Vol. 4 Issue 1 October 2012

The Viking CallPowderpuff page 2 l Summer Shootings page 3 l Fall Video Game Releases page 3

Trenton Mayor Arrest page 3 l Gym Locker Bandit page 2 l Featured Students Sam Garzillo and Tyler Chubb

A&E News Student LifeGlee: Breakups and New BeginningsBy Christa Rodriguez

Life after high school offers numerous stresses, one of which being the fear of losing the precious relationships gained over years of high school. This dilemma is heavily explored in the newest season of Glee, the musical dramedy on Fox that focuses on a high school glee club in Lima, Ohio. The fourth season, which premiered on September 13, 2012, includes big changes in the settings and the focus of the char-acters. The last season ended with the graduation of multiple key char-acters, especially Rachel and Finn, portrayed by Lea Michele and Cory Monteith. Unlike previous seasons, when the only setting was Ohio, the story goes back and forth from the high school to the characters Rachel and Kurt in New York City. Other characters that focused on less in the first few episodes are sprinkled throughout the United States and are either in college or living out some other post-graduation plans. The many Glee fans at Upper Merion, or “Gleeks”, as they are often called, have differing views on the new season’s setup. Sophomore Jess McGinty states, “I love seeing how the students are dealing with post high school life,” while Robyn Moyer, a junior at Upper Merion, thinks that, “too much focus is put on the graduates.” Whatever your opinion may be, the setup of the new season has significantly changed because of the constant setting changes. Of course this isn’t far from other seasons where Glee changed focus from episode to episode be-tween the various characters, and received both praise and criticism for this approach. Going back to relationships being affected, the graduated stu-dents in the show start to feel the separation from their significant oth-ers and it affects their relationships quite obviously in the fourth epi-

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Election Mania

By Alina Lewandowski The race has begun, as our current president Barack Obama goes up against Governor Mitt Romney in a bid for reelection that will decide the fate of our country for the next four years. President Obama and his Vice President, Joe Biden, are up for some serious com-petition as they try to right the wrongs and highlight the strengths of their terms. Governor Romney and his run-ning mate, Congressman Paul Ryan, are working to con-vince the country that Obama has steered the country in the wrong direction, but Obama is currently leading a close race in polls by about 30 electoral votes. It could go either way at this point. A key issue this election is the economy. Obama wants to continue his Affordable Care Act, or Obamac-

Upper Merion Overcomes Losing Streak, Routs SpringfieldBy Joe Mintzer

25 games. Two and a half seasons without a win. On homecoming night, 2012, the Upper Me-rion Vikings football team snapped that streak, earning a much-needed win for a group of players who have given it their all for the past few seasons. Hard work and determination, season in and season out, finally paid off for the Vikings, as they dismantled a talented Springfield Township football team. Unquestionably, the Vikings were led by their senior playmaker and running back, Hassan Gardner. Just three minutes into the game, Hassan barreled into the end zone for the game-opening touchdown. Once the Vikings gained the lead, they never looked back. Gardner continued his assault on the Springfield de-fense, compiling 183 yards and three touchdowns. The offense looked good. Up front, the lineman had their way with the Springfield defensive line, creat-ing running room for just about anyone who touched the ball. Carmen Fortino was cool and confident under center, throwing two touchdowns on the day. The first, a 57-yarder by Mike Grant, came before halftime. After a goal line stand by the defense, perpetuated by a huge hit by Jequan Mitchell at the one yard line to prevent a score, the Vikings walked into the locker room with a 14-6 lead. While Upper Merion was confident, it was still only a one score lead, and if they wanted to earn their first win since 2009, they would really have to fight. They came out ready to go in the second half. And that’s when they really stepped on the gas. Hassan scored again in the third quarter, giv-ing the Vikes a 21-6 lead. However, the Springfield of-fense responded with a touchdown of their own, a 79 yard score by Brendan Doyle. That was the last time the

Spartans would find pay dirt, as Upper Merion manhandled them from then on. The Viking offense silenced Springfield with a 75 yard touchdown pass from Fortino to junior wide receiver Evon Dixon. Now with a 28-12 lead, the win was in sight. And the players were hungry. A somewhat unconventional onside kick by Kevin O’Sullivan gave the ball right back to the offense. Senior Jon Skidds made the most of the opportunity, breaking off a run of 21 yards, and another of seven and a score to increase the lead to 23. The threat of a Springfield comeback was gone, but the players didn’t loosen their grip. The defense was dominant. They brilliantly shut down just about every Springfield playmaker. A team that had racked up an average of 27 points per game in their first five games managed just 12 against the sound defense. It was clear that the Vikings came out ready to rip off each and every player’s head, and it showed when watching the game. They were aggressive, headstrong, and dominant in every way. A third and final touchdown by Gardner in the fourth quarter sealed the deal. The Vikings stopped the Spartans offense once again, and the game ended with the Vikings victorious. The stands erupted in joy as players and fans alike stormed the field, ecstatic about a huge victory for the team. The results of this game are hopefully a sign of things to come. Our football team should be celebrated for this vic-tory. Despite struggles, these players have given their maxi-mum effort over the past few years to improve. Leadership from coaches and seniors in the weight room, the practice field, and in games has finally paid off. These players have shown heart and hustle despite intense criticism and low expectations. They deserve our utter respect and congrat-ulations for this victory, as it represents all the hard work they’ve put in to win. Fantastic job, Upper Merion football.

