“A beacon of truth.” Issue 1, VolumeVolume 37 HuntingtonDispatch High School Oakwood and McKay Roads Huntington, NY 1117431743 09 Diversity an issue at HHS by CAT TACOPINA AND SAMUEL SAINTHIL Itʼs something teachers have noticed on their fi rst day walk- verse yet unintentionally segregated. ing through the cafeteria. They walk through, say hi to the security Huntington High School is one of the most diverse schools on OCTOBER PHOTO: ALEX OTTAS guards, glance inside the two cafeterias, and canʼt believe what they Long Island. In fact, itʼs something that school offi cials like to boast see. Thereʼs a clear distinction between the two. On one side sit all of about to colleagues. But when you take a look around, are we really news in short the minority students. On the other, the majority. Maybe they suddenly that diverse? In population, yes this is true. However, if you look at the stepped into the past. The 1950s? cafeteria and more importantly the classrooms, this isnʼt exactly the Valedictorian and No. Itʼs just the way things are at Huntington High School. Di- case. The most disturbing and apparent example is the lack of diversity Salutatorian announced within the Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classes. The Huntington High School student body is com- The class of 2010 Vale- prised 2.7% students of Asian descent, 13.4% of students dictorian and Sautatorian who identify themselves as African American or black, were recently announced. 23.9% students who are Hispanic, .7% who are of multi- The Dispatch would like racial heritage, .08% pacifi c islander, and 59.2% Cauca- to congratulate Rebecca sian. These percentages were taken out of the grand total Silverman on her achieve- of 1,253 students at Huntington High School. When we ment of Valedictorian, and asked Dr. Leonardi what percentage of minority students Alanna Tieman on her ac- make up an Honors or AP class, she gave us a grim smile complishment of Salutato- and said, “Well you both already know. The Honors AP rian. classes are 99% Caucasian.” One of the schoolʼs AP teach- ers, Mr. Graber, agrees. Eagle project fi nished “On average, I have a hundred and fi fty students in my AP classes,” He said, “Iʼm not sure exactly how many, but In the late summer, se- clearly I do not have many students that are of the minor- nior Tyler May fi nished ity.” his Eagle Scout project of But how does this happen? Should we really believe building a commemera- that all of those minority students arenʼt smart enough to tive brick walkway. Many be in an Honors/AP class? Or is it just that they donʼt want people sponsored bricks to to be? Most likely, itʼs PHOTO: SAM WIDERMAN have an everlasting memo- the latter of the two. article continued on page 8 ry of being part of the Hun- tington High School com- munity. Upon seeing this, th many more people would Marching band celebrates 75 like to sponsor bricks to be included in a new walkway to be built this spring. Blue Devil marching band celebrates 75 years of excellence INSIDE FEATURES by KATIE PETROZZO & MARK DROBNJAK which consists of 557 people The Huntington Blue Devil Marching as of today. However, the fes- Tour Band (HBDMB) has entered an exciting new tivities and excitement donʼt season, along with the highly anticipated 75th end after Homecoming week- de anniversary of the program. The marching end. Planned far in advance, band was founded in 1934 by James Cloyd an end of the year concert is Bakery Doty along with Principal Robert L. Simp- scheduled for June 5th, 2010, son, whose passion and love of the band pro- consisting of a jazz ensemble, Where to eat p. 4 gram helped to make it a proud tradition. Ms. wind ensemble, orchestra, Linda Shoemaker, a retired band director, also band, and various other musi- greatly contributed to the program by direct- cal groups that normally play ing top-notch groups that played incredible in school concerts. This perfor- shows. Many of the band alumni, including mance will consist of both cur- Ms. Shoemaker, came together on Homecom- rent and past members of the WWW.HUFSD.EDU PHOTOS: ing weekend. On the day of the Homecoming Huntington High School music Drum majors Kieran Fell, Kenny Stripoli, and Caitlin Etri parade, the alumni had their own section and program. With all of the excit- $ proudly marched through the streets of Hun- ing organized events in mind, Jason Giachetti, 2007. I was really impressed when 12 bands tington expressing all the pride they felt dur-dur- a current band director at Huntington, is very showed up at our school, making our compe- How to earn cash in ing their own high school ex- pleased. He told us, “The most exciting