East Side News | The Official Newspaper of Williamsville East High School Since 1992

Toxic Meltdown Comes to Taste of East

East

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October 5, 2015

By: Gillian Marcus

This year, student council has decided to switch things up at the Taste of East on Thursday, September 24^th at 6:00 pm. East is renting Toxic Meltdown, an inflatable game that resembles the television show Wipeout.

Toxic Meltdown is an eight-player action game that challenges your stamina, agility, and reactions. Inside the inflatable octagon, two spinning “ boom arms”, or long, cushion-y cylindrical shapes, try to knock you off your designated podium. The object of the game is to attempt to stay on. You can do this by ducking underneath or jumping above the foam boom. The last one standing wins!

Visually, the game is housed in a large octagon with eight removable podiums for participants. It has a bright green cushion-y bottom if you fail to stay on your podium, which isn’t too high up. The boom arms are black and yellow, and the sides of the game are gray, yellow, and black. The contrasting colors express a vivid Toxic Meltdown theme. On top of the rectangle that has the boom arms attached to it in the middle of the game, there is a flashing LED siren light.

A unique aspect of the game is that there is variable speed control that increases or decreases the speed of the boom arms. You can start off by taking things slowly, but once you’ve become a pro, you can speed it up a bit!

When asked about what she thinks about this new addition to the Taste of East, junior Nicole Kazmierczack says, “I think it’ll be a really fun time. Toxic Meltdown seems like a great, active game that’ll bring a lot of positive attention to the Taste of East. It’ll only add to the already-amazing experience!”

For only $5, you can play this game for an unlimited amount of time. Waivers were due to Mrs. Mahaney on Monday, September 21^st and were available on WITS. If you weren’t able to hand a slip in, watching this exciting game will probably be just as fun as experiencing it! Get ready for a great homecoming week, East!

Is Small ball the New Thing?

Sports

The East Side News

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October 5, 2015

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By: Brian Suk

The sport of basketball has been around for ages. Thus, there have been many ways the game has been played. Whether at a fast tempo, or a grinded out game, teams have been implementing new techniques and strategies for years. Is 2015 the era of small ball? With the recent title win of the Golden State Warriors and their uncanny small ball strategy, this question has arisen multiple times. Is a smaller and faster lineup more beneficial these days?

Many teams in the league, including the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder, and San Antonio Spurs have been successful with their implementation of small ball. What is small ball exactly? It is when a team leans away from the traditional 2 guards, 2 forwards, and one big man strategy, and leans more heavily on its guards and plays a much faster, up tempo basketball. Usually, this comes from having 3 guards in their lineup, one fast forward, and an athletic center who can run the floor. Fast breaks become much more common as well.

There are many pros to this strategy, such as having the ability to score more. Since fast breaks increase, and since a small ball normally has several good shooters, this leads to more points. This strategy can also have an effect on the opponents by wearing them down if they’re not used to the fast tempo. Fastbreaks can also lead the opponents into more fouls, which could get them in foul trouble. Also, mismatches can occur with a slower player on the opposing team getting matched up with a more athletic player.

Despite these advantages, there can be disadvantages as well. One big glaring problem is the rebounding. Since the team gets smaller, it is generally much more difficult for them to secure rebounds against the bigger opposing players. Another big weakness is on the defensive end of the floor. Since they are clearly outsized, teams can get easily bruised by the towering size of the opposition. This can lead to stamina decrease as well. However, certain teams can get past this, as the Golden State Warriors showed. By having Draymond Green playing the center position, his unique ability of hustle and ability to grab rebounds among taller players allowed Golden State to be successful. So one way to get past the disadvantages is to have some good defensive players on your team. Teams like the Indiana Pacers are completely reshaping their roster and changing to small ball due to their past failures with the traditional big man style(consecutive 2013 and 2014 conference final losses). But we’ll see if this indeed helps them or not. Overall, small ball is a risky strategy that if you have the right pieces, it can be successful. Or you just might end up with more bruises than you bargained for at the end of the day.

Malaria Decreases in Africa

Uncategorized

The East Side News

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October 5, 2015

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By: Arya Prindipolu

Cases of malaria have been prevented in Africa! Malaria is a life threatening disease that is transmitted to people through infected mosquitoes caused by parasites. Although Malaria is a serious disease it is preventable and curable as proven in Africa. 700 million cases have been prevented since 2000 in Africa.

