the band
Lady Gaga, which one may believe would
and practice on the newly constructed track and family is passionate about their commitment to
throw their chances of winning NESBA. The
turf field, but is it all because of our placement the band. Passion is what gave them the drive
message Tavares was trying to convey through
within the state. Since Melrose and Malden are they needed to win the NESBA completion. It is
the marching band’s piece is personality. “Stu-
sharing the field, Malden applied for the grant. what led them through all ten weeks of practice,
dents can play enjoyable music and audiences
Therefore the guidelines only apply to Malden and brought them to the field of Reading High
can be entertained while the learning process
because Melrose did not lead up to the guide- School, where they cheered in victory, taking
not being impeded,” explained Tavares. Why
lines of having a population exceeding 30,000. home the winning name.
Gaga? Well, to Tavares, she is thought to be
The plans for Pine Banks are eagerly an-
“someone [who] believes that artistic integrity
ticipated, and both athletic sides of Malden and
can go hand in hand with innovation and cre-
Melrose cannot wait for it to be finished.
14
Blue and gold in the making
Joel Stevenson
Reporter
A s new renovations have made
this year the last for hallway
decorations, the classes of 2012
and 2013 have come together to
find a new tradition for upcoming
students. With needed competi-
tion, both classes agreed on having
a dance to kick off spirit week. “As
one tradition goes out another one
comes in,”stated by Mary Anne
Seager. Although it was difficult for
the classes to sell tickets at first, the
semi-formal was a huge success,
one students and faculty can look
forward to for future years.
It was an anxious night as the
first Blue and Gold semi-formal
went underway. As early as 5:50 PM,
2012 and 2013 class officers as well
as participating teachers were arriv-
ing to help set up decorations for the
night ahead of them. With massive
loads of decorative balloons com-
ing through the door almost every
minute and minor adjustments left,
the first Blue and Gold Semi-Formal
was ell underway.
Around 6:30, students were
ready to dance. All the nerves they
had were left at the door as they
were welcomed by officers and had
their picture taken by 2012 Vice
President , junior Harris Zhao. As
they made their way into the dance
room reality of a great night hit full
force with disc jockey Bryan Ayuk
behind the speakers.
Students including juniors Mi-
chelle Le, Henley Theodat, and Jus-
tin Pham, jogged out to the middle
of the dance floor and started break
dancing. One by one thes attendees
broke free from their nerves and
joined them on the dance floor. Soon
enough students of all grades had
come together and formed one huge
circle, showing off their skills. Just a
half an hour into the dance students
were having the night of their life;
junior Kiara Amos stated that the
two classes were “definitely having
another one.”
With a wide variety of food,
students were not disappointed by
the free buffet. When asked how
the night was going, junior Samuel
Zeiberg commented, “ I had lower
expectations and I though it was
going to be [less exciting], but I’m
having fun.”
As dinner commenced, the
anticipation to get back out on the
floor was becoming overwhelming:
individual tables started to have lit-
tle dance competitions, one includ-
ing a clapping contest, where tables
of students saw who could clap the
loudest. The outcome came to the
table where one student jumped
on another’s shoulders while both
clapped to the beat of the music. DJ
Ayuk played hit song “Jump on it”
by Sir Mix-A-Lot. Right after, “Bil-
The Blue and Gold
LOCAL news November 2010
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
lie Jean” by none other than
Michael Jackson was played.
A huge dance circle broke out
with solo performances by
sophomore Praysuh Pokharel,
and juniors Jonathan Silva
and Henley Theodat.
Later that evening stu-
dents were called to their
seats so that the Spirit Court
could announce the win-
ners of a raffle with prizes
including a five pound
Hershey’s bar and a chance
at being the king or queen
of the dance. First Principal Dana
Brown called all the officers to the
stage with the juniors first and
then Brown as well as other teach-
ers pulled names out of two buck-
ets to announce the spirit court.
The court included sophomores
Kayla Deas, Anita Ronaldo, Jas-
mine Coutinho, and Maria Gil, as
well as juniors Eliezer Hernandez,
Justin Pham, Ellen Thai, and Brian
Cormier. After the council was an-
nounced, a drum roll led up to the
king and queen. Paul Kiernan was
crowned king, and The Blue and
Gold’s very own Paige Yurek
was crowned queen. After the
crowning ceremony the dance
floor broke out into a slow song.
As the night wound down,
the 2010 Semi-Formal cake was
presented, while teachers got a
chance to show off their moves
on the dance floor. Students got a
chance to dance side by side with
teachers as DJ Ayuk played a few
“Golden Oldies”.
For the rest of the night it
was nothing but laughs and fun
as students and teachers alike got
a chance to break away from the
stresses of everyday school work,
and just relax. As stated
by junior class advisor
Mary Ann Seager, “I...
clapped for everyone,
and the fact that stu-
dents danced with the
teachers, it was really
great.” Also expressing
how they enjoyed the
night were junior class
presidents Nina Ho,
who thought it was an
“unforgettable night”
and by sophomore class
president Sharon Lee
who stated, “I’m positive
the very first Blue & Gold
Semi-Formal will not be
the last. Students from
all classes were present
and brought with them a
lot of school spirit.” Students dance the night away at the Blue
& Gold Semi-Formal.
The Blue and Gold
November 2010 local news 15
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

Lung Cancer
Walk Supports
A Personal Touch of Pink
LUNGevity
Natalie Fallano
Copy Editor

