I attended Northeastern University’s Welcome Day for admitted students yesterday morning and it was very informative. It was a specified information meeting for those who were accepted to the College of Arts Media & Design. The Dean of the college, Xavier Costa, and two graduating students did a fantastic job summarizing the college and all of its possibilities. It’s obvious that it’s a very flexible program and caters specifically to students. Instead of just answering “it depends” to every specific question like most institutions would, the faculty members and staff went into as much detail as possible to make their guests as comfortable as possible.

The buildings are all state of the art beautiful pieces of architecture spread throughout the western side of Boston. The second informational session I attended was for Financial Aid assistance and it was very informative. The speaker was very articulate and did a great job in generalizing the complicated and grueling process of paying for college. I’m happy to say that I will be attending the college next fall for possibly the next five years and yesterday’s program only solidified the perfection (for me at least) of the college. I highly suggest if you’re searching for a well rounded liberal arts college in the heart of the city, give Northeastern a try, they’ll welcome you like you’re already part of their society.

Have you ever wondered what cops really do? Besides spend a tremendous amount of time at local Dunkin Donuts’, of course.  21 Jump Street will do a good job enlightening you of what the job really entails. It features an adorably plump Jonah Hill and your stereotypical ‘hot guy’ Channing Tatum for your viewing pleasure. Don’t assume that this match was a mistake, their on screen chemistry is great together. Tatum breaks out of his static heartbroken heart-breaker mold and presents a humorous side not many of his fans have seen before and Jonah Hill does an incredible job being Jonah Hill.

The movie is not what you expect, it actually might be the opposite. It’s unpredictable and does a fantastic job defining the difference between generations. So if you’re bored and looking for a laugh go check out 21 Jump Street, just watch out for Ice Cube’s inspiring performance as (satirically, exaggeratedly) an angry black guy.

On June third, our own Ms. Gomez and Mr. Blauch will be shaving it off for a cure. The Kid’s Cancer Buzz-Off will be held at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA, and it will go from 9am to 1pm, and is sponsored by One Mission. The kid’s Cancer Buzz-Off is a way to help children with cancer; one mission is looking for volunteers to do just that in a fun and unforgettable fundraiser, to raise money for children and their families fighting pediatric cancer.

Pediatric Cancer is cancer that affects children. A person can shave of their hair and ask family and friends to make donations in exchange for the promise of their shaved head. Ms. Gomez and Mr. Blauch will both be shaving their heads for the fundraiser, and are looking for Medford High Schools support, you can sponsor them in Mr. Skorker’s room C201, where GSA (Gay Straight Alliance is held), for more information and other ways to donate go to:

www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/lizgomez/kidscancerbuzz-off Remember these two

are set to be bald on June 3, 2012!!!

Medford’s 15-8 win over Malden on Monday, April 30th, clinched the undefeated Greater Boston League Title for the Mustangs. Although the final score was decided by a margin of 7 points, the Golden Tornadoes gave the Mustangs a great battle heading into the fourth quarter. The score entering the fourth quarter was Medford 9, Malden 8. The Mustangs took total control from then on, shutting Malden out the rest of the way and scoring 6 unanswered goals en route to the victory.

Senior Dan Bozovic had 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists), Senior Chris McCarthy had 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists), Seniors Anthony Tortora and Ryan McCarthy had 3 goals each, and Sophomore Brian Whooley had 2 goals. Senior goalie Steve Center also made some key saves throughout the game. This win leaves Medford with a 11-2 record under first year coach Chris Doyle.

review by Trent Sullivan

Clamoring for a restaurant that serves authentic Mexican food in Medford Square? Then Tenoch is the place for you! Opened only a month ago in the hub bub of the Square, its a family business owned by Alvaro Sandoval, a native of Veracruz, Mexico, who incorporates classic Mexican ingredients and includes popular Latin American items on the menu. In Alvaro’s own words, “A lot of [Mexican] places are owned by non-Mexicans; we are Mexicans.” It doesn’t get more authentic than native Mexican food being cooked by native Mexicans.