Malaria has been prevented in a variety of ways. Bed nets helped prevent malaria proven by researchers from the University of Oxford who have estimated that 68% of the reduction of malaria was due to insecticide treated bed nets. Malaria has also been prevented by homes that have been sprayed with inside with insecticide. Along with the treatment, artemisinin, which is a drug that can help control Malaria. A first-line treatment has also been established, which is a combination therapy of several antimalarial drugs such as artemisinin. All of these interventions have helped prevent many cases of malaria.

Although many cases of malaria have been prevented there is still obstacles to overcome. Every minute a child dies from malaria in Africa. Drug resistance is one problem that has to be overcome. The insecticides do not affect some of the insects any more. In Southeast Asia there has even been resistance to the artemisinin. That resistance has not been spread to Africa though, so the drug still has a huge effect on controlling malaria in Africa. Despite the obstacles that still have to be overcome there has been huge success.

According to the World Health Organization 13 countries that had malaria in 2000 had no cases in 2014. Any cuts to funding malaria would lead to drastic consequences. Dr. Richard Kamwi said, “ I have seen some countries where elimination was almost in sight and when they stopped indoor spraying we have seen resurgence.” Now that there are ways to prevent malaria the efforts must be increased and driven forward instead of reduced in order to insure the elimination of malaria in Africa.

Second GOP Debate Heated Up

National

The East Side News

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October 5, 2015

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By: Ani Nrusimha

Eleven people had to stand for 3 hours on September 16th.

It was perhaps the most grueling session this array of men (and one woman) have had in months. No, I’m not talking about an extremely boring episode of Survivor. The most recent Republican debate, hosted by CNN, was a bloodbath in the political sense, with taunts and slander strewn about the stage like food in a cafeteria brawl. Even the debaters acknowledged it, with Rand Paul quipping, “My goodness, that happened in junior high,” about one of his fellow debaters, Donald Trump. For those of you who didn’t have the chance to view the spectacle it was, here are some of the winners, losers, and highlights of the night.

Almost all the people who were watching the debate found one clear winner in Carly Fiorina. Compared to the other candidates, she was the only one who clearly dealt with the elephant in the room, Donald Trump. The moment that illuminated her willingness to fight Trump was when she addressed his comments about her. Her professional attitude and maturity when asked on her opinion about the hurtful and immature comments (which went along the lines of she didn’t have an ‘electable face’) was evident, as she responded, “Women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr.Trump said.” Early polling results after the debate indicate that she has sprung after this kerfuffle; something no other candidate can claim. In addition, Fiorina showed she was no pushover in the masculine crowd. During the debate, she didn’t talk as long as Bush or Trump, who both benefited from the rule that references to a candidate give them extra speaking time; however, she made up for it by interrupting others to make her points heard. She had the most number of interruptions of any of the candidates. Polls after the debate seem to also subscribe to this notion, with Fiorina jumping from the pack into 3rd polling at 13%, according to a Public Policy Polling survey taken this Sunday; an impressive jump of 5 points from just a month ago.

Carly Fiorina wasn’t the only promising candidate on stage that night. Marco Rubio had a very strong performance as well. Compared to Carly Fiorina, Rubio didn’t fight nearly as much with the other candidates, instead focusing on how his story can win Independents against Hillary Clinton. Just like in the last debate, he took a less controversial route with convincing argument about his story and his positions without criticizing others. However, he might later struggle with his tenure in the Senate, which seems to not be popular with Republicans recently. As with Fiorina, he has had a gain in polls, albeit a smaller one from 2-3% depending on the poll.

However, some people struggled at the debate, most notably Scott Walker, who dropped out soon after. His polling numbers have dropped in recent weeks, and now might as well be statistical error for all we know. Struggling to stay relevant in the crowd was his biggest sticking point. The people who previously supported him, establishment Republicans who thought Jeb Bush was bland and boring, came to the unfortunate realization that Walker is more boring to voters than Bush is.

Carson also had a weak showing, demonstrating that while his soft spoken qualities are great on paper in comparison to the rash Trump, they do little for him in the debates. Sitting right next to Trump and Bush, who endlessly bickered, he seemed almost intimidated to speak. Still, when he spoke, he spoke well, which showed in recent polling numbers. Although he dropped, he still retains his spot in second place in most of the recent polls, including the aforementioned PPP poll.