D ue to November being Na-

tional Lung Cancer Aware-
ness month, many cities across the
country, including Boston, MA,
take part by organizing walks to
raise awareness and money for the
cause. Castle Island in South Bos-
ton was home to the fifth annual
Boston Area 5K Lung Cancer Walk
on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010.
The walk has only been
around for five years but has
started to gain popularity. There
were 1,789 registered walkers,
almost double the number of last
year. The event’s initial goal was to
raise $120,000 but they exceeded
this goal and made over $200,000.
The actual walk which started at
11:00 am, was three miles long,
starting from the historic Fort In- The Breast Cancer Awarness Club Officers, junior Urusa Sheikh, senior Viviane SOMETHING, senior
dependence and Pleasure Bayas Amy Yu, the two guests of the presentations, sophomore Warda Khurram, and senior Samantha Saggese.
and eventually to Boston Harbor. The Breast Cancer Awarness Club brought a personal touch to Malden High School from two teachers who
The founders of the walk, have experienced breast cancer. Photo by Sharon Lee.
Geri Norris and Richard Kaufman,
Kayla Bramante
are both survivors of lung cancer
and they donate all the proceeds Head of Special Projects
to the LUNGevity foundation in
Chicago, Illinois whose mission,
One out of every eight women was not such a great decision. From ary, Marquado was told about her
according to its website, is to “save
are diagnosed with breast cancer 1995 to 1996 she lost all her hair, had breast cancer. “I was very fortunate
lives and ease the burden of lung
and every 13 minutes a woman dies chemotherapy and radiation done. because I found the lump myself.”
cancer on patients and their loved
from this harsh disease. Although She suffered with no medication After going to the doctors she found
ones.” Kathy Cuddy, the event
it is very unlikely, men can also be until tamoxifen was approved in a cancer cell and had a biopsy. She
coordinator and also a lung cancer
diagnosed with breast cancer and 2000 by the United States Food and did not have the heart to tell her
survivor, mentioned that raising
only one in 100 have it. Drug Administration, which low- family and had an ex-husband tell
awareness is just as important as
Dressed all in pink, the Breast ers the estrogen levels in the body. them for other members of her fam-
raising money. She stated, “the
Cancer Awareness Club brings a In 2008 Rubin was diagnosed again ily were also dealing with cancer.
purpose of the walk is raise the
personal touch to Malden High and in 2009, she was diagnosed with She had undergone chemotherapy
awareness of the public about lung
School during national breast cancer endometrial cancer and had to have and radiation with no side effects
cancer. It is the number one cancer
awareness month with two special a hysterectomy which is the surgical other than aching bones. “I say my
killer. It takes the lives of more
guest speakers. Jenkins house sec- removal of a woman’s uterus. prayers everyday and take it day
people each year than the next
retary Jeanne Marquado and Frida The cancer had been removed to day.” She also feels very at home
seven cancers combined.”
Rubin volunteered to share their in Aug. with a 50/50 chance that the with all the support she receives
Malden High School also
amazing stories when fighting with cancer would come back. Sadly, in from the staff and students at MHS.
did their part for the walk; both
breast cancer. Dec. the same year, Rubin was diag- President of the BCAC, Sa-
the Interact and Key clubs volun-
Rubin had a mammogram nosed yet again but refused chemo- mantha Saggese stated that “[she]
teered together. They were split
done when she was in her late 30’s; therapy this time. felt that the presentation was really
up into small groups and assigned
something was found but when she Rubin’s story reached out to effective--often times, we don’t real-
to different spots on the route of
was tested for breast cancer, the re- everyone sitting in the MHS library ize how close something is to home
the walk to cheer on the walkers,
sults were negative. However Rubin that day. As of now, she is healthy until we hear people from our own
which they did enthusiastically.
soon realized it was not in fact nega- and cancer free and says she is “just community talk about their own ex-
MHS sophomore and Interact
tive . “It was just one of those freak enjoying [each] day. I’m not going to periences. Seeing issues like breast
Club vice president Lisa Delacey
things” stated Rubin. deal with it anymore.” cancer on a relatable level makes it
expressed, “It is nice to see such a
At first was afraid to tell people “When I hear cancer, I think much more real and more inspir-
large group of students represent-
that she has been diagnosed with of death. I know it sounds bad but ing.”
ing Malden. I think both clubs did
cancer and she kept it hidden from its true” deeply stated Marquado.
a great job cheering on the walk-
her son, which she realizes now, Nearly five years ago this Febru-
ers, despite the chilly conditions!”
16
Local News
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Freshman Elections
Kristen Leonard
Reproter
After weeks of campaign-
ing, the Class of 2014 held
its first elections on Nov. 16,
2010. The new officers hope
to accomplish much during
this year, from fun to fund-
raising.
Claude Bonnet, Class of 2014 Vice President
“As vice president I would like to think of
new ideas to help support the freshmen
class and make it as fun as possible.”
–Claude Bonnet, Vice President
Kim Du, Class of 2014 Secretary
“I’m going to do my best to keep ev-
erything running smoothly as secretary.
I’m not going to let you down.”
–Kim Du, Secretary
Thao Pham, Class of 2014 President.
“As a president if the freshmen class
of 2014 I want to make this year as
fun as senior year for them. I want
to make freshmen year unforgettable
and memorable for everyone. My goal
is to raise a lot of money so they can
use the money throughout freshmen
year without worries. I will try my best
to make prom as cheap as I can.”
–Thao Pham, President
John Dovan, Class of 2014 Tresurer
“As treasurer of the freshmen class
of 2014, I hope to budget our class
trips and find ways to come up with
effective fundraising. I wish to do
that so we can lower prices and fees.
I will do my best to work with the
other officers so we, as freshmen, can
have a fun productive year.”
–John Dovan, Treasurer
The Blue and Gold
November 2010
Fundraisers:
Foundation
for Clubs
Amanda Rosatone
Reporter
I t started with the bake sales. It
came to the candy sales. What
have the fundraisers at Malden
High School come to?
Fundraisers are the foundation
for clubs at MHS. Due to the de-
creasing economy and the “Healthy
Choice” rule, bake sales are banned
at MHS. The “Healthy Choice” is a
rule initiated by the city to get kids
to eat healthy food in school. In
consideration, bake sales have been
banned because their baked goods
are mainly composed of sugar con-
tent. Due to this rule, candy sales are
at a risk of being banned as well. If
candy sales do get banned, it will be
a severe issue for many clubs, since
they are dependent on candy sales.
“The impact will be huge,”
expressed Paul Marques, computer
programming teacher, and advisor
of both the National Honor Society
and junior class. Many clubs would
be forced to find other options for
raising money. There will have to
be more car washes, pie sales, and
candle sales, as well as other new
types of fundraising. Although
these alternatives are great ideas, it
will become a problem due to the
overlapping and communication
between clubs. “I understand why,
but I wish it wouldn’t go,” stated
Marques. Choosing a vacant time
and date for when such a fundraiser
would take place would become dif-
ficult. “Nothing is as good, quick, or
easy,” explained Marques about the
candy sales.
“There is always a way to make
money,” stated study teacher and
past class adivsor Paul Famiglietti.
Clubs can come up with other ways
to make money such as fundraisers
at restaurants or workshops. An
example of this is the Spring Roll
workshop which happened on Nov.
5, 2010, hosted by the Asian Ameri-
can Club where students paid five
dollars to make their own delicious
spring rolls.
A major factor as to why fund-
raisers are so important to the clubs
is the difference between long and
short term fundraisers. The short
term fundraisers serve as quick cash
and allow the clubs to reduce some
of their costs. Long term fundraisers
for committees, bands, and other
clubs are time consuming because it
requires the process of gaining and
saving their money to pay a more
expensive fund. Depending on the
club and their needs, this could
serve as a problem either way.
Despite the loss of candy sales,
clubs are dedicated to continue
coming up with more efficient fund-
raising ideas.
The Blue and Gold
November 2010
Go see Working: The Musical No-
vember 19 and 20 at 7:30 for only
$5 for students and senior citizens
($8 for general admission)!
Malden’s Guardian Angels
Megan Kelly
Copy Editor
R ed Beret Hats. No, they are
not the new fall fashion staple
showing up around Malden; they
are the calling cards of the 30 year
old safety organization known as
The Guardian Angels. Recently seen
in Maplewood Square, the group
is commuting in from Boston to
“[keep] the streets” of the city safe.
Local chapter leader Vincent
Cataldo, better known by his fel-
low Angels as “Thumper”, said the
choice to move into Malden was not
only provoked by the gun violence
this past Labor Day weekend, but
also because “people on the Orange
Line (MBTA) asked if we could
come in, and now we are here for
the community.” During the inter-
view with the three other members
of Thumper’s watch, (Anthony
“Grizzly” Nardone , JJ “Dough Boy”
Parks and Brian “B-Dog” Nardone
) at the 7-11 on Salem street, many
customers of the store shouted their
appreciation from car windows.
Still new to the Malden scenery,
Thumper also added “we’re still
scoping out the areas, to know were
we should be.” But with their daily
night watches, the Angels will have
their knowledge in no time.
Many see the group as vigilan-
tes, though they seem to be quite
the opposite. Grizzly spoke of the
self defense training the group re-
local news 17
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
ceives, and how they are in Malden
to intervene only if something is
going down. What does the Malden
Police Department think of the help
from the citizen patrol? Thumper
said that they have gotten a good
response from the police and spoke
of several officers that he knew in
the MPD.
Seeing the patrols at their
favorite hangouts in Maplewood
Square and around Salemwood
have gotten good reviews from Mal-
den High School students. “They are
a respectable, helpful organization
that will help our community in the
long run,” said sophomore Stevie
Klein. Agreeing with Klein, fellow
sophomore Annabelle Ramos says
“I think this a really good thing, I’ll
sleep better especially if I don’t hear
guns every night.”
With a few more eyes watching
Malden’s streets, it is a reassuring
thought that there are citizens who
don’t just turn away from the vio-
lence or the ones causing it. Though
it is a little disturbing that only two
years earlier, Malden was voted the
best city in Massachusetts to raise
your children. “I am sure the Guard-
ian Angels patrolling the city will
be appreciated, but it is upsetting
that we even need them in the first
place,” stated sophomore Angelica
Brewer.
18
The Blue and Gold
Lifestyle November 2010
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

that simply should not be there.
“The skate park does need to be re-
Timothee Pierre done… the design of it is horrible,
Reporter but that is not the city’s fault—it is
the [fault of the] people who built it,
He wants to be able to make skate
parks in places that have no skate
parks for skateboarders. Same goes
with another professional skate-
boarder, Terry Kennedy, also from
or kick out skateboarders and make
signs for them not to be in these
places, then why can they not put
that effort into renovating the skate
park?

