to her history in a concentration camp, Gross re-sponded by say-ing that she was very proud and wouldn’t ask for anything. She was finally in a position where she didn’t have to ask anyone for mercy or fa-vors. She was also asked what she thinks about g o v e r n m e n t s denying that the Holocaust hap-pened; she re-sponded by ask-ing, “How can you deny that it didn’t happen? How can you deny the trag-edies?”

She added that people have to learn from history and that they must think about what’s written in the textbooks, because what’s written is more important than opinions. Gross graduated from LaGuar-dia Community College with a degree in fine arts, and has writ-ten a number of books like Elly: My True Story of the Holocaust and Storms Against the Innocents: Holocaust Memories and Other Stories. She is also frequently in-vited to schools and museums to speak about the Holocaust.

Inspiring Women at

Cardozo2 3 4 5 76 8What’s New at

Cardozo

Reverse Racism: Fact or Fiction?

Should Apple CreateA Back-door?

Meet Taekwondo

Champ, Yasmeen Khan

Deadpool Soars In The Box Office

Spring Sports

Preview

Inform, enlighten, entertain.

Cardozo High School 57-00 223 Street Bayside, New York 11364

The V erdict

March 2016 Volume 47 Issue 5

Holocaust Survivor Retelling History Holocaust survivor Elly Berkovits Gross came to Cardozo on Thursday, Feb. 11, to share her experiences about the Holocaust with students. “It was a miracle I survived,” Gross ac-counts, as she looked back at her experi-ence. Gross was born in Romania. During World War II, and in 1942, her father was forced into a labor camp by invading Hungarian forces.In 1944, Jews had to wear the yellow Star of David. She recalled being spit on by chil-dren her age and soon was sent to live in the ghettos. Prior to being sent to Auschwitz in a cattle car, Gross described see-ing the dead bodies of the el-ders and many infants, that were hanged from poles, while being told to walk to the center of the city. Upon arriving at Auschwitz, she, her mother, and brother were soon separated; she never saw them again. She was given a tiny bar of soap and some cold water. Those that were fit to work, stayed alive, and others were sent to the gas chambers. While at Auschwitz, Gross en-countered Josef Mengele, a key figure in the Holocaust, who of-

ten injected people with diseases like noma and typhus, taking out healthy teeth, and amputating body parts for experimentation and observation. Gross had lost several teeth because of danger-ous infections she received from Mengele and had no help or med-ication. She went to the hygienist and begged to be spared from work-ing in the Volkswagen slave labor factory, but no mercy was shown to her. An officer asked if she was sick, but the only kindness she was served was when that offi-cer risked his job, and instead of

By Nidhi Gandhi

Considering the library is a place for students to bury their heads in books and stick their eyes to the monitors, they might not notice that it hasn’t been renovated since 1967, when the school was built. Besides the floors, which were redone almost fifteen years ago, and the walls which are painted every four years, the library is completely authentic. However, recently, Cardozo has received a participatory budget grant of 250,000 dollars from Councilman Mark Weprin, to re-do every inch of our library. AP of English, Beth Kierez, first discussed the renovation in a meeting she held with the Eng-lish teachers on Friday, Feb. 26, but had been inquiring about the funding since last spring. “The plan is to completely re-do the library; new furniture, more computers, a lounge area. Right now, the library fits about 70 stu-dents, but after the renovation it will probably fit 100. It’s going to be modernized and additional separate rooms will be made, used as classrooms,” Kierez explained. “There is no official date yet, but to avoid construction while a ma-jority of the students are still in school, the renovation will prob-ably begin in the summer and will hopefully be finished before the next school year starts again in September.” Although many of them don’t know yet, several students are looking forward to the make-over our library is receiving. Ju-nior, Joyce Yip, explained, “You can’t even tell the library hasn’t been renovated. It’s in such good shape and very clean. But it’s re-ally cool that everything is going to be different, I can’t wait to see the changes.” School librarian, Ewa Womoczyl also expressed her enthusiasm. She said, “At the moment, roughly 720 students come into the library every day, and once the entire room is redone, there will be even more space for students to feel welcomed.”

Library Makeover on the wayBy Adriana Kostakis

Elly Berkovits shares her life-changing story.

Photo by Christine Chan

20,000+ books fill the shelves in the library.

Rise of the Robots at the Javits Center Cardozo’s Robotics team at-tended the 25th annual competi-tion, hosted by FIRST Robotics, a nonprofit organization, on the weekend of March 11th. Sixty-six teams from around the world came together at Javits Conven-tion Center to compete for spots in the playoffs. On Friday, the teams came in to set up their “pits”, which is the booth where they work on their robots, take measurements of the field, and drive around in test matches. “The experience was exhilarat-ing,” said Chirag Nijjer, senior. “Seeing the passion all the teams of different backgrounds brought, to the forwarding of technol-ogy, on such a level was inspiring, leaving us with memories, ideas, and a new drive for next year.”

The Cardozo team, the Sentinels, participated in eight matches that took place on Saturday and Sun-day. These competitions include 3v3 matches where teams are ran-domly paired off and are able to earn points. At the end, the total number of points are calculated to determine which teams are qualified for the playoffs. Car-dozo did not place, due to a loss in signal during “robocom,” robot communication. “We were disappointed but things like this happens a lot. We were glad to be a part of the First Ro-botics Competition at Javits Con-vention Center and glad to help other teams out with their robots. From the looks of it, we might just enter another competition this year,” said Anmol Malhotra, junior.