Bush, on the other hand, did quite well compared to the last debate. With his “high-energy” comments, as Donald Trump called them, he came out swinging. Trump and he fought repeatedly over different issues, like campaign funding. He came out as defiant and strong, in comparison to his last debate performance, which at best could be described as forgettable. He also strongly defined himself and his relationship to his brother and his handling of Iraq. One of his highlights of the night was, when Trump prompted him on his brother, commenting “he kept us safe.” He took these issues, which had earlier threw him off guard, well. However, even though there was improvement, the Republican voting block, whose votes ultimately matter, are not convinced. While Bush has stopped dropping in the polls, unlike how he previously had been since mid-July, the former frontrunner has not garnered the unilateral support among the ever waning establishment republicans. If Scott Walker had a small chunk of the vote, him dropping out might have helped Bush, but his dismal performance and drop did not have any influence on him.

Finally, the one everyone has been waiting for- Donald Trump. After skyrocketing to first place amongst the Republican party for the past few months, his performance at the debate was exactly was suspected: fight fight fight. It would take forever to go over each of his many fights, but I’ll try to summarize his performance with one: when Rand Paul said the comment aforementioned in the introduction, Trump’s response was, and I quote: “I never attacked him on his looks, and believe me, there’s plenty of subject matter right there.” This kind of rude and random bashing that made Trump look weaker on the stage, along with his comments about Fiorina.

The most recent poll numbers, in the order of the highest % of voters who say they will vote for each candidate, show that Trump, Carson, Fiorina, Rubio, Bush, Cruz are leading, with all of them above 5%. However, these poll numbers are very preliminary, as we still have 4-5 months until the first primary in Iowa.

All Quiet on Set (Commentary)

The East Side News

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October 5, 2015

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Commentary

By: Andy Pleasants

When the average everyday hearing person hears the word “deaf”, what’s the first few things that pop in their minds? Disability, a loss of hearing, and hearing-aids are all examples. For as long as history can recall, those who are deaf have been stigmatized as being “broken” and “dumb”. Unfortunately, pop culture has done little to change that view. Now, before I go any further, I should probably explain a few things. People who are deaf either associate themselves with the terms deaf, Deaf, or Hard-of-Hearing. Some like myself even associate themselves with Deaf/HoH. People who are ‘lowercase deaf’ are not a part of Deaf Culture; they only view their deafness as a disability and a hearing loss. People who are capital Deaf, on the other hand, associate themselves with Deaf Culture, a community just like any other culture you know of. There’s a universal language in sign language, artwork, poems, music, photography, theatre, and more. Those who are in Deaf Culture don’t view being deaf as a disability – they view it as being a part of a culture they can connect to.

Now that I got the background information out of the way, you’re probably wondering why I told you all that. There’s a simple reason, and that reason is absence. To the average hearing person, the first word that is synonymous with “deafness” is “disability”. That’s built upon the perception that the ability to hear is somehow essential to living. The world we live in has a society in which the majority is hearing. The celebrities we see in the news are hearing, the superheroes in movies are hearing, the characters in our favorite TV shows are hearing – the list goes on and on and on. A lot more people than you’d think actually have some form of hearing-loss. Deaf Culture is a widespread and wonderful culture, yet no one even talks about it. Not a lot of people in the mainstream media and our society are even remotely aware of such a culture. Much like how there’s a clear need for representation for LGBTQ communities and different ethnicities in the media, there is also a dire need for representation for those within the Deaf community. Representation is very important for minorities because it allows people who don’t fit the “normal” or “pretty” category to connect with who they are and to be inspired. Hawkeye, a superhero in the Avengers, is an inspiring character – he can shoot a bow and arrows and has advanced combat training. What you probably didn’t know was that Hawkeye is deaf/hard-of-hearing and uses sign language, and has done so in both comics from the 80’s-90’s and in Matt Fraction’s present-day run. Why couldn’t Marvel simply given him that new and added dimension in the movies? It would make his character more unique and would let him reach out to a broader audience. You can also make the same case for Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games; she was Hard-of-Hearing in part of the first book, but they never added that in the movie.

