Chicago students react negatively to Arizona law

By Nistha Tamrakar

Sporting events, colleges, students, and illegal immigrants have all been affected by the recent Arizona immigration law that was passed on April 23.

In Arizona, the governor signed the nation’s toughest bill on illegal immigration into law. The law, also known as SB 1070, aims to identify, prosecute, and deport illegal immigrants. This law is scheduled to go into effect on July 28.

The law gives police the power to detain anyone who they have ‘reasonable suspicion’ to believe is undocumented. Many have begun to challenge and protest against this law because it is essentially legalizing racial profiling and discrimination against Hispanics regardless of their citizenship status.

At Lane, social networking sites have increased awareness of this law. Facebook has created a group titled, “1 Million People Saying Shame on Arizona.” It advocates Facebook users to join and take action by sending messages to Arizona’s leaders. It has sayings posted such as, “As long as racial profiling is legal in Arizona, I will do what I can to not visit the state and to avoid spending dollars there.”

Most Lane students have expressed strong opinions about this new law.

“Coming from immigrant parents, [I think] this law is completely bogus and racist,” said Juleny Cruz, Div. 153. “How are you going to judge someone [about] whether they have papers or not by the way they look, or their accent?”

“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous because it is racial profiling and it is sad because we have come such a long way to fight it,” said Meilen Teklemichael, Div. 168.

Ms. Sebestyen a Lane law teacher, held an open discussion about the Arizona law during her class. The students were immensely engaged in the topic and it developed into a heated debate.

“I believe that we should have class discussions about issues like this. Though it might not affect people in Illinois, it is still occurring in our country,” said Arooba Chaudhry, Div. 052.

This law mainly affects Hispanics in Arizona because they are targeting the illegal immigrants that come from the bordering countries, such as Mexico. One Lane Mexican-American student expresses her personal experiences with working with immigrants in Chicago.

“I have volunteered at Latinos Progresando for the past three years, [which] [is] an immigration and legal services organization,” said Gabriela Reno, Div. 053. “I have worked closely with the Dream Act and know what a law like the SB 1070 and other deportations can do to families and bright young students. This country was founded by immigrants and there is no way it would have become such a great place without the handwork of immigrants who have contributed so much to the U.S.”

Recently, Highland Park High School’s Girls’ Basketball team cancelled an upcoming trip to Arizona for a tournament.

“We would want to ensure that all of our students had the opportunity to be included and be safe and be able to enjoy the experience [at the tournament],” said District 113 Assistant Superintendent Suzan Hebson. “We wouldn’t necessarily be able to guarantee that.”

Although it has only been a month and a half since the law was passed, Arizona has been affected in many ways. Many out-of-state students have told the University of Arizona that they are not attending their school because of the law. Groups have been calling and have cancelled meetings and conventional plans in the state. Elementary schools and high schools in Arizona are also concerned that student participation in sports are going to decline. Even the Arizona Diamondbacks are facing the side effects of this law. They expect fewer fans at away games because protest plans may be unfolding in each location.

Though it seems like most people are against this law, there are some that support its mission.

“I am for the new revised Arizona Law. I am against illegal immigration because of the crime that comes with it. I have heard that crime in Arizona has dramatically increased at the same time illegal immigration increased. The crime and drug war in Mexico is spilling over the border into our country and the citizens of Arizona are suffering because of it,” said Krystian Chowaniec, Div. 090. “Hey, don’t get me wrong. I have Latino and white friends that are illegal, and I believe they are good people. I want students to gain residency because they will be assets to our country, [but] just keep the real criminals out.”

“I am against illegal immigration, especially because we are in a recession,” said Darina Veleva, Div. 025. “Legal residents do not have jobs because the illegal residents are working for way less money.”

According to some students, there are alternative solutions to the illegal immigration issue.

“I think the [Arizona] [law] is inappropriate, very extreme, and an unnecessary approach. I think it’s wrong that we need to make people feel uncomfortable in order to achieve something,” said Anastasia Protopappas, Div. 045. “There has to be a different way to regulate immigration and citizenship.”