By Lydia Kolesnik

torturing and dehumanizing her, told her that she didn’t have to work in the factory that day. The inhabitants of the concen-tration camp were liberated by the Allies on April 14, 1945 and in 1946, Gross married Ernest Gross, a survivor of forced labor and the Death March. The family lived in communist Romania for twenty years and in 1966 moved to the United States, where they worked in a factory and went to school at night in order to support their children. When asked if she ever took advantage of government as-sistance, to get a home or job due

Photo by Adriana Kostakis

Submitted by Cardozo’s Robotics Team

Elly Berkovits courageously recounts stories from Romania during World War II.

Cardozo’s team, the Sentinels, work on their robot.

The Verdict March 20162

S.O. NEWS

S O PEAKS UTS O

Hey this Is Muhammad Hamza, and I wanted to start by saying Happy New Lunar year to all. As you know, the staff at Cardozo never misses a moment to give their students a good high school experience though fun and exciting activities. The month of February

was the month of love and respect, so this how it all went down. Following the tradition, The Leadership Class organized its yearly distribution of Valentine’s Day Grams. The pre-sale for Valentine’s Day Gram lasted for a week before the Valentine’s Day, a expected majority of Cardozo students and teacher came down to room 153 to buy their loved ones roses, and other romantic gifts. If a student wanted to express their feelings to another student or maybe just wanted to express their gratuity towards a staff member, what better way than to send them Valentine’s Day Gram? The Grams were personally delivered by the Leader-ship Class, and it was a huge success! #StayLovelyDozo As we celebrate the month of love, we didn’t forget about the veterans who fought for our freedom and served our nation. To show our appreciation, every year, for the past four years Mr. Georgatos, Assistant Principle of Social Studies, and a group of Cardozo students visit a veterans’ hospital to distribute Valentine’s Day Grams. We, the students and staff at Cardozo sincerely thank you for your dedication to our country. Your sacrifice in the face of great danger, and the bravery that you showed will echo in the generations to come. To end the month of love and respect, Cardozo High School held a school wide “Respect for All” assembly. All of the Physical Education classes met in the audi-torium to attend the assembly, where students got to experience various skits and many dance performances. Performances were on the issues faced by minorities and they also showed how to combat bullying and harassment on the basis on race, gender, or religion, and every performance was filled with valuable lessons. This was how we, the Cardozo students and staff, spent February, spreading love and respect. We have a lot of exciting events coming up in the month of March, and I hope to see you there! #GoJudges

Sincerely,

Muhammad Hamza your S.O Treasurer

Gateway Students Honored at 2016 Gala for One Hundred Black MenBy Nashalie Alverez

S.O. Elections

April to MayCalendar

8

18-22

22

25-29

6

11

12-13

27

30

Dozopalooza

S.O. Spirit Week

Pep RallyFashion Show

Spring Break - School Closed

Silent Auction

Into The Woods:

Spring Musical

May

Follow the Verdict on snapchat

@DozoHS-verdict for

more school updates

Outside Movie NightArista Blood Drive

Memorial Day - School Closed

Three Cardozo students attended the 2016 Gala for One Hundred Black Men at the New York Hilton Midtown On February 18, 2016. Geidily Beaton, Tevin Skeete, and Brianca Mckenzie attended the event. Mayor De Blasio, State Senator Kevin Parker, Sade Baderinwa of WABC News and comedian Chuck Nice were also present. Beaton, McKenzie, and Skeete represented Cardozo as members of the 2015-2016 Ju-nior One Hundred Program. This is an affili-ate program of the One Hundred Black Men of America; The 100 Black Men’s programs are based on a simple sustained mentoring pro-gram for young people to realize their potential. Beaton and Skeete opened the ceremony and delivered their 30 second elevator pitch to a crowd of 300 people. “Director of the Gala told Geidily and me to stand around the stage, til a woman came up to us, call-ing us the “chosen ones”, my heart dropped since I knew that I had to deliver a speech,” Skeete said. Cardozo Gateway alumnus, Aaron Da-vis, currently attending Baruch College on a full scholarship, is the president of their inaugural Collegiate One Hundred, he gave a speech to hundreds of NY’s elite that brought tears to audience members and he gained a “standing ovation,” said Cardozo’s Ms. Eligon-Jones. Davis delivered a speech about his old ways as a bad student and a victim of the law. He expressed the apprecia-tion he has for Gateway Advisor, Ms. Eligon-

Skeete, second from right, with honored guests, pose at the 2016 Gala for One Hundred Black Men.

Jones and the One Hundred programs for helping him become the successful man he is now. Beaton and Skeete delivered an emotional speech of their transition from their coun-try to adapting to American customs and education. “At the end of my speech I was still in shock and while I was making my way to the table people congratulated me and I ended up having stack of business cards of people willing to help me in col-lege,” he said. During the event he met a long lost cousin who is vice-principal of

Queensborough Community Col-lege. “Coming from Guyana with my father, I had to learn new cus-toms, responsi-bilities, and ma-ture at a young age,” he said. “I was only seven-teen when I came to America, it

was for more education opportunities and to help my family in Guyana since it’s a third-world country and inflation is high.” It is important for him to be “ambitious.” Skeete has the goal to become a future leader for One Hundred Black Men of America and most importantly “a future leader for Guyana!” Skeete thanks numerous people like his family and generally the faculty of Car-dozo, “since I came here, they opened up to me with open arms. I can always count on them.” Ms. Eligon-Jones was “unbelievably proud” that night that she couldn’t express her feelings in words, but with tears.

Submitted by Eligon-Jones

Skeete, second from right, with honored guests pose at the 2016 Gala for One Hundred Black Men.

The Verdict March 2016

FEATURES

3

years ago, wom-en in New York

couldn’t vote, and it took another 40 years after that for the number of female votes to catch up with the number of male votes. It seems like a long time ago, but in reality, many of our parents and grandparents were alive when these life-changing events were taking place.

