The Martingrove

BEACONMonday, October 31, 2011

An Easy A?

Here’s a secret: if you want a high mark in English, go to summer school. Yes, it’s true. When I was in grade 11, twelfth graders who went the previous summer told me in furtive whispers, “Go do English in summer school. You’re guaranteed a 90 plus.” And so I did.

English summer school took place at Western Technical School near Runnymede Station. Each morning, Cathy Gao and I would carpool to the station and take a ten minute subway ride, then walk for another ten minutes to the school. At fi rst, we were terrifi ed of being late. Our fear of green paper from MCI’s late policy seemed to carry over to summer school, despite their lax late policy.

Here was the formula: you can’t miss more than three days of school. Three lates counted as an absence. However, I quickly found out that I could come into the classroom ten minutes late and the

teacher wouldn’t even care. So there went worrying about being on time. And even if you were absent for more than three days, you miraculously still stayed in school.

Ashish Jain, who was in my class, was late countless times in the morning. “Our teacher didn’t do anything when I came in fi fteen minutes late. If she did, I would’ve been kicked out.”

He added,“The most challenging part of the course was staying alert in class. If you could manage that, the course would be a breeze.” Guru Mangat also took English 4U with me this last summer. “The easiest part was the coursework. [An essay can be written] in a way that pleases the teacher. You could use buzzwords, formatting and their own ideas as ways of easily writing a ‘quality’ essay. Always make sure to agree with the teacher’s opinion in order to maximize your marks.”

The answer to the eternal question: is summer school easy?

grade 9sFavourite Subject? DramaPets? Budgie named DaisyClubs/Sports? TACT, MOD, Prefects, Stage Crew, Girls’ FootballSpecial skills: Piano-RCM Level 7,singing and musical theatre - performed

Singing in the Rain with CATS (Children’s Arts Theatre School) Mainstage Theatre CompanyFavourite TV show/characters: Glee/Brittany and Blake!Favourite superpower: Flying!Which Harry Potter house do you belong to? Gryffi ndor, obviouslyFave colour - Why?Yellow – Because it’s happy and bright.Pepsi vs. Coke: Pepsi.Fave things about MCI?Lots of extracurriculars and clubs, and lots of cool peopleFavourite food? Cereal!OMG NO WAY! WHAT KIND? Cheerios.Are we soulmates? Maybe.

WELCOME

BERBER XUE

BEACON HAS TUMBLR NOW!

Featuring Kristen Dmytryshyn, the winner of the Grade 9 Interview raffl e at Club Carousel. JELENA BELENZADA

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Monday, October 31. 2011

Editor’s NotesSoggy Poutine & Motts Fruit Snacks:Healthy Food Does More Harm Than Good

OPINIONSTAFF ADVISORS

Mr. Kay,Mrs. Parsonson, Mr. Sommerfelt

MANAGEMENT EDITORSApril Qu, Sara Shahriari

EDITORS OF LAYOUTSanchari Banerjee, Berber Xue

EDITORS OF COPYHana Carrozza, Jelena Belenzada

HEAD OF SPORTSCatherine Gao

PHOTOGRAPHYChristine Chung, Jeanette Cooper,

Michelle Han, Mukul Kapadia, Tancred Yip

HEAD OF PRODUCTIONEmily Pollock

HEADS OF PUBLICITYLaina Timberg, Jenny Williams

EXECUTIVE SECRETARYSharleen Fisher

FEATURED COLUMNISTSarah Jama, Lily Liao,

Abdullah Manzoor

STAFF WRITERS Dardan Emini, Ankit Kamboj,

Harris Khan, Guru Mangat, Marko Markovic, Steven Tan

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If you attended Grade 9 Night on Friday, September 16, you would have been faced with the gruelling choice of bland cheese pizza or bland cheese pizza for dinner. Tough decision, right?

Even if you weren’t there, it’s likely that you have noticed the changes made to the cafeteria menu and the new products being sold at Bears’ Den. Instead of chocolate bars and hamburgers, you can now get delightful Nutri Grain Bars and “baked” (more like boiled) fries. Thankfully, the Caf cookies are still available.

The menu modifi cations are due to the Ontario Government’s new health food policy to crack down on unnecessary fats, sodium and sugars in schools. In theory, it’s a good idea. Prohibiting junk food is a starting point to combat the ever prevalent obesity pandemic. Yet is it really doing any good?

If students need their sugar and/or grease fi x and can’t get it at school, they’ll go elsewhere, taking their money with them. Metro is just a short walk away after all.