As one junior Daniel Morey put it, “Tenoch is like the Boloco’s of Medford Square, but better.” Indeed, the genuine flavors engendered in the vivacious cuisine of Tenoch stands on its own. Their full menu includes a wide array of hearty burritos, tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, tamales, ensaladas, and more, with the choice of beef, chorizo (Mexican pork sausage), carnitas (braised pork), chicken (roasted or marinated), or a vibrant medley of fresh assorted vegetables for vegetarian eaters, and a choice of distinctive salsas. They also offer Mexican sodas, Horchata, and a velvety Flan for dessert. But without a doubt, what keeps customers coming back is the most popular item on the menu: the Torta Tenoch. It instantly became my favorite sandwich after the first bite. You will salivate as you watch their chefs so meticulously frame the savory sandwich in their open kitchen with the utmost care. They use oval-shaped telera bread, coat it with refried beans, then slice and mount a generous portion of succulent carnitas on top. Thereafter they fill it to the brink with onions, a slather of Oaxaca cheese, creamy avocado, a finely sliced piece of ham and a few spritzes of chipotle mayo for a tangy punch. Then the masterpiece is toasted whole, giving it a gratifying crunch. Trust me, for $6.50, you get more than your moneys worth.

Try their Torta Campechana if you prefer a little extra panache, and keep on the lookout for new and rotating specials every week. So if you’re jaded with the same old same old and want to spice up your palate, come by Tenoch and give one of their classic Mexican dishes a taste. There is something for everyone, and with the right value so you don’t leave hungry. Tell Alvaro that Aldolpho sent you!

By Lydia Regan

above: NBA Champion and Ginger Brian Scalabrine

Living life as a “ginger” is a difficult life sometimes. Everyone makes cheesy jokes about you not having a soul, and then you find yourself doing the same, and it gets out of control. But really you just have red hair. People with red hair are uncommon, and when someone sees red hair they make a bid deal about it and continues to call you “ginger” or “red.” I also find it interesting that I have red hair, seeming that neither of my parents have it, and only one of my sisters has it, but her hair is becoming more blond, similar to my oldest sisters hair. So is it hereditary? I do not know, but a couple of my aunts had red hair, so I guess the gene runs in the family, it is only present in myself and my sister at the moment.
When I was a little baby my hair was orange, legitimately orange. Not only was it orange, it was curly, super curly, similar to Brian Scalabrine’s. Since my hair never really grew down, it grew up, my mom had to put bows in my hair. On a plane to Ireland when I was little, a college kid referred to me as a boy, my older sister flipped out at him, and said I was girl because I had a bow in my hair. To this day I am not a fan of bows.  It is not like my sisters made it any better, sometimes they would take plastic eggs from Easter time and attach them to every curl on my head, and other days they would find the craziest hats to put on my head that made me look bald, torture. As I grew my hair began to grow down rather than in the sky, and my mom was very happy. And soon it became very long, until it was decided it be cut so it was at my shoulders. The new hair cut was supposed to be easier to curl for Irish Step Dancing. My hair was great for Irish Step, because when other girls had to wear wigs, in order to have curly hair, my mom just put curlers in my hair, because we wouldn’t want to hide my red hair, because it is natural.
Is it natural? YES. I DO NOT DYE MY HAIR!

The amount of people that ask me if I dye my hair is too many. I don’t even get up in the morning to put makeup on, and you expect me to dye my hair. False. After I report that my hair is natural, any redhead will know what is said next, don’t dye your hair, people would kill for it. Ah that statement, it is nice to know that someone will kill me for my hair. But in reality yes, I do agree with statement, and I will never dye my hair, but I also don’t know how to respond to this. Usually I just smile and laugh and say thanks, feeling awkward.
Having red hair though is pretty awesome. How many people can say they have it? I find that having red hair is also an easy way to joke around with people, and a way for people to know you. It also helps while introducing yourself, for example my speech last year for reelection of secretary I said “I am Lydia Regan, for those of you who don’t know me, I am that tall ginger in the hallways.”

Being 5’10 and having Red hair, doesn’t give me much hiding. So I embrace the fact that in the public, I will never be able to hide, and so my re hair forces me to be different, and I love it. Some redheads are very successful, including the lead singer of Florence and the Machine, Florence, (hahaha she has red hair, and I do too, and I live on Florence St.). Another star with red hair is Emma Stone, there are also some successful sports players including Shaun White (my Halloween costume for October 2012) and Brian Scalabrine. Think about it Scalabrine has a championship ring, and LeBron still does not. Jefferson and Jackson, both were red heads as well. I plan on being another successful redhead, so when another ginger writes an article about their hair, they can put me in it.

