P A N T H E R E T T E - SCHUY L K IL L VA L L EY HIGH SCHOOL - DECEMBER 2019 Volume 59, Issue III The views expressed in this editorial do not necessarily Opinion: w hy t he Cit rus represent the views of the Pantherette or its staff. Count y library deserves a there was not this much talk of a major New York Times newspaper providing fake news. Yet, the second this president sees a single critique of himself subscript ion on a front page, he claims it is a lie and urges Addison Angstadt ?21 citizens to stop reading the paper. Due to this, supporters of President Trump automatically In our last issue, w e briefly covered a have begun boycotting the newspapers he st ory about a library t hat w as denied a berated. It is absurd to me that someone can subscript ion t o t he New York Times. Now , have so much psychological power over his junior co-edit or Addison Angst adt w eighs in. followers that he can tell them not to believe Recently, a library in Florida requested a the news? the one place that is supposed to digital subscription to the tell us the whole truth. New York Times. Officials The New York Times is from Citrus County reputed to be one of the rejected that request the most influential and because they believe the respected newspapers in NYT provides ?fake news? the US. The newspaper to its readers. The officials has been the one claimed that since common source that President Trump believes people have trusted for the newspaper is ?fake decades. When you watch news,? his opinion must sitcoms based in the 60s be true and, in turn, the or 70s, you won?t be library should not use the paper as a resource. surprised if you hear This infuriates me for many reasons. First of all, ?Don?t trust everything you see on the TV,? but it the officials are forcing their political views is rare to find the same sentiment about the upon the patrons newspaper. Without television and social Inside t his Issue of this library. The media, newspapers used to be the only reliable NYT providing fake source for normal people to read and find out New Clubs at SV p. 2 news is not a what was happening in the world. Except for Fall Play Review p. 3 proven fact, but editorials, the role of newspapers is to provide rather an opinion an unbiased account of world, local, or other New Softball Coach p. 6 held by some. events. The fact that someone can capriciously Teacher of the Month p. 7 Prior to the claim that a major newspaper is ?fake news? makes me livid. Likewise, denying a LIBRARY a Senior Spotlight p. 11 current administration, major newspaper (Continued on page 4) Page 2 Pantherette extends our sincerest apologies to Sandra Goho for not including her name with her "Club Plans for the Year" article from the first issue. We appreciate her work! New Clubs at SV Samantha Stewart ?21 Several new and exciting clubs have arrived to SV! The new clubs are SODAA, Debate, and DnD club. SODAA has been a part of SV for years, but was discontinued a few years ago. This year however, Mrs. Sassaman has revived the club with President Evan Johns and Secretary Danielle Readinger. The club is still holding nominations for other officer positions. Although starting small, there are pending approvals for activities in the spring. Currently, they are meeting during activity period only and are still accepting members! Debate club was just started this year by Layomi Adeojo and Whitney Tomes and will be advised by Mrs. French. It was just recently approved by administration and plans to meet during activity periods and occasionally after school. The club plans to explore multiple perspectives on current events so that members can understand that there are more sides to an argument than only their opinion. They will learn how to approach argumental debate, research current events or controversial issues, and present viewpoints in an appropriate way. DnD club, or Dungeons and Dragons club, was started by President Cameron Wallace and will be advised by Mrs. French. Other officers include Vice President Evan Lash, Michael Hall, and Liz Valeriano. The club plans to meet during activity periods and will discuss strategies and gameplay of the game Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. DnD club embraces creativity and strategic thinking. If you have an interest in DnD or M+G, this is a place for like-minded individuals to share your interest in these games. The Pantherette is published by students of Schuylkill Valley High School, Leesport, Pennsylvania, 19533. Advisors: Heather Barrett & Paige Figueroa Secretary: Danielle Readinger Editor-in-Chief: Layomi Adeojo Treasurers: Lillian Wiley Administrative Assistants: Whitney Tomes & Skylar Weddle Sports Editor: Skylar Renninger Junior