“I HATE THIS RULE!” complains Myneesha Haer, president of Bears’ Den. “All the candy we had last year is gone and we’re taking a hard hit. The new stuff [sells] but very slowly. ”

The reason behind her disdain is that Bears’ Den is suffering fi nancially. Sales have essentially been slashed in half. Not only that, but since there are a limited number of ‘Junk Days’, clubs cannot have a bake sale whenever they need to do some quick, last minute fund raising.

Despite this, the cafeteria still sells cookies and brownies. Unless those are some magical cookies loaded with anti-oxidants and vitamins, this new rule seems to be pretty lenient. I’m not complaining, but what’s the point of creating a new health food policy if it’s riddled with loop holes? It looks like the Ontario Government created this policy to save themselves from any future lawsuits fi led by morbidly obese forty year olds who claim they reached their inevitable state by consuming beloved Caf cookies in their high schools.

HANA CARROZZA

Lexi Peters, a fourteen year-old girl, wrote to EA Sports, unhappy with the fact that there were no females in their NHL video game. EA Sports released NHL 12, which features females in “create player”, along with Lexi Peters herself as a default character. Beacon writer Sharleen Fisher wrote her own complaint to EA Sports on the matter.

Dear EA Sports,Why did it take a letter of frustration

from a 14-year-old girl for you to include the female gender in your hockey video game? I would've thought this obvious move to expand your demographic would've occurred to you at some point before now. According to the Globe and Mail, the addition of the female gender in “create player” is supposedly worth an estimated value of $20-billion worldwide. So you know, no big deal or anything.

And I'm sure that allowing players to create female characters is much appreciated by some people, but was it really necessary to make Lexi Peters one of the default characters? Forgive my sass, but really, no one is going to play as Lexi Peters besides Lexi Peters.

Some even say that this new addition of the female gender in 'create player' is a huge step for female equality in hockey. Hurray! Now you can play as a girl in a video game that—wait, exactly how many girls play the game? The fact that there's now a female option in the game does not make it any more appealing to me than it was before. I would think that girls who do play hockey are more likely to actually play hockey, rather than play it in front of a television screen. But I can only assume.

And dear Globe and Mail,At the end of your article reporting on

this incident, you ask something along the lines of, “the big question now: how will Lexi Peters choose who to play as. Herself or as her favourite NHL star?” Why is this even a question, let alone a big question? If she was perfectly content playing as her favourite NHL star, this whole situation would never have happened.

Sincerely, Sharleen Fisher

Open Letter to EA Sports

My fellow Bears, if you are currently reading this sacred text that is my Presidential Address, it must be for one of the following reasons:

A) You’re a huge nerd and you read everything in the Beacon. B) You secretly wish you were the President and you’re getting pointers from exceptional world leaders, ie. Barack

and myself. C) You’re reading this in hopes that you can someday recite this backwards while patting your head and rubbing your

stomach because anything that comes from me is that awesome.D) You worship the very ground I walk on.Hi, I’m Lily, and like it or not, I am the President of the SAC this year. When I ran for SAC President last year, I had

envisioned a glorious senior year that went something like this:I would wake up to a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice, a toasted sesame seed and cream cheese bagel, sunny-

side-up eggs on a china plate, and the morning newspaper. All of which would be personally delivered to me by my secretary, Abdullah Manzoor, clad in his pink housemaid outfi t. I would don a designer chiffon dress picked out by my publicist Berber Xue. Then I would adjust my hair to complement the tiara I decided to put on as a last minute touch. My brand new shiny black limousine, which was purchased using the SAC budget by my treasurer Catherine Gao, would be waiting for me. I would take my time sinking into the leather seats as my chaperone/staff advisor Mr. Rakosy drives me to school. As I walk through the front door on a red carpet laid out just for me, I would have to shield my eyes from the all the cameras. I would generously sign autographs for all my fans, who have been lining up since six o’clock in the morning to catch a glimpse of me. All my tests and assignments would have to wait to make room for all the parties that have been planned by my social convenor, Jenny Dadswell.

Instead, I got stuck with:- Putting up with people calling me Mexican names (El Presidente isn’t my name!)- Getting back pains from all the heavy responsibilities I have to carry on my shoulders.- Smiling back at the kids in the hallways who always wave at me…as if I know them or something.- Flipping bacon at the Bacon Station, with grease up to my sleeves, and sweat the size of raindrops dripping down

my front while listening to “grateful” teachers complain about how it’s not crispy enough.- Staying up until one o’clock in the morning writing the Presidential Address.Despite all the hardships, I can sincerely say I love what I do; being the SAC President is the best thing that’s

happened to me since my fi rst (and only) 92% in history. I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world, bacon grease and all.

