Atypical Role Players

By Will Balsam

In the NBA 83 percent of the players are non-white, including a majority 78 percent black. This has triggered a stereotype that white men can’t play basketball. I personally don’t agree with the stereotype, for the only thing that matters is who has the most talent. However, this piece is about the three white players, Jason Kidd, Steve Novak, and Pablo Prigioni, on the New York Knicks and how they are and aren’t affecting the playoff run. First of course, is the future first ballot Hall-of-Famer, Jason Kidd. Jason Kidd has been averaging nearly 25 minutes per game in the playoffs, but has not scored in the last 6 games. This is an all-time playoff record for the most minutes played in a rom without a single point. The only question remaining to a fan that only cares about who is scoring the most is, why is Mike Woodson still playing Kidd so much? This question, however, has a very simple answer, the intangibles. Kidd simply adds so much on court presence and veteran leadership that just doesn’t show up in the box score. He has been playing great on-ball defense, considering he is 40-years-old, and has been a key factor for the overall team defense because of how vocal he is. When it comes to the offensive end he doesn’t need to score in order to help out. Kidd can run the offense without even playing point-guard by simply telling players where to go and motioning the players around. He’s an on-the-court coach. There was one play this postseason when Carmelo Anthony was feeling it, so when Felton looked to pass it to Kidd, Kidd forced Felton to go right back to Melo.

Steve Novak on the other hand has been an utter disappointment all season and not just in the postseason. There isn’t much to say about Novak other than he’s in the game to make his 3-point-attempts, and when he doesn’t, he is just a waste of space and money. He also just causes havoc for the Knicks defense because he can’t play one-on-one with anybody so he either ends up fouling the opposing player or giving them a wide-open look at the basket. This has been the overall reason for Woodson decision to reduce Novak’s minutes colossally.

Last but certainly not least, is the Argentinian, 35-year-old, NBA rookie, Pablo Prigioni. In just 22 minutes per game Pablo has been able to have an effect on the Knicks team that is unmeasureable. Prigioni has hit big 3-point-shots that get the Knicks out of a slump and has come up with huge steals that get the crowd going and the Knicks team hyped. The crowd in the last game was chanting PAB-LO PAB-LO when the Knicks went on their 30-2 run that blew the Pacers away and got the Knicks the win. It wasn’t ME-LO, but the minimum salary Pablo Prigioni. It seems like every game that Pablo plays well the New York Knickerbockers find a way to win. In my opinion, Pablo Prigioni is the X-FACTOR.

The Comic Squad Life

By Lenny Weismann

If you are an observant student of LREI, chances are, you’ve probably noticed one or two of us lurking around school grounds. Despite our attempt at subtlety, our arms and bags, overloaded with thoroughly illustrated book, give us away. On certain days, you might even find yourself in the library doing work only to be heavily distracted by us as we erupt in the east wing, where we huddle around a single computer screen to view the new trailer for The Man of Steel or Thor the Dark World. However, in the rare circumstance that you have not experienced any of these brief interactions, know that at least one of us sleepily stumbled into you indefinitely at some point last Friday, following the midnight screening of Iron Man 3. We are the comic book fiends that have been emerging throughout the high school.

We have an uncontrollable infatuation with these artfully composed books, which are not to be found on the syllabi of any faculty member at Elisabeth Irwin but fellow comic book pal and English teacher Frank Portella. The majority of us would like to think of ourselves as a comic book squad, but the word “geek” or “nerd” might be one more commonly used by the student body. Though proud, we are more than aware of our surroundings containing occasional innocent and lighthearted but sincere ridicule directed at our table at lunch from time to time. As an indirect result, when we exchange comics amongst ourselves, like a paranoid drug dealer, we occasionally scan over our environment so as to confirm nobody’s watching as we reach into our bag of heavily inked guilty pleasures. Here at Elisabeth Irwin a comfortable community and environment that doesn’t tolerate bullying and exclusion is set up, so no one’s feelings ever get hurt. However, in retrospect, mild isolation is the driving force inspiring each and every one of us to remain dedicated to who we are.