All I know is that I would have loved to have seen someone like me up on the big screen, out in the news of pop culture, getting recognition. I’m tired of being labeled as “dumb” or “mute”. Society hasn’t changed their perception on deaf people, and that will continue to stay the same unless there’s more awareness and recognition for deaf people in pop culture. Deaf Culture is real and diverse. Countless people around the globe are growing up with hearing-loss or an inability to speak; they view themselves as dumb or worthless simply because of a loss of a sense, something they had no control over. To be deaf is to be a part of a culture. To me it isn’t a disability – I am not broken. In fact, it has opened so many new doors for me that a lot of others wouldn’t have had the opportunity to explore. I embraced this on my own from being exposed to both the hearing and deaf worlds and connecting with Deaf Culture. What about all those kids who never see themselves being represented out there in the world nor have the access to be exposed to Deaf Culture? They’ll always believe they’re broken simply because to the rest of society, it’s all quiet on set.

The Dangers of E-Cigarettes

The East Side News

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October 5, 2015

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By: Steph Wetzel, Kasey Vangelov, Caroline Schnabel, Reilly Hennessy

In past generations, smoking cigarettes was considered a trend. They were promoted on commercials, advertisements, and even given away as prizes on game shows. However, our generation isn’t seeing the promotion of regular cigarettes–we are seeing the promotion of electronic cigarettes instead. Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigs, were initially used to encourage cigarette users to quit smoking; however, they have done the opposite. People who have never smoked a day in their life are now progressing onto regular cigarettes after smoking e-cigarettes.

According to ABCnews.com, “E-cigarettes are battery operated nicotine inhalers that consist of a rechargeable lithium battery, a cartridge called a cartomizer and an LED that lights up at the end when you puff on the e-cigarette to simulate the burn of a tobacco cigarette.”

East health teacher Mr. Townsend said that the long term effects towards users health is still unknown. “We’re still learning more about what they actually do. Research is still ongoing. The manufacturers of many e-cigarette companies are leading tobacco companies.”

Students and faculty feel as though their breathing air is contaminated due to students smoking e-cigarettes on school property. “When I walk into the orange bathroom as a male I know kids are using them in there. I don’t like them, I don’t think kids know how dangerous they are. A lot of kids think they’re cool when they use them. Kids aren’t using them to stop smoking tobacco. They are using them for fun and shouldn’t be,” said math teacher Mr. Meyers. Teachers that have classrooms near the orange and red bathrooms, including Mr. Meyer, are noticing students smoking them more then other faculty members. “It has occurred more in the boys bathrooms. My room is right next to the girls bathroom, and once in a great while I’ll smell something. However, I am very strict on students not using the bathrooms during class. Last year, it appeared to be mostly ninth and tenth grade boys. I know it was a problem with the younger boys because I teach seniors and they were telling me how ridiculous the ninth grade boys looked with their e-cigarettes. The older boys would often tease and make fun of them in order to intimidate them not to do it,” stated foreign language teacher Mrs. Masso.

Students who took the AP Biology and AP Music Theory exams last year are especially frustrated with students smoking e-cigarettes on school property. During the exam there was a break in which students decided smoke. Their actions could have led to serious consequences including having each student retake the exams. “To take the exam for another three hours? I would’ve hated that,” said junior Puja Sasankan, who took the AP Biology exam last year. Students who took the AP Music Theory exam also had to deal with the chance of these consequences. “It would’ve been extremely unfair. AP exams are a big deal and they require a lot of time and energy in studying. I would’ve been very angry if they made us retake it,” stated junior Bhavana Upadhyaya.

Some teenagers feel as though smoking electronic cigarettes will make them more appealing to others. Although they understand the consequences of smoking e-cigarettes, they still insist on doing it. A sixteen year old at East who wishes to remain anonymous was previously an e-cigarette user stated, “I used e-cigs in the past because I thought it made me look cool, but in reality it is stupid. I feel it’s dangerous because no one knows the long term effect. I have smoked in social situations because the pressure was high. It made me feel cool and rebellious which I am neither. I don’t use e-cigs anymore.”

