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ST. ANDREW’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOLVOLUME 15, ISSUE 1billboard: what’s inside this issue

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OCTOBER 17, 2008

19JUST HOW GOOD ARE THE NEW FIELDS?

ELECTION UPDATE

8&9SAES GOES GREEN

30th Anniversary: It’s a Party!

For the 2008-2009 school year, the school has changed its food service from Ridgewell’s Catering Service to SAGE Dining Service. The announcement was made at the end of the 2007-2008 school year surprised many students. After years of writing negative things about Ridgewell’s in the school newspaper, the time for change had finally come. Joe Phelan, Director of Operations, said that the change had been something he had been working on since Septem-ber of 2007. For years, the school used Ridgewell’s to cater the food for lunch and school trips. When Joe Phelan was asked why the school decided to make the change he said, “Well we had read vari-ous articles in the school newspaper and Ridgewell’s was also a catering service, so the food wasn’t made at school”. If one goes to the Ridgewell’s website,

SAGE Dining ServiceIs it actually healthier than Ridgewell’s?Neha ShastryMane News Features Editor

Sprinkles SavedProtestors Help Local Ice Cream Store Remain OpenEmily HattonMane News News Editor

Nick Thrane goes through sandwich bar at the newly renovated SAGE facilities. He has lots of new choices every day.

Amid humming freezers and clinking bells two young girls sat in pink and blue t-shirts with “Sprinkles” written across them in block letters. Around them shelves are packed with toppings and fridges filled with homemade cookie-wiches. A wood-en sign hangs on the left wall, advertising every flavor. The girls perch on stools in the cluttered, pastel ice cream shop they helped fight to save recently. Kelly Seegers and Mary Creel are fresh-man at the Stone Ridge School of the Sa-cred Heart. Both go to the shop at least twice a month. “It’s a good community place where people come and hang out and it’s been here so long that its one of the main, original places in Potomac. It has a lot of memories and things for people,” said Kelly Seegers. In late July, Zuckerman Gravely Man-agement told Sprinkles owner Tom Orban

his lease would not be renewed next year. Protests from customers followed, and Zuckerman Gravely is no longer forcing the Potomac Village ice cream store to close. They could not be reached for com-ment.

Assistant Head of School John Holden helped kick off St. Andrew’s 30th Anniversary celebration on the first Friday of the school year by jumping out of a cake, as he had done twenty years ago to commem-orate the school’s tenth anniversary. Along with Head of School Robert Kosasky, Holden announced the cancellation of the day’s classes for a day spent outside participating in activities with students in the new lower school and inaugurating the new turf fields. The plans for the day were kept secret from students. When speculation began that classes might not take place that day, Upper School Dean of Stu-dents Ginger Cobb tried to quell the rumors by mak-ing an announcement explaining that one period had been moved. This “Birthday Party” was the first in a series of events taking place throughout the year to com-memorate the anniversary, along with the school’s transformation into a K-12 institution. Throughout the year, the Mane News will be covering these cel-ebrations while looking back at the history of St. An-drew’s, as recorded by 25 years of student journal-ists. See page 10 for the kick off of this coverage.

Jacob HornMane News Editor-in-Chief Homecoming Schedule

9:30 AM Walkathon Registration

10:00 AMWalkathon10:30 AM

Homecoming Carnival Begins11:00 AM

Bubble Blowing Contest11:30 AM

Donut Eating Contest11:50 AM

Cake Decorating Contest Judging and Winner Announcement

12:00 PMJazz Band Plays Until 1:00

1:00 PMHula Hoop Contest

2:00 PM Raffle - Grand Prizes

2:30 PM Homecoming ends

Sprinkles, a Potomac Village landmark supplier of ice cream, will remain open.

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Mane News Goes Gold - Page 3

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NEWSOCTOBER 17, 2008 THE MANE NEWS2 THE MANE NEWS

New seventh and ninth graders face more changes than any other age group at St. Andrew’s. As bodies, voices, and heights change, so do the social pressures on every student. Freshmen enter high school and know nothing about the older students surrounding them. Stories from the weekend waft through the air, as se-niors and juniors talk of their after-school plans. Luckily, there is a program to help stop this unneeded separation. The program connects these two groups of students. In it’s third year of existence, the Peer Leader Program is growing into one of the most popular and established clubs on campus. The program, designed to help seventh and ninth graders ease into more challenging courses, new experienc-es, and life with older students, is headed by Mr. Chuck Jones, Ms. Dresden Koons, and Ms. Holly Funger. “Peer Leaders started because we wanted facilitators for the ninth grade roundtables and there was a call from the administra-tion for more leadership opportunities”, says Funger, the school counselor. Funger is very pleased with the results of the pro-gram over the last three years and believes it will only continue to grow. Although the program has many bene-fits for the leaders: good college resumes, a chance to set an example in the school, and close relationships with parents and faculty, the students being advised have mixed feelings towards the program.

