december 2015

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2 Commentary The Art of Ballot Being involved in current events is the best way to maintain a sucessful democracy By Liam Meisner When the 2016 Presidential elections roll around in less than a year, many current seniors and juniors will have the chance to vote for the first time. And if you haven’t been at least glancing at a few stories regarding the Democratic and Republican Presidential primaries, which are the selection processes to determine the party candidates in 2016, sometime within the next few months might be a good time to start. It’s important for citizens to be engaged with current events, but studies show that interest is declining among young people. According to a 2012 study by the Pew Research Center, engagement in politics among Americans ages 18 to 29 is lower than it is for all other age groups, and those numbers are dropping. In 2008, 35 percent of respondents in that category said they “followed campaign news very closely,” but that number dropped to 18 percent in 2012. Youth should be informed about issues that are going to affect them, said Allison Clarke, Teen Coordinator at the East Area Family YMCA. She directs the Youth and Government program, which aims to engage young people about politics and to teach them how to express their views. “Youth need to care about politics because they are living in the effects of the political decisions already,” Clarke said in an email. “For people who [believe] it doesn’t impact them until they are an adult, or able to vote, I challenge them to think about all the ways our [country’s] laws are already affecting them.” Does this mean you need to diligently follow all the news and polls and keep up with everything that’s going on in the world? Of course not: that’s practically a full-time job. But pay some attention. Read CNN a bit. Listen to NPR in the car on the way to school. Watch a debate. If that’s not up your alley, there are plenty of other mediums to consume news. Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are commonly used by those interested in the perspectives of public figures, and Twitter especially offers a wide range of information. Richard Adams at The Guardian provides a list of journalists, pollsters and pundits ranging from Nate Silver to Jake Tapper, all of whom offer informative commentary on the news. Perhaps the most entertaining content comes from the likes of “The Daily Show.” Previously hosted by Jon Stewart, now by Trevor Noah, this show combines politics with satire and lampoons the media and the events the media covers, all while remaining informational. MPH History Department Chair Matt Spear has some of his own advice on how to stay connected and understand the news. He describes how understanding the context of different events and trends is important and that young people should reach out to those around them to learn these things. “Young people are going to inherit a ‘smaller’ more interconnected world in which they are going to need a deeper understanding of the global community,” Spear said in an email. “This understanding is essential for fostering development, empathy and diplomacy.” Whatever it may be, do something to inform yourself about the candidates and the issues so that when you go to the voting booth on November 8th, 2016— or whenever your first chance will be— you’re prepared to make an informed decision. The Big Picture Holiday Treats Lexie Wiggins shares her tips on how to craft tasty Christmas goodies Editor Debora Hyemin Han Managing Editor Sophia Jeongyoon Han Art Director Spencer Krywy Advice Columnists Daniel Albanese Christopher Hunter Staff Writers Daniel Albanese Fiona Cardamone Sophia Han Christopher Hunter Spencer Krywy Liam Meisner Suzannah Peckham Advisor Jeanne Albanese The Rolling Stone Manlius Pebble Hill School 5300 Jamesville Road, DeWitt, New York, 13214 By Fiona Cardamone Photo by Debora Han For many, the holiday season is considered “The most wonderful time of the year.” With Christmas movies, songs and treats, it’s hard not to love this time of year. Lexie Wiggins, a senior and a huge Christmas fan, has created a baking You- Tube channel for her Senior Thesis Project, a yearlong project in which each senior pursues a topic that they wish to learn more about. “I first got interested in baking because my mom would alway[s] bake a lot when I was a kid and I thought it was a really grown-up thing to do,” Lexie said. “Now I like to do it as a stress reliever.” To get into the Christmas and holiday spirit, she recommends some fun holiday treats that are simple to make. The first treat Lexie recommends is a brownie with a fun holiday twist. This dessert requires brownie mix, whipped cream or frosting, and strawberries. First, she said, make a normal brownie batch. Then cut off the tops of the strawberries and use either whipped cream or icing and frost around the base of the strawberry. Then put the strawberry and whipped cream/frosting on the brownie. At the end put a dot of either whipped cream or frosting on top and voila, you’ve made a tasty Santa hat brownie. Another fun holiday dessert requires a straw or small stick of some type, Oreos, icing and sprinkles or other small items to decorate a face. First, gently insert the stick into the bottom of the Oreo, just into the cream in the middle. “Then you stick the Oreo in some icing (preferably white) and freeze them,” Lexie said. “After they are frozen you can take them out and stick on some sprinkles to make the face of a snowman.” These fun holiday treats would be great to make on a cold, snowy day in December. Lexie hopes to post videos to her YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/1MQBXIQ), once every two weeks. Each video will present a recipe that she enjoys making.