Presidential AddressLILY LIAO

happened to me since my fi rst (and only) 92% in history. I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world, bacon grease

Photo: Google Images

MCI NEWSMonday, October 31, 2011

New Bears in the WoodsMartingrove’s newest staff break the ice with their cheesiest jokes

MICHELLE HAN & ANNy TANG

Terry Fox Run

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Martingrove Bears run, walk, skip (class) for a fantastic cause

five words:

personal philosophy:

joke to share?

five words:

personal philosophy:

joke to share?

five words:

personal philosophy:

joke to share?

five words:

personal philosophy:

joke to share?

five words:

personal philosophy:

joke to share?

Outgoing, adventurous, helpful, artistically challenged

“It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”

“What do you call cheese that’s not yours? Nacho cheese!”

Open-minded, technology, performance, meticulous, caring.

“I like people who try and are enthusiastic, with a good ethic.”

“I can’t think of something not dirty!”

Enthusiastic, fashionable, flexible, fun, caring.

“See everyday as a new adventure.”

“I’m fun but I’m not funny.”

“You make one up for me!”

“If I can’t fix it, I can smash it.”

This is my first day.

What is the next question?

“Shaving is the key to success.”

“Why can’t cows stay out in the cold? Because they might catch

pneumoo-nia.”

joke to share?

five words:

personal philosophy:

Mr. Sitt (Auto)

Mr. Wong (English)

Mr. DiPrima (Science)

Mr. Cromwell (Math)

Mr. Hui (Special Ed)

Ms. Madolciu (Moderns)

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I like to read philosophy.

Every average person can acheive greatness in anything they want.

What do you get if you divide the cirucmference of a jack-o-lantern by its diameter? Pumpkin Pi!

Monday, October 31, 2011

The Case of the Severed FeetThey have been washing up on Vancouver’s shores and kicking up a storm of questions

FEATURES

GURU MANGATSevered feet have been washing up on the shores of British Columbia. Yes, you read that right. For the past four years, feet encased in running shoes have been showing up on the beaches of Vancouver, near False Creek. Eleven have been found over the past four years and nobody knows why.

Now, the fi rst thing that probably popped into your mind is that there is a serial killer on the loose, something out of Showtime’s Dexter. But don’t get ahead of yourself. There may be more to this which warrants more than a sole conclusion. Coroners working on the case have stated that the feet were separated from their bodies naturally. This means that they likely drifted away from their bodies after decomposition. However, this doesn’t mean that the people were not murdered, just that the feet were not removed artifi cially.

Also, why only feet? Why aren’t other body parts being found? Well, the answer is that, unlike other body parts, the feet are encased in buoyant running shoes. The shoes help to preserve the feet and to carry them along with the current. The other

body parts would most likely sink and decompose. This also accounts for the small area in which the feet are found. Since they fl oat, water currents would carry them to similar locations.

Out of the eleven found feet, four have been identifi ed and none of them are suspected to be the result of foul play. It is more likely that they are the result of suicides. There are many bridges in Vancouver that offer this avenue to residents. Moreover, the identifi ed people have all had histories of depression and mental illness and were all last seen near bodies of water.

Nonetheless, don’t be so quick to give the boot to the serial killer theory. There is an interesting tidbit about the last foot to be found. The area in which it was found is known as Leg in Boot Square because in the 1800s a boot with a leg in it had washed up on the shore. The police posted the boot on the door of their station with a sign reading, “If anyone recognizes this, come to us.”

Youth with a VisionWe Day comes to Toronto to inspire thousands of youths

On the 27th of September, I had the chance to volunteer as a crowd pumper for We Day. Apart from assisting with the setup and teardown of the day (not to mention yelling WOO! every fi ve minutes), I actually got a chance to watch the show.

For those of you who live under a rock, I will go out of my way, just this once, to dumb it down for you. We Day is a concert run by Free the Children and Me to We, with celebrity visits. You cannot buy a ticket to attend this event. To get invited, you either have to be a volunteer for this event or put hard work into raising money with your school for the communities around you, or for communities abroad. The students and educators that were invited to this year’s event had raised a combined total of two million dollars towards charity over the last year.