Since the birth of Superman in 1938, a trend was set off that many comics were to follow. We fans would be given a character that was out of the ordinary on not just a physical scale, but on a social one as well. The last son of Krypton was the proud symbol of social justice and United States opposition to tyrants of all kinds, but he was also the kind and modest working class citizen who went by the name of Clark Kent. Despite his superhuman capabilities, Clark embraced the qualities that made him most human, and to this day, fans of all ages relate to his constant struggles. Mainly the ones to gain the attention of that one female colleague he just can’t seem to impress.

As comic heroes continued to develop, mass appreciation and empathy for these characters followed. When comic writer, Stan Lee, originally introduced the concept of a teenage superhero, he was openly mocked and ridiculed. Who would want to read the story of an awkward pimple faced youngster when they could instead read about bulky six-foot tall macho men? Regardless of such critique, The Amazing Spiderman was published in the early 1960s and every awkward pimple faced youngster felt an immediate personal connection with the slim five foot tall Peter Parker.

So, next time you witness one of us in the hall or library, know that we are not simply nerds or social outcasts, but that we are proud members of a troupe dedicated to embracing the differences amongst human beings. Also, feel free to say “hi” or ask us about the “comics” and I promise you, we will know the answer.

Social Security Scheme

By Josh Wilson

The AARP, the American Association of Retired Persons, via their vigorous defense of social security, is promoting a Ponzi scheme.

The original Ponzi scheme was the brainchild of Charles Ponzi. Starting in 1916, the poor but enterprising Italian immigrant convinced people to allow him to invest their money. However, Ponzi never actually made any investments. He simply took the money he was given by later investors and gave it to his early investors, providing those early investors with a handsome profit. He then used these satisfied early investors as advertisements to get more investors. Unfortunately, in order to keep paying previous investors, Ponzi had to continue finding more and more new investors. Eventually, he couldn’t expand the number of new investors fast enough, and the pyramid he has built up collapsed. Ponzi was convicted of fraud and sent to prison.

Social Security is different from Ponzi’s scheme in that it forces people to invest through a mandatory payroll tax. A small portion of the money is used to buy special-issue Treasury bonds that the government will eventually have to repay, but the majority of the money you pay in Social Security taxes is not invested in anything. Instead, the money you pay into the system is used to pay benefits to those “early investors” who are retired today. So, by definition, when you retire, you will have to rely on the next generation of workers to pay the taxes that will finance your benefits.

This means that the people who got into the system early got a great deal and benefitted immensely from it. In the late 1930’s when it was instituted, the average person paid $50 in Social Security taxes, and when that average person retired they received around $2,100 in benefits. The reason that something like this was possible was because there were many workers paying into the system and only a few retirees taking benefits out of it. For instance, in 1950 there were 16 workers supporting every single retiree. However, today there are just over three workers per retiree, and in 2030, we are on track to be down to just two workers per retiree.

When the number of new contributors dries up, it will become impossible to continue to pay the promised benefits. Those early windfall returns are long gone, and when today’s young workers retire, they may receive returns far below what private investments could provide. The pyramid inevitably crumbles.

The major difference between the Ponzi scheme and Social Security is people voluntarily invest in a Ponzi scheme. Once they can’t convince enough new investors to join their scheme, it collapses. Social Security, on the other hand, can rely on the power of the government to tax. As the number of workers paying into the system shrinks, it makes it harder to continue to sustain benefits. This forces the government to force working people to pay even more into the system than before. In fact, Social Security taxes have been raised around 40 times since the program began in the 1930’s. The initial Social Security tax was 2 percent capped at $3,000 of earnings. That made for a maximum tax of $60 per year. Today, the tax is 12.4 percent, capped at $106,800, for a maximum tax of $13,234 per year. Even accounting for inflation, these numbers represent more than an 800 percent increase, which is almost unfathomable. Congress is also always able to increase the mandatory tax in order to keep the Social Security scheme going.

