The Tusker Tribune The Student Newspaper of Somers Middle School

Issue Number 9 http://somersschools.org/domain/995 Fall (Winter) 2018

Winter Track It’s Ski Club Time!

Starting Soon By Sara Hanford sachusetts. This enjoyable day Tusker Tribune Staff will be Saturday, January 26. By Matthew Hirsch Ski and Snow- Ski and Snowboard Tusker Tribune Staff board Club is a club for Club is one of the most popu- In the winter, students 6th - 8th grade lar clubs in SMS. If you are Somers Middle school has here in SMS. This awesome planning to sign up, it is im- some modified sports that club is for students who love to portant to remember the huge you can play. ski and snowboard. However, commitment you’re agreeing to One of them is track and if you are interested in joining make. If you sign up, you are field. Track and Field is a sport there are some important facts required to attend the ski trip where you go to a track. A track is to know about this club. on January 26. This is just one a 200- or 400-meter loop around a The club advisor is Mr. commitment you will have to field. At the track you compete in Savastano, a 6th grade science agree to. certain events. Some of the events teacher on the Red Team. Mr. You can find more in- are sprinting, hurdling, distance Savastano organizes and goes formation about the club on running, pole-vault, high-jump, on this trip and has done this the Somers Middle School and long-jump. You try and get for many years. If you have website: https:// the best time that you can. any questions about the club www.somersschools.org/cms/ At the end of the track you can ask him. lib/NY01913963/Centricity/ meet, the officials determine Every year, the club Domain/9/Ski%20Club% which team is the winner. It is a visits a 20packet%202018.pdf lot of fun and it is a good sport to moun- The school only allows play. I would encourage all people tain on just over 100 students to sign who like to be athletic to join one up for the club and the club winter track. Satur- fills up over the course of usu- day ally about three days. If you during are still interested in this club the you can contact Mr. Savastano winter at Jsavasta- and [email protected] and goes skiing for the day. Kids sign up by filling out the pa- can go skiing with their pers which are located outside friends and choose whatever his classroom door. trails they want to go on. This Ski and Snowboard is a year the Ski and Snowboard great opportunity to have to Club’s trip will take place at hang out and ski with your Jiminy Peak in Hancock, Mas- friends.

A Brief History of Lil Names In Hip-Hop By Noah Volkman the same likeness as Jr. Here’s a nickname alive—like Lil’ Rahiem Tusker Tribune Staff rough history. who was a member of Boogie “Lil” is a short The first Lil in recorded Boys, and scored a major hit word with a long history rap history was Lil’ Rodney Cee, called “A Fly Girl” in 1985. In in hip-hop. From Lil a member of the Funky 4+1 the early 90’s, more Lil’s started Wayne to Lil Pump, the More, who dropped their hit sin- popping up. There was Lil’ Mac prefix is everywhere. So, what’s gle “Rappin’ and Rocking the from New Orleans and his debut the story behind its rap use? House” in 1979. Throughout the album The Lyrical Midget in Lil is often given to a per- ‘80s, Lil names were relatively 1990. son small stature, youth, or in rare, but a few rappers kept the Continued on Page 4 The Tusker Tribune Page 2 The Student Newspaper of Somers Middle School The Banach-Tarski Paradox

By Sam Sanz point. If you would label every final move with Tusker Tribune Staff different color for either down, up, left and right. It would be a mess. It would be infinite, but Source: Video (It's decently not enough… long) We also need an infinite amount of starting points to do what we did before with the You need to use your imagination combinations. Then you got it. You also for this first part. Imagine you have a have poles that have one or more dots sphere and you cut that sphere in a certain there. We take out the up points, the down way and assemble it back, but there is a points, the left points, the right points, the problem. You finished the circle same Nerd’s starting points and the poles. If you rotate mass and size, but you somehow have piec- Words the left piece to the right, you have about ¾ es leftover. You can manage to make one of the sphere now if you add the right piece more sphere, same size, same mass. It can be a and the poles. Then take the up piece rotate it way to infinitely clone or copy something. It’s pos- down add the down piece and the starting points sible mathematically. you have 2 spheres. (Imagine) First, we need to take our sphere Now that’s a lot of stuff to explain and I and add a center point in one color. Now we need recommend watching the video up at the top. He every possible combination of moves going up, explains it way better than me. Thanks! down, left and right or a combination from that A Memorable Visit to Syracuse University