“They shouldn’t just target certain people like Hispanics. It should be everybody,” said Natalie Gaddini, Div 027.

Besides Arizona, other states, such as Colorado, have considered passing similar immigration laws.

“Arizona is now deporting people at a rate of 1,000 per day — with nearly half of the arrests in the state of Arizona — and now the state legislature is on the verge of escalating that pace dramatically,” said U.S. Representative Luis Guiterrez.

In order to protests against the Arizona law, a group called One Arizona filed paperwork with the Secretary of State’s Office on April 28 to begin a petition drive to overturn S1070. Boycotts in Arizona have also continued to rise everyday in order to stop this law.

Polish plane crash leaves students sad, others suspicious

By Katarzyna Barnak

On April 10, the world learned of the tragic Tupolev-154 crash in the woods of Smolensk, Russia. Aboard the plane was the Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, along with 95 others, including members of Parliament and the Polish elite.

Poland dedicated a week of grieving and tribute to the late president, his wife Maria, and government officials that died in the crash. At Lane, students also showed their sorrow and had a moment of silence.

“We felt like something died inside of us,” said Ewa Cwalina, Div. 350. “The reason for this might not just be that many people died, but that many people, such as family members of the ones killed, suffered. Feeling patriotic made this situation feel more important in my life.”

“I decided to be in mourning and to show my grief. All week I wore dark colors. My car and house had a flag with a black ribbon,” said Joanna Żak, Div. 174.

“My friend said that she wore the black ribbon close to her heart as if keeping those that died close to her heart,” said Rumana Nazeer, Div. 159.

The news of President Kaczynski’s death spread even to those who were on the road.

“My friend and I were at the college tour when we found out about this tragedy from our chaperone during breakfast. First, we were in denial, and later in shock that something like this could even happen,” said Kinga Magiera, Div. 151.

“As soon as we got on the bus, me and my Polish friends looked it up on the iPod touch. We could not stop reading, although it was a terrible piece of news,” said Żak.

Many wanted to know what caused the crash, and whether it could have been prevented. There were many speculations.

“I think Russians had to be involved since this occurred so close to the Katyn remembrance event, and the Russians did not want information on Katyn to come out. It is suspicious that Tusk [the Prime Minister of Poland] went alone a few days earlier for the remembrance of Katyn,” said Magiera.

“I don’t think that the speculations are true, it is a tragedy, and because we are human we are looking for an explanation and a scapegoat for it,” said Justyna Jakubaszek, Div. 045.

“I think it’s really important to know if it was intentional, even if it starts a conflict, because you can’t just kill the president and leave a country without a leader,” said Yamilleth Lopez, Div. 153.

A British online paper, dailymail.com, reported that poor weather conditions were the cause of the accident and that the pilot did not understand Russian. However, according to the Polish radio station, 1080am Chicago Wietrzne Radio, the pilot was fluent in Russian and aware of the weather.

Recent investigations, according to The New York Times, have shown that there were two non-crew members present in the cockpit. While one was identified as Poland’s air force commander, Andrzej Blasik, the other is still undergoing the identification process.

“Maybe the President forced the pilot to land at that very airport. I’m not trying to say that it was the President’s fault, but I just do not believe that the pilot decided to land [of] his own will during a terrible weather…He knew what the consequences might be,” said Cwalina.

The Polish government had only that Russian plane for diplomatic and business travel. There have been a total of 16 fatal accidents involving the Tupolev-154, as exposed by the Kyiv Post. However, the 40-year old plane went through a thorough check-up two months earlier and was found to be safe.

“It was surprising how they put so many important Polish officials on one plane,” said Victoria Sanchez, Div. 177.

There are many unanswered questions and controversies, but some feel that too much attention is given to the event.

“The tragedy should be put aside and the Polish government should focus on the domestic issues that it has put off for a long time. I personally don’t believe that there should be a demonstration of grief every month because at this point it doesn’t feel genuine and becomes more of a political tactic,” said Jakubaszek.

Nonetheless, students find that this incident has made its mark on history.

“This is something that affects all Polish people, no matter where you live. It is my background, and I can’t just erase it because I don’t live in Poland. Yeah, some people can say that it is stupid and it doesn’t matter, but I will argue with them anytime, that it does!” said Żak.