Right now, Social Security is facing more than $20 trillion in unfunded future liabilities, and Congress raising taxes and cutting benefits to keep the program alive creates an increasingly bad deal for younger workers. According to CNN, couples now in their early 40s will have forked over $808,000 in Social Security taxes by the time they retire, but get back only $703,000 in benefits.

For those of us who haven’t even entered the workforce, it will be even worse. The AARP is an organized and strong lobbying group who represents senior citizens and works hard to protect social security for them. Who is representing us? Sadly, the answer is nobody. So what can we do?

The youth of the United States is going to have to make Social Security reform a signature issue for our generation. We should push for increasing the eligibility age from 65 to 67 or possibly even 70. Life expectancy has increased significantly since social security was created and we have not increased the eligibility age in line with those increases. We should also support the President’s proposal to change the calculation of CPI increases in Social Security benefits to more accurately reflect true cost of living increases.

Ponzi Schemes are illegal in our country. The infamous Bernie Madoff ran on of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history a couple years ago and he is now facing 150 years in prison. And yet, our government, with the support of the AARP, is running the largest scheme of them all and they are getting away with it. Something needs to be done to prevent the next generation from falling into turmoil.

Fashion? Moda? Vogue? 时尚?

By Samantha Maison

Kids growing up in New York City are constantly surrounded by one of most intense fashion cultures in the world. They should be informed on the importance of the culture and the influence it has on the world they live in.

What is Fashion?

Fashion is the term given to the dynamic world of clothing, accessories, shoes, tattoos, piercings and even furniture. Fashion changes daily due to a plethora of influences such as music videos, blogs, magazines, movies, and reality shows. Some people join in on the latest trends and others create new trends of their own. It was reported that Ray Ban sunglasses skyrocketed after Men in Black. Also, almost every female had an oversized sweater after seeing The Cosby Show or Footloose (both released in 1984). Fashion is a direct reflection of the culture that surrounds us constantly.

Where Does Fashion Come From?

Fashion stems from whoever or whatever an individual or group of people look up to. Cultural, political and musical figures all influence fashion trends. In the 1600s King Louis XIV of France became known as the fashion dictator of the world. He introduced the most stylish garments to his elite nobles, and later his ideas spread to lower class French citizens and ultimately to all of Europe. Princess Diana of Wales was similar to King Louis XIV in that almost every one of her outfits was a part of the daily news.

Political figures, very often females like Michelle Obama and Hilary Clinton, become the attraction of the fashion world. Uncontrollable excitement grew for weeks as people tried to anticipate their inaugural dresses, Hilary in 1993 and Michelle in 2008 and 2012.

Musicians have also played a big part, if not the biggest part in fashion. Influences like Elvis Presley in the 1960s, Madonna and in the 1980s, and numerous influences of the 20^th and 21^st centuries such as Will Smith, the Back Street Boys, ‘N Sync, Jodeci, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Jay Z, Lil Wayne, and Eminem have been instrumental to fashion.

Fashion is Life

Since the beginning of time, fashion took on its own “survival of the fittest”. The fittest being those who are able to wear the newest and hottest trend. I like to call it Fashion’s Line. I call it a line because the order of the sections is interchangeable depending on the trend. The first section is usually the wealthy, wearing the very expensive pieces and quite often setting the trend. These are your celebrities, designers, models, and fashion editors who have access to the runway pieces (those pieces that leave the runaway). They then influence the people in line after them, the average man or women. We have to get the newest shirts to wear with the latest shoes. The next section consists of all the people who say they “wear whatever,” because they too influence fashion trends most times blindly.

