Ridgewood Reporter

Wojtow gets revenge

December 6
By Louie Mezzano

On the sixth of December the Rebel wrestlers went to Lisle to wrestle a dual meet. At this meet Brian Floral, Otto Barbanente, and Peter Wojtow had a mission. Brian and Otto were both defending undefeated records, and Peter was out for revenge against the 119 pounder from Lisle.

In this dual meet the Rebels first wrestled Joliet Catholic. The Rebels demolished Joliet in almost every weight class. After a break the Rebels faced off against their rivals. "If it were not for the forfeits we gave up, we would have won the meet," replied "Starvin Marvin" McManaman.

Bring it!!!!!

By Louie Mezzano

Wrestling is starting this week and we are expecting to have huge success this season. We have three state qualifiers coming this year and a bunch of animals who plan on making it to state this year. After speaking with Tony Marti, this year he said "This isn’t gonna be like last year. No messing around. All business and there isn’t anything to do but do it."

Wrestlers to watch are Jay Holland, a transfer student from Notre Dame High School, who has potential to compete on the Varsity level as a sophomore and Bob McManaman, who has worked hard all year long to step it up his senior year.

How are the girls’ basketball teams doing?

By Anna Kritikakos

The freshman coach is very excited because he has 24 girls on the team this year. Their record is 3-3. They are a very strong team with a lot of talent. They wish to achieve possibly a conference championship. "Our team has a lot of heart. They love to practice and love to play even more," said freshman coach Mike Pagliaro.

The sophomore coach is also excited because he has 11 girls on the team this year. Their record is 2-0. They have speed and quick reactions. Defense will be the key to maintaining their record.

Boys Break Out

By Sebastian Abbinanti

Slow Start

By Louie Mezzano

The Rebels led by Coach Wasserstrom headed for their first dual meet against Amundsen and Washington last week. The Rebels, led by captains Tony Marti and Brian Floral, destroyed both teams.

The team didn’t look very good. Even though we won, I could see that Coach Wasserstrom was not happy.

Tournament more like war

Holy Cross Tournament
By Lou Mezzano

Saturday November 29th, the Rebels went to Holy Cross High School for their first tournament of the year. At this tournament, the Rebels saw and faced the hardest competition ever.

The Rebels, despite the competition took 4th in the tournament and had some placers in the top. Brian Floral and Otto Barbanente got first, Tony Marti and Jay Holland got second.

Horoscopes

By Iris Giannakis

THESE HOROSCOPES ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!

For those born this month:

Is that Aladdin’s magic lamp on your cake instead of candles? Oh boy! You’re very lucky with games and romance this year. Your popularity goes through the roof, and you will have the company of both good and evil. Be happy with what you have. You’ll get what you want soon enough. (Just be patient.)

Aries- You’re learning a lot about nonverbal communication. You’re picking up on the vibes around you. This month, you’ll find an opportunity to practice these skills.

Taurus- Expect to play phone tag with your new honey this month. (Oh no) You’ll get a surprise visit from your honey around the 17th. But is that the same honey who’s going to send you holiday flowers or is there an Anthony / Cleopatra hiding behind the Christmas tree?

Gemini- Nothing can go wrong in your so-called life, right? Wrong. Watch out for your enemies this month. They’ll make your life a living hell. (It won’t last long.)

Cancer- It’s a great month for romance, and making plans for the future. You should just relax and have a fabulous time with the one you’re lovesick for. (How romantic.)

Leo- Expect a lot of social activity, mostly at your place this month. After having dated many dogs, you finally find a Prince / Princess and this new honey is going to be around for a great while. Who says there’s no Aphrodite? (For those who don’t know who Aphrodite is, Aphrodite is the goddess of love in Greek mythology.)

Virgo- It’s a great month for entertainment at home. Your energy level is not high however. Have mellow friends over. (Looks like Aphrodite can’t help you this time.)

Libra- Friends will want to fix you up with someone a bit older. (Aphrodite says "Don’t go there.") Start keeping a journal: Lots of neat things are finally coming your way and you will want to remember them forever. (Trust me on this one.)