By Lydia Regan

Problems at home have caused many citizens from Ireland to immigrate
to America. These immigrants chose America because it seemed to be a place
where you could succeed no matter what and do better than you parents. Many of the Irish who had immigrated from the nineteenth century to the twentieth, moved to America because they were unable to afford the daily costs of living, and because of the violence between the English the Irish Republican Army, in a battle over religion.

One of the first reasons for many Irish to come over was the Great
Famine in the late 1800s. The Great Famine was terrible for many of the
farmers in Ireland because it ruined their crop, thus leaving them with no money and also no food. It was equally bad for the people in the cities because one of their main sources of food was gone, and people were struggling to afford anything else. The Great Famine caused many unskilled Irish immigrants to move to America.

These unskilled, poor immigrants were unable to afford land in America so they began to crowd the cities, and create Irish communities in cities. Many of these Irish communities are right in Boston including South Boston, and Charlestown.

Another reason for many Irish to move to America was because of the
constant violence between the Irish Catholics and the English Protestants. This
war had been going on for a long time and is seen throughout Ireland’s history,
but some of the Irish had decided they were not going to give up without a fight. And in 1919 the Irish Republican Army was developed, the IRA fought a guerilla war, and bombed many English police stations, convoys, and outposts. The British army responded to these bombings by burning entire villages, and murdering the rebels. Finally in 1922 the English government gave Ireland 26 counties, and there was a Free State of Ireland. Still today parts of Ireland belong to England, which is ridiculous. This war and struggle of land and power had made many citizens leave the country in order to have a safe environment for their children.

When Irish immigrants landed in America, they did not go out and search for land, because many of them came with not that much. Although many of the immigrants were good farmers in Ireland, they were unable to buy land in America and became apart of the unskilled workforce. Irish were stuck doing the dirty jobs, which the Americans did not want to do, or even be associated with.

Some of the jobs they had to do where very dangerous, but they would do them
to gain that little bit of extra money. When the Irish had moved to the cities of
Boston, New York, and Chicago, they would tend to live within Irish communities, later if they were able to gain money and support themselves, they could buy homes in the suburbs, including, Medford, Somerville, Woburn, and much of the North Shore.

I can relate to Irish immigration, because that is how I ended up in Medford
today. My grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Gilmartin, married my grandfather, Rory Byrne, during the Second World War. My grandfather wore a nice tailored suit, and my grandmother wore a blue short wedding dress. The couple was living in Belfast, but they were both from county Sligo, located in the Free State. Moving from Sligo to Belfast was a big deal, Sligo was a beautiful county, my grandmother lived by Strand Hill, in Kellary.

Her home was a 25-acre farm, and my grandfather had the same lifestyle. Sligotown was were the two had worked, but now they had to find work in Belfast. While living in Belfast, they would have to take cover and be aware of the bombings overhead, during the Belfast Blitz (bombings by the Germans in WW2) , they had their first child in Belfast, and when my grandmother was pregnant with her second, they made a plan. My grandfather would go to America, he would become settled and have a home ready for my Grandmother and their children. So he left to make their life better, he was unable to see his second child be born, and did not see his second child till he was three. Finally he had a home set up for his family, and so my grandmother and aunt and uncle where able to come to America.

Mygrandmother was very sick for those two weeks of travel, but she still had to care for her children. When they made it to Boston, my grandmother couldn’t even find my grandfather, but then one of the kids noticed him and they all went running to one another.

They lived in the city, where they would know more people and be able to still have an Irish community, they settled in Dorchester. Soon they where able to find a home in Somerville, this is where my mother was born. My mother was the first to be born in America in the entire Gilmartin and Byrne family. One of their greatest friends in America was the Golden family, this family had come to America when my grandfather came, and they were moving to Woburn. My grandfather knew that he should also look to live in a suburb so he choose Medford, and one day he was able to buy a house in West Medford, my mother was now eight, and enrolled in Medford Public schools. A tragedy occurred when my mother was thirteen, and my Grandfather died. My mother was the only one left, living with my grandmother, because her sibling where so much older and had their own lives and college.