Less than100

56 years ago, the average woman earned $0.60 for every dollar that a man would earn. This is not a

long time at all, considering the broad scope of American history, most of which was spent ig-noring women’s rights. Luckily, three years later, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed, making it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who do the same amount of work. This was a great contribution to the rights of women.

45 years ago, gender dis-

crimination in educa-tional programs and activities was permitted, only being outlawed in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

38 years ago, the num-

ber of women attend-ing college began to exceed that of men.

In addition to the preced-ing improvements, Ameri-

ca has progressed in areas regarding marriage, divorce, and birth control rights, which was unheard of 100 years ago. Although a lot of work still must be done to achieve gender equality, we can attain it if we continue with the advance-ments that we have made over the years.

TODAY

Women’s Lives in America through the Years By LiLa TaBor

SAVETHE

March 29

At the Tour Guide Talk: Rosie the Riveter. Attend an interactive talk dedicated to WWII-era Rosie the Riveter at the Intrepid Sea-Air space museum.

March 23

At The Iroquois In-fluence of Women’s Rights. Enjoy a talk with scholar Sally Roesch Wagner, a specialist in Wom-en’s Studies about how Native Ameri-can tribes inspired the upstate New York Women’s Rights Movement.

March 19

At the Alice Aus-ten: A Woman Ahead of Her Time. Take a tour at the Alice Austen House Museum to cel-ebrate Austen’s contributions to history and pho-tography.DATE

March 19-26

At She’s on Point: A Celebration of Girls in Sports. En-gage in sports with college players, coaches, and pro-fessional athletes completely free of

charge!

Rita YousefAge: 17You Might’ve Seen Her On: Your social media! Rita regularly floods the timelines of her followers with yummy recipes!

What’s your favorite thing to make?Bread! I love the science of baking. Humans can’t survive on flour and water separately, but when you combine them, you can live indefinitely. Seeing the fungus of the yeast form pockets of gas (which is actually flavor), and the dough rise, leaves me in awe.

Any disasters in the kitchen? I tried to make vegan chocolate chip cookies and they turned out like hockey pucks! I’m still trying to perfect vegan recipes, it’s a little bit of a struggle since when you’re practicing veganism, you don’t use traditional binders like eggs, milk, etc.

Who’s your biggest inspiration? Laura Vitale. She’s a self-taught chef who hosts two cooking shows, one on YouTube and one on the Cooking Channel. She’s incredibly skilled in cooking and baking, but is also down-to-earth and super kind. I had the pleasure of meeting her at her cookbook launch event, where I shared an Egyptian recipe with her.

Who’s your taste taster? My sister Eva; she’s always the first person ready to give me feedback on my latest creation!

Baking or Cooking? Cooking! There’s many more techniques and flavors to experiment with. With bak-ing, it’s usually the same ingredients: butter, eggs, milk, flour; with cooking, there’s more to create. Also, I have more of a savory tooth, although I wouldn’t be able to get through the month without big slice of chocolate cake!

Abby Jim Age:16

You Might’ve Seen Her On: La Voz Kids in Ecuador belting like nobody’s business, and hopefully on the next season of La Banda!

When did you start performing? I participated in my first talent show when I was 11. It was a

small school performance. From then on, I just continued to sing at small local talent shows.

Singing or acting? I CAN’T CHOOSE! I refuse to. I knew I loved acting before I loved singing, but that doesn’t change the fact that I currently love the both of them equally.

Recently you were involved in a production of West Side Story with a professional cast, how was this different that other things you’ve been a part of? It was a ton of work. I was just in the choir, but it still required a lot of commitment. Right after school I would have to get on the train to go to rehearsals that would last about three hours. Those were just regular rehearsals though; the week of the show, rehearsals lasted until 11 p.m. every day. Overall it was an amazing experience and I would definitely love to do something like it again.

What’s harder singing in English or Spanish? English is my first language so it’s definitely a lot more difficult for me to sing in Spanish. I always have to work extra hard on my pronunciation of certain words.

Who’s your biggest inspiration? Christina Aguilera is my biggest inspiration. She’s absolutely incredible. Her vocals are one of a kind and just her way of maneuvering a stage is enticing.

What’s your career goal and will you pursue this full time? My goals are to live my life doing what I love, and that’s performing. I want to become a full-time singer and actress. As of now I’m working on pursuing it as a career, but only time will tell what is to come.

Inspirational Young Women of Cardozo

FEATURES/OPINIONS

4

- 4127

5910

368

Top Celebrities who support the10

#BlackLivesMatter Movement

Issued a singing challenge

to fight police

violence.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z announced that they were giving away $1.5 million in grant mon-ey to Black Lives Matter and other civil rights groups.

Jay Z & Beyonce

Kendrick LamarKendrick Lamar delivered

a Powerful Black Lives MatterInspired

Grammy’s Performance

and influenced many others to join the movement.

Samuel L. Jackson

John Legend & Chrissy TeigenNot only does the couple tweet about the

movement, they also provided food trucks for NYC protestors.

Azealia BanksDespite her harsh choice of words, Banks has made multiple tweets supporting #BlackLivesMatter. She also joined many others at a protest.

Jesse Williams

added perspective to Sandra

Bland’s death with 24 intense tweets.

Jesse Williams

Janelle MonáeMonáe made

powerful remarks regarding

#Black-LivesMatter at a pub-

lic event and is also an strong

activist of the move-ment.

While presenting the prize for Best Album, Prince stated “Al-bums still matter. Albums, like books and black lives, still matter.”

Prince

McGorry tweeted

about #BlackLives-Matter and set the record straight for those who accused the movement of racism changing the name to

“#AllLives-Matter”.

