Jacy Good is a young woman who was living an ordinary life before a tragic accident occurred. The accident made her unable to move the left side of her body, took her months to recover, and left her an orphan. Her husband Steve has been supporting her since the accident happened.

Ever since Jacy recovered from the accident, she started a program called Hang up and Drive. Steve has also been helping her with that program. Jacy has been able to share her story and her program with many people including our school. She has also been able to share her story on Oprah and has also been on the show Say Yes to the Dress. Along with her program, Jacy has been trying to pass the law of no phone use while driving specifically in her hometown, Pennsylvania. As of today, Pennsylvania has a law that forbids texting while driving; however, it is not illegal to talk on the phone while driving in that state.  States and US territories besides Pennsylvania also have laws that pertain to phone use while driving.

When looking at the raw data, 13 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin islands all prohibit hand-held phone usage while driving.  The states that apply this law to all drivers are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Washington, West Virginia, and Oregon.  Vermont is implementing this law as of this October.  All other states either have not prohibited hand-held phone usage while driving, or the law only applies to those drivers 18 to 20 years of age (e.g. Arkansas) or below 18 (e.g. Georgia, North Dakota).  A more specific one, Texas, only prohibits the usage in school crossing zones.

Besides just hand-held usage, it can be assumed that for the states listed above that they also have similarly strict laws regarding the usage of phones otherwise (since you can’t really text someone if you don’t have your phone in your hand). There was one thing that was more interesting than the hand held ban, though: only 44 states with the addition of D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands, have a ban on texting while driving.  Arizona and Montana still have texting legal while driving, and in Oklahoma learner’s permit holders, intermediate license holders, school bus drivers and public transit drivers are not permitted to text while driving.  The remaining three states have similar rules to Oklahoma, more specific than generalized to the entire population of that state.  In summary, 20 states and D.C. have the all cell phone ban on school bus drivers and 37 states (and D.C.) have bans on cell phones for teenage drivers.

Outside the individual states, our country as a whole has made several motions to end the use of phones while driving.  Pertaining to truck drivers and bus drivers, the U.S. Department of Transportation passed a law prohibiting texting while driving.

It’s obvious that there’s a lot of things that distract people when they’re on the road; at this point in time, the biggest distractor is our cell phones. Too frequently do they beep, light up, ring, or buzz in our presence, sometimes during conversations, sometimes when we’re on the wheel.  While many states have taken the step forward to put it in their best interest to mute the presence of phones in the driver’s atmosphere, some states have not yet gotten that far.  Until then, in the words of Jacy Good: Hang Up and Drive.

by Steph Wetzel and Leena Sen

While the month of September begins with the one thing most students dread, going back to school, there’s still one event the majority of us look forward to: homecoming.  On Saturday, September 20th, “hoco”, as many students are now calling it, made its annual debut, but this time, in the gym instead of the commons.

Though moving the dance’s location from the commons to the gym doesn’t seem like a big deal, many returning East students were surprised when they heard the news.  In addition to having no walls, the fact that homecoming took place in the commons was something unique to Williamsville East.  Other schools don’t have a commons to hold the function, using the gym instead, and there’s something about resorting to the “norm” that makes it feel like we’re not special anymore.  East students take pride in their uniqueness, and many felt that the individualism of our school was being taken away with this change.  “I wasn’t thrilled when I found out the dance was going to be in the gym this year,” said an anonymous senior. “It’s traditional to have it in the commons.  I mean, that’s what they’ve done the past three times I’ve gone, so when I found out my last dance would be different, it made me feel kind of…upset, even though it was probably for the better.”

However, the location of the dance was not the only difference this homecoming.  “There were definitely more tickets sold this year than last,” Mrs. Desantis told us.  “This time, we were over 800, and last year we were a little under.” She also stated that, in terms of the dress code, people seemed to be wearing shorter dresses.  However, with the additional space in the gym, there were more areas for kids to be dancing appropriately (though it could go both ways with that last statement).  While ticket sales did increase this year, there wasn’t a need for more chaperones like there was last year in order to sell additional tickets. She added, “The class officers really encouraged and secured chaperones earlier so there wasn’t a waiting list for East students.”  Mrs. Desantis also told us that homecoming will continue to be in the gym next year since the space was better and there was more air circulation in the room.

Though more tickets were sold with homecoming being in the gym, not everyone was a fan of the change.  An anonymous sophomore said he liked it in the commons better because, to him, the gym felt hotter, and the openness of the commons was a comfortable attribute.

In previous years, it was incredibly hot, and there wasn’t as much space for people to dance.  Tables in the pit were offered for kids to sit in, but they were all taken.  In addition, there wasn’t as much food, and the tables that housed the refreshments were smaller.  However, with more open space in the gym, more tables could be moved to sit more people, and more drinks and desserts could be displayed.