“All we do is play games”, said William Duvall, a current seventh grader, “It’s fun but we played capture the flag the whole meeting last time.” Duvall is happy with the laid-back attitude of the meetings, “If we had to talk about bullying and pressure and stuff I wouldn’t like it, but since we play games and it’s fun, I want it to stay.” One Peer Leader says that because the advisor meetings are so sporadic and the program is a bit restrictive, it’s hard to es-tablish an effective relationship with the younger students. The peer leader contin-ues to say “We have experience and offer good advice, but because of the infrequent meetings, it is a good idea in theory but not yet entirely by practice.”

Peer Leaders can be sophomores, ju-niors, and seniors who want to discuss the social pressures and offer advice and an open ear to younger students. Peer Lead-er Vishal Narang offers a different view, “I’m not sure if we make a difference in their day to day experiences at school, but I know it makes us feel like we have a role in shaping their experiences.” Narang has a specific ninth grade advisory group he visits continually throughout the year, as do most peer leaders.

The ninth graders are sometimes slow to participate in these meetings, “At first they’re shy but after awhile they work themselves into it. It’s not always about being a peer leader, more like an older friend. We talk about anything they want or we want and we treat them like people we want to talk to” said Narang. Roundtables, the events held in the eve-ning after school for parents, peer leaders, and students, are held to discuss specific areas of concern, including drugs and al-cohol, and stressful workloads. Two peer leaders sit at each table with parents and different students to discuss whatever the issue may be. Addressing the roundtables, Narang said, “You get a lot of interesting personalities, although sometimes the par-ents think you’re there to be questioned.” Many peer leaders enjoy the roundtables and talking to different parents and stu-dents and gaining perspective all the way around. Other peer leaders have different thoughts on their influence on students. One peer leader says, “In my advisory group last year, no one talked. We didn’t get anything done, because no one would say a word. This year is better; we play a lot of games to get them to feel more comfortable.” The same peer leader said, “I believe we are helping them, I say hi to all my advisees in the hallways, and we can be someone they can come talk to. Although we are helping, the students are going to go out and do the same things they were before, but at least now they have someone to talk to about it.” Narang summed up with, “We are a positive in-fluence. It’s not whether you’re a good or bad kid – it’s all about how you present yourself in different situations.”

A Positive Influence?Behind Peer Leaders’ Decisions and AdviceJulienne EngelstadMane News Co-Style Editor

Rich Captured in ActionAmilcar HoefdraadMane News Staff WriterThe recent book “Shall We Dance” fea-tures a photo of physics and math teach-er Ben Rich. The photo, taken in 2005, shows Rich at a swing dance in the Chevy Chase Ballroom located off of Wisconsin Avenue. Author Brian Lanker first published the photo in a July 2006 National Geographic article titled “Dance Across America,” which inspired Lanker to write a book on the subject of dance and dance culture in the United States. “Individual dances all have their own different cultures. You go to a swing dance, and there’s a certain feeling of community,” said Rich. Rich considers his appearance in a book a proud moment. “This just shows that if you follow your passion and work hard at something, then good things happen,” said Rich. Rich started dancing in 1996 during col-

The landlord said the lease would not be extended after Orban said he wanted to renovate the store. “This was his way of letting me know that I would lose money by investing the property. Otherwise he could have waited to tell me later,” said Orban. “I do not care to speculate about other peoples’ motives, but it looks like the bank next door found it desirable to incorporate the ice cream space into a grand new de-sign. Once the bank decided it would alter its plans and no long use our space, there was no need to change the status quo,” said Orban. Creel created the Facebook group “Save Sprinkles! This is an Outrage!” which had 677 members as of October 2, and helped collect petition signatures. The petition asked Zuckerman Gravely to reconsider the closing. It also threat-ened to boycott Safeway and RiteAid if Sprinkles closed in order to gain the support of the two stores, which are in the same section of Potomac Village as Sprinkles. Around 363 people signed it, Seegers claimed. “When the bank’s PR people under-stood how the community felt, it com-municated to the landlord a decision to not take over Sprinkles. The community protest must have been 100% responsible for that change of direction on the part of the bank. I am impressed with the speed with which PNC, located in Pittsburg, re-sponded,” said Orban. “I personally have never seen Potomac so unified as when Sprinkles announced they were closing. It was nice to see ev-eryone come together with hopes to save our local ice cream shop,” said sophomore Emma Ishol. Seegers found out in early July that the Potomac Village ice cream store was de-nied a renewed lease. “I was shocked because I thought a lot of people came here and I didn’t under-stand why it was closing,” Seegers said, “Then I didn’t understand why because it was the only ice cream story nearby and a lot of people would be upset.” Other Potomac residents hung posters that said “Save Sprinkles.” A second peti-tion hung in the store. It read, “We support