W hen someone takes a glimpse

at skateboarding, its reputa-
tion usually distorts their opinions.
Many think that skateboarding is
not that important and should not
be treated as such. When it comes to
skateboarding, great mental activity
is required. Often, skateboarders are
labeled as criminals or vandals be-
cause of the sport’s stereotype. Most
people think that skateboarding is a
crime in itself; perhaps this is why
with every garage or school or even
apartment building, there is a sign
nearby that says “No Skateboarding
Here. Police Take Notice,” mean-
ing if you are caught skateboard-
ing there, cops will be alerted and
severe consequences will follow.
Skateboarding in Malden, MA is
something that should not be taken
lightly, because skateboarding is
steadily getting out of hand.
When entering the local skate
park, there is broken glass, trash all
over ruined ramps, and much else
people who do not know [any]thing
about skateboarding. If skateboard-
ers designed the park, I guarantee
everything would have been much
better,” Emmanuel Kuda Mkan-
dandawire stated. What really
sparks frustration is that the police
or local residents do not take note
to this. Skateboarders in Malden
do not really have anywhere great
to skate, and so instead of staying
at the skate park, they might go to
Malden High School to skate the
famous “Big Ten” (which refers to a
set of stairs with ten long steps), or
rather, if they are not going for the
‘Big Ten,” they go for tricks into the
street, skating off ledges and load-
ing docks, and sometimes they will
even go from roof to roof on smaller
apartment buildings.
According to Rob Dyrdek, pro-
fessional skateboarder from Cali-
fornia, on his show “Rob Dyrdek’s
Fantasy Factory,” he wants to be
able to create a Skate Spot Safe Spot.
California—he too wants to make a
skateboard park where skateboard-
ers can skate safely. These are good
inspirational thoughts to the local
skaters here in Malden, but the
question is, who is going to redo our
skate park? Who is going to take a
stand for this park? According to
CJ Fanjoy, local skateboarder and
student of the Salemwood School,
“the skate park…doesn’t need much
done, but it’s in the progress of being
rebuilt.”
The locals here believe in a
certain lifestyle when it comes to
skateboarding. They basically eat,
sleep, breathe, and live skateboard-
ing. If they could, they would skate-
board day in and day out. But some
people do not appreciate what they
are doing, so in response they basi-
cally ruin their time by calling the
cops and kicking them out of the
area they are skating in, whether
signs are posted or not. If people are
willing to put in the effort to arrest
“I feel that they should let us
do our sport just like they let other
athletes play baseball and play foot-
ball we should be able to use our
surroundings to help us progress
in our sport, because if you know
your good and apply yourself you’ll
go somewhere in life so that’s why
they should let us be good at what
we do and leave us alone,” stated
Fanjoy. “Police started randomly
kicking people out to skate the ledg-
es at Malden High [School].... even
though it has been skated for several
years and people and police did not
mind. Why now? I don’t know if
all the police in Malden do this or
this officer did this because she had
nothing to do,” contemplates Kuda
Mkandandawire. For a lot of people,
skateboarding is life, but in life you
will always have your ups and your
downs. The local skateboarders of
Malden have been through their
downs, but the question is, will they
ever get their ups?

For results of the

boys’ dress code
survey and more
entertainment
content, visit our
wesbite, www.
maldenblueand
gold.com!
The Blue and Gold
November 2010 style 19
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

MHS Students Dress For Success

Reginah Sanyu
Head of Entertainment

I t is believed that being a teenager is the best stage a human being goes through.
It is, if anything, known as an excuse to do what we like. We can be loud, we
can spend money freely, because we are teenagers. Besides, we usually do not
have that many responsibilities, or so many elders seem to believe. But what
happens when we try to take over responsibilities? What happens when we
try to get a job because asking parents for money all the time gets old?
Do we go out and look for opportunities or do we wait for them?
The first step is, of course, going out and hunting down
that job. Getting a job significantly depends on how you
market yourself. That, however, does not mean wearing a
post saying, “Hi my name is (insert name here) and I want
your job.” The whole point of marketing yourself is to force
a positive impression of yourself on your future employer and
to, maybe, enhance your chances of getting the job. “What you are
wearing makes an immediate impression on anyone you meet,” Erin
Craven, guidance counselor at Malden High School explained. MHS
students also expressed how important first impressions were. “The
people interviewing me don’t know me at all. The first impression
always counts,” senior Thomas Nguyen stated. Sometimes it is even
more than just making a first impression; maybe it is your first job in-
terview. “I dressed up because my interview was a big deal for me, it
was my first job interview and I wanted to make it special,” senior Kyra
Savlidis, employee at Aéropostale revealed.
It is advisable to show your true self and dress comfortabably. But if your
definition of comfortable clothes involves sweatpants and Ugg boots, then for-
getting about comfort when going to your interview is a good idea. “Dressing
appropriate in a professional situation can only help you during any process for
which you are a candidate,” Craven added. Looking well-groomed will likely
earn you brownie points from your interviewer. “Dressing up made me feel more
comfortable because I could not feel comfortable if I wore jeans,” Savlidis added.
Being a teenager, dressing up for your interview might show adults that
you are serious and you want the job. In addition to being comfortable, make
it comfortable for the interviewer too. For example: wear no jewelry to prevent
distractions during the interview, wear little or no perfume because we all have
different choice of scents. Dressing in all black is the way to go. Skin, especially
the pierced body parts or tattoos, should be hidden away, however beautiful you
may think they are. Chewing gum during the interview does not work in your
favor either.
Still, this standard manner of dress does not apply for all jobs because
sometimes it depends on where you applied. For most retail stores, like
H&M, Finish Line and many others, employers would prefer an inter-
viewee to dress in the clothes sold at the store. “Dress up in our brand,
comfortable jeans. We want to see you working at our store,” Marissa
Rivera, manager at Hollister stated. Aéropostale would also prefer an
interviewee to dress in their brands. “We prefer them to dress in what
we carry in the store,” Amanda, manager at Aéropostale stated. “It will
also give you points because we see that you already like wearing our
clothes,” she added.

Clockwise, from top: seniors Debbie

Ly, Kyra Savlidis, Ivy Bui, junior Ki-
ara Amos, seniors Shannon Howe,
Joshua Jerome, Fillete Lovaincy
with juniors Daniel Rendon, Jenny
Brunot show off their interpretation
of dressing up for an interview.
20 Entertainment The Blue and Gold
November 2010
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/

speak now speaks out

Haley DeFilippis
Copy-Editor
C ountry singer Taylor Swift’s new
album, entitled Speak Now,
sailed past the million sales mark
within an astonishing one week of
its release. Speak Now was created
by Swift so she could tell the stories
of all the moments she wish she had
spoken out during, all the moments
during which she regrets not reveal-
ing what she was truly thinking.
More than half of the album
consists of songs about her broken
love affairs. The nearly-seven-min-
ute-long, gutsy track called “Dear
John” is meant as a letter that tells
of the sorrow and hardships that
comes with a break-up. She openly
longs for the return of an ex-boy-
friend in the catchy, but comfortably
slow-paced “Back to December”.
Swift, who wrote all 14 tracks
single-handedly, pushes her voice
above all else. Aside from the new-
found volume of her voice, Swift
takes other musical risks beyond
her usual country-pop style. From
the use of a banjo in “Mean” to the
strong electric guitar featured in
“Better than Revenge”, Swift ex-
ceeds expectations of her fans and
critics through countless ambitious
artistic risks. However, Swift does
not lose the soft vocal tone that she
is loved and known for. “Last Kiss”
brilliantly captures this signature of
Swift’s with its simple lyrics, slow
and steady beat, soft instrumentals,
and gentle vocals. Despite this soft-
ness of tone though, Swift accepts
heartbreak and endures anger rather
forwardly in several of her songs as
well, her boldness in her lyrics prov-
ing themselves as another of her
signatures.
Meanwhile, in the far from
flashy, heart-warming song “Never
Grow Up”, Swift reveals that she
still sleeps with a night-light on and
tucks herself in at night, highlight-
ing characteristics of childhood in-
nocence and displaying her values
towards such. Regardless of how
much Swift longs to “still be little”,
she currently reigns as one of the
world’s biggest and most beloved
musical starlets, and one of the few
who hold the ability to entrance her
audience with lyrics and sell over a
million albums within a time con-
straint of a mere seven days.
She hooks her listeners in with
personal experiences and feelings
that so many are familiar with, es-
pecially those in the peak of their
teenage years. Swift is 100 percent
true to her fans, singing about the
uncomfortable feeling that occurs
when she sees an ex at a party, the
revenge she seeks to make on a girl
who stole her boyfriend, and even
the spark she feels when meeting a
new guy she likes. Swift has also be-
come noticeably braver with lyrics
and appearance upon the release of
this new album. In the song “Better
than Revenge”, she sings about a girl
who is “better known for what she
does on the mattress.” Her boldness
in what she’s telling a story about
is also displayed in “Sparks Fly” as
she describes a past memory with
a boy and tells him to “drop every-
thing now, meet [her] in the pouring
rain…take away the pain.” Not only
have her lyrics become gutsy, but
her clothing styles have followed
in suit. Over the past few years,
the 16-year-old in a sundress and
cowboy boots that America fell in
love with has started choosing a bit
flashier, slightly more form-fitting
wardrobe. Nevertheless, her fans
are, without a doubt, by her side ev-
ery step of the way as she provides
them with remarkable music that
they can all relate to perfectly.
Taylor Swift performing. Photo
from Wikimedia.