Photo credited to Dana Wright

Muammar Gaddafi during his term. Romney acknowledges this success, but thinks his opponent hasn’t gone far enough in protecting America from terrorist cells. Social issues are very important in this election as well, especially for young voters. “I think that economic issues are more discussed than social issues. There needs to be more of a balance between the two,” senior Melissa Reinbold comments. “Both are important, and I’d like ev-eryone to take both parts into account.” Governor Romney supports very conservative values: he is opposed to abortion and gay marriage. Obama supports more liberal positions and would vote in favor of both legalized abortion and gay marriage. The American people are very split on the issues at this point. According to a New York Times poll, most Americans believe that Mitt Romney’s economic policies will be more successful than Obama’s have been. Junior Catherine Krawiec agrees. “Many people will criticize Rom-ney and Ryan’s plans to cut programs like Medicare and So-cial Security (two of the biggest expenses in the government budget), but then complain about the economic situation of our country,” she says.” “Without other major changes, the economy will not get better while half-trillion dollar a year programs continue to run. You can’t expect something to be given to you without being willing to give up a little yourself.” However, another poll shows that a majority of Americans believe that Obama is more personable, and agree more with his social policies. Which issues are most important for students like ourselves? “I think the issues that students tend to be most interested in and passionate about are the social issues - anything pertaining to individual freedoms and personal choice. Those issues affect everyone, of course, so I think it’s great that students are so often drawn to them,” Govern-ment and Politics teacher Ms. Dell’Elmo explains. “Howev-er, the social issues aren’t the only ones that affect students. The candidates’ economic policy platforms should be a huge concern for students - so many already work and others will find themselves in the job market soon. Beyond that, any decisions that affect educational policy and the funding of higher education, as well as the availability and accessibil-ity of student loans should be something that students pay close attention to.”

The Dark Knight Raises ConcernsBy Lana Fabia

For many this summer was amazing and relaxing. However some people in our country had their lives shaken in ways that are practically unimaginable. At 12:01 AM, July 20th, in Aurora, Colorado at the Century 16 Movie Com-plex, the first viewing of the highly anticipated finale of the Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, began to play. Fans had been waiting months and dressed up in cos-tumes as heroes and villains just for the showing. Although he didn’t dress up to the King of Prussia premier, junior Kevin Crowe explained, “I had been waiting anxious-ly since the day I found out they were coming out with another Batman movie…once I got my tickets to go at midnight I was counting down the hours until the film was going to start.” Approximately twenty minutes into the movie, tear gas canisters were thrown into the auditorium from the emergency exit door. From there, 24-year-old former neuroscience student, James Holmes, dressed in black protective gear would open fire, killing 12 people and wounding 59 others. Holmes legally purchased four weapons total from two different stores at the beginning of May and over 6,000 rounds of ammunition online. When back-ground checks were done, he came up clean only to have received a speeding ticket the prior year. Of the few who knew him, they described Holmes as one who re-vealed little and “didn’t like a lot of attention.” The night of the showing, Holmes paid for a ticket and left the theater through an emergency exit he would prop open only to come in again with gun in hand, ready to shoot. People first thought it was a part of the movie, until they heard the shots. Witnesses described Holmes walking up the stairs slowly, firing at random. After people were evacuated and Holmes was arrested outside the movie complex, he in-formed police that his apartment had bombs. When police investigated, they found his apartment was filled with numerous liter bottles connected by wires to unknown devices.

Hiking, biking, skiing, just a few of the activities the Outdoors Club offers to the students of Upper Merion. This however was not always the case, just a few years ago the Outdoors Club was unable to offer these opportunities. Not until now senior Tyler Chubb got involved in the or-ganization of the club did it begin to provide the many trips it arranges today. Along with his active role as president of the Outdoors Club since his sophomore year, Tyler has also been a student council representative for the class of 2012 since his freshmen year, a member of DECA, a mem-ber of both the National and Spanish Honor Societies. He has also been named captain of the track team, and has taken all available honor and AP classes. With such a busy schedule it can presumably get over whelming to handle everything, “I like being involved in after school activities because without them I would be really bored” Tyler explains. The Outdoors Club has been one of his most dedicated activities, “Since tenth grade I have been helping Mr. Heinz with organizing and planning different trips for the club” Tyler adds. “Tyler is a leader with great character and motiva-tion” Mr. Heinz expressed. Tyler has helped greatly with both the organi-zation and promotion of the Outdoors Club. “He was always timely, con-scientious of others, worked hard, and was just overall great for the group,” Mr. Heinz added. The club has offered new opportunities for both Tyler and the rest of the Upper Merion students to get involved in fun school sponsored trips. Academics have also been an important part of Tyler’s high school career. “Minus doubling up on sciences I have taken all honors AP courses offered [at Upper Merion]” Tyler shares. His future plans are to attend Penn State for security and risk analysis and then hopefully a ca-

