See the John P. Stevens High School Hall of Honor Legacy in the Centerfold... The John P. Stevens HawkeyeApril 2006 Volume XLV1 Issue 4 EveryHall four years, we honor a select fewof alumni Honorwho have truly made JP Stevens proud. Every four years, we honor a loni, Mr. Randy Westrol, Ms. Lee Isabel Black. Together, they mail spective fields. Past inductees have high school, Current students will select few alumni who have truly Zektzer, Ms. Sherri Brandstet- out extensive applications to the included Bon Jovi keyboard player act as guides and give the inductees made JP Stevens proud. And for ter, Mr. Jonathan nominees, who are then required to David Bryan and former Edison tours of the school. The inductees four years, their photos and descrip- Miller, Mr. submit their resumes. The process mayor George A. Spadoro. will also attend a welcome brunch tions remain framed and on display Robert is much like a job application, and There is no formal limit on the to meet and greet each other and – the well-lit showcase across from the requirements span many areas. number of candidates that are in- members of the committee. An the main office to which the ad- The demanding criteria asks for ducted. That said, there is also no assembly for over 600 students miring eyes of students, faculty, well-rounded alums rule setting a minimum number of during period twelve gives these and visitors are drawn. These men and examines the inductees. The committee wishes inductees the opportunity to share and women are alumni of JP Ste- a p p l i c a n t s ’ only to select those people deserv- their stories with the student body. vens who have led highly excit- ing of this award, and they strong- Later, there is a student leader re- ing and successful lives, who have ly believe that the honor of this ception in the school and finally, reached extraordinary levels of award should be offered to the event will culminate in a dinner achievement, and who have most every alumus. Eight that evening at the Sheraton Hotel definitely defended the tradition of years ago, fourteen in Woodbridge. excellence that JP Stevens carries. nominees were cho- The Hall of Honor is a rigor- This year, we recognize twelve new sen to receive the ous process; within the span of alumni who have so proudly worn awards; four years seventeen months, the Hall of their green and gold and risen to ago, there were Honor committee is dealt the task the top by inducting them into the twelve. This year, of selecting over ten people to JP Stevens Hall of Honor. twelve new people represent JP Stevens and its suc- Selecting our finest, la crème de were chosen as cess stories in the world beyond la crème of JP Stevens, is not an inductees of the high school. In the end, the school easy task, and the process is a long Hall of Honor. receives more than a magnificent and arduous one. Many months They form a showcase; it is bestowed evidence are required to rummage through diverse crowd of JP Stevens achievement. The years of JP Stevens history to of successful students of today can look to the find candidates for the honor. alumni and students of yesterday to pave the The process begins with nomina- will proudly path for the students of tomorrow. tions approximately one year be- represent JP Generation after generation of JP fore the actual Hall of Honor in- Stevens once have cemented the Hall of Honor duction. Nomination forms are again. into this continuous tradition. Af- advertised in newspapers, on lo- This year, ter all, the aim of the induction cal TV through Channel 14, the the Hall of is an honorable one: student ac- internet, and through mail. They Honor cer- tivities director Ms. Cathy Di Gioia are sent to former teachers, ad- emony will said, “The purpose of the Hall of ministration, alumni, and previ- Honor is not only to honor the ous winners, who are in turn people who have achieved their encouraged to name people goals, but also to give current stu- they believe to be worthy dents of JP Stevens role models to of this prestigious award. whom they can turn to for motiva- When the nomination pro- tion. Through the Hall of Honor, cess is completed – usually students can see that if they set in mid-October of the year goals in any field – whether it is before the Hall of Honor in- medical, law, music, art, anything duction – the Hall of Honor they set their minds to – JP Stevens committee begins its work. t a ke will give them the tools and the op- Thirteen people comprise p l a c e portunities to achieve. The Hall of this board, ranging