Call of Duty Black Ops: A Gamer’s Heaven

Alexander Gennigiorgis There are enough features to keep
Head of Business any gamer interested, whether the
player likes to improve the looks

C all of Duty Black Ops is the

newest addition to the Call of
Duty legacy and it did not disap-
point. Black Ops received a 9.0 out
of 10.0 rating from Gamespot.com.
Between the hours of 12:30 am and
2:00 am, the night of release, over 2
million gamers signed in to XBOX
Live. That does not include the
amount of people that played the
game and do not have XBOX Live.
The new features of Black Ops
are no less than incredible, including
the evasive dive which can be used
to dodge grenades, evade being shot
at, or for just getting a cool killcam.
Another feature added to the game
is the improvement of making a
class. There are new weapons that
you must unlock and then buy with
the Call of Duty Money earned from
each match.
Creating a class is fun because
there are a lot of attachments players
can buy to improve their primary
and secondary weapons or make
their weapons look better. These at-
tachments include new camouflages,
infrared scope, flamethrower, and
reflex sight, which is the upgraded
version of red dot sight. Players are
allowed to customize red dot and
reflex sight by changing the color of
the red dot to any of the given colors
as well as the shape of the dot. Also
the color of the lens can be changed.
of their weapons or the power and
strength of their weapons.
The Campaign is action packed
and suspenseful with its incredible
cut scenes and life-like game play.
The protagonist in the campaign is
Alex Mason, a former soldier that is
being interrogated by an unknown
person and as he is being interro-
gated he has flashbacks, which are
the parts that the gamers play. As
the campaign continues, the gamer
uncovers the truth behind what
happened to Mason and why he is
being interrogated.
The Multiplayer gaming is a
lot of fun and includes many new
gaming types including Wager
Matches, where gamers put their
earned credits on the line and can
earn more or lose it all. Another
game mode is Combat Training,
where players will face A.I. players
(Artificial Intelligence) as if it were
an online match against real people.
Lastly, there are new games to play
that are unlocked as a player levels
up or promotes, such as Hardcore
matches (which is when players are
given less life and there is little to
no assistance, it is intended to make
game play more lifelike), and Bare-
bones matches (which is when there
are no killstreaks allowed), as well
as a Prestige level game mode.
Another multiplayer game that
has been brought forward from Call
of Duty World at War is the infa-
mous Nazi Zombies game mode.
This popular game mode comes
with three new maps, including an
all exciting death maze called Kino
Der Toten where it is do or die,
and “5” which is when up to four
gamers can be representatives of
the Pentagon such as John F. Ken-
nedy, and Dick Chaney, and Richard
Nixon, or one of the US’s enemies,
Fidel Castro. The third map is called
Dead Ops Arcade and it is similar to
a game that would have been played
at an arcade back in the 1990s al-
though the graphics are better and
it includes killing the undead which
makes it a more fun experience. The
second map is unlocked after a gam-
er completes the campaign and the
third map is unlocked at the main
menu when you help Mason escape
the chair and find a computer in
the room. In that computer a gamer
must type something in to unlock
the map, but that is for them to find
out.
The all new theater mode al-
lows gamers to revisit past matches
they have played and record high-
lights of any match and make a
short gathering of clips to show off
to other gamers online.
All in all, Call of Duty Black
Ops is a great success and is an in-
credible game for those who enjoy
shooter games. The game is a knock-
out and will stimulate gamers’ sens-
es and will keep them in suspense,
awe, and excitement for the rest of
their gaming career, or at least until
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is
released.
The Blue and Gold
November 2010 21
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22
Brendan
McFeeley
Haley DeFilippis
Copy Editor
F ootball, football, and more football
defines senior Brendan McFeeley’s
life on and off the field.
Since freshman year, McFeeley
stuck with his favorite sport through-
out his time at Malden High School. He
revealed that he loves “the feel for the
game and the fact that [he] can put pads
on and go all out.” One moment that
stays fresh in his mind was during his
sophomore year during a Freshman/
Sophomore game against Bedford;
McFeeley smiled as he explained how
he “picked off a pass that prevented
Bedford from marching down the field
and winning.”
He hopes to continue his passion
for the sport in college, claiming that he
is interested in playing for University of
Massachusetts Dartmouth, or UMASS
Dartmouth. Their football team is not
the only thing that makes this college
so attractive to McFeeley. He thought
the college’s campus was amazing,
close enough to home, and they offer
his major: Criminal Justice.
When asked what got him inter-
ested in criminal justice, he chuckled
and commented, “I’ve been watching
the Law & Order episodes recently and
I can really see myself doing that.”
When he is not playing football,
McFeeley enjoys hanging out with his
friends, watching sports, and playing
the Xbox 360, especially the game
“Left 4 Dead 2,” mentioning that it is
his favorite “because it changes every
time you play.” He is also a big fan
of the New England Patriots, Boston
Red Sox, and Boston Celtics. McFeeley
enjoys watching the Atlanta Falcons
as well, because the quarterback, Matt
Ryan, was a “Boston College boy!”
For the past two and a half years,
McFeeley has worked at Stop & Shop
on Broadway as a cashier. He explained
that his current goal is to save up
enough money to buy a car.
In the next eight months—the
last eight months of his time at MHS—
he hopes that he will be able to make
high honors. McFeeley revealed that he
is pumped for graduation but will miss
MHS when he goes off to college.
Sports
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Football Team Looks
to Finish On Top
MHS players play the Everett football team on Nov. 13, 2010. Photo by Haley
DeFilippis.
Brittany McFeeley Haley DeFilippis
Head Copy Editor Copy Editor
O
n Saturday Nov. 13, 2010,
Malden High School’s varsity
football team versed Everett High
School. With a disappointing loss,
MHS was unable to find the end
zone throughout all four quarters.
Unfortunately, the game ended in
a shut out with a final score of 45
to 0.
Hundreds of fans from Mal-
den and Everett attended the game
to support their team in hopes of
a victory. However, by half time, it
was obvious who would pull away
with the win, with the score of 31
to 0.
During the first quarter, MHS
almost scored a touchdown when
senior and captain Frankie Dunn
caught a long pass from senior
quarterback Kevin Valley. As Mal-
den fans cheered in excitement,
the referees brought the ball back
to about the 30-yard line, because
Dunn had stepped out of bounds,
setting the tone for the rest of the
game. Unfortunately, that would
be as close as MHS would get to
score a touchdown because of
Everett’s dominating defense and
offense. However, Valley acknowl-
edged that he and the rest of the
team “had nothing to lose. We just
had to play football.”
During the second half of
the game, things had only gotten
worse for MHS. In the third quar-
ter, senior Vernon Sainvil injured
his leg. After limping off the field,
Sainvil tried walking it off up and
down the sidelines, but unfor-
tunately would not return to the
game.
Through the game, tensions
were high between these two ri-
vals. Valley stated, “Our strengths
as a team on Saturday had to be
the never ending fight we put up
Favre’s Follies
Alfonse Femino
Head of Sports
with them. No matter the score ev-
ery single play we were making sure
we smacked a player in red. We had
the option to put our JVS in after the
second quarter, but at that point no
one cared about the score and just
wanted to smack them in the mouth
so they could remember us for the
way we hit them that day. Weak-
nesses had to of been injuries we
dealt with them so much this year
and again in this game.”
With EHS’s victory over MHS,
EHS has clinched the Greater Boston
League title and will move on to the
first round of playoffs against the
first place team of the Merrimack
Valley Conference.
But clinching the GBL title is not
unusual for the EHS football team.
For 15 consecutive years, the EHS
football team has dominated over all
GBL teams, with a 53 game winning
streak as well as the championship
title. On Oct. 26, 2010, it was decided
by the MIAA Football Committee
to drop the GBL from Division 1 to
Division 1A. With only Everett and
Medford in opposition, Malden,
Somerville, and Cambridge voted
for the change in hope of breaking
Everett’s hold on the title.
Overall, the Everett game was
a very difficult loss for many of the
players, especially the seniors. Many,
such as Valley, felt sadness while tak-
ing one last look at the scoreboard
and realizing that he “only [has] one
game left of MHS football.”
MHS’s final game of the season
is on Thanksgiving, Nov. 25, 2010 at
McDonald Stadium against Med-
ford High School whose football
team is currently winless. The boys
expect to make their last game of
the season a meaningful one that is
remembered.
The Blue and Gold
November 2010
A t this point in time, it is begin-
ning to look like nothing can
go right for Minnesota Vikings
starting quarterback, Brett Favre.
Off the field, Favre has been go-
ing through a Tiger Woods/Pete
Rose sort of ordeal. Although the
details of Woods’ scandal are not
identical with those of Favre’s, they
share a common structure. Future
Hall of Fame athlete gets involved
with girl that is not a wife; girl tells
people; people tell the media; all
heck breaks loose.
Fortunately, Favre’s scandal
did not involve the smashing up of
a SUV, nor did it involve a mania-
cal wife with a baseball bat. It did,
however, involve a cell phone. To
elaborate, two years ago in 2008,
while playing for the New York
Jets, Favre allegedly sent racy pho-
tos to a hostess that worked for the
Jets. After being asked about the
scandal at a press conference in
October at the Minnesota Vikings
training facility, refused to talk
about the subject, saying “I’m not
going to get into that. I’ve got my
hands full with the jets and I’m
trying to get my timing down with
my [teammates].”
Although Favre has yet to be
punished for his “unacceptable
behavior,” by National Football
League commissioner Roger
Goodell, the scandal is being in-
vestigated, and could quite pos-
sibly result in a bitter ending to an
incredible career.
When Favre is not avoid-
ing countless accusations, he has
been spending his time with vari-
ous athletic trainers and doctors
around the country. During a bout
with his former team, the Green
Bay Packers, Favre suffered a very
serious ankle injury, fracturing it in
two places. The fact that he has had
multiple surgeries on that same
ankle did not help Favre’s case. Fa-