Featured Students: Tyler Chubb and Samantha GarzilloBy Bernadette Koff and Madhuwani Rojulpote

are, and lower taxes on the middle class. He said, “I will cut taxes for 95 percent of all working families, because, in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class.” Romney’s business-based policy differs greatly from this. He would like to repeal Obamacare and lower taxes on the upper class to stimulate the economy. He says, “ I spent my whole life in the private sector, 25 years in the private sector. I understand that when government takes more money out of the hands of people, it makes it more difficult for them to buy things. If they can’t buy things, the economy doesn’t grow. If the economy doesn’t grow, we don’t put Americans to work.” Foreign policy is also a big issue this election. Obama has had some success in this area through the deaths of Osama Bin Laden and Libyan leader

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Justin Sloan

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Austen Hufford

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Sports

By Bernadette Koff

Have your own play-by-play of this week’s game?

Do you have a knack for sports?

The Viking Call is looking for more sports reporters!

Submit your own sports stories or express interest to jdarnell@umasd.org

Student Lifereer with a government position. The teachers have also helped Tyler throughout the years, “A few of my favorites have been, Mr. Bugenhagen and Ms. Rieger,” Tyler shares, “Their grading system is based off of the effort you have shown in your work and not just a number.” Not only has their style of grading motivated Tyler but their person-alities have helped too. “They genuinely care about you as a person and student,” Tyler commended, “They don’t just want you to pass the class and move to the next level, they really want you to learn.” Whether its sports clubs or academics Tyler works to his fullest potential, “He has been an insightful contributor in my classroom,” said Mr. Bugenhangen. Ms. Rieger also comment that, “there is a rare maturity and kindness to Tyler, but at the same time he values the fun that naturally accompanies senior year.” Tyler has helped open new opportunities in the Outdoors Club especially for the students of Upper Me-rion and has used what he has been taught by the teach-ers to succeed.

Featuring: Tyler Cubbcontinued from page 1

Fighting Back Against the Locker Room Bandit

Do you lock up your gym bag when you go to the locker rooms? If not, you might want to consider changing that. Lately, a gym class bandit has been striking while class is in session, slipping into the locker rooms and rifling through belongings. Anything from a me-chanical pencil to a pair of headphones is liable to be taken. Victims of this strange hobby are not amused. Madhuwani Rojulpote, a junior, said, “It’s beyond creepy and really scary. I haven’t had anything too important stolen, but what really gets to me is knowing that in the 20 minutes I’m not there someone is going through my clothes, purse, and backpack.” She came back from gym one day to discover several pockets unzipped and five dollars missing. It isn’t just this year though. One student says of the issue, “After gym one day last year, my earrings were gone. I’m still not sure what happened to them.” Other students have reported their items going missing throughout the year.

By Natalie DiNenno We’ve all seen the big signs in the locker rooms reminding everyone that the school is not responsible for stolen items. They can’t have cameras in the rooms, so it is up to students to lock up. Senior Alina Lewandowski said, “I think it’s fair that the school doesn’t take responsibility. It should be up to the students to make sure their stuff is safe.” However, another student, who requested he not be named, said, “I absolutely think the school should be responsible. Maybe they could lock the rooms after every-one’s changed to prevent this from happening.” Sometimes, students say, they are unable to find an open locker to even put their bags in. “I find it annoy-ing how sports players take all the lockers. They should share so that people taking gym during the week have room,” said sophomore Takara Richard. Even if you’ve never had a problem before, you might want to get a lock. Pam Vega said that she’s “never had a lock since freshman year and nothing’s been stolen,” but after recent incidents she’s decided to get one. So if you want to avoid buying pencils for the third time since school started, do yourself a favor and lock up

They’re “Sensational”By Shannon Wall Did you miss this years Powderpuff game dur-ing homecoming week? No worries, here’s a short recap: both the blue team and the gold team went home win-ners as the game ended in a tie for the first time in a long time. Although many were unsettled with this fact, because it was not a PIAA game, there unfortunately was no overtime. One of this year’s senior class sponsors, Ms. Kershaw says, “The game this year was especially good because there was a tie. Everybody trained. They had fun.” Besides this, the teams had a heated match. Props to the Lady Vikings for a great game. Let’s not forget, this years Powderpuff also featured the senior boys who performed as cheerlead-ers throughout the night, getting the crowd going. The junior girls coached sixteen senior boys for about three weeks, three times a week. And there was an uncanny amount of blood, sweat, and tears. They went over chants and established a routine. Junior, Kayla Bono, one of the coaches said, “the boys [were] eager to show the school what they [were] made of, and as a coach, I am proud of their hard work and dedication.” This year there was controversy amongst staff as to whether the boys cheerleading has become a bit too racy. “They just used to wear the outfits, but then they just got a little more exaggerated over the years. But then again, it’s fun. It’s on the field,” says Ms. Kershaw. Kayla “believe[s] that the sexuality is not too much, because as high school students, we are mature enough to have this privilege.” Although this has been a tradition for many years here at Upper Merion, we see a change in what is considered appropriate and what is not. But then again, when boys are put into women’s clothing, what can you expect? The history of Powderpuff runs deep here at Upper Merion as Ms. Kershaw been involved with the game for many years. In her years of coaching at Coats-ville and then here at Upper Merion. Mrs. Kershaw re-calls that we used to play another school but, “They were big girls and had black under their eyes. They were ready to rip us apart. And here we have this little suburban community of girls that just wanted to play football.” She continued saying, “we had a couple accidents on the field, you know, somebody’s finger got hurt, and this and that. We decided that was just a little too rough. So then