and request a renewed lease.” Senior Jenn Anders found out about the shop closing from the posters and then signed the petition hanging in the store. She goes about once every three weeks after soccer practice or on an especially hot day. “Sprinkles is like a legend. It’s like a community thing. And that would not be fun to go to Baskin Robbins. It’s not the same,” she said. Freshman Alex Hastings echoed An-ders’ remarks. “It’s not like a chain ice cream store. It’s one of a kind. Their ice cream tastes homemade and they have a variety of different types of ice cream. They have cake-batter ice cream which is really really good and no other place has it. So it’s unique. It’s small but cozy. It cheers me up.” Hastings is a member of the Facebook group and attempted to go there more of-ten to save the store. Sprinkles opened twenty years ago un-der the name “I Can’t Believe Its Yogurt,” and the 2007-2008 DC Chef’s rated it the best place for milkshakes and ice cream. It is open 364 days a year, everyday ex-cept for Christmas. “I like being able to buy a donut and an ice cream in the same 5 foot radius,” said St. Andrew’s alumnus Patrick McKelvy. “If I came home and it was gone I’d prob-ably be very angry.” Orban said there will be an event at Sprinkles expressing its thanks for its sup-porters. “My feeling about having a small role in the life of the community has been deeply affected. That is how things should be,” he said.

Local Protestors Save ShopCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

lege, and learned to swing dance while in Pittsburgh in 1999. His accomplishments include winning a national “Jack and Jill” competition in New York City and per-forming at the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. The dedication was a televised event with over a million people on the National Mall. “That was particularly special, because a lot of the people were from the era when Swing dancing began. And my mom saw it,” Rich said.

The Peer Leaders are a large and diverse group of students dedicated to helping other students cope with high school and the many influences in their lives.

Here we see some of the reasons Sprin-kles’ patrons wanted it to stay open.

This National Geographic photo shows Rich in swing dance competition mode.

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“We can be someone they can come talk to”

NEWSTHE MANE NEWS

Mane News The Mane News is a forum for news, opinions, and features by and for the students at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. It is a school-supported publication produced six times a year through the extracurricular work of its student staff and faculty advisor, as well as contributions from the Journalism class. The staff makes every effort to report the news free from bias and editorial slant; additionally, not all editorials reflect the opinions held by the newspaper staff and its writers. The Mane News reserves the right to restrict or deny publication of any stories it does not deem fit to print. Letters to the editor may be submitted via e-mail to manenews@saes.org. The newspaper staff welcomes all letters, but reserves the right to edit or deny publication to any received. All letters must be signed, though writers may request that their names be withheld. The Mane News is a member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and a proud recipient of the CSPA Gold Medal.

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The Mane NewsSt. Andrew’s Episcopal School

8804 Postoak Road, Potomac, MD 20854(301) 983-5200

- www.saes.org -

Editor-in-Chief...........................Jacob HornAsst. E-i-C: Editorial..............Marta MariñoAsst. E-i-C: Production......Jonathan BurketExec. Features Editor..............Neha Shastry Asst. Features Editor...............Emma PearceExec. Layout Editor................Sarah KontosAsst. Layout Editor..................Scott WomerPhotography Editor.........Borden McKinnonAsst. Photography Editor.......Clinton James

Faculty Advisor..................Mr. Chuck JonesTech Support..................Ms. Joy Bodycomb

News Editor..........................Emily Hatton Asst. News Editor...............Stephen WhiteOpinion Editor....................Alex Lis-PerlisAsst. Opinion Editor...................Ben WaldCo-Style Editors...........Julienne Engelstad .....................Connor VossSports Editor.........................Dylan ThayerCo-Copy Editors......................Chris Petito .......................Kati RicherArt Editor................................Tina Hwang