Matt McGorry

Simmons not only tweet-ed about police brutality,

but also marched

in NYC protest

against police

cruelty.

Russell Simmons

By Whitney Uchendu

The Verdict March 2016

Racism. This word is used very loosely in today’s society to describe the act of not liking a race other than yours; but it’s more than that. Racism consists of the two P’s: Prejudice and Power. Prejudice is the dislike towards another race, making fun of that group, feel-ing superior, and things along those lines. Power is used in the oppression of the other race. It is taking away opportu-nities and asserting dominance over them. Racism is undoubtedly present in our government and society here, in the Unites States. America is known as the land of opportunity, but this oppor-tunity is not equal. Minorities are often persecuted by teachers and officials in schools, and if not there, then in the real world while searching for jobs or even a home. In some areas, everyday tasks like going to the local CVS at night could be a matter of life or death, if a scared police officer comes around. They have to live their lives with a constant reminder of their skin color every-where they go. It may be hard to grasp, but racism is ingrained in the minds of every person in the U.S. This is how we were raised; it’s no fault of your own. The United Sates was built on the systematic oppression of African Americans and other minorities. Our Constitution, which preaches of equality was written by a group of white men who all owned slaves themselves. We’ve come a long way since then, but the Civil Rights Movement is not over. As a white girl growing up in Queens, I didn’t always realize how real the dis-advantage of a minority really is. While doing research to make myself more aware of issues regarding Civil Rights, the thing I found most shocking was an article I came across. It was an article from UExpress.com entitled “Black Moms Tell White Moms About the Race Talk” by Aisha Sultan. It was about a gathering of a mixed-race crowd of mothers, with ten black mothers on stage. The mothers on stage spoke the truth about raising a black male in the United States. One mother spoke about when she and her son moved to a new town. He was a good kid that never got involved in any conflicts, but when they moved to an all white neighborhood, the first thing she did was introduce her son to the local police department, so the police would know that he really lived there. When her son turned 16 and began to Continued on page 7

REVERSING THE EFFECTS OF RACISM IN AMERICA

Racism has caused genocide, segregation, and inequality throughout human history. It has been the root of some of our world’s most shameful events, such as slavery and segregation. Reverse racism however, is easily misinterpreted, many thinking that it sim-ply means being racist to white people. Reverse racism is when a dominant, or formally dominant, race is the victim of discrimination. Therefore, in or-der for reverse racism to exist, racism would have to exist to begin with. The picture gets unclear when people forget that not all members of the white race have committed horrible acts of violence or segregation based on race. Coun-tries such as England, Spain, or Portugal have had severe racial incidents in their past, but should the act of the few, represent the values of many? Many people believe that because white people haven’t been severely sup-pressed by another race, that reverse racism does not exist and that Cauca-sians cannot be at the receiving end of racism or prejudice. Or, others believe that all white people in the past have suppressed those of other races. Just because a race has not been subjected to violence or genocide by an-other race, does not mean that they are invincible to racism. Although a lot of racism and suppression has been at the hand of white people, that does not mean that racism cannot be directed towards a Caucasian. Not only is racism possible toward whites, but it happens without a second glance. I don’t have to go far to find real-world examples. My father is a small private business owner, who was not allowed to bid on certain jobs because his com-pany wasn’t “diverse enough”. My father did not intentionally hire one race over another, he only hired who happened to be the most qualified. My mother also experienced something similar. She obtained her degree in architecture and struggled with finding a full-time job after graduation, as most students do. She and her black, male friend applied together for a job, both coming from the same internship and she, despite having much better grades, did not get the job over him. They told him he aided in their com-pany’s racial diversity and although he may have been as equally qualified as my mom, he got the job because she was white. He even admitted to my mother that the only reason he got the job instead of her, was because he was black. If race makes it harder for someone to get a job or Continued on page 7

REVERSE RACISM IS REAL

The Verdict March 20165

OPINIONS

5

“I think privacy is more important because it is our right to have our own privacy.” -Ariel Goldberg,

sophomore

Editors-in-Chief Juliana Kim Nia Canady Page EditorsJeevika Sidhu

Keith KalinskyRenuka Surujnarain

Lara MoralesSports

Alec Goldman Copy Editor

Nidhi GandhiAdvisor

Georgia Mavromihalis CJEJEA NSPA Member

1st Place ASPA Award2006-2013, 2015

2nd Place ASPA Award 2014

VERDICT STAFF

Verdict Editorial Policy

The goal of the Verdict is to provide a medium thorough which the students of Benjamin N. Cardozo High School can express and accurately inform themselves regarding the issues surrounding the school’s student body. We encourage our readership to use the Verdict as a forum for thoughts and ideas. Readers are welcome to submit any letters concerning our content matter to the Verdict’s mailbox in Room 109 or Cardozohsverdict@gmail.com

JURY BOX

$1.586 billion. On January 13, 2016, three lottery tickets in Cali-fornia, Florida, and Tennessee were successful in matching the Powerball numbers that went un-matched since November 7, 2015, allowing the winners to split the biggest jackpot in American His-tory. One would think that win-ning the lottery would be a dream come true, but it’s time to take a step back and see the bigger pic-ture. The chances of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in over 292 million. For reference, there is a greater chance of being struck by lightning as you drown, which would be 1 in 189 million. If by chance, you happen to surpass these odds and become the lucky Powerball Winner, congratula-tions-or maybe not. Although winning the lottery brings wealth to the winner, is the jackpot worth living in fear for the rest of your life? Only five states, Delaware, Kansas, Mary-land, North Dakota and Ohio, allow the winners to re- main anonymous, meaning that a winner in any

