Whenever a Martin Scorsese film debuts in theaters, the American public reacts in one of two ways. Recently, the majority has sheepishly fallen in line with the words of misguided critics who Scorsese's works as more spectacle than film. While this reaction is understandable given Scorsese's resumè includes classics like Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Casino, it often subverts the essence of Scorcese's newest work; all critics are happy to slaughter the film's quality, exaggerating every inadequacy - flaws that would go unnoticed in any other film. For those salivating at the opportunity to do just that, take heart and choose the second so-called "typical" reaction to Scorsese's films: pop open a bag of Orville Redenbacher, relax, and enjoy a nearly flawless film.

What a night it was for the seniors. After an upsetting loss in perhaps the most prestigious spirit week event, the all-mighty spirit week dance, the seniors regained their pride and the overall lead after stellar performances by both the senior guys and girls. The freshman guys had the comeback of the night, after they were losing 8-2 to the juniors late in the game. It seemed as if Alex Saltzberg (’08) and Adam Zaken (’08) were going to dominate the much smaller freshman team, when Andrew Pursell (’09) and his teammates took control of the match leading their team to a 15-12 upset.

Juniors dominate the cafeteria competitions for the second time during the 2006 Spirit Week.

Click 'Read More' to view videos from East's Spirit Week 2006.

After a night of anticipation and excitement, the classes of Cherry Hill East were finally able to hit the dance floor and showcase their long-awaited performances at the Spirit Week Dance Competition.

Many have compared the heated rivalry between the class of 2007 and the class of 2008 to the brutal hostility between the perilous L.A. street gangs, The Bloods and The Crips. Others have speculated that the gap separating a victor from the lowly position of second-place might be so indiscernible that a recount, similar to that conducted following the 2000 Presidential Election, is ultimately inevitable. Nevertheless, comparisons and speculations aside, the events that occur during this scholastic year’s Spirit Week will undoubtedly alter the lives of all of those involved. A plethora of students and teachers alike have devoted hundreds, nay, thousands of tedious, back-breaking hours, to make sure that every final detail of every single event is intact. For the student not deeply involved in these activities, Spirit Week may present itself as a sequence of trivial events, whose official outcome is just as meaningless as the means of getting there. However, this is simply not the case. What is at stake is much more precious than one’s grade-point-average (GPA), or even one’s SAT scores. The only feeling other than happiness that can be held to such a high level importance is pride. That feeling you get, looking over the disappointed faces of your defeated nemeses is obviously worth more than that perfect 7.0 GPA or that faultless 2400 SAT score. Pay no attention to the strident warnings of 18th century novelist Jonathan Swift, who argued in his satirical masterpiece Gulliver’s Travels that pride is mankind’s most appalling and unforgivable flaw, because eventually Swift lost his mind and expired soon thereafter. After all, having a high opinion of one’s self is truly necessary. Brace yourself. With this much pride out on the table, it is almost a certainty that we are all about to witness a battle of the ages. The only question left unanswered is, who will be Bush and who will be Gore? To listen to some fun interviews and more information on Spirit Week, listen to the audio clips attached to this story.

Spirit Week scores and updates from its most recent events.

As students around East prepare for the weekend, the school prepares for the future. On Thursday, November 16th, East experienced the first sheltered environment drill of the year. The drill is conducted annually; it is initiated in the event a situation exists that would require students and staff to be relocated from the classroom setting to a centralized location. A modern example of this necessity would be in the case of a biological emergency.

What is “Borat”? Some say it’s the name of the most controversial movie of the year; others deem it the most acclaimed and best comedy in the past decade. In theaters, “Borat”, ultimately becomes the name of fictional Kazakhstan TV reporter Borat Sagdiyev, a beloved Kazakhstani who truly loves his country, where he blindly supports the racist, cruel, and anti-feminist traditions. Borat and his overweight Kazakhstani cameraman Azamat Bagatov, are sent by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Information to go to “US and A” to make a documentary about the true greatness of America. The result is a hilarious comedy which includes a clueless Muslim devotee learning dress codes from Detroit, while singing the Kazakhstani national anthem to the American national anthem tune.

Spirit week is among us, but how does East determine an overall winner? Eastside Online offers a list of activities, as well as the number of points which each event will earn for the first, second, third, and fourth placed teams.

Excuse the Interruption, a show created by Eastside last year, returns to Eastside Online, available through the host website and as an international podcast.

In the first episode, Editor-in-Chief Josh Weinstock ('07) talks to panelists Jeff Bennett ('07), Andrew Newfield ('07) and Jason Seher ('07) about the NHL, NBA and the big match-up NCAA football match-up between Louisville and Rutgers.

As Spirit Week at Cherry Hill East nears, so does the annual Spirit Week dance competition. The dance competition, held on the Friday before Spirit Week, involves each class creating a ten minute dance using a variety of songs all relating to each class’ sub-category within the main Spirit Week theme. The dance competition will be held on Friday, November 17 this year, and practices are already underway.

On October 31, many East students were missing. These absent students had been replaced with witches, superheroes, ghosts, and a variety of not-so-frightening creatures. Cherry Hill East students embraced Halloween this year by dressing up in a variety of outfits. The halls were filled with a mixture of personas, from famous figures from the past to scary monsters from the present.

With holiday season just around the corner, FOP begins its preparation for their famous holiday party in December. Students involved in FOP, which stands for Fraternal Order of Police, work together to decorate, plan, and operate a successful holiday celebration for underprivileged and challenged children in the area. There are three sections that students can sign up for and participate in: Santa Claus Room, Ballroom, Table Decorations.

Turquoise, red and orange: Has East decided to change its school colors? Over the summer, East’s cafeterias have received a make-over that has incited mixed emotions in students. "It looks like someone got bored and painted the cafeteria," said Niyati Desai (’07). Some veteran East students wonder why the colors of the cafeteria are opposite from those of the school. Even those who do not have a lunch period, like Helen Mac (’07), have noticed the change of colors in the cafeteria.