Students 3 got dates? By Dan Albanese Getting dates can be very intimidating, but once you know to do it, it’s easy. First, get date seeds. Growing dates in drier climates is prefered, but anywhere will work. Make sure you water your date seeds at least three times a day at first, and put it in a place where it can get plenty of sunlight. Soon you will have your own date tree, which will start growing dates. Date trees are very slow-growing trees, so do not be discouraged if it takes a while. Dates are not pollinated by birds or insects, but instead by the wind. Early each year, the male plants produce sheaths of pollen. You need to spread these sheaths of pollen over the female plants. Once you have your dates, throw them at everyone. Establish yourself as the alpha male. Others will cower to your strength and superiority and flee the area for their own safety because they’re probably a bunch of dumb nerds. That’s when you take advantage of the situation by swooping in and approaching your target date (the human kind), and he or she will be impressed because you just pelted their friends with fruit. This will totally 100 percent work. Trust me. I’m a scientist. I know these kinds of things. I do this all the time, and it works at least, like, 100,000 percent of the time. But don’t actually do any of that, though. That’s not really going to impress anyone anyway. Just try to be nice and make polite conversation. Try to find some common interests. Maybe talk about that date tree you grew. Not many of my friends know how to grow date trees. That’s pretty cool. But try not to talk about that too much. That’s mad boring. Just talk about sports or music or something. Or better yet, see what they like. Talking to someone that you are interested in is so much easier than you think it is. It really is as simple as just starting a conversation. P.S. Don’t complain to me when this doesn’t work. Q: Graphic by Chris Hunter “How do I get a date?” By Chris Hunter Well anonymous, you’ve just asked one of the oldest questions in the book. It dates back to olden times when cavemen were first around, and getting a date simply involved making a fire, at which the ladies would swoon (not to be gender specific). Then came the Agricultural Revolution; they didn’t call it the Fertile Crescent for no reason (wink). People were so perplexed with this question that right after the rule in Hammurabi’s code that stated, “If a man has accused another of laying a nertu (death spell) upon him, but has not proved it, he shall be put to death,” Hammurabi addressed the issue of getting dates. He stated, “One must not use vague signals to acquire a date.” (Slightly paraphrased and slightly made up.) What many people don’t know is that Christopher Columbus actually sailed across the Atlantic Ocean NOT simply to discover a better trade route to India, but to more importantly impress a girl. (Source provided by the Internet.) Now for some actual advice. When attempting to find a date, people tend to look for someone unique. So, go out of your way to make an impression on someone and he or she will notice you. This shows confidence, and confidence is what grabs people’s attention. If you’ve ever observed peacocks in the wild, you will know that the males flash their feathers to attract the females. Be the peacock! In other words, be confident, and if it doesn’t work out, don’t worry about it. Sometimes things weren’t meant to be, and that’s okay. Selfies You Mean, the PRNDL? The roads may never be safe again By Suzannah Peckham The road ahead is open and quiet. One or two cars pass going the opposite direction, their lights bright one second and gone the next. The hills of Lafayette roll alongside our car as we drive on the back roads of the town. Cows and farms dot the horizon, and the sun sets halfway beyond the rolling hills. The trees that separate the sky from the road are red and gold. I feel invincible and free as I sit behind the wheel and drive. Yet, my hands are locked in an iron grip on the wheel. I forgot to put in my contacts, which means I can’t see all that well; and in a rush to leave my house on time, I also forgot my permit. That’s the thing about driving: you can feel totally free and independent, but also burdened by a great responsibility. Driving is freedom. When I sit in the driver’s seat of that car, I feel as though I can control anything. In a sense, I can. I control how fast I go, where I go and even when I go. But just one mistake can have dire consequences. If I pick up the phone or look the wrong way, I’m done. The car has the ability to take away a life, to end the one thing that is irreplaceable. So, while a huge weight is lifted off your shoulders with your new-found freedom, a new one is dropped directly onto your head the moment you learn to drive. I might feel this more than others because any time I get behind the wheel, part of me drifts back to that one time I was in a car accident when I was 8. Still, like any other teenager, I couldn’t wait to drive. This past summer on August 13, I turned 16, which meant that I woke up bright and early and forced my dad to drive as quickly as he could to the DMV. The experience was something I had seen a thousand times in movies as a kid. The wait was not long at all. I took my written test in seven minutes and passed with a perfect score. After finishing the test, an attendant behind the counter printed out my temporary permit. But contrary to what teenagers usually see in movies, driving isn’t just get the car, drive the car. Driving is repeated efforts to train your mind to see everything, absolutely everything, around your car, even in blind spots, and to see the what-ifs; which are found just about everywhere. The first time I went driving, I drove with my dad and we went to the DeWitt Cemetery; he said it was because I couldn’t kill anyone there. The second time I went driving I went with my Driver’s Ed class. That time, I nearly hit a priest, who blessed himself when I slammed on the brake. Since I have gotten my permit, I have had a few close calls with other cars, whether it’s turning too fast into a busy intersection, or failing to notice another car coming quickly in my direction. When I take a turn too quickly or I come too close to another car, I remember my accident vividly. Several years ago, I was in the car with my family and we were hit by a truck that skidded into our lane on an icy highway. I can still hear the sound of the collision— it’s something you can’t ever forget. It becomes burned into your brain, the sound of metal on metal. I am always terrified that it will happen to me again when I am driving, yet that doesn’t dampen my excitement about finally reaching this rite of passage. From that very first time behind the steering wheel, I have come a long way. I can drive my parents home from different places. I can successfully complete a turn without panicking and being overcome with fear of failure. The fear of an accident will always live in the back of my mind, but I will also always cherish the freedom that the car gives me, because that’s what driving is— freedom. Photo by Suzannah Peckham
Page 1: Volume 46, Issue 1 December 2015 Ma
Page 5 and 6: Culture 5 MUN-ey Team MPHMUN expand
Page 7 and 8: Features 7 A New Start With a new H

december 2015

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