That being said, there were also a fair share of kids who prefered the dance in the gym.  Bryan Bacher, a freshman, told us he liked it in the gym since there was a large dance area and lots of people on it.  He couldn’t imagine what it would be like in the commons where the area is a lot smaller.  Space seemed to be a major reason people prefered homecoming in the gym, which is what senior Michelle Dao also agreed on. “I liked it better in the gym, but I thought there should’ve been more decorations.  It was better because students were less inclined to segregate themselves in the pit.  The chairs on the side were a bit out of place; it was weird, but not bad.”

Another student, junior Ananya Nrusimha, shares Michelle’s positive opinion.  “I liked homecoming better in the gym.  The really nice thing was that they had this little alcove with tables where you could go and eat separated from the dancing.  It was kind of harder to start dancing initially, though, since the space was so much bigger, but everyone could separate into their own little groups which was nice.”  While some students prefered the space in the gym to eat, others liked the area in the commons better where it was “less obvious that they were spending most of their time by the brownies”, as expressed by sophomore guest Mary Gartland.

The overall increased space of the gym is what caused many people to better enjoy themselves, allowing for dances like the Cotton-eyed Joe and the Cha Cha Slide.  The cozy atmosphere of the commons was nice, yet many felt that the commons was hotter than the gym – though that also depends on where you were dancing.  All in all, whether it was your first, second, third, or last homecoming dance at East, it was certainly one to remember.

by Gillian Marcus

Class rank at East has been a hotly debated topic for many years and is surrounded by controversy. The East Side Newspaper staff has decided to reopen the case of class rank, this time investigating further into the issue than ever before. Updates from the district committee investigating class rank, teachers, parents, students, and graduates of East have been provided to help us shed light on the issues.

We began by collecting a simple poll asking “are you familiar with the class rank system?” to 256 randomly selected students at East. Thirty-two percent of the sampled students didn’t know about class rank.

So, what is class rank? The College Board, a nonprofit organization responsible for tests such as SAT and AP, define class rank as “a mathematical summary of a student’s academic record compared to those of other students in the class.” That is, rank takes course grades and displays where one stands compared to other students within the same grade level. What is this mysterious mathematical formula? According to recently retired guidance counselor Mr. Coon, “Each grade is converted to an index, based on course difficulty and grade received. All the indexes are added up, and then divided by credits. Furthermore, “[Only] core subjects count for rank – English, math, social studies, science, and foreign language. Electives do not count unless they are an AP.” Mr. Coon also added, “Colleges look at rank, but it’s usually not a huge factor. But, for more competitive schools, rank is considered much more.”

Class rank at East started when the school opened. Principal Taylor stated, “At one time, class rank was much bigger factor in admissions. At that time, rank was benefiting our students. The district is looking into class rank to see if that is still the case.” Traditionally, class rank was used to determine the valedictorian and salutatorian, who would speak at graduation. East, unlike many other high schools, allows any senior to submit a speech to be read at graduation. Class rank was also used as a factor, along with SAT scores and GPA, to determine admission into college.

Colleges vary in how much weight they put on class rank in the admissions process. Yale admissions officer Jonathan Martin said, “The GPA and the courses the student takes are more important. We don’t compare by rank of the student. At the end of the day it’s about who they are. The rank is just a number.” However, some colleges go to the other extreme with class rank in admissions. Public universities in Texas now admit the top 10 per cent of each graduating class, and Florida universities accept the top 20 per cent regardless of other factors, according to a study of class rank by Michael Krist of Stanford University. Schools such as St. Bonaventure University were more moderate with their use of rank. The admissions officer said, ‘We do look at how the student is ranked, but we don’t look at  the student’s rank that heavily. Rather, we look at the students grades and activities more than how the student is ranked. “

So what is the big controversy surrounding rank? Some students and parents want to abolish class rank at East, and other are trying to counter their efforts in support of the system. The most memorable attempt at ridding East of class rank was led by East graduate Cindy Xue when she was Co-Editor-in-Chief of The East Side News, according to Principal Taylor. Due to this newspaper’s research, Xue opposed the rank system on grounds that it leads to more cheating, creates bad attitudes towards learning, and fosters an unfriendly and tense learning environment among students at East. However, supporters of class rank argue that class rank motivates students to take challenging courses, is a good indicator of academic success for colleges, and is a fair and unbiased calculation (as defended previously in one hard news story and one commentary for The East Side).

In response to the controversy, the district has been investigating the effects of class rank on college admissions. A committee has been formed to investigate the rank issue. They have called several college admissions officers to ask about the weight of rank in admissions, and if rank is a beneficial part of the application. Thus far, the committee has discovered that colleges do not penalize students who are not ranked. The officers use other parts of the application to determine admission instead. The committee has now teamed up with guidance counselors from all three district high schools to further examine the effects of class rank. No decisions have been made so far.

Within the next two months, the East Side staff will be diligently debunking class rank myths and investigating the facts.

by Rielly Hennessy, Jenna Marcus, Saman Hasan, and Kiran Garg