Ben and Jerry’s vs. Ashley’s

by Alyssa Mason

                The two most popular ice cream shops in Branford are Ben and Jerry’s and Ashley’s, which happen to be on the same street, this creates somewhat of a rivalry between each shop’s supporters.  But is one more popular than the other? After a recent poll of students here at BHS, it has been proven that Ashley’s is indeed more popular.  When asking people which place they preferred I also asked them why, and each side had its own interesting argument.

Many of the people who sided with Ashley’s, prefer them because they were here first, and are a more local business than Ben and Jerry’s.  (Ashley’s is only in CT while Ben and Jerry’s are all over the country.)  Students said that they have grown up with Ashley’s and remain very loyal to them.  Also, there is a much wider range of toppings at Ashley’s and soft serve unlike Ben and Jerry’s.  Ashley’s also stays open the entire year unlike Ben and Jerry’s which closes for a few months during the winter. Lastly, Ashley’s has a much friendlier environment with the drawings all over the walls.

The people who prefer Ben and Jerry’s although fewer, had their own reasoning also.  They claim that Ben and Jerry’s has much more interesting flavors with incredibly creative names, like Phish Food, or Cherry Garcia.  Something that Ben and Jerry’s has that Ashley’s doesn’t is free cone day, which is held once every year at stores all over the country, and you can go back as many times as you like.

Both ice cream shops are very yummy and both deserve respect.  But let us not forget the other places to get ice cream in Branford, like The Udder Place, or Friendly’s.

A Close-to-Home Nobel Prize Winner

 

by Meglin Bodner

Growing up on a farm with two brothers and sisters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Thomas Steitz didn’t expect to be a Nobel Prize winner later in life.  Well, as it turns out, that is exactly what happened.  He won the prize for studying the structure and function of the ribosome. His work helped others to create drugs that helped cure diseases.

Professor Steitz was just an average kid in school.  In fact Mr. Steitz almost flunked the 2nd grade, but he gradually got better in school. It wasn’t until high school that he started to become interested in science. Then he moved on to get his post graduate degrees at Harvard and was an undergraduate at Lawrence College in Wisconsin.

He said his “teachers were inspiring” and both them and his mentors have been very important to his work. His first interest was stimulated by Jim Watson (who studied ribosomes), Wally Gilbert (who determined the sequence of nucleotides in nucleic acid), Paul Berg (who made contributions to the basic research in nucleic acids), and Francis Crick (who revealed the genetic code). At Lawrence College, Mr. Steitz had Professor Bob Rosenberg who got him interested in chemistry. (The professor was his ticket to an uncharted island that he would later find as remarkable.) Max Perutz also inspired Mr. Steitz on the path to chemistry.  He even gave a speech after Mr. Steitz won the Nobel Prize for building the first atomic model of hemoglobin.

Mr. Steitz became a professor of biochemistry and pursued macromolecular (large molecule) structures. A man named Brian Hartley (an enzymologist) suggested Mr. Steitz’s first independent research project. Mr. Steitz studied the enzyme wall and it surprised him that RNA was so tightly packed.

The Nobel Prize Banquet was held on December 10, 2009 in Stockholm, Sweden. About 1,500 people attended this big event. Professor Steitz was privileged to meet the King (Carl XVI Gustaf) and Queen (Silvia) of Sweden. After the banquet, he returned to his home in Stony Creek, CT. Professor Steitz was honored for his accomplishments.

We were very lucky to have Mr.Steitz and his wife, Mrs. Steitz, come to our school and give our school a lecture on their life work.  It was a privilege for us to meet a Nobel Prize Winner, because not many schools have the same opportunity.  It was a pleasure to have Mr. Steitz come to our school, and hopefully he will come in future years as well.

The Man Who Came to Dinner

by Meglin Bodner

Once again BHS students are going to take part in The Man Who Came to Dinner. It’s the fall play for 2010. Moss Hart and George Kaufman were the brains behind this marvelous play. It was written in the time of war, when there was tension all over the world and people needed something to lift their spirits. In 1939, the play was first introduced to the public, many of the  people who went to see it thought it was hilarious. That’s probably because Hart and Kaufman was a comedy writer.

The characters in The Man Who Came to Dinner were actually based on real people in the 1930’s.  The story takes place in Mesalia, Ohio at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley. Mr. Whiteside – a celebrity in the play impersonating Alexander Woollcoot – visits their home and creates all sorts of trouble.

During his visit, he falls and “breaks” his hip. Unable to do much, he becomes the boss of the Stanley household. He also receives some weird presents from people visiting him including Lorraine Sheldon and Banjo – based on the real-life Harpo Marx. Additionally, Mr. Whiteside takes advantage of the Stanleys’ telephone and makes lots of high-priced over-seas calls. He also begs Mr. and Mrs. Stanleys’ children to run away to pursue the goals their parents don’t want them to achieve. Mr. Whiteside gets involved in his Secretary Maggie Cutler’s dream to have a wedding with a man named Bert Jefferson.

Mrs. Ogren is the director of the plays at BHS. She’s decides which play is going to be performed each year. This year, she chose The Man Who Came to Dinner – the same play she directed in 1973. Mrs. Ogren said, “It was a really good memory, so I brought it back!” She ran into the cast members who were in the 1973 performance of the play and immediately knew The Man Who Came to Dinner was the play for this year. This was, in a way, revisiting an old memory for Mrs. Ogren; which is a lot like the play itself. She said a character in The Man Who Came To Dinner keeps bringing out old pictures from the past and talks about how wonderful life used to be.

Cast List

                        Mrs. Stanley…………………………………………..Katrice Kemble

Miss Preen…………………………………………….Vanessa Ague

Richard Stanley………………………………………Pompeo Mazzella

June Stanley…………………………………………..Sarah Mierz

Maddie………………………………………………….Emma Nwagboli

Sarah…………………………………………………….Brianna DeNegris

Mrs. Dexter……………………………………………Kellee Lear

Mrs. McCutcheon…………………………………..Chelsea Teague

Mr. Stanley……………………………………………Jamie Besnoff

Maggie Cutler………………………………………..Alyssa Eraybar

Dr. Bradley……………………………………………Justin Laudano

Sheridan Whiteside………………………………..Greg Nobile

Harriet Stanley………………………………………Therese Masotta

Bert Jefferson………………………………………..Sam Bibbins

Professor Metz………………………………………James Integlia

Mr. Baker………………………………………………Cooper Biancur

Lorraine Sheldon……………………………………Molly Hughes

Sandy……………………………………………………Alex Roberts

Beverly Carlton……………………………………..Chris Marsala

Ms. Westcott………………………………………….Rachel Hanchuruck

Banjo…………………………………………………….Daniel Stradtman

Radio Technician…………………………………….Eric Doing

The Christmas Choir:

Allie Condon, Paige Machnicz, Carlye Mazzucco, Kailee Scaturro, Shari Peterson,                                     Karlie Rose Signor

Stage Managers……………………………………..Allie Condon, Karlie Rose Signor