even get on the bed! I had By Grayden Carr to use a stool to get up on Tusker Tribune the bed. I don't know how Staff other people get up on the The Tusker Tribune is Last Friday bed. the online Somers Mid- afternoon, my fam- My favorite part, dle School Student ily and I drove for a 3-and- besides seeing my brother, Newspaper. a-half-hour car ride to go was watching the football It is published weekly to Syracuse to see my game, Syracuse vs 22- (except during school brother in collage. My ranked North Caroline vacations) on the Som- brother, Tyler, has been in State. We had good seats. ers Middle School collage for about two In a stadium I like seats Website. It is entirely months. where you can see the student-written by 6th, When we arrived at whole field. 7th and 8th grade stu- Syracuse, we went to The game was dents from: check in at the hotel. Then moved back to 7PM Satur- we went to go to my broth- day night. That means Somers Middle er's dorm. As soon as we that the game ended School got to the dorm, my family around 10PM. 250 Route 202 and I went into the building. My At the game, I got to sit with Somers, NY, USA. brother was standing right there, my brother in the student section. I Any SMS student is and I was so happy to see him. His like how the whole stadium was eligible to write sto- hair was long from the last time I filled for a collage football game. ries. If interested, saw him. He took me up to his This football game was long and please e-mail Advisor room. He was on floor four. featured a lot of scoring. The first Dean Pappas at When I walked in the room, half was two and a half hours long! DPappas I was very surprised that it was So it definitely didn’t end at 10. Alt- @somersschools.org clean. He had a nice setup with his hough the score was pretty close, it bed and his TV. But his bed was ended with Syracuse winning, 51- high up from the floor. I could not 41. Now Syracuse is ranked 19. The Tusker Tribune Page 3 The Student Newspaper of Somers Middle School What Makes You Laugh?

By Joseph Melillo the same for all. A few would use only a Tusker Tribune Staff few muscles, as low as 15, to laugh and So, the other day, you a few others would literally roll on the made that guy sitting next floor and laugh out. to you nearly cry of laughter. According to Dr. William Fry, I betcha that happens every laughing is sort of like internal jogging, day. and, laughing for 1 minute (60 seconds) The one thing that doesn’t is like spending 10 minutes on the row- happen every day, is wondering, ing machine. When you laugh, you gasp what makes you laugh? What for air and you clear your lungs and you would make someone laugh? actually exhale the air that stays behind as a re- Sure, go up to someone and ask them what sult of normal breathing. Surprising, right? makes them laugh, they’ll probably say, “Oh, I So, if you don’t like exercising, watch some like jokes, jokes make me laugh”. No, that would Try Not to Laugh videos. Haha, I bet some of you be too simple. What I mean is, what goes on in are getting a good laugh out of this, but, just re- the body to allow the sound of laughter to leave member, every time you laugh, you are stretching your body? What basically happens inside your your diaphragm out and getting some awesome body when you laugh? cardio in as well! Actually, laughing is good for you, no joke (no pun intended). Laughing stretches out the dia- Editor’s Note: For your entertainment, check phragm muscles and ultimately allows you to out this “Try Not to Laugh” video: breathe better. You’d use more than 25 to 80 https://www.youtube.com/watch? muscles in your body while you laugh. It depends v=7j2LcVREaCs on individual humans, as laughter is not usually A ‘GOAT’ Among the Rams

By Jesse Manginelli The current record is held by La- Tusker Tribune Staff Dainian Tomlinson and is 28 Todd Gurley of the touchdowns. That record was set in Los Angeles Rams has had 2006 and is still a thing today. a great season so far. He Gurley is also quite a receiv- has rushed for 988 yards as of er. He has 40 receptions in the reg- Week 9. He also has 402 receiving ular season and has caught 4 yards as of Week 10. touchdowns from QB, Jared Goff. Gurley has had some out- Last year he held the record of standing games so far. He rushed for 208 yards most touchdowns scored by an RB. He also set and scored two touchdowns in Week 6 against most scrimmage yards in 2017. He is projected to the Broncos. This week, Week 10, Gurley rushed do far better than last year. He already has 988 for 120 yards and scored a touchdown. As of yards and 17 touchdowns. Only time will tell if Week, 10, Gurley has scored 17 touchdowns. Gurley will break these records and achieve- That means he is not far from setting the record ments. Do you think Gurley will break these rec- of most touchdowns scored in a season by an RB. ords?

The Tusker Tribune Staff

Co-Editors Copy Editors Reporters Noah Volkman William Underkoffler Kaeleigh Picco Joseph Melillo Andre Possante Noah Volkman Michael Aiello Jesse Manginelli Feature Editor Sara Hanford Samuel Sanz Photography Editor Sam Sanz Allison O’Connor Joseph Melillo Sports Editor Pat Carino Jesse Manginelli Matthew Hirsch

The Tusker Tribune Page 4 The Student Newspaper of Somers Middle School

NFL Week 10—Pittsburgh Steelers

By Pat Carino in their fantasy lineup. This Tusker Tribune Staff week in the ESPN Fantasy app, he This week the dropped 45 points. Steelers played the Pan- Ben Roethlisberger is among thers in the 10th week. the top 10 best QB’s in the National This game was a big Football League. In Week 11, the game for Steelers QB Ben Pittsburgh Steelers play the Jack- Roethlisberger. He went 22 for sonville Jaguars at 1:00 PM on Sun- 25, 328 yards, 4TD passes and day, November 18. My prediction is ran one in himself. that Ben Roethlisberger will throw 2 Every week he progres- TD passes and have 290 passing sively gets better. For example, in Week 8 he had yards. I think the Steelers will beat the Jaguars 257 passing yards, Week 9, he had 270 passing in Week 11. I think Ben Roethlisberger’s stats yards and then in Week 10, he had 328 passing will keep progressing throughout the rest of the yards. That is very good for those who have him season.