Hosting this year’s We Day were none other than Joe Jonas and Nina Dobrev (from The Vampire Diaries). Other speakers included Rick Hansen, Noah Sparks, Patch Adams, Mark and Craig Keilburger, Spencer West, Danny Glover, Mary Robinson, Waneek Horn-Miller, Michel Chickwaine, and the cast of Degrassi.

Joe Jonas kept messing up his takes and introductions, so the crowd was forced

to sit there as he redid his part about fi ve times (I was ready to throw tomatoes at him by then). Michel Chickwaine, a former child solider, took a vow of silence and did not speak during his presentation. Instead, he held up giant fl ashcards as he told the story about how he was forced to kill his best friend, and what the Vow of Silence means to him today.

The singers for the event were Shawn Desman, Nelly Furtado, Classifi ed, Kardinal Offi cial, Joe Jonas, The Kenyan Boys Choir, Nikki Yanofski, Neverest, and City and Colour. My favourite performance was by Nelly Furtado ft. The Kenyan Boys Choir. Furtado spoke about a girl named Susan who she met on a trip to Africa and about how much the little girl had meant to her. Little did she know, Free the Children brought Susan all the way from Kenya to speak at We Day.

All in all, We Day was an inspiring event that brought together youth from all around the province to join the movement. Yes, people were cheering for the singers and performers, but they were cheering louder for speakers like Michel and Spencer, those who believed that the youth of today can change the world.

SARAH JAMA

“The students and educators...had raised a combined total of two million dollars towards charity over the last year”

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had washed up on the shore. The police posted the boot on the door of their station

and performers, but they were cheering louder for speakers like Michel and Spencer,

If you’re like me, your heart will be pounding and whether or not you know it yet, your mind will be made up. Mind you, I did not go into this process thinking I would win. I estimated my chance was about one in haha-never, and I had a Raven-style vision: me as an old fart, visiting Europe for the fi rst time.

But no matter how I tried, I couldn’t convince myself to turn away. If it’s something you really, really want, a one-in-a-million, billion, or trillion shot is always better than no shot at all. To say that I’m satisfi ed with my decision would be an enormous understatement.

Check out the guidance offi ce, or vimyfoundation.ca/vimyprize for more information on how you can enter. Hopefully, you’ve realized by now that there really is only one option.

Monday, October 31, 2011

FEATURESMarch 31st, 2011, 5:32 pm. Jelena of the Jungle is tearing through her Rexdale home, singing, screaming, and bustin’ many awful moves when in fact she should have been doing her very important English ISU. There’s a very simple explanation for this madness: she’s just found out that she won. Looks like somebody won’t be sleeping right for a very long time.

This August, I embarked on a two-week voyage through England, Belgium, and France as one of sixteen winners of the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize, a program of the Vimy Foundation.

The Vimy Foundation was established with the goal of preserving and promoting the signifi cance of the First World War to Canada’s coming of age, as symbolized by the remarkable victory at Vimy Ridge. Believing in the importance of being connected to the past, one of the foundation’s major goals is to share the story of Vimy Ridge with Canada’s youth, so that we can build a stronger future.

The Beaverbrook Vimy Prize does just that. Twelve Canadians, two Brits, and two Frenchies are brought together to learn about the intertwined histories of their nations on a two-week voyage throughout England, Belgium, and France. The historical perspective is second to none; the information is so much more human, the numbers so much more real. It struck us at a level that a history book never could.

Three months later, I still dream about it. It’s the kind of experience that you don’t measure by days or weeks, but rather by moments. Whether they were

sad, happy, profound, fun, or simply complete, there were hundreds of them, and each pair of eyes saw them differently. So if you ask me how it was, I’ll try to help you out. I could try to tell you about the fi nal night, when I felt so alive that I wanted to high-fi ve the universe and leap to the top of fi fteen Eiffel Towers. Or about the many times we sang and danced and laughed till we couldn’t breathe, or the times we couldn’t say a word. Or hey, how about that time I got mobbed by Parisian gypsies? But even the richest descriptions, hand gestures, and facial expressions will leave you with only a rough sketch, devoid of the most brilliant colours, thoughts, and moments. As a human, as a Canadian, and as a carefree teenager, I couldn’t

In my case, the only legitimate essay I wrote in the course was a comparison essay between three works of media. I wrote it quickly the night before and didn’t deviate from the standard essay model. I got 100%. Needless to say, it was the easiest 100% I’ve earned since grade school. I think that if I ever dared submit such an essay to any English teacher at MCI, they would’ve put it through the shredder.