By Lila Tabor

Should Apple Create

On December of 2015, 14 people were killed in a mass

shooting in San Bernardino, California. Syed Farooq, one of the terrorists involved in

the mass shooting and attempted bombing, pos-sessed an iPhone 5c, which contained valuable

data. The FBI requested that Apple unlock the ter-rorist’s iPhone, by creating a universal backdoor. A backdoor case is a feature of a system that allows re-stricted access to secret data, especially by the govern-ment. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, refused, stating that a back-door threatens the security of all apple customers and sets a dangerous precedent. Yet, the question still stands, should Apple build a backdoor for the iPhone? Yes, Apple should create a backdoor to unlock Fa-rooq’s iPhone. The government says it only wants access to one single iPhone and that it is not asking Apple to form a backdoor into all Apple devices that would give the agency access to every iOS device

in use. The director of the FBI, James Comey, wrote a fervent letter to Apple, stating, “The

San Bernardino litigation isn’t about try-ing to set a precedent or send any kind

of message. It is about the victims and justice. Fourteen people were slaugh-

tered and many more had their lives and bodies ruined. We owe them a

thorough and professional

investigation under law. That’s what this is.

The American people should expect nothing less from the FBI.” The creation of a backdoor may be the key to finding more terrorists and pre-venting future attacks on innocent Americans, which would be benefi-cial and strengthen security. Some may argue that the backdoor would threaten the privacy of every Apple user, not just terrorists. However, the backdoor should not affect you if you have nothing to hide. The backdoor should only be a concern for users who are involved in criminal offenses, and what’s more important? Safety or privacy? Overall, Apple should create a backdoor to ensure the safety of Americans. It could re-duce terrorism and give much-needed justice to

the lives lost in San Bernardino. The door is not an invasion of pri-vacy, it does not affect law abid-ing citizens, and it could prevent another deadly attack like this from happening again. I pre-fer to protect my life than my privacy.

a Backdoor?

By Ta

nia Tahe

r ia

other state must present them-selves to the public as the lottery winner. Some lawmakers say that puts winners in danger and pub-lished in The Washington Post, "It’s a means of keeping the lot-tery transparent and proving the winners are actual people." While in the grand scheme of things, one might feel that win-ning such a great deal of money is surely worth a few seconds of fame, the revelation of your identity will likely make you a target for rob-beries, scams, or handouts. Lottery winners are being robbed all the time, leav-ing them in the same finan-cial situation in which they started, only now, they also live with the trauma of be-ing robbed.

According to Nicole Bitette's Curse of the lottery: Trag-ic stories of big

jackpot winners, "Nearly 70% of lottery winners end up broke within seven years. Even worse,

several winners have died tragically or witnessed those close to them suffer." Per-haps winning the lottery isn't as glamorous as one would think. Just a few weeks ago, 20

year old, Craigory Burch Jr., was mur-dered in his Georgia

home after winning nearly half a million dollars in the Fantasy 5 Lottery. On the morning of Jan 21, the

former forklift driver was the victim of a home in-vasion robbery, and died from gunshot wounds he

suffered during the interac-tion. Burch Jr. became a target for robberies after he was featured in a Georgia

Lottery press release featur-ing his picture with a check w o r t h $ 4 3 4 , 2 7 2

awarded to him through the lot-tery. Had he never won the lottery, there is a great chance that he would still be alive today. Luck-ily, most offences aren't as serious as murder, but we can't overlook these horrible instances when they do arise. Surprisingly, most infractions are implemented by those close to you. Known lottery winners will likely be harassed by those around them for a handout. Peo-ple you haven’t spoken to since third grade will message you on Facebook or show up at your doorstep hoping you’ll share your fortune. While you can try to ig-nore them, and possibly succeed, it is still an introduction of stress into your life that you can certain-ly live without. All in all, it’s important to re-member that money can’t buy happiness. Sure, winning the lot-tery would solve some of your current financial struggles, but your life should not be compro-

mised for the prospect of “hitting it big.”

By Nicole Gerber and Mahsa Shahbazi

What is more important, privacy or security?

“Safety, because I don’t like dying.”

-Zachary Riccardo, junior

“Privacy is more important because if I know I have my privacy, I know I feel safe.” -Grant Koster, senior

“Safety, because if there’s another terrorist attack, we’ll be able to see it coming.”

-Gabriella Hernandez,

freshman

The Double Edge Sword of Lottery Luck

The Verdict March 20166

ENTERTAINMENT

Bringing an entirely different kind of superhero into their cine-matic universe seemed to do good for Marvel. On Feb. 12, Deadpool premiered in theatres everywhere, and this was one character many have been waiting for. Perfectly played by Ryan Reyn-olds, Deadpool is known for his constant blabber mouth, pervert-ed attitude and extravagant fight-ing skills. Unlike other heroes, he spends most of his time not kick-ing supervillain butt, but trying to reverse the experiment done on him that turned him into a super-human in the first place. Behind all the sex jokes, there is still the sentimental backstory that deals with cancer and leav-ing loved ones behind. Many ele-ments of this character and movie separate this film from the typical hero-and-villain genre, such as

By Renuka Surujnarain

Deadpool -haughty humor

You are napping in a field and wake up to see a blue haired man who introduces himself as Chrom. You realize that you’re an amnesiac with no recollection of your past or even your name. Prince Chrom brings you to the halidom of Ylisse, but on the way, you encounter a fire. There, you realize that you can fight and strategize, so Chrom enrolls you as his tactician to fight alongside him and the Shepherds. As the tactician, your job is to plan every battle your team faces in this perilous adventure. Every choice you make is important, not only while facing the enemy, but also as the plot progresses. You must consider the layout of the map; the class, stats, and weapons of your allies; and also those of your enemies. Aside from the actual fighting, there are