Not only are e-cigarettes a part of tobacco companies, but they are treated as tobacco products as well. They are prohibited in public places such as parks, beaches, work facilities, and schools. Students at our school were found possessing such products on school grounds during the school day. Teachers are not thrilled about this situation. The code of conduct for our school states that alcohol and other substances are prohibited on school property. Violations of this policy will lead to a minimum 5-day suspension, plus other consequences. Worse consequences will be enforced if the student is on a sports team or involved in other school activities. Administration is trying to ensure that even if the policy changes, it will be enforced. “We’re doing our best to make sure students are not coming to school with electronic cigarettes. If the policy changes, than we will enforce it. The policy is what it is and we will enforce it as it is written,” assistant principal Mr. Scanzuso said in a previous East Side News report on e-cigarettes.

The students and faculty of the school are trying to get the students who smoke e-cigarettes to understand that they are also harming others. They do not realize that they are contaminating the air of those that are around them. It is also stressed that the long term health risks are still unknown. The device could be thought of as a gateway drug. It is developing a new generation of smokers, and is doing the opposite of its intention.

Ducks, Spartans, and the Second Ever CFB Playoff

Sports

The East Side News

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September 23, 2015

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Ducks, Spartans, and the Second Ever CFB Playoff

By: Noah Gould

This week’s headline game was of course the showdown in East Lansing between 7th ranked Oregon and 5th ranked Michigan State. Both teams have been in the mix for the championship each of the last two seasons. This game, the second of a two year series, was this year’s first matchup between two top 10 teams and the first game of the season with a real impact on the playoff.

Michigan State comes into the season off of a 11-2 year with losses only to the two national championship teams and a cotton bowl comeback win over Baylor. They return QB Connor Cook now in this third year as starter. They did lose architect of their amazing defensive scheme, DC Pat Narduzzi, to Pittsburgh and star running back TJ Langford to the NFL. The Spartans will probably have a different philosophy than they did a year ago. They will be much more aggressive in the passing game and Connor Cook will take the next step in his evolution from the game manager of 3 years ago to a star QB in college football. The Spartans are the only team that seems likely to give challenge to Ohio State in this year’s Big Ten. What is an interesting to watch is that since Ohio State is currently being anointed as possibly the best team in the history of college football Michigan State could be automatically given a spot in the playoff if they knock off OSU in the Big Ten championship game. Either way the Michigan State Ohio State game will be one of the biggest regular season games in college football.

Oregon enters 2015 looking to get into the college football playoff for a second straight year and win the Pac-12 conference for the fifth time in seven years. The Ducks do come into this year as the favorite to win the Pac-12 but like 13 of the teams in the AP preseason top 25 they have a new starting QB. Vernon Adams, the six foot Eastern Washington graduate transfer, has taken the reigns of the Oregon offense from Heisman trophy winner Marcus Mariota. Adams was an FCS star and threw for 4,994 yards in his best season. Although, Adams only arrived on the Eugene campus three weeks before the start of the season he does seem to still be running the complicated Oregon offense, and he is blessed with one of the greatest wide receiver corps in the country.

Adams was hardly the problem on Saturday as the Michigan State defense proved too much forthe ducks. Michigan State’s defense showed once again that it is one of the best in the country on Saturday. The Spartans collected their biggest regular season victory in recent memory as they won 31-28 and controlled the high profile game most of the way. Their defense held up very well against the great Oregon offense, but their offense more than did its job. Connor Cook showed his veteran presence in the pocket and the huddle as usual and new running backs Mandre London and LJ Scott were able to take care of business on the ground.

Michigan State’s win on Saturday was huge. They proved themselves to again be one of the best teams in the country. Each of the last two years Michigan State has been about only one loss away from the playoff or championship game. The problem for them has been that they had a loss in week two both years which kept them out of the conversation for much of the season. This year will be quite the opposite. This victory will have them in the playoff conversation for most of the season. Besides the regular season matchup with Ohio State the Spartans don’t have another currently ranked opponent on the schedule. They have a clear path to the Big Ten championship game and there for the playoff even with a loss.

For the Ducks it is a different story. Even after upset losses by Stanford and Arizona State in week one the Pac-12 is still very much up for grabs. Arizona, the only team to beat Oregon in the regular season last year, returns a good team and USC and UCLA are being given national praise as playoff contenders. This is a double edged sword for the Ducks. Even if they have one loss the winner of the Pac-12 is almost guaranteed a playoff spot. Conversely it will be very difficult for the Ducks to win the conference this year and furthermore to get into the playoff they would probably have to do it without another loss.