we started with the girls playing the fac-ulty. Well that sort of slanted into the other direction too because it’s a big faculty. And then we kind of morphed into blue and gold teams within the class.” Powderpuff has strong roots at Upper Merion, but it has an even deeper history. The first Powderpuff football game was

played in 1945 during World War II. Eastern State Teach-ers College had cancelled many campus activities such as homecoming and football because of the war. After the U.S. signed the Peace Treaty with Japan in September of that year, officially ending the war, Homecoming was well on its way once again. However, due to military draft there was a lack of players for the fall term. A group of female freshmen decided that homecoming would not be without a football game, therefore deciding to play the game themselves. The Homecoming committee approved for an all women player game. Today Powderpuff is a fun tradition that is pop-ular at many high schools across the U.S. This year’s game was certainly no disappointment considering the exhila-rating tie, and sensational cheerleaders

Wake Up PhiladelphiaBy Ashley Soulchin

Though the Eagles have only lost a few games, and are quickly rising to the top of the NFC East, I can’t help but wonder how this is possible. The Eagles’ sea-son has been sprinkled with nothing but sloppy plays, turnovers, and uncomfortably close finishes. I’ve always gone with the theory that a win is a win no matter how it’s made, but I question how long the Eagles will be able to pull off bandaging up awful playing, with spectacular fourth quarter scores. The problem with our city’s birds doesn’t come down to their talent. Quarterback Mike Vick is a talented QB who feels comfortable running, and throwing, which is helpful in getting first downs—and even touchdowns. Receivers DeSean Jackson, and Brent Celek also have a great level of potential, as does rusher LeSean McCoy. So what’s the problem here? 1+1=2, and talent on the field means a successful season. Well in my book, losing to the Detroit Lions and having a QB throw eight interceptions is far from what I would call a successful season, or at least a successful start to one. The Eagles’ problems also do not stem from a lack of trying. Vick, after having three fumbles during his week five game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, dedicated his time and energy to completing the rest of the season with zero (yes, that’s right zilch) fumbles. He tried so hard, but sadly trying wasn’t enough for our hero considering he came out the next week to fumble the ball once (not to mention throw two interceptions) in the team’s 23-26 loss at home against Detroit. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is still time for this team to wake up and decide that they’d like to compete in the race for the Lombardi Trophy. There are several weeks left, and there are certainly teams in worse positions than Philly’s birds. However, if the Eagles even want to think about making it to the playoffs they need a cold splash of reality, because it’s time for a wake up call. First of all, Vick has to figure out how to not fumble the football, which largely comes down to com-munication with his center Jason Kelce. It is unacceptable for snaps to be to high, to low, or to hit the quarterback in the head (yes, sadly this has happened). Kelce and Vick are not playing football in their backyards; they are play-ing in the National Football League, and are expected to snap the ball properly. I don’t care if it takes an entire

day of snapping the ball at practice because what is going down on Sundays is ridiculous and needs to be solved if the Eagles want to go anywhere this season. Secondly, Vick needs to have a little pow-wow with his offense and figure out how they are going to communicate. Vick is getting picked off far too frequently against defenses that are sub par at best. Routes need to be run better, and Vick needs to stop throwing the ball away simply to avoid getting a sack. Yes, sacks are bad, but not as bad as handing the ball to the other team. Though the sack issue is simply another problem that needs to be solved. Although, against Detroit, there were only three sacks on Vick he was on the ground following what seemed like every play. Though this didn’t affect the yard-age (considering most of the time the ball was either in the hands of a defender, or incomplete) it certainly didn’t help Vick’s already poor performance. He was hit hard, and the offensive line needs to tighten up and do their job. Though Vick hasn’t exactly been a shining star, he’s still better than the backup and needs to be protected. It only takes one bad (but legal) hit to break a rib, and that’s the last thing this bruised team needs. Like I said earlier, this team isn’t drowning yet. There’s still hope but only if everybody gets their act to-gether. The rest of the season has to be sharp, especially on the offensive side of the game. Vick needs to go back to the basics and learn how to receive a snap, and then maybe (just maybe) the birds will be on the road to vic-tory.