Fire Emblem Awakening -get your game on

On Jan. 31, we were able to re-live the ‘50s and it was a blast. Ev-erybody was rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong-ing around. Grease Live took the world by storm, as 12.2 million viewers tuned in, and it was amazing. Julianne Hough played Sandy Dumbrowski, the innocent girl who wears her heart-on-her-sleeve, while Aaron Tveit played Danny Zuko, the bad boy leader of the T-Birds and also the love interest of Sandy. Carlos PenaVe-ga played Kenickie, Danny’s best friend, and Vanessa Hudgens played Kenickie’s love interest, Betty Rizzo. Grease Live was a fun way to re-experience the past and make you feel like you were there. With the cameras following the cast around the sets during a com-

By Elizabeth Tse

Imagine going to Dunkin Do-nuts, ordering a smoothie, and getting a beverage that is bitter-sweet and full of lumps. That’s how I would describe the highly anticipated Netflix series Fuller House, the sequel to the ABC original Full House. The first episode attempts to set the stage for the series, in which sister Stephanie Tanner and best friend Kimmy Gibbler decide to move in with D.J. Tanner to help raise her three sons after her hus-band passed away. At the same time, the episode reunites almost every major cast member with the exception of Mary-Kate and Ash-ley Olsen, who played Michelle Tanner. Back to the bittersweet smooth-

breaking the fourth wall. The short rendition of a scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, af-ter the credits, and Colossus’ ap-pearances in the movie, were ad-ditional highlights the audience was able to enjoy. Tim Miller, made his debut as a director with this film, and was able to reach and surpass many people’s expectations with this outrageous movie. I guess the only disadvantage to this film was that it wasn’t exactly one to sit down and watch with your family; you’d probably have to be a little more careful about who you watch this with. Other-wise, it’s great for when you want to sit back, have some laughs, and let your head spin with the con-tinuous outside references and creative insults.

many other valuable features to the game. The most memorable aspect of Awakening is the emotional and heart-wrenching story. The beau-tiful music matches the events perfectly and clearly conveys the feelings of the characters, espe-cially in the angsty and bittersweet moments. The characters are fas-cinating and unique in their own way. The graphics, animation, and voice acting are all exceptional, as well. Although Chrom is the main character, the story does affect you directly, forcing you to make choices throughout the game. What’s great about this is that the choices really make you think of what would be the right and noble thing to do, and also makes you feel the pain of your comrades because of all they’ve gone through.

The final decision at the end has the most impact and results in what kind of ending you will get but includes a nice resolve depending on what option you choose. As a tactical role-playing game ,Fire Emblem: Awakening, has everything you would want and more. There are different difficul-ties to choose from (normal, hard, lunatic) and then a casual or clas-sic mode too. It’s a game that can hold your interest for a long time and is easy to get back into if you take a break from it. I highly rec-ommend this to all gamers, even those who have never played a strategic game before, because overall, it’s extraordinarily fun, sometimes intense, and can still throw you on an emotional roll-ercoaster.

mercial break, it allowed you to experience Rydell High. The cast did an extraordinary job of re-creating the classic; they had been rehearsing for months in order to get everything right. But the real breakout star was actor, PenaVega, as Kenickie. You might remember him from the Nickelodeon hit show, Big Time Rush, or from his time on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars. PenaVe-ga really stood out in the Greased Lightning scene when the T-Birds were fixing up the car. His acting was absolutely astounding, and his singing superb! His Kenickie was cool and the ultimate bad boy, and I couldn’t imagine any-one else playing the part. Overall, Grease Live was great and everyone loved it.

ie, the catchphrases of Stephanie “How rude!” and Uncle Jesse, “Have mercy!” evokes nostalgia, but the lumps kick in as you prog-ress into the series. The first episode was unneces-sary as everyone knew what the premise was supposed to be, and to be honest, the show lacks origi-nality, and seems like something you’ve seen a thouseand times, where the mother is concerned about her kid hanging out with a friend who makes him do reck-less things. The makers of Fuller House made the classic mistake of trying to outdo a hit-TV show or movie from the past. Andrea Barber reprises her role as Kimmy Gib-bler to an absolute perfection,

bringing about the comedy of how she always wanted to live in the Tanner household. The guest star appearances by Maksim and Valentin Chmerkovskiy, adds to the nostalgic feel of the show and quite frankly is a highligh-tof Candace Cameron-Bure (DJ)’s appearance on Dancing With the Stars, as she shows off her dance moves, but shows an obvious leak that director Jeff Franklin is trying to make in order to bring a dazzle and pop to the show. Although Fuller House has its shining moments, the unoriginal script and all-star guest appear-ances take the focus away from what could be a great sequel, and instead, turns it into something that’s hard to swallow.

Fuller House- Grease is still the By Nicole Gerber By Nidhi Gandhi

1. The Walking Dead2. Arrow3. How I Met Your Mother4. Teen Wolf5. Friends6. Grey’s Anatomy7. Wild ‘N Out8. The Flash9. Game of Thrones10. Law & Order

What We’re Watching

Where teens get entertainment

51%

51%

35%TV

14%HBO

too bitter for my tastebudsWORD

By Mark Alex and Raymond Liu

The Verdict March 20167

SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

Fuller House-

By Catherine Lin

While most students in high school are preparing for their SATs, Junior, Yasmeen Khan, is preparing for something big-

ger – the Olympics. After placing first and taking home the gold in the South Asian Games 2016 for Pakistan in

taekwondo, Khan moves on to the Olympic qualifiers. Yasmeen Khan started taekwondo at the age of

three, when she was strongly encouraged by her father to try out the sport. “My dad is like the

master and my coach,” she said. “I learned how to walk and he taught me how to

kick. It’s in the family.” Training three times a day, for six days a week, Khan

dedicates most of her time to tae-kwondo.

