“A beacon of truth.” Issue 2, VolumeVolume 37 HuntingtonDispatch High School Oakwood and McKay Roads Huntington, NY 1117431743 09 Kids who help kids by SAM WIDERMAN Some people may notice that every Wednesday, a group of stu- Natural Helpers is a national program that runs in high schools DECEMBER dents meets in a small, hot pink room just outside the cafeteria. These across the U.S., including neighboring schools such as Walt Whitman PHOTO: LAUREN CAMPBELL students are the Natural Helpers. Each one is selected based on rec- and Harborfi elds. The program at our school has been running for ommendations from his or her teachers and peers. Many students in over 25 years and is also supported by the non-profi t Tri Community news in short the school see them go to their private area of the cafeteria to eat their and Youth Agency (TRI CYA), whose Assistant Regional Director, lunch on Wednesdays, but they donʼt see anything else. It makes sense Mairead Kelly, has been advising the program along with Mr. Gilmor Athletes honored at Suf- for people to wonder, “What does this club even do?” for years. The goal of the program is mainly to provide additional folk Zone reception training and support to students throughout the school who already help their friends with confl icts and hard de- Senior athletes Meredith cisions. An anonymous survey is given out to students McCourt (soccer, basket- and teachers to help fi nd these students and invite them ball, and track) and Ryan to an overnight retreat. The retreat is a training session Greenhill (volleyball and during which many of the members meet for the fi rst time. lacrosse) were honored The students are trained to become better helpers in their by Suffolk Zone for being own circle of friends, while gaining access to a commu- outstanding individuals nity that they know they can trust if they ever come across both on and off the fi eld. a problem they canʼt solve on their own. Natural Helpers These students are highly are also trained to identify when students are having seri- respected and serve as role ous problems and take the proper steps to address them. models to their peers. When Ms. Kelly visits Huntington on Wednesdays, it is Suffolk Zone offers this a time when club members can talk about any problems award to only one male and theyʼre having, providing them with an outlet of people one female from each high they know they can trust. school in Suffolk. Qualifi - Recently, there has been some criticism about the cations include a 3.0 GPA recommendation process. Although it has its fl aws, it is as well as demonstration of designed to invite new members that represent all parts of leadership characteristics. the student body, and in that aspect it works well. PHOTO: LAUREN CAMPBELL Finelloʼs term extended article continued on page 4 A group of Natural Helpers congregates during a 7th period meeting. Due to numerous pressing issues facing the HUFSD, the Board of Ed. voted to postpone the retirement of How H1N1 is changing society Superintendent Finello for a full year, extending his contract until June 2011. Swine Flu changes customs and traditions around the world INSIDE FEATURES by REBECCA FRIEDMAN mats to services. In Flu season has arrived. If it isnʼt bad Spain, Roman Cath- Holiday enough to deal with the threat of the seasonal olics are being asked fl u, the H1N1 infl uenza virus, commonly to refrain from kiss- Gift known as the “swine fl u”, is adding its viru- ing a statue of the lence to the autumn-winter sniffl es. The out- countryʼs patron Guide break of the H1N1 virus has caused people saint, and Italy has to reconsider the way they interact with each banned the kissing What to buy p. 2 other, the foods they eat, and the way they of two vials thought live. to contain the blood Europeans often greet and say farewell to of a saint. one another by offering a quick kiss or peck on When the virus each cheek. With the current fear of transmit- was fi rst detected, ting swine fl u, a number of schools and com- China, Russia, and panies are urging people to avoid this practice. Ukraine were quick The mayor of a small French town has even to ban pork produced WWW.CNN.COM PHOTO: The Obama fi st-pound: an innovative method of avoiding germs. gone as far as to ban the kisses all together, in the United States. telling National Public Radio, “Whatʼs the A total of 27 countries followed suit shortly cording to CNN. The germs can then hang in Reels Revisited: point in the preventative hand washing when after. According to Time