The mourning mood was reflected in this year’s Polish Constitution Day Parade, which took place on May 1st.

“This year the parade was dedicated for this tragedy. Even though it wasn’t as exciting as the last couple of years, I still had a great time by spending time with my friends and showing our patriotic side to others,” said Cwalina.

But the effect of the tragedy was far more than just a spur of Polish nationalistic pride. More countries recognized Poland while many world leaders traveled to Krakow to attend the funeral of President Kaczynski and other victims, as reported on CNN.

“Most of my friends felt bad for what had happened and they also ended up learning more about Poland and its history,” said Cwalina.

“Poland, as a country, really did get a wake-up call, especially in the government system. Things weren’t really running smoothly before the tragedy; the event just gave a painful reality check,” said Polish Club President, Joanna Szczudło, Div. 090.

“Just like Haiti, this impacted a lot of people. News like this doesn’t happen everyday and it cannot be just shoved under a rock,” said Żak.

2011 senior class president ambitious about next year

By Jessica Barajas

Just one month after winning, Senior Class President, Jonathan Caliso, Div. 175, already has big plans in store for 2011’s senior class, such as creating a Senior Youtube channel and selecting senior shirts that don’t make students want to go out and make their own.

As Senior Class President, Caliso equally shares all the power that comes with winning the election with the rest of the Senior Class officers.

“Rather than positions, it’s more of a group effort of ideas, jobs, and assignments. We as a group discuss a topic and ideas, and from there we come to a compromise,” said Caliso.

Although Caliso and the rest of the officers share the power over making decisions Caliso is the only one who meets with Mrs. House. Caliso is responsible for meeting with Mrs. House so she can inform him of up coming events, such as senior t-shirts that the Senior Class has to take care of. Then Caliso must meet with the rest of the officers and together make a plan and decision.

So what made Caliso want to run for Senior Class President?

Caliso is currently a member of Lane’s Filipino Club and both the President of the club, Flory Ann Evia, Div. 028, and officer, Donovan Tolledo, Div. 036, ran for Senior Class last year. Tolledo became 2010’s Senior Class President and Evia Vice-President.

Filipino club members were all huge supporters of Tolledo, Evia, and Caliso when they ran for Senior Class.

“There are 150-170 members in the club and we call ourselves Kapamilya Habang Buhay, which translates to Family for Life because we think of each other as family not just members,” said Caliso.

Although Evia and Tolledo both encourage their members to become involved with school events they believe that members such as Caliso run and will continue to run for Senior Class and other elections for other reasons.

“We are all very friendly people and we tend to be involved because I feel members like me want to change the diversity at Lane,” said Evia.

“We have the why not attitude. It’s about being fearless and going for it. We do some crazy stuff so we constantly have to just go for it and hope we land and don’t break our legs. It’s the same thing with elections. We run for something, we may fall, but why not try?” said Tolledo.

Filipino club was a great help to Caliso during his campaign but he also has other students to thank.

“Honestly, all juniors were important in the election. Filipino Club may be big, but it’s only a fraction of the school. I tried to campaign to as many people as I could, even if I didn’t really know them,” said Caliso.

Caliso promised to give 2011’s senior class a great year full of great ideas, and that is exactly what he plans on accomplishing. One of Caliso’ goals for this summer is to set up a 2011 Senior Class Youtube page.

“Since many students are busy and do not have time to catch up on upcoming/senior events I have been thinking of setting up a Senior 2011 Youtube channel where students can log on and catch up with what’s going on and coming up,” said Caliso.

Caliso hopes that having a 2011 Senior Class Youtube channel will be an entertaining and easy way for seniors to want to keep in touch with each other and communicate ideas.

The page will include news on upcoming senior events, senior announcements and reminders. They will all be in form of video blogs.

“Also for fun, I was thinking of adding dance choreographs tutorials, recent events, or anything else that students may find interesting,” said Caliso.

Aside from being Senior President and a Filipino Club dance member, Caliso is also a photographer. Caliso plans to buy a new camera in which he will record videos along with pictures to get the page started. After doing so he will run the idea through the Senior Class officers and together create the Youtube page.