Khan is half Pakistani and she recently trained with her

Olympic team to represent Pakistan in the South Asian

Games held in India. Khan men-tioned that she didn’t expect to

place first in the tournament, say-ing “I was so nervous because a lot

of pressure was put on me. The crowd was all cheering and I jumped on my

dad, then they gave me the Pakistan flag and I paraded around the arena with it.

Everyone wanted pictures and autographs with me. I was speechless, and I cried a little

bit. It was emotional.” Khan attributes her success to her father. “If

it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have made it this far at all,” she said. “He’s the one who pushes me

to do well.” In addition to taekwondo, Khan is also a wres-

tler at Cardozo. She was on the girls team last year, and with the idea of the Olympics, she joined the boys

wrestling team this year and is training with them be-cause the girls wrestling season is too close to the Olym-

pic Qualifiers. With both events happening at the same time, Khan said, “I don’t think I would be able to focus if

I was on the girls wrestling team. I can’t afford to get hurt.” If Khan places first, second, or third in the Olympic quali-

fiers, she will be able to compete in the Olympics. Khan said that her biggest goal was to win and take home the gold. As her

father and coach, Mr. Khan believes that there is always room for her to improve, saying “nothing’s impossible to a willing mind.”

Yasmeen poses with her master, her dad.

KICKING HER WAY TO THE

Submitted by Yasm

een KhanSubm

itted by Yasmeen Khan

Yasmeen stands with pride representing her country. T O P

Onguard: It’s Natalie Minarik By Renuka Surujnarain Training for almost four hours, five times a week couldn’t have paid off better for Sophomore Natalie Minarik when she placed high in the 2016 Junior Olympic Fencing Championships in Cleve-land, Ohio. At this national event, which took place from Feb. 12-15, Mi-narik placed 2nd in the junior event (under 19) out of almost 200 people, and 3rd in the cadet event (under 17) out of more than 200 people. This was one of the many com-petitions and awards Minarik have achieved this season. She has also competed as an international cadet in Germany, Italy, and Hun-gary. Minarik has been passionate about fencing for a long time now, nine years to be exact. As a kid, it was really the only sport that appealed as different to her. She admits that his sport has become a very important part of her life,

Submitted by N

atalie Minarik

Natalie and her opponent advance towards each other.

and not only because of the ex-treme amount of time she’s put into it. “As an athlete of an individual sport, you are taught to be disci-plined, have a strong work ethic, and develop the necessary quali-ties that are needed to succeed,” she said. Fencing also taught her how to overcome difficult obstacles and deal with stressful situations. She has learned to balance out so much schoolwork and practice; her dedication and loyalty to get-ting things done keeps her moti-vated every day. Minarik doesn’t fence for Cardo-zo’s varsity team because she has little time between practice and school; instead, she fences for 5T Fencers Club in Mineola. Her parents have been able to ac-company her every step of the way and provide the right amount of support to keep her going strong.

drive, his mother sat him down again. She told him that every single time he was in the car he should already have his license out of his wallet, and his insur-ance card out of the glove depart-ment. She didn’t want him to get pulled over, and frighten a cop by reaching down for something in the car. This was the most shock-ing thing for me to read, because I would never think twice about reaching into my pocket when asked for ID. That’s such a sim-ple task that this boy couldn’t do without fear, just because he was black. This conversation got more in depth, with more and more warnings. She ended up crying, and the boy doesn’t understand why he’s not allowed to walk with more than three of his friends at a time without being considered a “mob”. Non-minorities will often bring up the idea of “reverse-racism”, or the belief that racism can be inflicted upon a dominant or formerly dominant race. Reverse racism is not realistic in the con-

Reversing the Effects of Racism in America Continuedtext of non-minorities versus minorities in the United States. There can be prejudice against non-minorities, but there can in no way be the same sort of unde-niable systematic oppression. Some people will counter this ar-gument by stating some ways that white people and non-minorities are being “oppressed”. One ex-ample of this is how minorities have more scholarship oppor-tunities. It is true; schools will often, more willingly, give schol-arship to minorities over white people because schools want to be more diverse. These schools are primarily white, and the main way to make their schools more diverse is by giving extra scholarships to minorities. Our socio-economic classes are set up in such a way that minorities are growing up with less opportunity for money, jobs, and other things that would get them into colleges. A second argument “proving” re-verse racism is programs like the Gateway program in our school. These programs are only avail-

able to minorities. Some people believe this is unfair, and racist. The Gateway program is just pro-viding help for kids who are being held back by the prominence of racism in our society. They were born with inevitable setbacks that lessen their options for college. Not all schools allow scholarships to minorities, and the Gateway program helps stu-dents get into those schools. Ser-vices that people would consider “reverse racist” are not trying to oppress non-minorities. They are not trying to make minorities better than anyone else. They are trying to, finally, make minorities equal. Our government, built upon White Supremacy, is blatantly racist. Any service that is geared only for minorities is not reverse-racist. It’s a stride towards a true equality. The fight for Civil Rights is not over. It can only be con-tinued once children stop being raised on racism in our govern-ment and media. Let racism die-out.

Reverse Racism is Real Continuedmaintain a business, that is racist, no matter what race they are. Another example of the rules of racism being bent is a program in my high school known as Gate-way. Gateway is a program which gives students of any race other than Caucasian and Asian, advan-tages for college scholarships. Whites and Asians are not ac-cepted in this program, and can-not reap any of its scholastic benefits. How is it not racist that

Hispanics, Blacks, Native Ameri-cans, etc. get special treatment due to their heritage? Assuming that whites or Asians don’t need the financial help of scholarships, or the possible ex-posure to colleges is unfair and wrong. Going back to the idea of re-verse racism, not all white people have suppressed others, therefore reverse racism does not simply mean being racist towards white

people. It’s sad that we live in a world where people of all races not only attack each other, but also attack their own people. I agree that racism towards Cau-casians has not been nearly as se-vere as with other races, but the idea that racism towards whites simply does not exist due to his-tory, is simply ludicrous. Suppres-sion and racism are two very dif-ferent things that many people fail to see.