magazine, the ban on the air for up to a minute, so even if the drop- GoodFellas people are still kissing each other all of the pork has devastated the pork industry, causing lets donʼt land on a nearby person, he or she Review p. 7 time?” Mexican, Spanish, and Lebanese gov- the government to bail out farmers who have could still walk through the germy cloud and ernment offi cials have also discouraged the had to sell their pork at lower prices. It has catch a virus. Even worse, coughing or sneez- OPINION popular kissing greetings. The fear has even been determined, however, that one cannot ing into a hand followed by touching a public spread to New York, for some school offi cials catch H1N1 through “the other white meat.” space, such as a subway pole, a door handle or have even advised students to avoid giving The H1N1 virus contains both swine and hu- a computer keyboard, spreads the range of the high fi ves. man genes. Although most are aware that pork germs. Remember good cold and fl u etiquette: Obamaʼs Swine fl u is slowly changing some long- cannot be linked the to the virus, the mediaʼs cough or sneeze into a tissue, or if a Kleenex Education held religious practices. The Archdiocese of name of “swine fl u” has persuaded many to is unavailable, use your elbow and sleeve to cover your mouth. Plan New York told Catholic New Yorkers they may avoid such products. refrain from the traditional handshaking at Symptoms of sickness may not be against Swine fl u is making quite a name for it- mass. One rabbi in Brookline, Massachusetts the law yet, but there does seem to be an abun- self this year. There are a few simple ways to told reporters that he suggested congregants dance of dirty looks going around in response lessen the likelihood of you getting the H1N1 virus: wash your hands several times a day, Point/Counterpoint p. 5 at his temple greet each other with a “Bud- to public throat clearing. It appears that every- dhist bow” or an “Obama fi st bump.” Muslims one is much more cautious of coughing and disinfect frequently touched objects, avoid INDEX celebrating Ramadan in Lebanon and Kuwait sneezing in public, and perhaps rightly so. A touching your eyes, mouth, nose, and fi nally, features.........................2 have been warned against hugging, and if the simple sneeze sends as many as 100,000 drop- take your vitamins (especially vitamin D, entertainment..............6 fl u outbreak exacerbates, mosques may con- lets of germs from your mouth and nose into which helps to strengthen your immune sys- sports..............back page sider asking people to bring their own prayer the air within 3 to 5 feet at about 100 mph ac- tem). Following these elementary steps will help you enjoy a healthy, swine-free holiday. The Dispatch 2 DECEMBER0609 FEATURES Holiday Gift Guide by CAT TACOPINA There are a bunch of holi- joyed. You can make these on their girlfriend for the holidays, ping on their own, and this elimi- for the football, hockey, and even days to celebrate at this time of your own, too. All youʼll need you should seriously consider nates the fear that your friend will the tennis lover. If you want to year. Whether it be Hanukkah or to do is melt one or two bags of this option. There arenʼt many absolutely hate the gift you have get your dad the missing baseball Christmas, you are probably fac- chocolate chips and get a bag of girls who donʼt like a cute piece given them, causing them to ex- card of his childhood card collec- ing the same dilemma that most pretzels. Once youʼve melted the of jewelry. change it for something else. tion, or an autographed picture of teenagers come across around this chocolate chips, you can simply A gift for those who are to- A gift for the sports lover: one your brotherʼs favorite sports star, time- gifts. Most of us donʼt have dip the pretzels in and voila! For tally lost as to what to buy some- of Huntingtonʼs best little shops is you should consider Cow Over the kind of money to make the extra fl air you can utilize top- one- Gift cards are a great gift! Cow Over The Moon, located on The Moon. same type of magic our favorite pings, such as bits of candy canes While some people are opposed Main Street from Ben & Jerryʼs Remember, the holidays holiday icons pull off every single or M&Ms. to the idea of a gift card, see- and a few stores down. Once you donʼt have to be stressful, espe- year, but whoʼs to say you have A gift for the jewelry-lover: ing as they fi nd it impersonal, it walk in there, you instantly feel cially over gifts.