According to Caliso if all goes well, 2011 seniors should expect the page to be available in early August or September.

Many juniors agree with Caliso that setting up a Senior Class Youtube page is an original and creative idea.

“[It] will be a great idea because it’s something original and innovative. It would also help inform students more efficiently since teenagers use the internet as a source of information,” said Jorge Muralles, Div. 176.

“Communication is going to be a key component in making our senior year amazing. It’ll also be great for everybody to be able to voice their opinions easily,” said Andrea Castellanos, Div. 157.

One thing that Caliso wishes to change for 2011’s senior class is the way that senior shirts are chosen and styled. Many of this year seniors were displeased with the design and style of their senior shirts. As a result many seniors like Guillermo Balandra, Div. 027, did not purchase the shirt and instead made their own.

“The shirt was a simple gray shirt. It was ugly and not worth its price tag, many seniors did not like the shirt,” said Balandra.

In order to prevent this from happening with the 2011 senior class Caliso has asked juniors to submit their own designs for their senior shirt.

Juniors such as Muralles are sure that Caliso will not disappoint them and make a great senior shirt.

“Jon is a very fair person. He’ll choose something that will appeal not only to a certain group of people but to everybody graduating in 2011,” said Muralles.

Once the actual design is finalized a sample shirt will be printed to make sure that the design is done correctly and that 2011 seniors approve it. Caliso hopes to have the shirt completely finalized by quick start so that seniors can receive their shirts in the first 2-4 weeks of school.

These are only two of many of Caliso’s plans for the 2011’s senior class. Caliso promised an unforgettable year and he has all intentions on keeping this promise.

Class of 2010 valedictorian, salutatorian best of friends

By Caitlyn Kolakowski

Words and phrases like, “bookworm”, “nerd”, and “social outcast” are often used to describe students who are ranked highest in their classes. For the valedictorian and salutatorian of this year’s class of 2010, those words do not apply.

Hinasahar Muneeruddin, Div. 027 is the valedictorian, while Zabin Patel, Div. 053 is the salutatorian. Both have proved their success in academics and beyond.

Their high academic success is indicated through their shared GPA of a 5.1. According to the pair, the difference is only by a small fraction. Muneeruddin’s GPA is 7.1176, while Patel has one slightly lower at a 7.10.

Despite the fact that their GPAs are so close, competition, friendly or not, has never threatened their friendship.

“I am so happy for [Hina],” said Patel, “I don’t think anyone else deserves it.”

“It’s a sign that you know that your friends, when you don’t bring up grades,” said Muneeruddin.

Patel believes that their strong friendship has a lot to do with their many similarities to one another.

“I think we are so close because we have known each other for so long, have spent so much time together, and have so much in common: religioin, culture, music, [and] language,” said Patel.

For both, being valedictorian and salutatorian is not just an academic accomplishment, but a sign of their character.

“I don’t do it for the rank. I enjoy school and I enjoy learning,” said Patel, “It’s not the grades it’s me. It’s my personality. I like to do things and I like to do them well.”

“It just means that I worked hard throughout the school year. I think it definitely doesn’t mean that I’m the smartest. It just means that I have worked hard,” said Muneeruddin, “I know people who are way smarter than me who go to Lane.”

For Muneeruddin, school was not all about the grades and performance. Her motivation had a lot to do with her upbringing.

“I didn’t do stuff thinking that I need to get an A for this. I think it’s just that I was interested in the subject matter,” said Muneeruddin, “I’ve grown up being told to do my best at everything. I would not slack off because that’s not how I was raised. I tried my hardest.”

Although both students have significant work loads that are demanded from the higher level courses, they still find time to balance their social lives with their academic responsibilities.

“People think that I’m just some nerd that stays at home who studies all day and studies all night. They think I don’t go out,” said Patel.

“I can balance both school and friends and can still have a social life,” said Patel, “[Hina and I] still go out. We go out a lot, like every weekend. It’s not like we just stay home and do homework. I do [my homework] when I have to.”