Fashion can be emotional expression, for a lot of people dress according to certain things in their lives. One’s mood plays a huge part. One’s religious expression in that different practices identify with certain attires, is a game changer sometimes. Who one has an attraction towards is also huge since a lot of people dress to impress and attract a partner. Lastly identification is instrumental, certain bits of fashion are limited to people of a specific trade so that we are able to identify them such as safety officers.

Fashion is a colossal and innovative world with a dynamic interior. A world with a miniscule to almost non-existent amount laws and a galore of creations. Ultimately, fashion is.

The Sneaker Game

By Jason Boehm

Some call it and addiction, and some call it a lifestyle. The sneaker culture in America today is bigger than ever before. If you are not a sneaker head, which for the people who don’t understand commonplace vernacular means people obsessed with shoes, all of this might sound crazy. However, to the shoe fiends out there it is perfectly normal.

Every Saturday, bright and early, you will find a nice line outside of your local Foot Locker. These people aren’t just waiting for the store to open; they are waiting for a pair of either Jordan or Nike basketball shoes to “drop”. It may sound absurd but people actually wait overnight and “camp out” for sneakers that typically cost only $170. The wait and cost is all worth it however when you walk down the street and you are breaking necks because of your new pickup.

Others who wait outside of stores are now deemed as “re-sellers”. These are the people who wait outside to make money off the new shoes. They buy the shoe then immediately run to a website like eBay and resell the shoe for an astronomical price. However, the price only goes up if the shoe sells out retail and there is still a high demand, a concept that can be further studied upon in Tom Murphy’s Economics course.

Sometimes the shoe is such a hot commodity before it even hits the market that not everyone can just wait in line and get a pair when it releases. For example, with coveted shoes like the LeBron “Cork” 10s or the “Galaxy” Foamposites, people had to go to their local sneaker spot and enter a raffle just to be able to get in line. The Corks retailed for around $200, but people who are reselling the shoe are asking for anywhere from $700 to $1000. The Galaxy Foamposites retailed for around $200 as well, but resellers are asking for anywhere from $1600 to $2000. The shoe price isn’t too crazy for some shoe addicts, but I find it makes more sense to wait for the shoe to come out again within the next four years rather than pay up to five times the retail value.

LeBron Cork 10’s

Galaxy Foamposites

The shoe culture has been getting increasingly bigger for decades now. Some are intrigued by the business side of the shoe game and others are intrigued by the fashion side, but everyone involved experiences some type of combination between the two. The sneaker game isn’t for everyone, but for kids growing up surrounded by fashion constantly, it is a great way to invest their money.

The Struggle Is Real: The Battle for Mayor of New York City

By Marcelo Jaimes-Lukes

The time has come for Michael Bloomberg to step down. After twelve years of conducting his duties as mayor of New York City, the media-mogul, business magnate, and philanthropist is actually past his term limit and must give up his seat in City Hall. However, the road to City Hall’s main office, as well as the pomp and prestige that comes along with it, shall not be an easy one. This campaign, with the ultimate goal of securing what most consider the country’s most important mayoral position, shall be carried out on battlefields of many kinds, over landscapes of social media, press conferences, phone-banking and rallies.

Seeing as New York City is abundant with progressives, liberals, and democrats, the race to City Hall may simply be decided in the Democratic Party, where eight declared candidates shall face off. Amongst these candidates, three stand out for their recognition, their accomplishments, and current offices. Christine Quinn, current City Council Speaker, shall go toe-to-toe with Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Comptroller John Liu. While all three are implementers of liberal policies and supporters of progressive ideals, they do three have some key differences.

Christine Quinn: The first openly gay speaker, Quinn, is New York City’s second most-powerful public servant after Mayor Bloomberg. She is a strong proponent of the city’s greenmarkets and environmental initiatives. However, while serving as City Councilmember for the neighborhoods of Chelsea, Greenwich Village and Hell’s Kitchen, Quinn came under heavy fire for cutting funds at youth programs and senior centers.