Featuring: Sam Garzillocontinued from page 1

By Madhuwani Rojulpote You may know her as the girl at the orchestra concerts, or the one who is just talking to people in the hallway, but Samantha Garzillo’s dedication to her art and to our school deserves a lot more than “just that girl.” Sam, a senior here at UM, is involved in many different clubs, plays a big role in the music department, and—if that’s a not good enough—balances all of her work with AP and honors courses. Sam is concertmistress and the president of or-chestra, and has been playing violin for 12 years. “Sam’s best quality is her musicality,” says Ms. Helmetag, Sam’s orchestra teacher since fifth grade. “When she plays she is very inspired and she plays from the heart. She is always prepared and she practices regularly on her own. She’s a role model for the other students.” Last year Sam was even honored with the orchestra’s Most Valuable Player Award. Sam’s musical talent also extends to playing in Pit and to the school choir. She has been selected to play in pit since freshman year and is currently a soprano in advanced choir. When asked about why he selected Sam,

Photo courtesy of Flickr user lindsayjf91

Pit and choir director Mr. Horoho described it as “excel-lent. Nothing could shake her, and she always came in with confidence.” Putting her talent aside, Sam also plays a key leadership role in the music department. “Sam played very well and in doing so inspired the people around her to do their best. She also has relational leadership. She is very affable and gregarious, and just such a joy,” com-mends Mr. Horoho. “She makes everyone feel comfort-able, and that in itself is a leadership position,” adds Ms. Helmetag. Besides being concertmistress, president of orchestra, and a pit leader, Sam organizes many events to bring the music department together. “I made a Facebook page for the orchestra and I make posts for rehearsals,” she explained. “I’m going to plan a party for the orches-tra. I want to not only make us better technically but also make us into a family. I try to go the extra mile.” Sam also initiated the instrument drive last year, which provided instruments for those who couldn’t af-ford them in the Philadelphia School District. Her busy schedule also doesn’t stop her from interacting with people. Annina Baker, one of Sam’s best friends, comments: “She is really outgoing and reliable. But at the same time she’s crazy and fun to be around.” Sam’s outgoing personality also helps many people at our school feel included in our community. “I really try hard to be personal with everyone,” Sam says. “I try to be friendly with everyone, whether they are strangers or my best friends. I’ve let go of the fear that people can judge me and put myself out there and be confident so I can help people.” Sam is also in the National Honor Society, Inter-national Thespian Society, Montgomery County Honors Orchestra, Youth Orchestra of Bucks County, Spanish Club, Spanish Honor Society, the Princess Project, and does dance outside of school. That long list and hard work doesn’t stop there. Sam currently takes all honors and AP courses and is an honors student. Despite her own social life, and her other activities, Sam manages to get good grades. “I’ve been doing it so long I’ve learned how to bal-ance everything. I love everything I do and that’s what drives me to work it all out,” she says. “She works very hard and takes every challenge with a smile,” comments Mr. Horoho. Sam is going to college and will major in com-munications. “If there was a perfect major for me it would be called “I’m-going-to-create-charities-and-programs-and-stuff.’ But music is always going to be a part of my life,” she says. But of course Sam is willing to come back to Upper Merion to help out with the music department. “I love Upper Merion and I love music. It’s where I met some of the best people in my life.” She wants to continue in music and in helping the community

Photo credited to Nick Lee

Photo credited to Mitchell Derby

Photo credited to Tiffany Cheng

Photo credited to Dana Wright

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News Two weeks later, another shooting occurred in Oak Creek, Wisconsin at a Sikh temple leaving seven dead (including the perpetrator) and three in critical condition. The temple members were preparing for their normal Sunday service and community lunch. It was sug-gested that this was a hate crime because of the 9/11 tat-too on the shooter’s arm. The shooter, later identified as Wade Michael Page, did have ties to white-supremacist groups and was shot and killed by police on the scene af-ter he attacked a police officer. The shootings shed light on the on-going gun control debate happening in Congress. “It’s going to be tricky because even though the tragedies brought up a problem that we have and made people think about it

different, it brought an old controversy into the front of people’s minds. The right to bear arms is a big deal being state in the 2nd amendment…It’s going to be a big issue in this election because they are going to be more vocal to regulate it,” AP Government and Politics teacher Mrs. Dell’Elmo said. The Aurora shootings renewed pressure on lawmakers to pass legislations to prevent future at-tacks. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pointed out, “Maybe it’s time that the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country.” Ironically, New York City had its own shoot-ing at the Empire State Building on the morning of Au-gust 24. After being laid off from work, Jeffery Johnson shot and killed former co-worker Steve Ercolino, who he blamed for his unemployment. When Johnson calmly walked away, a construction worker followed Johnson and notified police, where they intercepted Johnson at the Empire State Building. When resisting arrest, Johnson al-most opened fire on the two police officers, but was killed before he could pull the trigger. Only nine citizens were injured, all non life-threatening. Bloomberg stated that New York “is the safest big city in the country, but we are not immune to the national problem of gun violence.” The shootings over the past summer have caused people nationwide and in our community to stop and think about upcoming decisions and how to live day-to-day life. First and foremost, whom should one vote for based on gun control and other matters? Secondly, could King of Prussia be another victim of gun violence? After Aurora, security was heightened at movie theaters across the country. “[A shooting] could have happened anywhere. Some crazy psycho could come to our movie theater and pull out a gun, and just thinking about that makes me feel less secure…It’s not [regularly a] part of our everyday life, so we don’t even view it as a possibility for us.” sophomore Michael Marquez stated. Despite the shooting, The Dark Knight still placed first with a gross of $160.9 million in the weekend box office and third high-est gross overall in first weekend of release. Life still goes on after tragedies and people are forever remembered as victims, and therefore the dark night eventually falls