from cur- o n Honor is more about the students rent teachers to Board of Edu- T h u r s - than anything else – these qualified cation administration to former day, April inductees are sources of inspira- students. This year, the commit- 27. The tion for the school.” tee includes Ms. Cathy Di Gioia, twelve inductees will be Ms. Gail Pawlikowski, Mrs. Patricia Feldman, Mrs. Patty Savu- characters, community involve- invited back to JP Stevens to reac- Hawkeye News Staff Di Gioia-Laird, Mrs. Joanne Car- lich, Ms. Susan Scerbo, and Mrs. ment, and their success in their re- quaint themselves with their former INSIDE THE JOHN P. STEVENS HAWKEYE NEWS OPINION FEATURES SPORTS Learn about the Check out the What are the Get the scoop on SAT scoring debate over Top 10 jobs for basketball and mistake and drug testing on high school baseball! Turn to who is affected humans Page 3. students? Find Page 19. on Page 7. out on Page 9. 2 Opinion April 2006 Hawkeye Mission in Iraq: A Complete Failure In March of 2003, President George ing and fathers are sighing over their lost troops overseas will not help the situation. Editorial Staff W. Bush made the decision to invade Iraq. sons and daughters. Each and every day, Prolonging the war will not help the situa- Under the pretext that Saddam Hussein’s dreams are shattered and futures are lost. tion. Lying to the American people will not 2005-2006 regime possessed an active nuclear arms Osama bin Laden caused two thousand help the situation. The cold hard truth of program, President Bush plunged the na- American deaths on 9/11. George W. Bush the matter is that Iraqis do not want us in Published by the students of tion into a war from which little has been has caused two thousand more since then. their country. This fact is proven by all of John P. Stevens High School gained thus far. He used the terrorist at- However, progress has been made in Iraq the suicide bombers, willing to sacrifice their 855 Grove Avenue tacks of September 11, 2001 to sway pub- to some degree. American troops have suc- lives rather than to lose their way of life. Edison, NJ 08820 lic opinion into supporting this invasion. cessfully trained an Iraqi army. An interim Our troops are still holding steady against America was pitched into this long, grueling government has been established with a insurgents; however, this is not the path to Editors-in-Chief journey that diverted attention from more recently ratified constitution to hold it up. victory. We must ask ourselves what will be pressing domestic issues, all for the price at the end of the road, if we get there at all. Sharon Lee of over two thousand dead and seventeen Iraq is headed towards a civil war. Trans- Jessie Lo thousand wounded. Since then, U.N. Inspec- forming this nearly theocratic nation into a tors have revealed that Saddam Hussein has democracy is something that cannot be done never had the weapons of mass destruction in this lifetime. The people of Iraq are split News Editors that President Bush told Americans about. not only in their religious beliefs, but also Annie Wei This so-called “Operation: Iraqi Freedom” in their vision of the future. The harsh re- George Xing has become “Operation: Deceive America” strictions on life and liberty that have been Assistant News Editors From the onset, it seemed as if George present for so long in the country will not Pooja Mahadeshwar Bush wanted to be remembered as a war go away overnight. If President Bush truly president. There is no question that af- American engineers contribute much ef- wants a democratic and free Iraq, then he ter 9/11, Osama bin Laden and those re- fort in helping to build a better Iraq. must be patient. He must not be concerned Opinion Editors sponsible for the two thousand American Many would argue that Iraq is on the road about boosting his 37% approval rating. He Esther Min deaths that day needed to be hunted down to success. But one must take a closer look must not worry about his status in the his- Jeremy Meisinger and brought to justice. However, President to see the big picture. Tensions have built tory textbooks. He must not be stubborn Bush has morphed this hunt for Osama into up between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Last in pushing a lost cause to a very bitter end. Assistant Opinion Editors a war against radical Islam. At the start of month, one of the Shiites’ holiest mosques We have laid a foundation for reform; now Trisha Bakshi the war, the Bush administration persuaded was attacked and heavily damaged.