The teachers marked haphazardly, but this could be avoided with a fi rm grasp of grammar and a healthy vocabulary. All in all, the benefi ts outweighed the risks. I ended up with a fi nal grade of 91%, something I was never able to accomplish in three years of working my butt off in English class. Needless to say, my classmates were also satisfi ed with their grades.

All you junior students, take heed, the secret to an easy A in English is out.

SUMMER SCHOOLCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The Ontario provincial election took place on October 6, 2011. The leading contenders for the position of premier were Dalton McGuinty of the Liberals, Tim Hudak of the Progressive Conservatives and Andrea Horwath of the New Democrats. Polls indicated that 56% of Ontarians favoured a new provincial government; therefore, the race to the premier’s offi ce was undoubtedly going to be intense. Liberals and Progressive Conservatives were virtually deadlocked in pre-election polls. The Election Debate, held on September 27th, was a golden opportunity for party leaders to promote their platform to voters.

During the debate, Mr. McGuinty attacked Tim Hudak for his stance opposing foreign investments and students coming to Ontario. “He says he doesn’t like Samsung, in part because it’s a foreign multinational… during the course of the campaign, he called Canadian citizens ‘foreigners.’ I’ve got to tell you I’m not comfortable [with that].” Regarding post-secondary education, McGuinty promised to reduce tuition fees by 30% for undergraduate students.

Mr. Hudak retaliated by criticizing the premier’s green energy plan. “And here’s the problem, you [McGuinty] think that higher energy bills are going to create jobs. Higher energy bills have actually killed jobs in Ontario.”

In addition, he stated that he would cancel McGuinty’s foreign student loan program and transfer its budget to OSAP for Ontario students instead. He also criticized McGuinty’s record of broken promises. “With all due respect, nobody believes you [McGuinty] anymore.”

Amidst the heated debate, NDP leader Andrea Horwath tried to position herself as a better alternative to her opponents. In her closing statement, she called out to Ontarians. “You can choose one of the same old suits or you can choose change that puts people fi rst.” With regards to post-secondary education, she promised to freeze the tuition fees at universities and colleges across Ontario.

On October 6th, Ontarians voted for a Liberal minority government at Queen’s Park. The Liberals had won 53 seats, while the Progressive Conservatives and the NDPs won 37 and 17 seats respectively. This is Dalton McGuinty’s third consecutive run as Ontario’s premier, but with a minority government, he’ll have to handle things differently. A majority of voters may have claimed to want a change in government, but with this result, it looks more like they wanted to try a test drive, before deciding to hold on to their old, yet reliable minivan.

The Beaverbrook Vimy PrizeThree Countries. Two Weeks. One Trip of a LifetimeJELENA BELENZADA

Blue-Red-OrangeSTEVEN TAN

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These are the colours of Ontario democracy

Photo: Jelena Belenzada

Hopefully, you’ve realized by now that

have asked for more. When things went “back to normal,”

they were never really the same. I am separated from the experience by hundreds of miles, and continue to be separated from it by countless days and months. But the memories boarded the plane with me, and will always endure the passage of time, continuing to colour my world in a slightly different hue. I guess I realized how much I, as a Canadian, had been missing, and I wonder how different things would be if every kid in Canada could have the same experience.

I may never see any of my new friends again. Distance can do that. But after so many inside jokes and shared experiences, what miles can’t do is break the connection we formed. You could even say we have our own language, one that I’ll still be speaking 50 years from now. If ever I see any of them again, I’ll greet them with a wicked high fi ve, a giant grin, and a genuine “How ya doin?!” I picture that and smile. One day, my friends!

During the practice of the Senior Girls’ Basketball team, Number 24 shows up late, her lanky frame sneaking past the doors. To save herself from running laps, she is expected to make the last three pointer of the drill. She doesn’t hit it, but comes surprisingly close. In the end, it’s Number 15 who sinks the shot, and the team cheers at the sound of the swish. The ball bounces on the hardwood, next to the row of tiny Jordans decorating the backs of their shoes.

The day before, as shoes squeak in the Martingrove gym, minutes before tip-off, warm up is stilted, the players are out of sync. Their shots don’t go in, they don’t make their layups, and they fumble the passes. It shows later in the game when they watch helplessly as they trail behind the Rams of ECI, the gap in the score getting wider and wider. The coach yells something about turnovers. Their opponents are on their fifteenth game of the season, a generous advantage over the homers, who are on their second.

In the third quarter, at the three point line, Number 14 squints, props her arms up and banks a three without as much as a toe off the ground. She shrugs modestly and makes her way back down the court.