By Lana Fabia

The Dark Knight Raises Concernscontinued from page 1

A&E

sode titled “The Break Up.” Rachel and Finn, who had broken up multiple times before in the show, reach a devastating and seemingly final breakup in the fourth episode of the new season. Two other couples, Kurt and Blaine, as well as Brittany and Santana, both experience harsh breakups, too. “I was shocked! Kurt and Blaine’s relationship has been so strong, and the same with Brit-tany and Santana’s, so I was very surprised to watch them fall apart so quickly,” says McGinty. These break-ups were especially hard on Gleeks everywhere, since these couples had been happy and steady for so long. Freshman Lauren Kirkpatrick says, “I was so upset to see so many of the couples breaking up after all that they’ve been through together.”The main reasons for the breakups were the separation they felt trying to keep up a long distance relationship. Granted, Rachel and Finn’s relationship was a bit more complicated than that, but the relationships of Kurt and Blaine and Brittany and Santana are both prime exam-ples of how the long-distance relationships can push a breakup. Kurt was all the way in New York while Blaine was still in high school and feeling neglected because of Kurt’s busy schedule. Santana, too, was at college while Brittany was also in high school feeling left behind. These breakups were “upsetting because they seemed so happy, and one little thing broke them all up. However, long-distance relationships are hard to keep, especially if one is still in high school, while the other is off to col-lege,” states Moyer. Here at Upper Merion, many students have experienced similar situations. It’s no secret that many students date people in grades above or below their own, which would inevitably result in a college high school relationship. This is precisely the issue presented in the new season. The danger of separation places relationships in a rocky position as it becomes harder to stay together when dis-tance is added. However heartbroken the viewers feel, the reality of these situations are largely relevant to any high school student. “These situations could definitely occur in real life. I think that everyone can relate to the characters and what they’re going through”, claims Kirkpatrick. McGinty agrees, admitting, “I personally have never experienced long distance relationships, so I feel like [Glee] gives me an accurate representation of what they’re like.” As a fan of the show or not, this new season relates well to us high school students as it explores the life of students after high school, and how it may affect much more than simply education.

Glee: Breakups and New Beginningscontinued from page 1

By Christa Rodriguez

Fall Video GamesBy Alex Froehlich Fall is the unofficial blockbuster season for video games. This is the time when most-to-all of the big sequel games come out and sell millions of copies. These are the four highlights of the October/November releases.

Assassin’s Creed III Assassin’s Creed quickly became a favorite amongst the gaming community and retains a signifi-cant figure in pop culture. Traditionally, the games have been set in the 15th and 16th century in Italy, ingenious-ly blending historical facts and events with an incred-ible game series. But the soon to be released is taking a different path, which has been met with positive recep-tion by critics and fans alike: rather than being set in the Renaissance, it takes place in the 18th century Colonial America during the Revolution. The assassin you play is of both English and Native American descent, helping the Americans win the war. The opening gameplay was released in March, along with some screenshots, and fans applauded it. The settings, the fighting, virtually every aspect was well re-ceived. The most notable inclusion is the ability to cap-tain a naval ship, including naval warfare. This is one of the most anticipated games of the year and has already been nominated for over 70 awardsRelease date: October 29

Halo 4 It’s been 5 years since the last Halo game came out and was cited as one of the greatest Xbox 360 expe-

riences of all time. It earned critical acclaim and earned more than 300 million dollars in its first week. The idea of a follow-up has been discussed by fans of the series ever since: should they risk making a sequel that’d be better, or fall too short? Ultimately, the developers at Microsoft decided to take that chance. Based on the demo that was shown at E3 Master Chief is left on a deserted planet, fol-lowing the ending to previous, and discover a ship that crashed. We see Chief encounter new enemies that leave you awe and settings that do what every Halo game has done: amaze. Anyone who has an Xbox will be getting this game, plain and simple. I cannot imagine anyone having an Xbox and saying that they’re not sure about how this game looks. If anything, this will most likely be the big-gest release of the year.Release date: November 6

Call Of Duty: Black Ops II In all honesty, this is the last thing I wanted Call Of Duty to do. I’m a fan of their games, but Black Ops was just a disappointment. Naturally, at the time I was excited to play it and I justified any flaws that it had, but when I found out I wasn’t the only one who was let down I jumped for joy. Some of the flaws were the story, (I wasn’t as impressed as I usually was with Call Of Duty) the maps for the multiplayer were way too big, and the whole game felt so rushed. So when they announced a sequel to this I was devastated. But I’m actually having a mixed reaction to this. On one side the graphics are incredible, the de-velopers are conscience of the campers and are cleaning up the online experience, and they’ve added some new

features to zombies, which looks awesome. My only down side to this is that it’s Black Ops, how did they go from the Vietnam War to the year 2025, and why were they horse-back riding in the promo video they had? All in all, it doesn’t matter what I say or how it is, it’s still going to sell like crazy and no one’s going to be playing the last one for a while.Release date: November 13