Scorpio- Emotions rule this month. Aphrodite and Santa are coming around the same time. (What were they thinking?) Don’t worry. You’ll get what you asked for.

Sagittarius- Sometimes you have a tendency to get cocky with people. That won’t be the case for this month. You’ll be warm, loving, patient, and understanding. People around you will flourish as a result.

Capricorn- You’re lovesick this month and your sex appeal is in high gear. If you make your move now, things may not turn out quite as you hope for it to be. (Double double toil and trouble.)

Aquarius- Is someone trying to make you feel bad this month? Who do they think they are? God? I should say not! Don’t worry. Sit back and relax. Next month will be better.

Ridgewood breaks the gender barrier

Female grappler hits the mats

Ridgewood senior Emily Delvalle is the first female to join the wrestling squad. Following are comments she made in a recent interview.

Emily says that since her freshman year, Coach Sikora has been trying to get her to come out for the team. She wanted to join two years ago, but torn ligaments and cartilage in her knee prevented it. She started drilling and practicing with the team last year.

Since the beginning, her male teammates have supported her. Emily says, "We all have respect for each other." She feels her opponents are just looking for an easy win. "No one wants to lose, especially to a girl." She says the spectators have mixed reactions. Some think it’s wrong, some think she’s crazy, and some are proud of what she’s doing. Emily says sometimes she notices members of other teams cheering for her.

Emily started competing last year. Her record was 1-4. This year she is on the Varsity team in the 103 lb slot. She says the coaches work her at least as hard as the male wrestlers. She says she’s always learning and feels she’ll get a lot more matches this year. Her record so far is 3-1.

Dear Ridgewood Reporter,

I feel that the Ridgewood student body shows a lack of school spirit. Ridgewood High School has a very good winter sports program. The boy’s Varsity Basketball team last year won the IHSA Regional against Montini. The girl’s Varsity Basketball team had a good year, and Wrestling had an outstanding year where wrestlers went down state. In the spring time, the Track team sends many downstate, and Boy’s Baseball and Girl’s Softball each have good teams. The only problem is, there is little support.

Dear Reporter,

I’m writing in regards to the parking at Ridgewood High School. The parking privileges are set up very unfairly. It says in the student handbook that parking in the student lot is a privilege, but what have I done to be denied the right to park in the parking lot? It says students are to park in the west or south parking lots, and parking passes are available in the Deans office.

In the handbook, nowhere does it state that you can only be issued a parking pass in the beginning of the school year. It says priority is given to seniors, work program students, students participating in dual enrollment classes at Triton, and students maintaining passing grades. I have worked hard to maintain my grades and keep a grade point average of 3.0 this year and I can’t get a pass, whereas other students who are failing, show up at school late, don’t care about their grades, and "live" in suspension, receive passes.

If passes are issued at the beginning of the school year, before some of the qualifications are determined, how is it decided who will be issued a pass? I noticed during the school day, as I walk through the hall to the IMC, that there are spaces still available, so how is it that there are no parking passes left?

I need a parking pass, not to show off the fact that I have a car, but because I have to pick up my little sister from school at 3:15, and it is difficult to walk all the way home, especially in the winter, to get my car and drive all the way to my sister’s school to pick her up, and then drive all the way home and be at work by 4:00. If I had a pass, I could leave from school, get my sister and then go to work.

As a resident of Harwood Heights, I’m not allowed to park on Norridge streets. I can’t park across the street on Fridays because of street sweeping. Also, on Montrose no one is allowed to park in the parking lanes.

I Care About Child Care

By Susan Shrake

As a student at Ridgewood High School, I was very disappointed when the child care program was dropped from the curriculum. The program was a two year class available to juniors and seniors that would allow them to receive a hands on learning experience with children. The reason the school chose to close the program was that there appeared to be decreasing interest in the class. The school also claimed the child care facility had become out-dated and unsafe for children.

I disagree that closing the program was the right decision for the school. I was a sophomore when the program was dropped, and the loss caused me to have to choose new classes for my junior and senior year. The child care program would have been a beneficial class for me because my planned future profession is teaching. The class would have helped me learn the needs of children and to better understand them.