Bill de Blasio: A resident of Park Slope, Brooklyn, de Blasio served as City Councilmember of District 39 for eight years before becoming the city’s third public advocate. De Blasio has repeatedly offered sharp criticism of Mayor Bloomberg’s education policies, as well as Quinn’s management of the City Council’s funding. He wishes to reform New York City’s City Council if elected as mayor, and focus attention towards funding education and combating homelessness.

John Liu: A native of Taiwan (Republic of China), Liu has acted as the City’s Comptroller since 2010, when he ended his term as City Councilmember for the 20th District, in Northern Queens. Liu currently is in charge of auditing the performance and finances of city agencies, managing city debt, and serving as managing trustee of the public employees pensions funds. Liu is a community organizer and an avid volunteer, but has come under scrutiny due to the fact that he may have violated a campaign finance law due to the use of foreign funds.

All three candidates share strengths and weaknesses that the residents of New York have to closely evaluate in deciding who shall hold the keys to the kingdom, or the city, rather.

Heir to the Throne

By Noel Diggs

This past Thursday, April 25^th, 2013, the subject of a previous article of mine, Carlos Coleman, commonly known as SwaggaBoyLos, dropped his new mixtape. The highly anticipated “Becoming King” is the first mixtape he has put out since signing to Diddy’s record label, Bad Boy Records.

Los wasn’t shy when it came to promoting his new work. He was constantly tweeting and re-tweeting people in attempt to spread the buzz of his mixtape back in January. Throughout the tape, Los aims to encapsulate the struggles of life growing up in crime-ridden Baltimore, MD. The city is often nicknamed, “Bodymore” in his songs because of the ever so high death rate [the ‘Body’ refers to a Body Bag].

However, he doesn’t sulk while reflecting on his past. Instead he accepts and owns his own trials and tribulations, claiming it attributes to the fortunate path his career has taken. The extensive 17-song track list spreads that message from the intro titled, “Becoming King” to the last song “Postcards”.

When it comes to creating music Los is never afraid to experiment. He seems to reinvent himself in every song by using a different flow or switching sounds and hitting different beats. This is a rarity in hip-hop where everyone has increasingly stuck with the same flow in order to make the hits. When a song has an even flow it is easy listening music and quite often “catchy” enough to make a lot of money. Los, however, uses this change of pace to his advantage, separating himself from the pack. Though he isn’t separated too far from anyone else at the professional level when it comes to lyrics and overall talent, he does use clever metaphors and similes to please anyone looking for lyricism. Unfortunately he falls into the same pitfall of degradation of women and excessive N-word use. Those that can look past this can find that overall the mixtape is easily the best mixtape to come out within the past month and undoubtedly within the past week.

If I had to grade his work I’d give him a B-, but those who don’t mind the rough content would rate it an A+. You should cultivate your own opinion on the matter. Download or stream the mixtape off www.hotnewhiphop.com. Look for it under the mixtape banner because since it released recently it will be on the homepage.

Gun Control

By Josh Wilson

President Barack Obama called on Congress to implement universal background checks as part of the gun-control proposals he unveiled in the wake of the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children and six others were killed. Obama declared after his initial statement, “If you want to buy a gun — whether it’s from a licensed dealer or a private seller — you should at least have to show you are not a felon or somebody legally prohibited from buying one. This is common sense.” It seems as if it is common sense to the majority of the rest of the United States as well. According to a CBS/New York Times poll, around 92 percent of the people they interviewed are in favor universal background checks, and out of the people surveyed, 85 percent lived in a household with a National Rifle Association member. However, some people just assume that the background checks are great without even knowing what they involve.

Here is how the current background check works:

When someone initiates a gun purchase, the store enters their name and information into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, to check their eligibility. The NICS system is linked to several databases managed by the FBI, including the National Crime Information Center, and runs an individual’s name through federal and state criminal records. Under the current NICS system, buyers may be denied the purchase of a firearm for reasons such as being indicted or convicted of a felony, admitting to being addicted to controlled substances, having been dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces, being subject to a restraining order, as well as other regulations. However, the use of the NICS is not required for private sales of firearms, which make up about 20% of all firearm transactions and serves as a gaping hole in our federal gun laws.