Hitman: Absolution Hitman’s been out of the public eye for 6 years, since the last game, and a year later got a boost in popular-ity with the feature film. Previous games have had Agent 47 be an assassin for hire who executes with flawless pre-cision. In this game, 47 has his world turned over when he discovers that he is now betrayed by those he thought he could trust, and is now hunted by the police. He’s caught in a conspiracy and must fight to find out what the truth is. The trailer for this game was the center of some controversy over a sexist portrayal of women. This also brought up the similar concern for the upcoming game Tomb Raider, but this is something that’s existed in video games, and even comic books, since the very beginning.Aside from that, the game does look very good. Hitman isn’t your run at the mill shoot ‘em up video game. Sure you play an assassin, but the game’s more about stealth and variety rather than walking in guns blazing. The best part, which I’m noticing in a lot of games, sequels in par-ticular, is that games are much darker, more realistic, and having the tables turned on the characters. This shows that video games are that much closer to being art, rather than mindless entertainment.Release date: November 20

A Long Time Coming: Trenton’s Mayor ArrestedBy Takara Richard Tony Mack, the mayor of New Jersey’s capital, Trenton, was arrested by FBI agents on the morning of Monday, September 10. He was charged with corruption charges for accepting bribes, specifically $119,000, relat-ing to the sale of city real estate. The city of Trenton suffered a blow when the news of his arrest was released to the press. Tony Mack, his brother, Ralphiel Mack, and business partner Joseph Giorgianni were all accused of selling city real estate for a fraction of their wealth. Mack and his brother were both bailed out a couple hours after their arrest. Mark Davis, Tony Mack’s attorney, defended them, saying, “The evi-dence appears to be, at this point, weak as far as Mayor Mack is concerned.” The three men were brought to the FBI office in Hamilton, and are scheduled to appear in federal court. “Even after reading very little about this case, I’m disgusted,” stated Jen Merritt, a sophomore at Upper Merion, “How a leader can corrupt an entire town for money is truly unacceptable.” Through New Jersey, corruption seems to be a recurring problem in the politicians. New Jersey’s U.S. attorney’s office wears the crown, with 429 corruption convictions under its belt since 2002. Mads Rushlau, sophomore in student government at UM, says it’s not surprising to hear about corruption in our government. “I believe this is another case in which a politician thought that because of the influence and power they had, they could get away with these bribes,” said Mads. According the FBI Investigators, the city was previously struggling. A year after Mack was elected mayor in 2010, he closely dodged allegations of cor-ruption after being accused of appointing unqualified friends to city positions and making deep funding cuts in the police department, when the case didn’t make it to City Hall. According to colleagues and people of the city, New Jersey’s capital has been forsaken. After Mack’s election, several of his colleges quit because of “corrup-tion” linked to him. Mrs. Satterfield, teacher at Upper Merion, says that she is always skeptical of the news ar-ticles covered and wants “further investigation into the mayor’s office” on this issue. The complaint against Mack indicates the FBI

had been investigating Mack since September 2010, just a few months after he took office. At least two cooperating witnesses are cited in the complaint and the FBI made ex-tensive use of wiretaps on the phones of Mack, Giorgianni and the cooperating witnesses. The FBI would not com-ment regarding why the investigation was started years ago. UM sophomore Mads Rushlau believes that, “his ar-rest was reasonable, especially seeing as it had been an-ticipated since July”. When federal agents first conducted raids in connection with the investigation in July, Mack issued a statement denying wrongdoing: “I have not vio-lated my duties or the public trust.” Tony Mack has been ordered by the courts to stay in his home until the case has come to a close. As for the outcome of this arrest, Jen thinks, “Politicians always seem to find a way out of legal situations. With all of that said, I find the entire situation morally unacceptable, and hope that the [city] finds a more established and honest mayor.”

Don’t Panic! All Time Low is BackBy Grace Eppinger All Time Low is back on the music scene with the release of their new album, Don’t Panic, on October 9th. Fans who worried about whether the album would be disappointing have no reason to fear. The band suc-cessfully combined the sounds from their other albums while still advancing in musical and lyrical style. The new album focuses on condensing All Time Low’s prior works into one awesome musical experience. Upper Merion student Audrey Karas says that “their mu-sic is really evolving and every album is different in a sur-prisingly good way.” Don’t Panic seems to draw on previ-ous albums So Wrong, It’s Right and Nothing Personal the most with a perfect blend of pop and rock. ‘So Long, Soldier’ stands out as a song reminiscent of the band’s earlier music. Don’t Panic tends to stray away from the sound of their last album, Dirty Work, which was criti-cized for being more pop than rock. However, traces of Dirty Work can still be found in songs like ‘The Irony of

Choking on a Lifesaver.’ All Time Low also takes a new direction with ‘For Baltimore,’ ‘Outlines,’ and ‘Thanks to You’ through new sounds and great lyrics. Don’t Panic has generally received good reviews since its release, especially from longtime fans. “This al-bum, by far, is All Time Low’s best work…the combina-tion of songs together was a musical and overwhelming surprise,” says sophomore Jen Merritt. By incorporating elements from all their work, the band appeases fans no matter what their favorite All Time Low album is. Even critics enjoy the new album. “From a purely musical standpoint, there’s no question that this is All Time Low’s best work to date,” wrote magazine Alternative Press. For those who are searching for the right mix of pop and rock, Don’t Panic delivers. The band has man-aged to advance musically while still retaining some of their signature sounds. Don’t Panic is definitely a step for-ward for All Time Low’s musical career. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Lindsey Catherine