In addition to their numerous academic accomplishments, Patel and Muneeruddin have distinguished themselves among the best in another area as well. Both continue to volunteer far past the mandatory hours needed to graduate.

In four years of high school, Patel has completed around 300 hours and Muneeruddin has reported 550 hours. Many of these hours have come from their work they have done through service clubs at Lane, like NHS, in which Patel is the Vice President of Membership, Key Club, and One @ Lane. However, both have been involved as volunteers in other ways as well.

“I am a teacher’s assistant for Sunday school at my mosque,” said Muneeruddin, “I also volunteer every Monday at Rush Hospital.”

At Rush Hospital, Muneeruddin mainly volunteers in patient services where she does wheelchair discharges, but also spends time volunteering for water distribution and helping in the gift shop.

Similarly, Patel also helps at the University of Chicago Hospital through the University of Chicago Collegiate Scholars Program where she does research.

Not only are these two individuals involved in service clubs at Lane, but in numerous other extra curricular activities as well.

“We are both in STARS [freshmen mentor program] and have been 8th grade tour guides,” said Patel.

“I was in Cross Country [during my senior year]. I wanted to try something new,” said Muneerudin, “I wanted to try something physical and to test my physical limits. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. Running with the hijab made it super hard.”

However, for both of them their involvement in Muslim Club for all four years has been the most meaningful to them. Muneeruddin was elected Treasurer of this club as well.

“[Muslim Club] became a big part of my life. That’s how me and Hina became better friends actually,” said Patel, “That how I got to be friends with a lot of the people who are my good friends now.”

Muneeruddin’s and Patel’s involvement in Muslim Club was not only a place where their friendship strengthened, but also where they formed strong friendships with others.

“Zabin, Hina, and our other friends Arooba, Rabia, and I are part of a little group we call “Jummah Crew”. The name originated from our hang-outs during Muslim Club events. “Jummah” means Friday,” said Fariha Wajid, Div. 025, “You can say it’s cheesy, but I love these girls so much.”

Other than volunteering and club activity, Patel and Muneerudin have special interests elsewhere.

“Dirty little secret about Hina is that she watches everything on TV. Everything from Vampire Diaries to Supernatural, to Crime and Practice,” said Patel, “She will have a discussion with you about everything even if you don’t understand.”

“What’s funny is that she keeps up with every television show in the world and still manages to do her work,” said Wajid.

Besides being known for her TV habits, Muneeruddin is also known for her funny personality.

“I drive to and from school with Hina everyday, and she is always making our car rides fun,” said Arooba Chaudhry, Div. 052, who has known Muneerudin for ten years, “I think that the most memorable is when she impersonates different characters using different accents and sings for me.”

“Hina is absolutely hilarious. Her impersonations are so amusing. Whenever some of our friends at lunch have small disagreements, Hina and I always try to lighten the mood,” said Wajid, “She has this thing about bringing up how nice the weather is and how happier we’d be if people didn’t argue and none of it makes sense but she always makes me laugh.”

Patel has a special talent in doing henna painting which is a traditional art for Muslim occasions, such as weddings.

“I have done henna for weddings and for International Days. I, along with my friend Rabia, did the henna for India Club and for Hawaiian Club,” said Patel.

“Zabin is a very talented henna artist, which is a very difficult thing to master,” said Chaudhry.

These two friends met in Sunday school at their mosque where they barely spoke to one another and only vaguely knew each other. This acquaintance grew into a friendship at the start of their freshmen years and has increasingly become closer through their double periods of science classes together and their involvement in Muslim Club.

Now as they move on to college, they both will be attending Northwestern University where they will both seek a premed degree.

“I hope to pursue premed, but I don’t know what field,” said Muneeruddin, “I am interested in sciences, especially biology.”

“I hope to go premed after a liberal arts program. Then I eventually hope to be a part of a fellowship in cardiology,” said Patel.

Both Patel and Muneeruddin believe in a stronger friendship during college and after.

“We are planning on dorming together. Hopefully, our friendship will grow stronger after college,” said Patel

Muneerudin described their friendship using the phrase “we work together, play together, and laugh together”.