vre refused to let the injury put a
halt to his 291 consecutive starting
game streak, as he decided that he
was going to play against the New
England Patriots, one of the stron-
gest defenses in the league, just a
week after hurting his ankle.
The game did not end up the
way Favre hoped at all, as the Vi-
kings lost 28-18, and to add injury
to injury, Favre split his chin open,
causing him to get 10 stitches, and
to be removed from the game due
to injury for the second straight
week, and leaving the once heavily
praised Vikings to a 2-5 record.
Clearly Favre is not having
the best time of his future hall of
fame career, but if his toughness
in his last 291 consecutive games
serves as any indication of how
he can persevere, and he manages
to circumvent Goodell and the
media, we are sure to see the same
41 year old scrambling around the
field and high fiving refs that we
have all come to know.
The Blue and Gold
November 2010
Cassandra
Ulwick
Haley DeFilippis
Copy Editor
D edicated” and “encouraging” are
just few of the words that can be
used to describe Malden High School
senior cheerleader and tri-captain Cas-
sandra Ulwick. Starting at a very young
age, Ulwick has been cheering ever
since her younger years with Malden
Pop Warner. She carried on with her
passion at MHS. Throughout her years
here, Ulwick has played basketball,
crew, and tried lacrosse. As a captain,
she is greatly admired by her fellow
cheerleaders. Junior cheerleader Carli
Bellmer states, “she was a really great
captain this season and she was very
encouraging when the tension was
high.” Ulwick’s favorite part of cheer-
ing this past season was watching her
squad pull together for competition
that took place on Oct. 31, 2010. De-
spite the fact that the squad did not
move on to sectionals, she is proud of
all of the girls for the work and effort
they put into the competition.
Although Ulwick immensely
enjoys cheerleading, Marymount
Manhattan College, where she hopes
to attend next fall, does not offer a
cheerleading squad. Still, Ulwick is
guaranteed a bright future ahead of
her, as she has set future goals for
herself, including the aim of majoring
in communications, particularly in the
public relations field. Ulwick reflec-
tively stated her “favorite memory as
a cheerleader would have to be the
night before Thanksgiving [because]
it’s such an exciting time before the big
game.” This year’s Thanksgiving game
is set to take place on Nov. 25, 2010
and will undoubtedly be a bittersweet
day for Ulwick, as it will be her final
game cheering.
Sports
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Cheerleaders Place
Third at GBLs
Brittany McFeeley Haley DeFilippis
Head Copy Editor Copy Editor
O n Oct. 31, 2010, the Malden
High School cheerleading
squad participated in the annual
Greater Boston League competition
at Medford High School.
The girls were up against two
other schools from their division;
Everett High School and Somerville
High School. SHS won first place,
EHS second, and MHS with third.
Unfortunately, third place was not
enough for the cheerleaders to move
on to the next competition.
Despite coming in third place,
sophomore Christy Ringdahl men-
tioned that “we’ve all worked really
hard for competition,” later stating
that “[her] favorite part was getting
out on the floor the day of competi-
tion and doing [the] routine full out
for the judges.”
With new head coach Diana
Buounopane, eighth grade math
teacher from Linden School, and
senior captains Heather Thompson,
Cassandra Ulwick, and Fredline
Jean leading the team, Ringdahl
Top: Cheerleaders cheer for football players at the Everett game.
Bottom: Cheerleaders cheer for football players at the Bedford game. Photos
by Haley DeFilippis.
commented that the season has
“gone really well” and “we did our
best to work well together as a team
with a new coach.”
What makes the team strong
is the previous experience the girls
have, most of them coming from Pop
Warner and their “desire to make a
name and positive reputation for
Malden High cheerleading,” stated
Thompson.
As captain, Thompson loves
being “someone the girls can turn
to for motivation and help” even
outside of cheering. They also
have almost an entirely new team;
Thompson commented that “there
are only about four or five of us
from last year.”
Even though the girls will no
longer be competing, their season is
far from over. The cheerleaders will
still be at all the home games as well
as the annual Thanksgiving Day
game and the pep rally for spirit
week, which it the “most exciting
time” stated Ulwick.
23
Moss
Madness
Johanna Lai
Reporter
F ormer New England Patriots
wide receiver Randy Moss was
traded to the Minnesota Vikings
this season, but, as of Nov. 2, 2010,
is being cut from the team. The cut
occurred after Moss criticized the
Vikings’ head coach, Brad Chil-
dress, and patronized the Patriots’
head coach, Bill Belichick, during
a catastrophic news conference in-
volving the Vickings 28-18 loss to
the Patriots on Oct. 31, 2010.
Moss, whose first team in the
NFL was the Vikings, was traded
back to them for a third-round pick
on Oct. 6, 2010, two days after the
Patriots’ game against the Miami
Dolphins. He was reunited with the
Vikings for only 25 days, resulting
in three disappointing losses and
only one win for the team. Moss
only played in four games, ran 174
yards, and caught 13 passes and
two touchdowns during his return.
When Moss first returned to
Minnesota, he was filled with ex-
citement to once again suit up for
the team for which he played from
1998 to 2004. The quarterback of
the Vikings, Brett Favre, who was
formerly lobbied with the Green
Bay Packers, was surprised that
Childress was able to bring Moss
back to the team. Moss was brought
back to the team to help increase
their passing offense, which had
lost another wide receiver, Sidney
Rice, to a hip injury. Rice is now
in the Steadman Clinic, located in
Vail, Colorado, for recovery.
During the Vikings’ game
against the Patriots, Moss was frus-
trated with the coach’s ways to ap-
ply Moss’ advice on how to attack
the Patriots. Childress defended
this approach, telling TalkRadio
790 KABC-AM, “I think we did
a pretty good job of heeding it.”
He also answered the question of
whether or not he regretted hav-
ing Moss on the team. His reply to
the radio station was, “Do I regret
having him? Not at present I don’t,
no.” While Belichick only reported
that Moss was being cut from the
roster due to disciplinary issues,
Patriots play-caller Bill O’Brien ac-
knowledged an incident with Moss
two days before he was traded.
Moss also stated to the radio
station about the Patriots, “Man,
I miss those guys, man. I miss the
team, it was hard for me to come
here and play.”
With Moss off the team, the
Vikings are now left with a choice
to make. The choice would be ei-
ther to activate Rice or put him into
infrared light for his hip surgery.
While the Vikings are making that
decision, Moss has been claimed
for the Tennessee Titans, where
he will bring his controversy with
him.
24
Matthew Howe
Timothee Pierre
Reporter
A
s a Malden High School student,
senior Matthew Howe has played
baseball, basketball, football, and golf,
exemplifying his love for both sports
and multitasking. According to his
teammate, senior Kevin Valley, Howe
is ranked at an impressive 97 out of
429 in his class. Like most seniors,
Howe has a preference in terms of
colleges: Howe would like to attend to
Bridgewater State University when this
school year is over.
Nobody likes to lose, and Howe
is no exception. This season, his golf
team made the state tournament for
the first time, but unfortunately did not
win. “We had a great year and just get-
ting to [the tournament] is nice. I wish
we had done better, but we did all we
could,” senior Matthew Howe stated.
Currently, Howe plays golf, baseball,
and basketball and though he loves all
of them, baseball is his favorite. His
sister, senior Shannon Howe, who plays
field hockey, says he is a hard working
individual and that they support each
other by attending each other’s games.
Unlike other teenagers, Howe
has few musical preferences. “I do not
have a specific music artist that I like,”
Howe stated. When Howe is not play-
ing a sport, he might be watching his
favorite movie, which, unsurprisingly,
is sports-related: Coach Carter.
Field Hockey Bids Seniors Farewell
Joshua Kummins
Copy Editor
D A
espite a 4-13-1 final record,
the Malden High School field
hockey team made major improve-
ments throughout the course of
their 2010 season. Head coach and
middle school teacher Susan Fami-
glietti was very pleased with her
team’s performance this season.
“[The players] are all dedicated to
the team, have great determination,
and they always play a clean game,”
she stated. “I am very proud to call
myself their coach.”
Famiglietti said that there are
four games this season that stand
out among the rest in her mind that
show the team’s effort and improve-
ments. In those games, the team
showed outstanding effort through
their hard work, but were not able to
pull out a win.
Famiglietti points to a pair
of games against Methuen High
School as the best examples of their
improved performance. In the first
week of the season they lost 4-0, but
midway through the season they
came out against the same team and
put up a much stronger fight. The
team lost 2-1 in their second game
against Methuen, but Famiglietti
mentioned that “it was very excit-
ing” to see the improvements.
This season’s team was very
strong, but played a different forma-
tion than most teams currently use.
Instead of a traditional four-forward,
Sports
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Golf Team Makes States
Jacob Martino Timothee Pierre
Reporter Reporter
T
he Malden High School golf
team had a great turn around
season this year. With a record of
6-2, the team blew the competition
coming in second in the Greater
Boston League behind Cambridge
High School. This gave the team a
chance to compete in the Massachu-
setts State Golf Tournament. The
MHS golf team has never made to
the state tournament in school his-
tory.
“This was much better season
compared to the past ones,” junior
Daniel Glynn stated. Junior Mat-
teo Pocobene also commented, “It
was by far the best season I have
experienced during my high school
career.” This was a huge opportu-
nity for Coach Rick Malatesta, the
seniors, and for everyone all the golf
team. “We had a lot more success
[as a team],” senior Ryan Donovan
stated. “[This season] was much bet-
ter.”
All the golfers were excited
and ready to compete and maybe
even take the home the state trophy.
“The feeling of making the state
tournament was unprecedented,
and one that I hope to continue on
in the future, it was an absolute suc-
cess overall,” commented Pocobene.
three-midfield, three-defense line-
up, the team played five forwards to
try to create more offense. “This for-
mation gives us a stronger presence
on the offensive end of the field,”
Famiglietti said. However, the team
“has to make adjustments when the
ball gets into [the] defensive end.”
Both defense players, junior Ki-
ara Amos and sophomore Jessalyne
Brown were “remarkable” this year,
according to coach Famiglietti, and