As the team switches onto defence, I watch as Number 24 bats away her fifth block of the game.

Beside me on the bench, Number 23 cheers. “I love that block,” she says to me. “It’s so sexy.” An offensive firecracker, she is sitting out injured, having twisted her ankle two minutes into the game. She rejects my maternal care and settles for sitting by the coach, yelling at the players.

Despite the positivity coming from the bench, their shooting is off, their point production is low, and sweat is pouring off the starters. When she comes off, Number 1 flips her ponytail from her shoulders, breathing hard. “I’m tired,” she says, her eyes squinting in concentration.

On the court, there are two minutes left and the coach has taken off the players who have been working the entire game. Number 33 is dribbling the ball, her steps steady and confident. She is injured, with two massive braces on her legs that make her less human than her playful demeanour. Nonetheless her enthusiasm is contagious and identical grins appear on the faces of the entire team. They cheer her on, despite the score.

Today, coming out of the nasty loss, they work on offensive plays. Their expressions are solemn and intense. They are out for a killing.

The next day the team will face Runnymede. They will dominate the entirety of the game, starting with a clean slate. They will run their offense and finally take control again. It is a system of consistency, a repetitious cycle that goes something like this:

Number 1 inbounds the ball and sprints down the court, managing to somehow look elegant and graceful in basketball shorts and a jersey.

Number 4 pushes the ball down half court.Number 15 cuts and screens Number 4’s check.Number 4 drives into the crowd of players waiting for her.Peanut Gallery on the bench: Pass the ball!Number 4 does not pass the ball. Instead, she goes in for a layup. It’s almost impossible,

fancy and smooth, and it floats in as she springs into the lane. The crowd at Runnymede erupts in ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ and the bench goes wild. As the ball changes possession, the team switches to defense. On the wing, Number 4 commits a cheap foul.

Back on the bench, the team cheers as Number 22 dives for a rebound, a move only possible through sheer strength and determination. She is a vision of aggression under the basket, a gritty rebounder and a passionate defender. She passes it out. Fast break. The team sprints down the court, little blurs of orange and black streaking past their opponents like Halloween streamers.

Number 21 takes a pass and jumps up to lay it in. She does a little congratulatory dance as she moves back, slapping fives along the way.

At the baseline, Number 1 passes the ball and Number 12 draws a foul. Before her free throws, she is calm and collected, her form both precise and strong. She misses the first one. After a few encouraging words, she sinks the second one seamlessly.

During huddles, the coach says things like “thirty-two” and “full court press” and the players nod, pretending to understand. Behind him, Number 23 spins the ball on her fingertips. Sweaty hugs are exchanged.

Coming out with a strong win, the team heads back to school to play their first tournament game. Number 14 shoots threes during warm up, making them with ease. She is cheered on by Number 11, a developing player and enthusiastic teammate who is just as eager to learn as she is to play. When it starts, Number 22 and Number 15 grab rebounds, gambolling beneath the net, their leaps like antelopes.

Monday, October 31, 2011

A Thing of BeautySPORTS

CATHERINE GAO

Jovana Momic drives into the lane and Sarah Reid on the wing

Dechen Wangmo shoots and scores

Jovana Momic drives into the lane with Sarah Reid on the wing

Hanging by the rim with the Martingrove Bears Senior Girls’ Basketball team

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On an unseasonably warm afternoon in late September, Marko Markovic, sports reporter for the Beacon, sat down with Mr. Rakosy, the head coach of the Senior Girls’ basketball team, and two veteran players, Jovana Momic and Teri Bellinger, to discuss the team and its prospects for the year.

Beacon: What were your expectations for the team before the season began?

Mr. Rakosy: I think our expectations were that we would be a competitive team in Toronto and would likely make it to the OFSAA qualifi ers for 3A.

Beacon: Have those expectations changed after what you have seen from the team thus far?

Mr. Rakosy: Well, we are defi nitely competitive. I think we are one of the top teams in the city, if we play up to our potential.

Beacon: What is the biggest strength of the team this year?

Mr. Rakosy: The strength of this year’s team is depth. We don’t have a big drop off in the quality of our players [from starters to reserves]. There is quality [in players] 1 through 12. Maybe not so much with 13.

Beacon: How did it feel to beat Richview?

Mr. Rakosy: I didn’t know what to expect because it was our fi rst game. They always have a good program, they are well coached and it was a good feeling [to win].

Beacon: Your season is quite short. Do you think the team is starting to gel?