The first reason that the school gave for closing the program was that there was not enough interest showed toward the program. However, I know many students who were disappointed with the loss of this class. The students were so disappointed that they even circulated a petition to try and bring the program back. Still, the petition was not successful in convincing the school board that the program was important to the students.

With the absence of the program, there is no other class that would replace it to help advance me into my teaching career. I find this hard to accept considering we have a wide variety of business programs to meet the needs of our school’s future executives.

As for the fact that the child care facility was out of date, money does not seem like an issue. The school has recently remodeled four of the six bathrooms that we have. They have also put in brand new tennis courts that cost $100,000.

Editorial policy

Dear Ridgewood Reporter,

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been concerned about the new dress code at Ridgewood High School. As a student, I would like to wear comfortable clothes to school that are appropriate. I think the new dress code about the length of shorts and skirts is ridiculous.

According to the school’s dress code a student’s shorts or skirt have to reach mid-thigh. In the student planner mid-thigh is defined as being four inches above the knee. This rule makes it very difficult for students to wear shorts or skirts to school, especially for girls. As a girl, I know that fashion is very important to me and my girlfriends. We like the new trends and would like to buy some of the clothes, use them to go out and come to school. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t agree with people who come to school dressed in clothes that show buttocks or chest. I just think that some clothes can be shorter than four inches above the knee is to wear some athletic shorts that are either a size bigger of just longer for comfort. [sic]

It also aggravates me to see some teachers in our school not following the dress code and not being punished while the students are. If the students break the rule they get an hour detention and have to wear ugly and smelly Ridgewood green shorts. If we keep on breaking the rules, we could get suspended. I don’t feel we come to school to get fashion advice. WE come to school for an education. I think that if the school board decided to make a rule, the whole school should follow it. This should include providing regulation attire for gym class, and team uniforms. Cheerleaders and Pom-Pon girls are allowed to wear their skirts shorter than the school’s dress code because the skirts are owned by the school. No sympathy is shown to them, though when they want to wear Cheerleading and Pom-Pon outfits that they bought that are shorter than the dress code. Exceptions should not be made to the rule. The rule is the rule, and if students have to follow it, then the whole faculty should too. If the whole school doesn’t want to follow it, then it shouldn’t be a rule.

The following are shorts and skirts dress codes for high schools in our surrounding area:
High School and Length of Attire
Maine South High School, 6-8 inches above the knee
East Leyden High School, 8-9 inches above the knee
Lane High School, 7 inches above the knee
West Leyden High School, 8-9 inches above the knee
Maine East High School, 6-8 inches above the knee
I believe that if so many schools in our area can live with this 6-8 inch shorts and skirts rule, Ridgewood students should also be allowed too. Obviously, it looks like this 6-8 inch rule doesn’t affect the students’ learning or else it would’ve been changed by their school board.

Dear Editor,

I’m writing this letter to you regarding the length of the gym periods here at Ridgewood. Since block scheduling has started I’ve been hearing complaints about gym, the length of the periods, amounts of activities that are being done, and the punishments that are handed out to the students.

Due to block scheduling, the hour and half classes in gym are getting totally ridiculous. Students have to run a mile to a mile and a half almost every day. After all the sweating, catching of breath, and feeling of soreness all over their bodies, these students still have to do more straining activities.

A few students stated that there is only a very short break in between every activity. "We are only allowed 5 minutes for cool down; that is not enough time to rest." Grace Rihani stated. Five minutes cool down is not enough time for someone to catch his or her breath.

Some days the students might not be up to running so much or would not be up to doing so many straining activities, yet they’re almost forced to because of the punishments that they will receive, such as a failing grade for that day. This would probably put us a letter grade down on our report cards.

Students are not even given enough time in the locker rooms to shower and change after all the sweating that they did. Students have to go through the rest of the day feeling the discomfort and the smell of overheated bodies. This might effect their performance in other classes.