will add leadership in the back half
of the field in the 2011 season.
Next year, the team will be
losing three midfielders; senior cap-
tains Mandy Liao and Renee Santo,
and senior Patricia Aguinaldo. “All
three have great endurance and
stamina on the field,” Famiglietti
stated. “[They] have a great head for
the game and have great speed.”
Senior goaltender Shannon
Howe will be difficult loss after two
seasons on the varsity team. “She
has a lot of experience and made
some great saves for us,” said Fami-
glietti. “Replacing your goalie is
always tough.”
Although the team will lose
seven players, they will remain
strong next season, thanks to junior
varsity coach Kim Barber. Fami-
glietti said that Barber has done a
great job in developing her younger
players that could contribute at the
next level. Barber feels that her team
did well this season and she is look-
ing forward to returning to a fun
Senior Paul Nguyen prepares about to hit out of the rough during a golf
match. Photo by Reginah Sanyu.
Aside from all the excitement, the
coach and the player were full of
nerves.
This has been Malatesta’s most
successful season as a coach of the
golf team, so one can only imagine
how he was feeling going into the
tournament, which included high
school golf teams from all over the
state. This was the final game for
the seniors at MHS, so they were
ready to leave the team with some
excitement. “We are losing six out
of our eight starting players,” Glynn
explained.
Unfortunately for MHS, the
season in 2011.
The program also added a
middle school team this season, led
by 1978 MHS graduate Deena Bello.
Bello said that the goal of middle
school competition is “to learn
the basic skills of the sport of field
hockey, team commitment and team
building.” She added, that sports
build confidence and character for
the players and that she will lead a
fundamentally sound feeder pro-
gram for the high school.”
With new talent already being
devel- oped, the
future is bright
for the MHS
f i e l d
hockey
team to
return to
winning
ways in 2011.
Sophomore Jessal-
ynne Brown playing defense. Photo
by Sharon Lee.
The Blue and Gold
November 2010
team did not win – but the seniors
are glad to say that they had made
the tournament in their final high
school year. When asked if any of
the seniors will be playing golf in
college, senior Matthew Howe stat-
ed, “I will play for fun but not for a
college team.”
Pocobene stated, “I am going
to miss [the seniors] a lot, I hope we
can continue the success without
[them].” Similarly, Glynn is a little
nervous for the next year’s team be-
cause so many of the players that are
graduating.
Shannon Howe
Sharon Lee
Head of Photography
lthough senior Shannon Howe
has been playing goalie for the
past three years for the Malden High
School field hockey team, she started
out as a soccer player. Some of her
friends persuaded her to try out for
the field hockey team. Little did she
know she would become an amazing
varsity goalie for both her junior and
senior years. For Shannon, “being
goalie just seemed easy and natural,”
she explained.
In the 2009 field hockey season,
Howe was one of the 31 athletes se-
lected as a Greater Boston League All
Star. She hopes to be able to continue
playing field hockey as a club sport
when she attends college. She plans
to major in social work, psychol-
ogy, sociology, or any related
fields at either Bridgewater State
University, Framingham State
College, or at Colby Sawyer Col-
lege, where she is also applying for
the Progressive Scholar Program.
Howe stated that Athletic Di-
rector Barbara Scibelli “is always
there for anything I need,[whether]
it is help on homework or sup-
portive words.” Being part of
the Captains Council has got-
ten Howe more involved with
different service projects,
including The Newland Street
Tutoring Program.
The Blue and Gold
November 2010
Commitment + Effort = GBL Champs
From left to right: Sophomore Dawit Aynalem, junior William Wong, senior Andrew Terenzi, senior Patrick Keough,
head coach David Londino, junior Yusuf Mohamed, junior Eric Tran, and junior Christopher Li. Photos by Amanda
Rosatone. `
Vicki Ngan
Reporter
I couldn’t be more proud of the
dedication and effort this team
has shown all season,” beamed cross
country coach and English teacher
David Londino. For the first time
in 40 years since 1970, MaldenHigh
School cross country boys won the
Greater Boston League title. With
a record of 6-0, including the GBL
opening and closing meets, the boys
were flawless in victory.
Out of all the dual meets this
season, an exceptional one was the
victory over Somerville on Oct. 19,
2010 with a stunning score of 23 -34,
making them the first team to break
Somerville’s winning streak over the
past couple of years. The “runners
[each] knew [his] individual respon-
sibility and fulfilled it to contribute
to the team,” Londino explained. An-
other key factor that determined the
success of the team this year was the
firm commitment and good effort.
It began with summer running and
seeped into October and November,
where the runners practice six days
a week with Sunday off. Rain, hail,
or snow is typical weather in cross
country and these dedicated mem-
bers would still practice regardless
of such obstacles.
Senior co-captain Andrew
Terenzi and junior Yusuf Mohamed
were among the top two runners this
season. On Sept. 16, 2010 at the GBL
opening meet in Cambridge, Teren-
zi had broken the record for that
course. Then, on Nov. 30, 2010 at the
GBL closing meet in Cambridge, Mo-
hamed came in first place, winning
the meet. “I am proud to live in Mal-
den,” boasted Mohamed. Expected
and thrilled that they have won the
GBL title. Terenzi plans to continue
cross country after high school. He
joined the sport when he thought he
did not have the coordination skills
essential for other sports. But un-
like Mohamed who had Terenzi as
an inspiration, Terenzi had no such
example. “I wanted to improve my-
SPORTS 25
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Patrick Keough
Lesley Ta
Reporter
self and lead my team to victory,”
Terenzi explained. As for Mohamed,
it is his first season in cross country.
letes. It will be hard to adjust with
Terenzi and Keough leaving and
they will certainly not be forgotten. P atrick Keough, senior co-captain
of the Boys Cross Country
As an ex-football player, he based However, this year’s cross country Greater Boston League champions,
his running off speed, which helped underclassmen have displayed great and fellow co-captain Andrew Terenzi,
him prepare for the sport. talent and leadership, laying out the led the cross country team into victory
On Nov. 13, 2010 at the EMass playing grounds for MHS.Inthenext against Somerville, Cambridge, Med-
State Meet, Mohamed came in 29th season, Londino hopes there will be ford, and Everett, giving Malden High
place in division one. “My hard talented athletes who will join and School its first boys cross country
work paid off,” explained Mo- help earn the title of GBL champs of GBL title in 40 years. Both the MHS
hamed. Scoring next for MHS boys 2011 for indoor track. High student body and the members
cross country, senior co-captain “As long as I coach, this team of the cross country team are thrilled.
Patrick Keough finished 73rd place will always be special to me,” Lon- “It feels great,” stated Keough. “I’ve
and Terenzi finished 116th. “Instead dino emphasized. This team is a been working for this since my fresh-
of coming in 16th, he came in 116th. family. All that they have done was man year. Now that I’ve led a team,
Our best runner had a foot injury,” for each other, aiming towards the and won, I’m just ecstatic.”
explained Londino. Despite this, same realistic goal and achieving Continuing the family line,
there has been a huge improvement it. The experiences they have gone Keough gave the intense sport a try
in terms of points this season, with through together of hardship and when he was a freshman. His father,
the boys scoring 495 instead of the joy before and after their victories who was also a runner, recommended
usual 800’s. “I wasn’t hap- are something they will cherish for- that he try the sport. Hoping he had
py with the overall ever. inherited his father’s abilities, Keough
team result, but I decided to try out for cross country.
was happy with Keough started out as a newcomer
some individual from linden middle school, working
performances,” his way up to the title of co-captain as
Londino stated. a senior. “My dad was always running.
Ambitious and I joined to find out if I loved it, and
strategic, the team then I just fell in love with it,” Keough
has already estab- stated proudly. “My dad always liked
lished their goals. running, so I tried it.”
“The standard has With the school year heading
been set, anything towards the graduation of the class of
less than an unde- 2011 rapidly, seniors are scrambling
feated GBL cham- to find a perfect college. Meanwhile,
pionship in 2011 will Keough is enjoying his time in cross
be considered less than country before considering continu-
desirable,” Londino ing his running career after graduating
stated. Although the Malden High School. “If I get into
next cross country sea- a Division I school, I’ll probably not
son is a year away, it is run,” he revealed. “If it’s a Division
predicted that Somer- II or Division III school, I will run.”
ville and Cambridge Along with the senior status, Keough
will always have a said that he will miss “the team, since
strong team in the it’s a family field. Everyone on the
race, but Med- team is a [part of the] family.” Along
ford in addition with the senior status, he is vying for
Senior co-captain Andrew Terenzi
may prove to the Posse Scholarship. “My motivation
making his way towards the finish
be a challenge is just having to push myself the hard-
line at the State Meet.
with their est I can mentally, and physically,” he
promising explained.
young ath-
26
Jessica Vo
Kristen Leonard
Reporter
R
my
unning
shaped
high
school career,”
stated senior
Jessica Vo,
who has been
the co-captain
of the girls
cross country
team since her
junior year.
Besides cross
country, Vo
has been running indoor and outdoor
track since her freshman year. Running
has been a big part of her life because
it influenced her personality. Aside from
sports, Vo enjoys spending time with
her friends.
Vo has applied to Boston Univer-
sity in Boston, Massachusetts; Bently
College in Waltham, Massachusetts;
and Suffolk University in Boston, Mas-
sachusetts. She would like to attend one
of these colleges because she “wants
to stay close to home” and wants to
major in marketing. These colleges have
programs that specialize in marketing,
which was a major factor in influencing
her decision as to where to attend. In
the major of marketing, the company
creates customer interest in a product
or service.
Homecourt Disadvantage
Joel Stevenson
Reporter
Alexander Gennigiorgis
Head of Business
Captains of the volleyball team, seniors Monika Bashllari and
Barbara Santos, pose for a picture. Photo by Sharon Lee.
I t was a tough year for the girls
volleyball team, which ends its
season with a record of 4-12. The
debate about whether other teams
had an advantage due to them being