This year’s Oregon-Michigan State game was the second of a two year series. It was amazing to see two teams commit to playing another top 10 team out of conference. This is something that rarely happens in college football except for between traditional rivals and it needs to happen more. Especially in the playoff era where trying to be a one loss team with the best strength of schedule seems to be the goal. More interconference showdowns especially early in the season would only make the sport more fun. While many other power houses scheduled much easier nonconference games these two programs gave everyone two great high profile games at the beginning of the last two season.

College Football Week 2 Recap

Sports

The East Side News

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September 23, 2015

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By: Noah Gould

College Football’s week two slate didn’t look that enticing going in, but Saturday proved to be another of College Football crazy days. It all got started off with a bang as FCS Jacksonville State was to leading sixth ranked Auburn for almost the entire game before falling in OT. In the end, despite the loss, Jacksonville state had still put up more total yards of offense. Jacksonville State truly just played better than Auburn for most of the game. The Auburn offense was just unable to do anything. Their offensive line played horribly. Over the past two season Auburn has been a big time national championship contender mostly because of their offense. Their coach Gus Malzahn has been praised around the country as an offensive genius, but his team was only able to put up 20 points in regulation against Jacksonville State which suggests it might be a tough season out on the plains. The tigers were able to score a late touchdown and win the game in the first overtime avoiding one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport. Based on how they played on Saturday Auburn is going to struggle mightily in the, as per usual, stacked SEC west. While Auburn’s week 1 win over Louisville seemed impressive at the time Louisville’s loss at home to Houston on Saturday probably proves that neither participate in that week 1 showcase is going that far in 2015.

The theme of upsets in the SEC west continued later in the day when 18th ranked Arkansas fell at home to Toledo. Again, in this game Toledo led Arkansas almost the whole time. This year is head coach Bret Bielema’s third with the Razorbacks, and was supposed to be a breakout year for the team. Unfortunately for Arkansas they, like Auburn, currently play in the SEC West so they will have a tough schedule again this year. It looks like it could be another building year for Bielema who better start experiencing some success soon if he wants to keep his job.

Continuing with the upset theme, 9th ranked Notre Dame was on the road at Virginia after their headline week 1 38-3 win over Texas. Notre Dame jumped out to a 12-0 first quarter lead but stalled in the red zone 3 times. Shades of last year’s late season collapse showed as the Notre Dame defense struggled to stop Virginia. To be fair it looks like Virginia might be on the rise this year in a six to eight wins sort of way. Their QB, Matt Johns, was 26-38 with 289 yards and 2 TDs and looked very good especially on his clutch drive to take the lead with less than 2 minutes left. Virginia Canaan Severin was able to use his size and physicality to torture the Irish secondary all day. He finished with 11 catches and 153 yards including a few clutch plays on the final drive. Virginia certainly looks like their stock is rising especially since this season the ACC doesn’t have that many great teams. They could be headed for a 7 or 8 win season and a rare bowl appearance for the school.

Notre Dame seems to be going in the opposite direction. Their redshirt Sophomore QB, who many anointed as the savior after last week, went out for the season in the third quarter with a broken ankle. Redshirt Freshman highly recruited QB Deshone Kizer replaces Zaire as the starter. Kizer didn’t play very well at all when he first came into the game. He missed a lot of open throws despite running a fairly simply offense. Fortunately for Notre Dame, he played very well during his clutch 80 yard 37 second game winning TD drive. He capped it off with a beautiful 39 yard TD pass to Will Fuller with 12 seconds left to win the game followed by a 2-point conversion pass to a wide open Torii Hunter Jr. Kizer may prove to be a very good QB in time. Maybe in a few years or maybe by the end of the season. The problem for Notre Dame is they host Georgia Tech next week in a huge game after this week it seems unlikely that the offense or the defense will be ready to handle it. In the offseason Notre Dame was a trendy sleeper playoff pick and they were getting even more buzz after their blowout week 1 win. It seems like those playoff dreams were destroyed along with their QB’s ankle on saturday, but it seems Notre Dame still has a chance to be ok this year and come back strong in 2017.

Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Entertainment

The East Side News

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September 23, 2015

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By: Ani Nrusimha

This past week was the first week of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and what a week it was. Starting on Monday, he surprised both those who were frequent viewers of the Colbert Report and those who viewed what all the hype was about with a astounding blend of comedy and seriousness. One of the best examples of this were the two interviews on his first day on the show, with George Clooney and Jeb Bush. The interview with George Clooney was lighthearted, funny, and involved a few skits and other common comedic techniques. However, the Bush interview, while also at times being comedic, also involved some serious questions about how this Bush would compare to the last. Even though Colbert also asked Jeb about other political questions, such as the enormous amount of negativity in politics, the questions he chose were not the most impressive part of his interview. Throughout the interview, Colbert was much nicer to Jeb then the audience and gave the chance to the Republican in a heavily liberal crowd. This was a rare sight in modern television, and though I personally would have liked it if he had been more aggressive, that does not detract from it.

However, my favorite moment of the week was not the first day, but rather the second, with an interview with Joe Biden. Now, many may argue that Biden was much more favored by the crowd then Bush, but the beauty in the interview was not in the political aspects of the interview, ( they were just a stray comment on how Joe Biden should run for president,) but in the conversation about how the VP has struggled with the tragic loss of his son, both parties maintained a serious tone and had a meaningful conversation about loss and faith.

It’s too early to tell if the Late Show will succeed as much as its predecessor and Colbert’s previous show have. However, Colbert still retains the depth and inspiration that his reporting always has.

Jon Stewart Leaves the Daily Show

Entertainment

The East Side News

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September 23, 2015

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By: Jenna Marcus

After sixteen years of an incredible career hosting The Daily Show, Jon Stewart officially resigned from his position this past August.

In an interview with the Guardian, Stewart admitted that he wasn’t as happy doing the show as he used to be. “It’s not like I thought the show wasn’t working anymore, or that I didn’t know how to do it. It was more, ‘Yup, it’s working. But I’m not getting the same satisfaction.’”

For many, Jon Stewart could always be trusted for a reliable, progressive and compassionate view on any situation. Even in the darkest times, his satire could make the hypocrisy and cruelty of the world a little less depressing and bring a smile to your face (unless you’re Fox News). Not only was the show entertaining, but his well-informed reviews and criticisms helped raise political awareness amongst many of his viewers. He made statements that traditional news and media would never dare to make, and for many was a trustworthy source for honest news. There are not many who could have done the job as extraordinarily as Stewart did.

Stewart’s plans for the future include anything but retirement. When asked what his plans were in October if he were to leave the show, he responded, “…I would do what I’m doing. Whether it’s stand up, the show, books or films, I consider all this just different vehicles to continue a conversation about what it means to be a democratic nation, and to have it written into the constitution that all men are created equal – but to live with that for 100 years with slaves….And how do we honestly assess our failings and move forward with integrity?” Since then, he has expressed an interest in returning to his roots in comedy and spending more time with his family. Whatever it may be, one can assume with confidence that Stewart will not cease promoting morality, honesty, and equality.

This March it was announced that stand-up comedian Trevor Noah was to replace Stewart as the host of The Daily Show. Starting September 28th, Noah will begin his first show. Despite the negativity surrounding some of his controversial Tweets following the announcement, many viewers have voiced support for him, especially since they trust Stewart’s judgement, who voiced his fond opinion of him on the show. After all, he was an incredible host in the eyes of many, and in addition helped people like Stephen Colbert and John Oliver rise to fame. Stewart said of the new host, “I do hope you give him an opportunity to earn that trust and respect, because my experience with him is that he is an incredibly thoughtful and considerate and funny and smart individual.” He continues to state he believes that if you take the time to give Noah the opportunity, it will be well worth it. “I’m excited for where he’s gonna take this thing.”

One fan says, “I think he will be delightful… He has the intelligence and courage to grow and fill some very very big shoes.” However, not all fans are excited about the selection. Another admits, “I’m apprehensive about Stewart leaving, but what I’ve seen of Noah I’ve found mildly amusing at worst.” Filling the legendary role of The Daily Show host is no easy task; it is understandable why some viewers may be concerned. All we can do give Noah a chance, wait and see where he takes it, and judge from there.

Over the past sixteen years, The Daily Show has had tremendous success. Viewers will certainly miss Jon Stewart and the unique character he gave to The Daily Show, and hopefully welcome Noah and give him a chance. We sincerely wish Stewart the best in the next chapter of his life, and anxiously await to see where Trevor Noah will take things.