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Gudlyf

Photo courtesy of Flickr user seatonsnet

Photo courtesy of Flickr user The Citizens Campaign

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Luisus Rasilvi

we imagine ourselves, we’re all still here. Unless you decide to miraculously win the Powerball tomorrow, you’re going to be here, for many more early mornings and many more long days. All of us are, so as cliché as this may sound, why don’t we just do it together? Upper Merion is a small place, but for once we can make that work in our favor. It gives us all a chance to come closer together. Push aside all the drama, the gossip, the teachers you could do without, and the schedule you don’t like, and, instead, embrace that sense of community here. After this year I won’t be coming back to Upper Merion, the time you spend here really does go by in the blink of an eye, and it took me almost four years to realize that. Look around you, after Upper Merion these people that you see every morning and sit next to class after class, you won’t see them again. We only get to go through this once. So I think it’s time we showed a little sense of pride as a whole. Get rid of the fear of what people may say and just enjoy the little time you have here and make the memories while you still can; you have the rest of your life to look back on it. So just try giving it a shot and doing this one thing for the school, you might be surprised to find out that it’s actually not so bad sitting in the fan seats.

The Viking CallEDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Ashley SoulchinFACULTY ADVISOR: Jason Darnell

NEWSMolly Cooke, Lana Fabia, Takara Richard, Alina Lewandowski

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Sabrina Carroll, Christa Roderiguez, Alex Froehlich, Grace Eppinger,

SPORTSJamie Shelton, Ashley Soulchin, Joe Mintzer

OPINION EDITORIALIsabella DiPasquale

STUDENT LIFEJackie Nikpour, Bernadette Koff, Shannon Wall, Madhuwani Rojulpote, Natalie DiNenno

PHOTOGRAPHERSDana Wright, Nick Lee, Mitchell Derby, Tiffany Cheng

ART & EXTRASCatherine Krawiec

LAYOUTCatherine Krawiec

WEB MASTERCaroline Woodsidewww.vikingcall.com

Editorials reflect the view of the writer and not that of the staff.

Letters to the editor are welcomed and can be directed to The Viking Call at:

Upper Merion Area High School435 Crossfield Road

King of Prussia, PA 19406

Italics denote editor

Extras

Opinion EditorialSchool Spirit? Yeah Right

By Isabella DiPasquale I never aspired to be a cheerleader growing up. Quite frankly, the thought of having to dress up in my school’s colors, with a smile plastered across my face, having to rouse up enthusiasm from an indifferent crowd had always made me feel a tad queasy. You could say my school pride hasn’t been exactly through the roof throughout high school, or even middle school for that matter. You won’t find my throat hoarse from shrieking at the bad calls, face painted blue and gold, or a player’s number written across my forehead. Sadly, that’s just not an image I strive for. So when given the assignment to write a compelling article to all you lovely people about how excited we should all be for this new Viking year, I thought I was simply screwed. I could’ve just written an article about how exhilarated each and every one of us are about our new year, but I’m pretty sure the majority of us wish we were still lounging in a beach chair in the sand somewhere, instead of an uncomfortable, cold desk in trig. Regardless, I couldn’t write about something that wasn’t true. So I’m going to take this section of the paper to tell you we should change our perspectives of this school, bad as they might be. Yes, many of us don’t want to be here because it’s school, and maybe all you’re thinking is how much you’d rather be out in the college world instead of a little high school. The thing is though, no matter where

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PuzzlesAnswers at the bottom of the page

Halloween Word Ladder Hink PinksStart with the first missing word. Every answer has exactly 5 letters, and changes only one letter from the previous answer. For example, if the first word was “shoes” the next answer could be “shows”. If all your

answers are correct, the last answer should fit in with the missing word.A “hink pink” is a phrase with two rhyming words, each with one syllable. In the first

column are clues to each hink pink, and in the third is the first letter of each word.

SudokuFill in numbers 1-9 in such a way that no number repeats in any given row, column, or outlined 9x9 block

Answers: Halloween World Ladder - Trick, thick, chick, check, cheek, creek, greek, greet, great, treat; Hink Pinks - play day, fat cat, half laugh, quick trick, fake snake, flat hat, horse morse, nerd bird, large barge; Five

Trueths, One Lie- the false statement is #5. The real statistic is actually 99%!

Five Truths, One Lie: Halloween EditionBelow are six fun facts about Halloween. One is false, though. Try to figure out which one!

1. The first Jack-o-Lanterns were made from turnips

2. Harry Houdini died on Halloween night.

3. Kit Kat flavors available in Japan include wine, sweet potato, wasabi, and soy sauce.

4. The correct spelling of Halloween is actually Hallowe’en.

6. In England, white cats are supposed to be bad luck.

5. 89% of pumpkins sold are destined to become Jack-o-lanterns.