able to play on their home turf is still
raging, as senior co-captain Monika
Bashllari explained. “[It] was a
tough season for us because we only
had two home games, but neverthe-
less, we never gave up and fought
our hardest each game,” she stated,
adding that at times, “We were not
SPORTS
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Successful Season Ends
Kristen Leonard Amanda Rosatone
Reporter Reporter
T he season for girls cross country
was a success with the exception
of the Medford meet in which [the
team] was disqualified for running
off the course,” stated English teach-
er David Londino. In the GBL meet,
which happened on Oct. 3, 2010, the
girls team came in second place. The
top runners were sophmore Lauren
Benoit also a member of the Blue
and Gold, sophmore Haley Dowdie,
junior Amber Polia, senior Cynthia
Laurara, and senior and co-captain
Jessica Vo. Beniot placed fifth overall
and first for her team. Dowdie foll-
wed right behind her placing sixth
overall and second for her team. Po-
lia placed 11th overall and third for
her team and following right behind
her was Laurara placing 12th overall
and fourth for her team. Finishing
up the top five, Vo came in 14th
overall and fifth place for her team.
Co-captain and The Blue and Gold
member Haley DeFilippis would
have placed in the top five, but had
to drop out of the race after the first
mile due to to a cramp in her leg.
Londino has canceled the invitaion-
als which were scheduled to happen
on Nov. 13, 2010 so the team can rest
confident and during a game, once
we saw that we were down by a
couple of points, we put our heads
down and lost concentration. Per-
sonally I think that is big factor.” It
was not one of their most successful
years, but they did not let this get
them down. Being captain, she has
tried her best to get help defeat those
petty pleas by organizing nights for
team bonding. The volleyball team
“had a team dinner and...went to a
Boston College volleyball game. It
From left: Senior Cynthia Laurore junior Amber Polia, sophomore Haley
Dowdie, senior Jessica Vo, junior Haley DeFilippis, sophomore Lauren Ben-
oit, and junior Anna Tse. Photos by Amanda Rosatone.
up for the States competition.
The cancellation of the invita-
tionals was a relief for the team and
the chosen runners. The runners
chosen to run at the states meet were
senior Jessica Vo, senior Cynthia
Laurore, junior Amber Polia, junior
Anna Tse,sophomore Haley Dowd-
ie, sophmore Lauren Benoit, also a
member of the Blue and Gold, an
junior Haley DeFillippis. Although
the invitationals were canceled the
runners had a good feeling that
was a really fun time because obvi-
ously volleyball is something we can
all relate to.” Members of the team
enjoyed the season, and the idea of
returning next season motives even
those who will graduate this spring.
The team’s final Greater Boston
League game was hosted at Malden
High School on Oct. 28, 2010 in the
newly renovated gymnasium, after
they had won the preliminaries
against Somerville 3-0. The team
lost the GBL game against the Cam-
bridge volleyball team, which went
on to face Everett, resulting in the
end of the season for Malden.
Saddened to see the season end
as it did, the team is inspired to give
it their all next year. Sophomore
Lisa Delacey explained, “We gained
a lot of experience this year, which
we can definitely use to win next
[year].” The team as a whole feels
little set back by their final scores,
but not enough to put them out of
the game. They are coming back
with a vengeance next year.
With new ideas for next year
already being sharpened, the team
is planning to have a summer camp
so that they can work on their
techniques and plays so when the
season comes around they will be
more than ready. Knowing what
they need improvement on each and
everyone is willing to work out their
kinks and have a great year. When
asked about the team’s plans, head
coach Dana Marie Brown said one
word and one word only: “win.”
The Blue and Gold
November 2010
if they were to attend they would
have still given their best to the
race. “The cancellation of the States
meet was good because there is now
only one thing to focus on,” stated
junior Haley Dowdie. As senior
Jessica Vo stated, “ the cancellation
gave us time to rest up and focus
on the up coming States meet.” As
cross country comes to a close, the
coaches were very impressed with
this season.
Monika Bashillari
V olleyball co-captain senior
Monika Bashllari has had a huge
impact on the team. This year has not
been her most successful one, but she
is still proud with the team and their
hard work. As stated, “ [This year] has
allowed me to meet the most amazing
teammates.”
Starting off as a freshman, Bash-
llari played the sport she loves and has
worked her way up to become captain.
As she stated, “[I] started playing vol-
leyball freshmen year on the JV team. It
was my first year playing volleyball on
a team, but I knew I had always loved
playing the sport.” There is little doubt
that Bashllari has helped the team to
become what it is today even though
she feels that they are not doing as well
as they could be. “I think this team
had a lot of skills and communication
with each other...I think our issue was
confidence.”
Bashllari is saddened to see the
team off as she is graduating this year.
She plans to major in Business Admin-
istration and Management. Despite a
desire for a future in business, Bahllari
still wants to continue her passion in
her sport. She has already talked to vol-
leyball coaches at colleges to which she
is applying. She says that “[volleyball]
is absolutely something I see myself
doing during college and even beyond
college.” Bashllari is saddened by the
disappointing end to the season, but
also thrilled to be part of the volley-
ball team, stating, “I wouldn’t change
a thing.”
The Blue and Gold
November 2010
Senior Jessica Lopez playing against the Everett girls soccer team. Photo by Sharon Lee.
Change:
A Tough Goal to Score
Rebecca Broomstein
Reporter
A ccepting a change is always dif-
ficult. Adapting to that change
can be even more crucial. Malden
High School girls soccer team un-
derwent quite a few changes this
past season, with new members of
the varsity team, and more substan-
tially, with a new coach, Lindsay
O’Leary.
With a new coach come new
customs. Breaking apart from
traditional methods and manners
can really tamper with the way an
organization collaborates and con-
spires. Unfortunately, these team-
mates had some trouble adjusting
to the new atmosphere, for a while.
Their season did not go as planned,
resulting on only one win. “At first it
was very difficult to adapt to a new
coach, but after a short while we all
became a family,” explained senior
co-captain, Rita Cote.
Of course, the girls themselves
are just as good as they have always
been, their biggest problem being
the new alterations. Cote added,
“It took a lot of time to build chem-
istry on the field and learn to trust
each others’ instincts,” justifying
her team’s score. One would think
that their 18 losses would damage
their confidence, but the girls are
as strong as ever. “The team defi-
nitely had some rough patches in
the fun department,” staed Cote,
“but ultimately we met our goal and
enjoyed the season.” They act as a
family, as more than a team, help-
ing each other progress, to become
more successful for next year. These
losses have made them realize that
SPORTS
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
changes happen, and it is important
to learn how to cope with them.
O’Leary has surely helped them
develop new skills, that will come in
handy next year, for their ultimate
comeback. “Most of the girls used
this past season to get comfortable
in their new positions, so next year
[the team] should be great,” Cote
stated, already anticipatng next
year’s season.
Although the team had an
unfortunate season, they have a lot
to offer. Their single victory against
Dorchester, with a score of 7-0,
shows how triumphant they truly
are. With a score like that, there is
no denying their strength as a team,
and as individual players. Gaining
new members can be tough when
you have to adapt to the way they
play. Every year, a team will gain
new varsity member, no matter
the sport. Perhaps, this
season, the new girls
have different style that
varied more than ever.
There can be plenty of
reasons the MHS girls
soccer team had only ex-
ceeded minimal hopes
for winning this fall,
but it is evident that the
most plausible reason
to blame is change. Be-
cause the season is done
for the year, all MHS can
do is wish them the best for future
seasons, and remember that they’ve
accomplished an entirely vital trait
any team should have: becoming a
family.
Kayla Bramante
Head of Special Projects
Sophomore Stevie Klein dribbling
the soccer ball down the field.
Photo by Sharon Lee.
Senior Jasmine Roach, sophomore
Tina Ascolillo, junior Jessica Cotto,
and junior Malorie MacDonald
stretching before a game.
Photo by Sharon Lee.
27
KerriAnn
Shuman
I ’m just looking forward to the fu-
ture! The day high school ends, life
finally begins,” stated senior KerriAnn
Shuman, who has been only playing
soccer since she was a junior. It is
“[her] biggest high school regret” not
playing since she was a freshman.
Shuman has also proven herself
dedicated to Malden High School. She
has been president of the class of 2011
since her sophomore year and ran for
the girls outdoor track team last spring.
The girls soccer team all had
laughs and memories to remind
themselves how much fun the sport
is even though it was not one of their
best seasons. One of Shuman’s most
memorable moments was when they
were playing Dracut and the score was
not so great, she went to “switch the
field” and completely missed the ball
and flung backwards on her neck. “I
remember just laying on the ground
as a Dracut player scooped the ball
from beneath me and continued to
play. When I got up I practically fell to
the ground laughing at how ridiculous
I had looked, and found my team mid
game doing the same. I guess you can’t
always take life so seriously!” Shuman
stated. Her “main goal is to just attend
college, meet new people, and begin to
create for [her]self a very successful fu-
ture full of wonderful people and new
experiences.”
Outside of soccer, Shuman acts
like a normal teenager: she watches
movies, plays games, dances like no
one is watching, and hangs out with
a few close friends. Shuman’s favorite
class her senior year is definitely psy-
chology. “The class is stacked with
so many great personalities that the
environment is just so uplifting and
energetic.”
After high school, Shuman wants
to go to a college as far away as possible
from Malden, preferably the University
of Miami. “My main goal is to just at-
tend college, meet new people, and be-
gin to create for myself a very success-
ful future full of wonderful people and
new experiences,” she stated. Overall,
Shuman is a well rounded student, just
looking for the right path into her fu-
ture and nothing is going to stop her.
28
The Blue and Gold
SPORTS November 2010
http://www.maldenblueandgold.com/
Abel Wasswa
BOYS SOCCER SENT TO STATES Amalia Quesada Nylen
Reporter