Staff Members

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Zach AtchinsonChristine AshRyan BannerEllie BodeLindsey ChristianCarey CrookeBen ColemanBrenton DuvallWendy EisenbergAlex FacciobeneJessica FigueroaTommy FintonEliot FlemingCharlie Gill

Lauren HeywoodAmilcar HoefdraadLeRoy HowardBecca HydeSabrina ManfieldGreg MichelVishal NarangJustin Pastorfield-LiJimmy PetersenNathan RichterPhilip ShulmanVivian Swisher-JonesDavid UttKevin Zwisler

NECESSARY NEWSthe

Students across the U.S. take the American College Testing and Scholastic Aptitude Test every year. The SAT has been around longer than the ACT and has been prominent on both the East and West coasts, yet in the middle of the country the ACT has been far more popular. As the ACT gains popularity, students may not know the differences between the two. As a result, many people in this area do not take the ACT. The following chart shows some of the major differences. Extended time on the SAT simply adds time to each section. People taking the test may not move to another part until the time is up. The ACT adds time to the entire test and students work at their own pace. They are required to tell the proctor when they start or finish a section, but can take breaks for as long as they want be-tween sections, or not at all. These breaks are still included in their time. Director of the Education Center Judy Lorber said the ACT is more “user friend-ly... In the last 2 years more students have applied for extended time for extended time then ever before.” The ACT also allows students with other accommodations, such as multiple days, to use them to the fullest extent. With multiple days, a student is able to take the test over a longer period to time, complet-ing one or two sections per day. The SAT only allows for two days of testing. Even if students have accommodations at school, they still need to apply to have them when taking either test. They may not get the full amount they do at school. Senior Kristin Maller said she did the SAT because of the practice test she took as an underclassman. “I took the SSAT; I took the PSAT, and I felt like I would be more prepared for the SAT. I knew noth-ing about the ACT.”

Test Attributes SAT ACT

Preferred by?Private schools; schools on the east and west coasts

Public schools; schools in the middle of the country; more colleges than prefer the SAT

How Questions Appear Order of difficulty No order of difficultyScore Choice? No Yes

Highest Math Level Algebra/Basic Geometry; test booklet supplies all formulas

Trigonometry (only 4 questions); test booklet rarely provides formulas

Skills Heavily Tested Vocabulary and Reading; Math Grammar and Reading; MathPenalty For Wrong Answers? Yes NoBased on School Curriculum? Less More

Style of Test Tricky, with many distracters More straightforward, with fewer dis-tracters

Structure of Test

Verbal: two 30-min. sections, one 15-min. sectionMath: two 30-min. sections, one 15-min. sectionExperimental: one 30-min. Verbal or Math section; looks like any other sec-tion

English: one 45-min. sectionMath: one 60-min. sectionReading: one 35-min. sectionScience Reasoning: one 35-min. sec-tionExperimental: added to tests on certain dates; clearly added on

Total Test Time

225min (three hours, 45 minutes) 175min (two hours, 55 minutes)(plus 30 minutes with the optional writ-ing test)

Which Test is Best?Ryan BannerMane News Staff Writer

Police in Ohio arrested a woman in a cow costume recently. Michelle Allen, 32, ran after children and reportedly uri-nated on a neighbor’s front porch. She was then told by a police officer on the scene to return to her house.

An Australian boy’s parents will likely be sued after the seven-year-old broke into a zoo and fed several small animals to a crocodile. Many of the animals fed to “Terry,” the 440 pound saltwater crocodile, were rare and difficult to replace. Among them were four western blue tongue lizards, two bearded dragons, and two thorny

Boy Busts into Zoo

Cow-Clad Woman Arrested Police were then called to a street where Allen stopped traffic. She smelled of alcohol, slurred her words, and used profanities, police said. Allen was charged with disorderly con-duct.

devil lizards. Security cameras also showed the boy killing a small blue tongue lizard and two more thorny devils. “The fact a 7-year-old can wreak so much havoc in such a short time, it’s un-believable. In my day he’d get a big boot up the arse,” said center director Rex Neindorf.

Emily HattonMane News News Editor

Many schools give the PSAT because of the National Merit Scholarship. The layout of the ACT seems to be fa-vored by most students who have taken both. Senior Dannie Moore said, “The SAT drones on and on. It’s never ending. The ACT you take your English, Math, Sci-ence, Reading and your done.” Stephan O’Dell said he thought the ACT was easier because it was more straight forward and does not try to “trick you” as much as the SAT. College counselors Susan Burke, De-lice Willams, and Randy Tajan all said students should consider both tests. Many colleges are considering the mer-its of the testing in the actual application review and if there is really a place for it. The SAT is still more popular on the coasts. However, more people are taking the ACT. The SAT is not spreading to the middle of the country. “Pretty much ev-eryone around here takes the ACT,” said Colin M., a public school student in St. Mary, Ohio.