part tition one of the largest in the state.” Sopho- school perience, as well as the joy of this whole thing is seeing the tradition of more Nitika Shah told us that, “Marching Top 10 Tips p. 4 of reuniting the people that so many years coming together to celebrate.” band is a great thing because we take it and contributed to such a fi ne On October 4th, the HBDMB had the honor make it what we want it to be, with our own OPINION activity.activity. That night, the of hosting their biannual home show. The music, our own visuals, and our own way of alumni gathered at the Elks underclassmen were able to experience the entertaining a crowd of 4000.” Junior member Club for a blithe dinner,dinner, thrill of competing on home grounds for the Corina Antonucci commented, “I really loved gathering past band mem- fi rst time as the juniors and seniors enjoyed the home show this year. Iʼm proud to be in PROM bers to reminisce about their last competition at home. Huntington the Huntington Blue Devil Marching Band.” 2010 their days in the marching became the site of competition for 13 bands bandʼs show this year, “Strength and Honor,” band. The entire event (including the HBDMB), to which more than is a collaboration of music from the motion was run by the parent 4,000 spectators attended and around 170 par- picture, Gladiator. The 2009 marching sea- alumni association. ent volunteers lent a helping hand. Hunting- son ends in Syracuse, New York at the Car- On the popular ton came in 2nd place with a score of 77.90; rier Dome, which is where championships are held. It has been a quite busy yet thrilling sea- Point/Counterpoint p. 7 social network- fi ve points higher than the score recieved at ing site Face- the fi rst show at Sachem High School East. son with the 75th Anniversary and the gather- INDEX book, a group Tommy Monks, a senior and section leader of ing of bands from all over New York State. news..............................2 was created for the the pit (percussion section), stated, “The home Yet, the adventure never really ends as the entertainment..............9 Huntington Alumni, show was amazing this year and itʼs cool how 2010-2011 season is just around the corner... sports..............back page A HBDMB memorabilia bobblehead. it has grown since my fi rst home show in The Dispatch 2 DECEMBEROCTOBEROCTOBER0906 NEWS Where in the world is Budget Cuts 2009-2010 Jarrett Stein? by KIKI THOMPSON As you may or may not know, the school budget for this of a school, he happily accepted smoothly at Woodhull, and em- year has passed. This means that a number of teachers, pro- by AMY EISEN the job. braces the neww challenges that grams and sports were cut to maintain that budget. For instance, He very much enjoys his new come along with his position. His the position of Director of Guidance was lost. The Director of Mr. Stein was one of the fa- job, stating his responsibilities main responsibilities lie in the Mathematics was given two periods to teach and Director of miliar faces seen around the hall- over “everything.” As assistant students, dealing with the cur- Humanities was given only one. Some students even lost the ways of Huntington riculum, observa- chance of being in certain courses because every class that con- High School. He was tions, and testing, tained less than fi fteen students was removed from the budget. assistant principal, and to name a few. Some of the programs cut include the GED for bilingual stu- was always walking While he likes dents through BOCES and Secondary Study Hall & Hallway around, keeping the his new job, he Assistance (SHHA). The hours available to fi nish or make up peace. loved his old one. schoolwork in the school library were cut in half. We also lost a However, when “I loved it, loved percentage of equipment money and girlʼs varsity cheerleading looking around the it. I miss the kids was cut from the athletic budget. hallways of Hunting- terribly. And all Even though the school is saving money by cutting these ton High school today, the faculty,” Mr. teachers, programs and sports, the budget has repercussions be- Mr. Stein is nowhere Stein stated. He yond the obvious. These teachers will have to fi nd jobs else- in sight. Many ask, noted how differ- “where is he?” Do not ent the two schools worry. Mr. Stein is not are, but that didnʼt “Even though the school is too far away. He has come as a surprise saving money by cutting these taken over the role of to him, as high principal at Woodhull school students teachers, programs, and sports, Intermediate School, are very different the budget has repercussions where he deals with from those in el- students in grades 4-6.