A
Catherine Poirier
nyone who knows me knows I can’t
Copy Editor stay away from Taco Bell”, con-
fessed senior Abel Wasswa when asked

T he past few weeks, the Malden High School boys

varsity soccer team has been working extremely
hard, trying to achieve their goal of making the Mas-
about his favorite food. 17-year-old Abel
Wasswa has been influenced by the game
of soccer his entire life; whether it was
sachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Tourna- watching it or playing with his family, it
ment. “Truthfully, we thought that we weren’t going to has always been his escape. “It takes my
make it when we were about 4 games below .500, but mind off a lot of things... I really don’t
once we won a couple of games we started to pick up know how to explain it, but I just love it”,
steam and realize that we could qualify for the state Wasswa stated. Wasswa comes from an
tournament,” sophomore, and captain of the team next Ugandan family, and is bilingual, speak-
year, Prince Mukala said. Four more games were all ing Lugunda as well as English. Almost
they needed to win in order to make it to states, and everyone in his family plays soccer, in-
they did just that. The MHS boys qualified for the cluding his the most influential person in
MIAA tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010. Their 2-1 his life, Wasswa’s uncle, who is also his
win against Everett High School put the team in good role model. “He taught me everything I
spirits for the upcoming weekend. know and he is the father figure in my
Crowds of MHS students, facility, and friends at- life”, Wasswa praised.Wasswa’s uncle also
tended the make-it or break-it game for the team. Dur- influenced Wasswa in areas such as music.
ing the first half, Everett scored their one goal, but that When asked about his favorite musician,
did not put the Malden boys down at all. They pushed Wasswa said, “Bob Marley, [because] my
forward, and scored two goals, giving them what they uncle always listens to him so I grew up
needed to enter the MIAA tournament. Sophomore Ra- listening to him.” Surprisingly, although
fael DeSouza and junior Renaud Jean scored one goal surrounded by the game his whole life,
each during the exciting game. Wassawa was late to playing soccer, start-
The last time the MHS Tornadoes made it to the ing when he was ten years old. He then
MIAA state tournament was three years ago. They played through high school, and plays for
ended up losing in overtime, in a game versus Madison a club team after the high school season
Park High School that year. Winning the match against ends. Wassawa also plans on continuing
EHS let them enter into the first round of the state tour- his passion as he sets off for college.He
nament, playing the Acton-Boxborough High School is applying to numerous colleges, varying
Colonials on Sat. Nov. 6, 2010. “We went onto the field from Division 1 to Division 3 schools,
confident that we were going to win because we had and is also in the interview process for
to win 4 out of our last 4 games and we accomplished the Posse scholarship. As Wassawa looks
it, when we didn’t even think we were [going to] come back on his last soccer season Malden
this far,” sophomore Lucas Silva commented about High School, he appreciates the training
the game. and the camaraderie he experienced from
Unfortunately, the Tornadoes lost to the Colonials in a well-fought his team.
match, which ended with a score of 2-0.
However, the team did not lose in vain, many of the
players thought their last couple of games showed how far
they had come as a team. “If I could go back and relive a
moment in the season it would be beating Everett at the
stadium, because it demonstrated how much we improved
through the season, since we lost to them 5-1 in the first
game, and then we beat them 2-1 in the last game; not only
that but it put us in the state tournament,” senior captain
Michael Rincon stated. “Out of my four years playing soccer
at MHS, sincerely this was the best season of all and I’m sure
other seniors agree on that. I’m going to miss having to go to
Pinebanks every day after school for practice, or those bus
drives with the family, because we were a family,” Rincon
finished.

Go to our website www.

maldenblueandgold.com
to see a soccer slideshow

(Top to bottom-left to right) Sophomore

Lucas Silva sprinting down the field
with the ball. Senior Ryan Macedo run-
ning down the field during their game in
Acton-Boxborough. Senior Kelvin Tsang
looking to make a pass. Junior Josue
Figueroa. Photos by Catherine Poirier.