​The Arthur L. Johnson History Club conducted a Mock Election in Language Arts classes during this week. Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein all received votes. In addition, Clark is part of the seventh Congressional district where Leonard Lance (R) is running against Peter Jacob (D) for the House of Representatives. Lastly students were asked two questions that the people of New Jersey find important. These are not referendum questions on the ballot in New Jersey.
Of roughly 750 students, 490 students voted in the mock election, representing 65% of the school population. Donald Trump won the mock election with 56% of the vote, followed by Hillary Clinton with 27%. Gary Johnson and Jill Stein each received roughly 7% of the vote.
These numbers will be added to the National Student Mock Election totals and the winners will be announced next week.
While the majority of the school population is not 18 and therefore can’t actually vote on November 8th, many are very passionate about the choices. Liz Archer, a senior, said, “I turn 18 six days after the election. I’m not that disappointed. I think these are both bad choices, although I would have to vote for Trump because of his stance on abortion.”
Kyle Cerasa, a junior supports Hillary Clinton. “If I had to vote I would vote for Hillary because she is less insane than Trump.” Andrew Lakkis, a sophomore, said “I would vote Trump because Washington is broken and we need an outsider to fix it.”
Mr. Fredy Reyes, co-advisor to the History Club explained why doing a mock election is important. “Voting is an important obligation of all citizens. I always tell my students, if you don’t vote you don’t matter.”
The mock election has been held at ALJ for many years. In the last two elections students Barack Obama won their vote. 

ALJ Student of the Month for September 2016 is senior, Eric Velasquez. Eric is a member of the National Honor’s Society and Chess Club. He has been on high honor roll since his freshman year, while also running Varsity Track all four years.
Eric was nominated to receive the Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Award from the NJ West Point Parent’s Society by Mr. Delmonaco. Over the summer, he received the AP Scholar with Distinction Award.

Outside of school, Eric is involved with the Salvation Army. He volunteers at a local kid’s club in Elizabeth where he does fundraisers throughout the winter. He also is a lifeguard at the Salvation Army Camp.

In his free time Eric likes to attend Youth Group, play soccer and play video games with his friends. He also enjoys playing the guitar and exercising. Eric’s favorite things about ALJ are all the fantastic teachers and classes that he has had throughout his high school career. He also enjoys being a part of the track team.​

Eric aspires to attend college as an economics major. His ideal career would be working for the government as an ambassador to foreign countries.

The ALJ Crusader of the Month for September 2016 is senior, Hart Tecson. Hart is the Key Club president, President of Chess Club, and also a Peer leader. He has won the gold and bronze award for Key Club, has placed 1st in the science league for physics, and holds AP honors awards.
Hart has practiced Cuong Nhu Karate for 12 years. When he is not training for karate, Hart likes to draw and watch TV shows. When asked what his favorite thing about ALJ is, he responded, “Everything!” Hart loves to give his time and efforts to help those around him achieve their best selves while also improving himself beside them.
Hart aspires to attend college to become a computer engineer. His goal is to build Iron-Man.
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CLARK, NJ – Photos by Rachel Papa. Article by Erin Heaning
This past weekend, the 10th Annual Clark UNICO Italian American Feast took place on the grounds of the Clark Municipal Building, 430 Westfield Avenue. This festival, held in celebration of Columbus' famous discovery of the new world, took place October 7-9th.
The feast included an abundance of games, rides, shops, and of course, food. The huge selection included Italian, American and international foods like pizza, pasta, barbecue, sausage, zeppolis, funnel cakes, fried Oreos, ice cream, Italian ice, lemonade, wine, beer, and more.
"The feast is a great place to hang out with your friends and go on rides. I loved the great Boardwalk food so close to home, and eating Fried Oreos and potato sticks while walking around and seeing everyone from school was a great time! I went all weekend and it was never enough,” said a very excited 7th grader Ashley B
 
There was continuous live entertainment in the form of bands and DJs which were present night and day throughout the weekend. 

On Tuesday, October 6th , college representatives arrived at ALJ to provide students with information on some of the top colleges throughout the US. The college fair was open from 4:00pm to 5:30pm, with over one hundred different colleges and universities attending.
Some schools that attended were the University of Delaware, Iona College, Villanova University, the United States Army, and many more including some popular interests at Crusader nation such as Rutgers, Rider and Rowan University.
College reps started filing into ALJ around 3pm to set up their stands with pictures, contact information, fliers, and pamphlets. By the start of the fair, Johnson was starting to get packed with anxious 9th , 10th , 11th , and 12th graders interested in seeing what different colleges and universities could provide for them.
Students expressed that they it was very informative. Sophomore Nikkianne DiCosmo said “This is my first year coming and I think that the college fair was very helpful, and really gave me an idea of what to look for in colleges in the future,” . Many other students agreed. From the looks of it, every stand was getting attention and the students, although slightly overwhelmed, seemed to enjoy getting to know different college representatives and learning more about schools they have been interested in.
The college fair also provided students with a chance to learn about new colleges they may have not heard of or looked into beforehand. “It really opened my eyes to the fact that college isn’t as far away as I thought and that I should probably start looking at more schools,” said Sophomore, Juliana Desantis.

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