Lil Crunk music pioneer Lil Jon be- From Page 1 gan as a DJ and an A&R executive for Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def Records, in Lil’ Dap was one half of the the mid-nineties. He later formed Lil Jon rap duo Group Home and made his & the East Side Boyz with Big Sam and debut on Gang Starr’s album Daily Lil Bo. But his days as a “lil” trace back Operation in 1992. And Lil’ Fame to high school, saying, “I started hanging from the New York rap duo M.O.P. out with another John and he had anoth- in 1993. Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s Lil er friend named John also. The other Cease and Lil’ Kim were the first mainstream John was huge, so they called him Big John, and I stars with Lil names, the latter spreading the was the smallest, so I was Lil Jon.” Baton Rouge’s nickname across the world with Top 40 hits. In Lil Boosie dropped his debut studio album Young- 1999, Cash Money’s teen rapper Lil Wayne scored est of Da Camp in 2000, at the age of 17. And his first major hit. He’s gone on to become the Master P’s son Lil’ Romeo released his self-titled most successful Lil rapper of all time. The man’s debut in 2001 with his platinum hit, “My Baby.” got five Grammys, 20 Top 10 hits, In 2006, Lil B and the Pack over 100 million records sold started getting attention with “Vans.” worldwide and 5 albums in his The Lil’s of today include Lil Yachty, famous Tha Carter series. Lil Baby and the late Lil Peep, who got Wayne’s prominence be- his nickname from his mother. came a jumping off point. Accord- Other lil’s have some very ran- ing to data, before Lil Wayne’s dom origins. In an interview with Lil rise in 1998 there was only about Xan, he explained the story behind the 20 artists with “lil” in their name. drug-inspired name. “…and one of my 20 years later, there are over 600 friend’s was just like ‘Yo I’mma call you “lil” artists. In 1999, Houston’s Lil Xan ‘cuz you like, talk a lot of Xans Lil’ Troy dropped his hit “Wanna (Xanax)’. And of the new school, Lil Uzi Be a Baller.” Vert is arguably the most notable, tout- That following year, Lil’ ing hits like “XO TOUR Llif3” and a Bow Wow released “Bounce With chart-topping debut album in 2017 Me” with Xscape. His nickname came when Bow (Luv Is Rage 2). “I was rapping one day Wow was 6 years old after he had impressed and some guy was like ‘Damn, you rap fast like a Snoop Dogg during a concert in his hometown of little machine gun, like a Lil Uzi or something.’ Columbus, Ohio. Lil Bow Wow saying, “I had And I was like ‘ooh Lil Uzi’ and like vert is verti- done a couple of little shows, and I finished the cal like straight to the top.” tour out with Snoop. That day he said, “Your Other notable lil’s include Lil Mama, Lil’ name is gonna be Bow Wow. We’re gonna change Mo, Lil Scrappy, Lil’ Flip, Lil Rob, Lil Skies, Lil it.” I didn’t like it; he did. Since everybody had Reese, Lil Mosey, Lil Twist, Lil Snupe, Lil Duke, dog names, it kinda just flowed. I was like ‘well, Lil’ Fizz, Lil Windex, Lil Wop, Lil Durk, Lil Toe- OK, that’s fine,” and I just kept that name ever nail, and many more. Who’s your favorite “lil”? since. I ain’t gonna change it.” The Tusker Tribune Page 5 The Student Newspaper of Somers Middle School

By Kaeleigh Picco Tusker Tribune Staff

Have you ever wondered what happened today- ten years ago? Twenty years ago? Thirty? In This Week in History, I will tell you about the events that happened that particular week that could have impacted our everyday lives, or are just really interesting to learn about.

November 14th, 1840

Have you ever heard of the famous French painter Claude Monet? On this day in 1840 in Paris, France, he was born. Below is some of artwork:

Water Woman with a Parasol, Lily Pond, 1875 1899

November 15th, 1777 I’m sure most of us have heard about the Constitution, an in- credibly famous document stating the rights and laws of all American people, but this work of brilliance didn’t happen overnight. The Articles of Confederation, or a “first draft” of the Constitution, was adopted by the Continental Congress.

November 18th, 1477 Who loves to read? How about in another language? Up un- til this date in 1477, there were no books in English. Crazy right? William Caxton printed this book, naming it The Dictes and Sayengis of Phyloserhers. It was the first printed book in the Eng- lish language.

November 21st, 1620 On this day in history, the Mayflower Compact was signed by Pilgrims in Cape Cod, Massa- chusetts. This compact was the first agreement for self-government to be created and enforced in America.