The Verdict March 20168

SPORTSBoys Lacrosse: After a successful first game on Mar. 14, in which the Judges beat Jamaica High School by a score of 10-3, Cardozo is looking towards sur-

passing last year’s season. Attack-men Sang Beom Yoon (Sr.) and Emmanuel Arredondo (Fr.) led the offense, combining for six goals. Goalie Caleb Marks (Jr.) had a .750 save percentage,

stopping nine out of twelve shots. Come see the boy’s next home

game on Mar. 23rd, versus the Long Island City Bulldogs.

Senior Captain Manasseh Alexander runs up the field.

Girls Handball: With a nice playoff run last year to cap off a 14-0 regular season, the girls handball team is looking to redeem their playoff loss against Midwood High School. Come to their first game on March 23, at Cardo-zo’s handball courts.

Senior Anthony Huang prepares to serve.

Softball: After a .500 season last year, and a failure to make the playoffs, the softball team is looking to come back this season and make the playoffs. Come to their first game on March 30, in which the girls will take on Forest Hills at the Cardozo softball field.

Boys Tennis: Finishing last season with an 8-4 record, the boys tennis team reached the playoffs, but were eliminated by the McKee Seagulls in a tight game, that ended 3-2. With a young roster this year consisting of many re-turning players, the boys team is looking forward to a successful season. Being eliminated from the semis for the past 3 years, can this be their year to win it all?

Boys Volleyball: Having had deep playoff runs for the past three seasons, and a roster consisting of many se-niors, this can be their chance to finally reach the coveted PSAL championship. Finish-ing last season 8-2, they are definitely looking to surpass their previous record.

Girls Lacrosse: In the Judges’ first game vs. Beach Channel on March 15, Cardozo won by a score of 6-5. Sophomore Lisa Hoang led Cardozo’s offense, scoring three goals on six shots. Senior Maggie Rodriguez scooped up eleven ground balls, and also scored a goal. Come to the their next home game against Mas-peth High School on March 19 at 2:00p.m.

The boys’ varsity baseball team prepares for their journey into the 2016 season with intense training and dedication. Led by captains Noah Cabrera, Michael Co-letta, and Aldwin Corona, the boys plan on working harder than ever before to put Cardozo back on top and once again be-come the division champions of NYC. The team did exceptionally well in their previ-ous season, winning 15 out of 19 games, including matches against rivals Francis Lewis and John Adams. However, they lost 2-1 in the quarterfinals. The pitcher from Madison played a great game, and got a lucky hit in the ninth inning, though there are usually seven innings in a typical base-ball game. Two great teams played that day, but Madison finished stronger. This year, the 17 determined players hope to win ev-ery game this upcoming season, as well as the championship at Yankee Stadium. When asked about their goals, Cabrera

said, “My goal is to bring my team back to the championship game at Yankee Sta-dium. I am going to prepare for this sea-son by working hard on and off the field. This year we will focus on executing every play and beating every team that steps in between those lines. The overall focus is leaving this school with another champi-onship.” Junior Isaiah Mirabal, one of the two catchers on the team explains, “As baseball players, we mostly spend our time practic-ing. We practice everyday except Sundays, from 2:30 to 6 p.m. Because baseball is such a demanding sport, if we start to slack off, it shows in our playing. This year we are going to make sure we practice harder, so we can improve and make it further than we did last season.” Senior Alvin Melendez, plays shortstop and second base; he transferred from St. Mary’s, and was one of the top high school

By Tania TaheriBoys Baseball Back on Base

SPRING

baseball players in Catholic schools. Me-lendez, who has a scholarship to Fordham University, describes how he balances schoolwork, social life, and baseball prac-tice. He said that he does it, “by working hard and remembering that school is just as important as baseball, if not more.” Cabrera adds that, “It’s tough. As a stu-dent athlete I barely have a social life, so you can cross that off the list. But as for juggling practices/games and schoolwork it’s all about time management. I try to get all my homework and projects done as soon as I can, so I know they are done. Once my schoolwork is taken care of, it’s all about baseball from there on out.” On top of doing well athletically, Coach Ron Gorecki also encourages his players to do well academically. The team had a 100% graduation rate. Gorecki explains, “I always tell my baseball players that this is AP Baseball. You have to be in the top

grades. You have to have a 75 minimum average and play 100 games over the sum-mer to qualify. There are no failures on the team, failure is not an option.” Gorecki, expects to have a successful sea-son ahead of them, filled with hard work and perseverance. He said, “This is the deepest line up they’ve had in seven years. They have twelve kids that can play two sides of the ball. The offense is very power-ful and they are the best defense in the city. If they get the right breaks, they should end up in either first or second place.” The boys have their first home game against Stuyvesant on March 28th, at 4 p.m. To prepare for the game, the team immediately goes outside to start practice as soon as possible. If it’s too cold or rainy, they will either go to the gym or weight room. They hope to have a successful sea-son ahead of them based on their hard work and dedication.

Boys Handball: After an undefeated season last year, the boys handball team is looking to match their success, and have yet another successful season. Come to their first game on March 24, at Cardozo’s handball courts.

By Alec Goldman Photos taken by Juliana Kim, W

hitney Uchendu, and Lara M

orales