Although the background system may seem like an obvious solution to the majority of the student population at Elisabeth Irwin High School, considering we are liberal and progressive learners, the system does run into many issues. A popular matter of contention is whether or not someone who doesn’t meet the NICS requirements to buy a gun, such as someone who is caught selling marijuana, should be denied a Constitutional right. The U.S. Constitution is considered one of the most important documents in United States history, if not the most important, so it brings a legitimate counterargument. Also, some people think that the background checks aren’t efficient enough and that the government should implement a more cost-effective system. They think that the government is just inducing a placebo effect on the citizens, making them think that background checks will help reduce murder rates when really it is barely effective.

When most people hear of the background check bill that was under debate just recently in Congress, they immediately infer that it will be the solution to the type of massacres that have plagued America recently. However, most of the massacres that have recently occurred wouldn’t have been altered if background checks had been in place. For example, the massacres that occurred in Columbine, Aurora, and Newtown would have still taken place. But, a counter example to this is the massacre that took place in April 2007, at Virginia Tech. Seung-Hui Cho, a senior at Virginia Tech, shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others in two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart. However, he had been diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder known as selective mutism, as well as major depressive disorder when he was younger, which would have denied him his right to own guns under the second amendment.

As students at Elisabeth Irwin High School begin to formulate their own opinions on the future of gun control and how we are dealing with it today, it is important for them to consider the following. Horrific events are always going to occur on this earth and in our country. Pragmatically, all we can do as a nation is try to lower the current murder rate and increase the safety of our citizens. The background checks bill that was denied by Congress would essentially achieve that. We shouldn’t let perfection be the enemy of good.

Star Search: No Not the 90s Television Program

By Danica Rodriguez

Instead of discussing the song choice of a 9-year-old singing prodigy wearing dunks serenading millions of viewers with a 98 Degrees song, I will be talking about actual stars. And if your definition of actual stars consists of names like Kardashian, Lohan and Sheen, then there is a serious need of a couple of episodes of Bill Nye the Science Guy and a pop culture detox. But seriously, I am talking about those shiny things you can barely see (due to heavy NYC light pollution) in the night sky from time to time. Ursa Major, Sextan, and Leo are just some of the stars we should pay attention to and waste hours of our days following.

Ursa Major, is one of the least known most known constellations, which is confusing but completely accurate. This bear with a squirrel tail is usually identified by simply its tail. If you look at the picture closely you can see that the “Drinking Gourd”, also known as the Big Dipper, is on the rear of this cuddly creature. So, whenever you point out the Big Dipper, just know you are pointing to a bear’s bum. But why a bear? Why is this constellation that has been thought of as a giant forest creature, now forever resting in the sky? Well, there are plenty of theories spanning from cultures all over the world. The Chinese, the Native Americans, Mongolians, and Middle Easterners have all come up with folktales to determine why the Greater Bear is in the sky. The stories are packed with fantastic heroes, jealous rage and violent winds. The story most shared is that of Greek Mythology. And personally, it is the best story I have read to explain this phenomena.

Once upon a time in a kingdom far far away… just kidding, we are talking Greek Gods here. There was once a beautiful wood nymph named Callisto, a seductive huntress and one of Diana’s famed warriors. Zeus (Jupiter) caught sight of her and immediately desired her (like love at first sight with more “adult” undertones). He took on the shape of the goddess Diana and spoke to Callisto, who was delighted to see the form of her mentor. She began to tell him of her hunting abilities, and he responded by having sex with her. Yes, because obviously sex is the answer to everything. Anyway, Juno (Zeus’ wife) was overcome with anger and jealousy and then Callisto bore a son named Arcas, which infuriated Juno even more. Then comes the best form of revenge possible, she transformed young Callisto into a bear.