At the time my grandmother realized cleaning homes in Winchester would not be enough money to keep the house, pay for the bills, and to support a family, so she and her best friend, Joe, bought the bar and restaurant Downy & Judges in Charlestown, and started the Sligo Pub, in Davis Square. My grandmother and Joe, made these businesses super successful.

Our immigration America was important and means a great deal, but it does not mean we forget our family and friends from Ireland. We still constantly
are talking to our family there and planning trips, last week a few cousins and
great Aunts of mine came from Ireland, and in April my sister and brother-in-
law will be going there. We have many friends in Ireland, and great memories.
As a child my mother went almost every summer and she lived in their home in
Ireland. Sometimes when my mother is with my family from Ireland, she gains a little brogue it is very funny. We will always have two homes, one in America and one in Ireland.

            On Monday, March 12, 2012, the annual MHS blood drive was held in the gymnasium. The blood drive ran from 9:00 AM-1:30 PM and over 100 people donated blood. So many people wanted to donate; the coolers ran out of room for blood. In my experiences, giving blood is a simple process as long as you follow directions and drink lots of water. A lot of people were afraid of fainting, but that is highly unlikely as long as you eat a good breakfast, and have no major health issues. To start out, the phlebotomists call you over to take a blood sample from your finger. The finger poke stings for a few minutes, but after that it doesn’t hurt. Then, you are asked a series of 47 questions about your health condition. As long as you are in good health, they place you in a line to wait for an open table. After about 5 minutes, they take you to the table and begin the process of extracting the blood. The process takes about 5 minutes, and the needle only stings for a second. After the process is finished, they seal the bag containing the blood and put it in a cooler. The bag contains about a pint of blood. After the blood is taken, you are given time to have a snack and relax. Donating blood is very rewarding because you know you are helping someone that needs it, and it barely affects your own body. Donating blood was definitely worth doing, and I encourage others to do so because the Red Cross is always looking for blood to give to people in need.

By Tina Nguyen

Last Saturday March 2nd, the cast of the one act the War At Home went to Drama Festival Preliminaries 2012 in Attleboro. Drama Fest is a competition between 115 one acts that takes place on three levels: preliminary, semi-final, and state. Attleboro was one of the host schools this year, and Medford was one of the eight high schools competing to make it in the top three to move onto the semi-final round.

On Monday March 5th, I did an interview with a some members of the cast and the director about Drama Fest: Sarah Rosenstein, Maxine Harney, Matthew Minchello, Callaghan Todhunter, Kerry Collins, Jen Frederick, and Dan Begin.

When I asked them if they were glad the one acts were finally over, they were relieved the stress was over, but they were mostly sad and were suffering through “post show depression.” The 13 cast members had grown extremely close to another and were able to make new friends with people who they didn’t think they ever would have befriend.

I then asked Dan Begin why he wanted to directed a one-act this year. As president of the Drama Club, he felt there was a kind of obligation to direct although he loves being on stage. Originally, he chose a murder mystery show to direct, but in the end, chose the War At Home. The War At Home was the first real serious show at Medford High School due to the sensitive subject of 9/11. Some told him not to choose that one act, but he saw that 9/11 was a part of people’s lives.

The War At Home proved to be a powerful and successful show because it was able to evoke emotion and make an impact on people. As one of the cast members said in the interview, it’s not just about acting; it’s about making a connection. All of the cast members were really young when 9/11 happened, and many do not remember where they were on that day. Through the show, however, they were able to see how real people felt and were effected on that eventful day.

At Drama Fest, the War At Home came in fifth place out of eight other schools, and Kathleen Elliott and Darren McFadden won acting awards. The show only cost $12 and had a bare set compared to the other schools that had bigger sets and costumes. The show was also the only student directed show there. The beauty of student directed shows allow for actual students to run the show instead of teachers. The one acts also take place during the winter season when athletes are usually bored and waiting for their spring sport to start up. The one acts provide a perfect opportunity to taste theatre, and it’s obvious by the cast of the War At Home by how theatre can bring people together.

Also, DA BEARS DON’T SUCK.