Teri: I think that early in the season, we [are still learning how to] play together because we haven’t really played together before. So I think it will take a couple more games to gel as a team.

Beacon: How many years have you played basketball? Why basketball and not a different sport?

Jovana: This is my seventh year playing. Originally, I started playing soccer. [It’s great because] you meet new people and stay in shape. Also, when I started playing, I was kind of tall, though that isn’t the case anymore.

Teri: I’ve been playing for so long; [basketball] has been there my entire life.

Beacon: How does it feel when you hear people disrespecting girls’ basketball? Why do you think it happens?

Jovana: I think it is a shame that people have misconceptions about women’s basketball. Often, they don’t even watch it because it is underexposed. They miss out on a lot of good plays and a lot of good players.

After walking away with the championship at their home tournament and several league victories that followed, the team seems poised to fulfi ll the high expectations set by the coach at the beginning of the year. Congratulations on a great season!

Bears’ FootballSPORTS

The next week the team plays their toughest game of the season. Number 23 spends much of the time screaming and trying to get onto the court. There are close calls with fouls and lots of colour commentary coming from the bench. As the game draws to a close, the team is up by one with Number 4 at the free throw line and twenty seconds left in the game.

The crowd boos and yells, but Number 4 stares grimly ahead, her gaze unwavering on the net. She bounces it twice and takes the shot. It goes in perfectly. Smugly, she glances up at the crowd, her eyes glittering with pride. She takes the second shot. Mouths on the bench fall open as it hits the rim and bounces off.

In the span of 2.6 seconds, as heartbeats race to incredible levels, Number 12 grabs the rebound and lays it in. The bench explodes in cheers

and the noise in the gym is deafening. Twelve seconds left. The coaches call a time out.

The bench is quivering with excitement when the fi ve return to the sidelines, their gait confi dent with a newfound swagger.

As the clock starts to run down, Number 12 inbounds the ball to Number 4. She darts between her defenders and leads them around in circles, dribbling out the last seconds. Ten seconds. Five seconds.

When the buzzer sounds, the team is already on their feet, jumping into each other’s arms and hugging in the hot, humid gym. They celebrate like it’s a championship win, dancing and laughing, their eyes bright and their voices hoarse. Number 11 jumps up to embrace the players returning to the bench.

“See?” The coach roars, “Didn’t I say we were going to win?”

As the team slowly disperses after a few congratulatory words, he stops by Number 4. “Great job,” he says quietly. “Now you can go home and study for your test tomorrow.”

The team leaves with their shoes slung over their backs, their pride visible on their faces. As they exit the gym, the squeaking of their soles on the fl oor, they have already forgotten the score. What they do remember is the thrill of the win, the feel of the team and the pain in their biceps. After all, nothing is just a number.pain in their biceps. After all, nothing is

Monday, October 31, 2011 7

A THING OF BEAUTY, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

With a lot of raw talent arriving this year, Martingrove’s football team had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the season. Unfortunately, the start of the season has brought disappointment and lacklustre results. The Bears were forced to forfeit their season opener due to the determination that 30 of their helmets were unsafe to use. Although an unfortunate setback, MCI subsequently purchased 40 top of the line Revo Speed helmets, ensuring safety and a sleek style for years to come.

The team had their second game on September 30th, where the Bears faced Michael Power at home. The result was unsatisfactory to say the least, a 44-0 drubbing at the hands of the Spartans.

Speaking with one of the team captains, Tommy Sitaridis, after the game, he believed that, “the score line does not match the quality both teams have.” He was realistic though, as he stated the game was “… a learning experience for the new guys and a reality check for the team as a whole...we now

know what to really improve on.” The other team captains this year

include cornerback Sekou Kaba, wide receiver Luca Tirelli, and linebackers Nick Bonk and Kieran Mcquattie. Just by taking a look at these names and some other veteran players like Greg Chin and Petros Giannopoulos, there is no doubt that the Bears football team has a lot of talent. Regrettably, talent alone is not enough to win games. It takes a certain degree of cohesive chemistry for a team to be successful, something that takes time to develop.

A later game against Don Bosco proved too much for the inexperienced Bears. MCI’s gridiron squad started the game impressively, but they could not capitalize on their chances. Despite losing 30-0, the Bears improved considerably on offense and defence against their strongest opponent yet.

The best of the Bears’ football team is yet to be seen. With a strong coaching staff, consisting of Mr. Mulford and Mr. Saylor, the future looks promising.