The solution for this is easy. It would make more sense to split the period in half, half gym, and half study for the whole year. This way students would benefit from this in two ways. They would have a shorter gym period and time to study and catch up on schoolwork.

FBLA Has Worked Hard

By Dina Politis

On November 7th through the 9th FBLA officers Shawn Aguilar, Dina Politis, Chris Soszynski, Joanna Szyndlar and Joanna Wieczorek attended the 1997 National Fall Leadership Conference in St. Louis ,Missouri. They attended various workshops on how to make leadership fun and how to work towards your goals . These workshops will help to strengthen our chapter as a whole. The closing session speaker put several audience members under hypnosis as the rest of the audience watched in awe. It was a very worthwhile and exciting trip.

On November 12th, FBLA members helped out the Ridgewood Parents Club by serving pizza at the Fall Sports Banquet.

FBLA members have not forgotten about the upcoming Area Competition in January at Warren High School. Here members will go head to head against members from other area high schools. The winners will go on to State Competition in March.

With Christmas coming up soon, FBLA as well as DECA, Band, Chorus, and National Honor Society members have planned a Christmas caroling trip to two area nursing homes. This activity is part of ongoing community service projects that Ridgewood is involved in. It is hoped that this visit will spread some cheer to those senior citizens this holiday season.

The officers have also planned an ice skating trip and a Glow-Bowl trip for early next year.

Do you use the vending machines in the cafeteria? Well, FBLA maintains the ice cream, snack, Fruitopia, Powerade, Evian, and coffee machines. They are part of our service to you, the students at Ridgewood High. We have talked to students and this is why the machines are here. You, the students wanted snacks after school or coffee/hot chocolate or chicken soup on those cold mornings. We have listened to you and have these to better serve you. The money from these machines helps to fund our competitions and also our social events.

Reporter needs writers.

We desperately need sports and news writers or suppliers of information. Let the school know about your hard work and practices. See Ms. Sauter, Ms. Flinn or one of the staff members if you can help. You can join the staff or you can complete the assignments on your own.

As a staff member, you will learn to write news articles. You can use this experience to apply for jobs as a newsletter writer for many companies. Public relations is another possibility. This is also a great activity for college and scholarship applications and our own NHS.

We meet on Tuesdays from 7:15-7:55 a.m. in Room 224. Visit us and see what is happening. Remember, this is your school newspaper. It should reflect your views. ==== not in paper: Open Letter On Censorship Censorship is destroying the freedom of the American people. So much emphasis has been placed on proper etiquette and behavior, that everything else has been forgotten. So go ahead and block out certain Internet websites, take books off the shelves because of what they contain, and pull television shows off the air because it doesn’t present the point of view the government officials want the public to see. Keep feeding the war. The war against freedom. Let your mind be taken over, let the Government have control. Believe what they want you to believe. Go on blindly believing your best interests are at the center of all the controversy. But it isn’t. Total control over us is what they want and they will acquire their goal if we continue to give away our freedom as if it means nothing to us. We let the Government move one step closer to their goal every time we accept what they say without any questions asked. Book burnings. Control and censorship were what caused book burnings. But that doesn’t happen anymore, right? No, it has just evolved. The books they don’t want you to see aren’t burned, they’re just removed before you get a chance to fight for them, and another piece of our freedom is stolen from us each time they do it. They preach freedom to us, and how many of us believe it? Only a handful of people can see through all lies. Then again you might ask, isn’t reading this politically subjective material adding to the destruction of our freedom? No. It’s just another point of view they don’t want you to see. One that may not be pretty or well liked or sugarcoated. This is just giving everyone a chance to see that they can break free from all the fears and beliefs they’ve been spoon fed their entire lives and can form their own opinions, no matter what they may be. However, if we continue on the same course we’re on now, what is going to happen when we hand all the power and control over to the Government? What happens when the documents stating our rights are conveniently lost? What happened to our rights then? What happens to us, the people? What happens when we refuse to conform to the society they’ve created for us? What happens when our only choice is to obey? If we let them have control, when will the censorship stop? How far will we allow them to go? Faithful Warrior

Happy Holidays to all