She lived for a time in the wild, watching over her son from a far. Then one day Arcas came across her while hunting. Unknowingly, he was about to kill his mother in her bear form, but the powerful Zeus, still enamored by Callisto, took mercy on her, stayed Arcas’s hand, and transformed him into a lesser bear. The king of gods then ordered that both mother and son would be sent into the heavens as neighboring constellations. So, his son Hercules with his immense strength, took both bears by their tails, and swung them into the night sky. That is why these bears have furry squirrel like tails; Hercules was so strong that he stretched them out when attempting to send mother and son into the stars.

Beautiful, sad and intriguing, we have Ursa Major in our hemisphere these April nights.

Our next constellation is Sextan. Now, this is probably the “newest” constellation in the sky. Unlike Ursa Major, there are no stories handed down by generations to explain its existence in the sky, it a completely scientific constellations. Formerly called “the constellation for science”, this cluster of stars was essential for all scientists to know how to chart the heavens. John Hevelius (1611-1687) was the man to name and map out this constellation. It is named Sextan, after the tool used to chart out the stars at the time, the sextant.

Lastly comes the ever- so-mighty, Leo. Contrary to popular belief it is not in our view during the month its respective astrological sign spans, but is visible right now. If you would like an in depth exploration of astrology and what it means to be a Leo, Scorpio, Gemini etc, you should talk to the school’s Astrology expert Antonio Valle, but back to my take on the stars at night. Leo, the lion, the aggressive jungle cat of the sky, prances across the sky during these April evenings. Like Ursa Major, the origins of this constellation are constantly being debated over. The story that is well-known to why this lordly lion stems from Greek Mythology.

A long, long time ago, Hercules, the son of Zeus, had a duty to the gods to complete 12 Labors, feats that to the ordinary person would be deemed impossible, as to repay for his crimes to society (the murders of his family brought on by Hera a scorned and angry woman). And the first of his great feats was to kill the Nemean lion. This fearsome beast terrorized the land, killing all who ventured near it. Not only was it fiercer, larger and stronger than every other lion, it also had the added advantage of impenetrable skin which was impervious to metal, stone and wood. This meant that Hercules could not kill the lion with any weapon, so he decided to wrestle it with his bare hands, and after a long battle he managed to strangle the great lion. Seeing at once the unique protective qualities of the pelt, he removed it with one of the lion’s own claws, and thereafter wore it as a cloak. The lion is immortalized in the sky as an ode to Hercules’ first labor and incredible show of strength.

As you can see there are stories everywhere, even in the stars on these beautiful April nights we are experiencing right now. We just need people to tell them.

Zeno’s Paradox

By Emmett Dienstag

This week in Philosophy Club we discussed one of Zeno’s famous Paradoxes. Zeno once hypothesized that if the good man follows laws than the wise man has no laws. At first it sounded like a bunch of gibberish thrown together in the form of a poem, but really it was something that greatly puzzled Zeno and has continued to do so for thousands of years.

During our discussion this week the philosophy club broke down the question into smaller pieces, so as to better understand the idea. The first thing we did was discussed what we thought the idea meant. The question that is posed explores the guidelines of laws and what they mean to us as human beings. Specifically it is asking who is allowed to act outside those laws. As Zeno said it is the wise man that has no laws, but what constitutes that he is wise and for that matter what are the laws that he doesn’t follow. Is the wise man good with math or perhaps wise within a different category? Either way depending on who the wise man is and what they are so wise about makes a difference into understanding the question.

The other big part of the scenario is the laws that govern all humanity. If the wise man has no laws does that make him a criminal? And if the laws are just, such as a law saying murder is illegal, does that mean the wise man does not have to follow that law? We spent a very long time discussing this part and came up with several conclusions. We concluded that having no laws could mean many things, but it truly depends on how an individual interprets it. If you can learn to understand every aspect of this puzzling question, then just maybe you will be able to find an answer.

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