Editors-in-Chief: Addison Angstadt & Kara Faulk Communications Ambassador: Samantha Stewart Sophomore Editors-in-Chief: Fayth Dalton Special Events Coordinator: Emily Hoffert Contributing Pantherette staff: Molly Ballou, Jen Brown, Stephanie Brumbach, Brock Dalton, Allison Henwood, Lilyana Isenberg, Emily Kale, Kaydence Muller, Marlee Rickert, Gabrielle Rider, Marlee Rickert, Hope Rozycki, Max Beras-Goico, Cloey Fleming, Sandra Goho, Vanessa Jones, Dan Koch, Alyssa Potts, Briana Silasavage, Sam Stewart, Lily Crowell, Hannah Deily, Katie Eisenhofer, Sarah Gilbert, Anna Gwiazdowski, Maddi Hess, Jessica Hummel, Rayven Muller, Mara Nagle, Dylan Small, Jonathan Werley, Alyssa Armpriester, Charlotte Baumgard, Gabrielle Cline, Emily Gao, Violet Goho, Nikki Kalash, Erin Livinghouse, Sage Reed, Cassidy Smith, Noah Wamsher, Helene Yerger, Elizabeth Zaharia, Caden Kline The Pantherette thanks Mr. Cullen and his students for the printing of our paper! Page 3 Fall Play Review Charlotte Baumgard ?23 The beloved board game Clue has seen its fair share of adaptations over the years. First, it was adapted into the 1985 film of the same name. The film was generally successful and included the prominent film and theatre actor Tim Curry in a leading role. Clue was later adapted into the musical, premiering in 1997 Off-Broadway at the Players Theatre. It played a total of 46 performances before subsequently closing. Finally, Clue Photos courtesy of Whitney Tomes was adapted into the play most of us are familiar with today. Over the past few years since the rights were released, this play?s popularity with high school theatre departments has skyrocketed. This allowed different schools to perform this show, each one inevitably putting their own twists and personality into it. On November 15th and 16th, under the direction of Mr. Scott Piergrossi and assistant director Mrs. Amy Searfoss, Schuylkill Valley delighted and thrilled the audience with their own rendition of this classic play. Clue follows the quirky cast of characters at a (quite eventful) dinner party. This year's cast was led by Whit ney Tom es as Mrs. Peacock, Isabella New t on as Mrs. White, Briana Silasavage as Miss Scarlet, Evan Duda as Mr. Green, Lucas Adam s as Colonel Mustard, Daniel Koch as Mr. Plum, and Michael Hall as the Butler. They are all invited anonymously and once their host is killed mysteriously they must band together to find the culprit. All the while, the murders only continue until only the seven guests remain, leaving them scrambling to uncover an answer to the looming mystery. One might be skeptical as to how thrilling a play based on a simple board game might be. But after all, it is a murder mystery, and this play proved to be anything but vapid. Every single effervescent performer encapsulated and embodied their characters with true eloquence. The show exuded personality and there was a distinct feeling of pride and passion in all of the cast and crew members. Clue was a fantastic, hilarious story that kept everyone guessing until the very end. This year?s spring musical is Lit t le Shop of Horrors. Little Shop of Horrors is a horror comedy with rock music. The story plot begins with a florist worker named Seymour who raises a plant called Aubrey II that feeds off of human blood and flesh. This musical is based off the 1986 movie. Show dat es are April 3 & 4, so come out and support the cast, crew, and pit! Page 4 (Continued from page 1) subscription makes me fume. Not only is the local government pushing its political beliefs upon a library, but it's also censoring opposing political beliefs. As an American, I have the right to freedom of speech. Does that not also mean that I have the right to listen to others as they indulge in their own freedom of speech? We are allowed the freedom to choose what materials we want to read, so why does the government in Citrus County believe otherwise? It would be more understandable if they simply could not afford the NYT subscription... but they obviously can. The county is just using politics as a ?valid reason? to not purchase the newspaper. However, it is not a valid reason? it is censorship and obstruction of freedom of the press. Freedom of speech is not sim ply being allow ed t o express our ideologies, but it is also t he abilit y t o have a plat form for expressing t hose ideologies. This is why we have freedom of the press. Whether that platform is newspapers, novels, billboards, radio programs, or television shows, Americans have the right to the media. The government in Citrus County is not only taking away its citizens? rights to choose what they wish to read, but it is also forcing its own political beliefs upon them, which is inherently wrong.