DARDAN EMINI

Sports Interview: MARKO MARKOVIC

In the red zone

Phot

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Photo: Tancred Yip

Senior Girls’ Basketball

Then we reached middle school, and thus did our costumes reach the next level of costume evolution; fake weapons. Plastic swords, plastic pitchforks and plastic shotguns littered the playground, and in the twenty seconds between the time you arrived at school and the time your lightsaber got confi scated, you weren’t just a kid in a Darth Vader Helmet, you were a kid with a weapon at school. Alternatively, once again, you were like me and left buying a costume to the last moment, you were Dollarama Maskwalker, blind Master Jedi, trying to use your lightsaber to stop walking into walls.

Thankfully, with age comes wisdom, and in high school, a new age of costume sophistication has been ushered in: the Sexy Cat. The competition is now to see who has the tightest black tights, the best drawn sharpie whiskers, and the most artfully kinked wire frame tail. The Sexy Cat is the thinking man’s costume, as it carries

many deep questions with it. Is society exploiting our cats? Do we only keep our cats for their sex appeal? For those who cannot handle the metaphorical baggage and heavy expectations that come with being a Sexy Cat, there are somewhat suitable alternatives, such as The Sexy Witch, Sexy Nurse, or for men who are scared of disappointing their parents, Sexy Batman. None of these can truly match up to the Sexy Cat, which is why 90% of girls and all the coolest guys select the Sexy Cat as their Halloween costume of choice.

So now, as you’re walking down the hall this Halloween surrounded herds of Sexy Cats, fl anked by Batman and that upstanding young gentleman who dressed like a Japanese schoolgirl, be proud. You are witnessing the perfection of an art form. Unless you are me, and have already passed out from the Dollarama mask fumes on the bus to school.

Google Nexus 3After the Google Nexus failed to cause a revolution in the already-crowded smartphone market, Google decided to go back to the drawing board with the Nexus 3. The Nexus 3 will address most of the problems people had with the original Nexus One and add many new features in attempt to win over buyers. It will be integrated with most

of the software services provided by Google and will have speech recognition capabilities. It will also launch with the new Android 4.0 OS.

Amazon Kindle FireAmazon made waves when they announced the Kindle Fire, their fi rst foray into the Tablet PC market. With an astonishingly low price tag of $199, the Fire is being touted as an “iPad killer”. It has a 7-inch display, 8 GB of internal storage and 512 MB of RAM, but lacks an embedded camera or microphone. Without the tools to properly compete

with the iPad, look for the Fire to thrive in its own market as a cost-effi cient alternative to Apple’s $500+ machine. The Kindle Fire hits American store shelves on November 15, but there is no Canadian release date yet.

PlayStation VitaSony’s PSP was highly outsold by its competitor, the Nintendo DS. Sony will attempt to rectify that loss come early 2012 with its new portable gaming console, the PlayStation Vita. Like the PSP, the Vita will support games, music, videos and internet browsing. Some new

features include a touchscreen and 3G capabilities. The Vita is expected to have a $299 price tag.

iPhone 4SIt was a surprise to many when Apple announced that their new product was not in fact the highly anticipated iPhone 5, but instead an improved version of the iPhone 4. While the iPhone 4S boasts some new features such as dual core A5 chip processor, an improved battery life and an 8 megapixel camera, it is basically the same as the iPhone 4. The 4S is $649.99 and in stores now.

THE LAST PAGE

Even though Halloween may not share the same prestige as its big boy cousins such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, its importance is not lost on society. Presumably invented when ancient pagans decided to all dress like Batman, Halloween brings to mind a night full of ghosts, demons and free candy. But the true purpose of Halloween, as we all know, is to disguise a ruthless competition to see who has the best costume, winning the respect and adoration of one’s peers.

We all remember those fi rst few years of elementary school Halloween. Kids dressed as all the standard fare: bedsheet ghosts, vampires, that kid who came in regular clothes and continuously made the “I came as myself ” joke, and the idiot who decided that wearing a wacky hat was a legitimate costume. Or, if you were like me, you ran out, bought a

mask at the last minute, and went trick or treating as The Vengeful Ghost of Dollarama, walking around in a rubber mask emitting fumes so powerful it made your eyes water, limiting your visibility so you fell into every ditch and walked into chain link fences. The race had only just begun.

Sexy Cats.

Tech ReviewANKIT KAMBOJ & HARRIS KHAN

ABDULLAH MANZOOR

Monday, October 31, 20118

it is basically the same as the iPhone 4.

Photo: Tumblr