In late September the Columbia Scho-lastic Press Association (CPSA) awarded The Mane News a Gold Medal. The newspaper staff elected to fill out an application as an extension of its member-ship to CSPA last June. All six issues of the 2008-2008 school year were submit-ted to the review. A detailed critique com-pleted by an unknown, veteran newspaper advisor was then mailed to the school. The judge said the strength of the paper is in the writing and selection of a “vari-ety of topics and interests” and that “the staff is not afraid to tackle difficult issues or take a stand on views that may not rest well with general population.” The judge also said that paper “is literally packed with information from beginning to end.” Using larger photographs and creating focal points on upper and lower halves of pages were listed as areas to improve. The paper received 960 out of 1,000 points total. To place as a Gold Medalist contestants need 925. Only five or six D.C. Metro area schools received Gold, according to Mr. Chuck Jones.

Mane News Awarded Gold MedalEmily HattonMane News News Editor

from www.horizonseducation.org/satvsact.html

A Comparison of the SAT/ACT Characteristics

NEWSOCTOBER 17, 2008 THE MANE NEWS4 THE MANE NEWS

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The SGA did not host the Back-To-School-Dance this year because it voted almost unanimously against keeping the dance. Upper School Dean of Students Ginger Cobb said, “there was a vote taken in SGA, but only one out of 19 voted yes [to keep the Back-To-School Dance].” Because of the poor attendance, the SGA actually lost money on the dance last fall. President of the SGA Dannie Moore said it was a “good decision. There’s typi-cally very poor attendance, no upperclass-men go… it defeats the purpose when no one goes.” She also believed that the new dance committee could play a pivotal role in improving dance attendance. Both Cobb and Moore said they be-lieved the no-freak dancing policy played an important role in the low dance atten-dance last year. Moore said, “another rea-son for poor attendance is at Homecoming or Winter Formal ’06 the teachers started a policy of ‘leave room for Jesus’… I see where they are coming from, but we don’t dance like other generations.” However, only one other student brought that policy up. Francis Ford (’11) said, “I think we should be allowed to dance!” Several students said that not enough upperclassmen went to the Back-To-School-Dance in the past two years, and

their absence has influenced others. Dom-nique Samuels (’09) said, “In my freshman year, Back-To-School-Dance was fun. I met a lot of people, and many upperclass-men were there… In my sophomore year I went, but no one was there; it wasn’t fun.” Ford said, “No, no one showed up. I left after twenty minutes… I realized my life was worth more.” Aymar Marino and Jennie Chavis (both ’10) said they went to both their Fresh-man year and Sophomore year Back-To-School-Dance. Marino said, “it was re-ally empty, but really fun. Homecoming is better than the Back-To-School-Dance.” When asked for their insight on why stu-dents don’t go to dances, they said, “We feel like the teachers sit there and watch… maybe they should hand out punch or something, or guard the doors.” This view is not unanimous. Lily Statzer (’12) said she was disappointed that the Back-To-School-Dance was canceled. She said, “I think it’s a good chance to get to know people... Also it’s good for the freshmen because they don’t have a bond-ing trip at the start of the year.” However, an informal survey in a freshmen study hall revealed that no one had even heard of the dance, including those who had gone to the school for three years. Cobb mentioned that shes feel bad for the teachers at dances because they have

Long-Standing Tradition CanceledDisinterest Dooms Back-To-School-Dance

Christine AshMane News Staff Writer

New Lunch Service

Students generally enjoy half-days due to the fact that they get to leave school early; however, teachers and faculty do not get this luxury. They must stay late for meet-ings, and usually end up staying just as late as they usually would. “We have half days so teachers can have service time. They have meetings with their departments and with the entire fac-ulty. We also discuss diversity and issues in the school,” said Upper School Dean of Students Ginger Cobb. “We have meetings until 4:00 p.m. We have teacher workshops…. I am a little jealous that the students get out early,” said Upper School math teacher Paul Ternes. Before C and D Alternate days, every

class met for 20 – 25 minutes, said Up-per School Biology teacher, Ms. Phyllis Robinson. “While C Alt Half Days are awkward, they are better than the previ-ous years”. Ms. Amanda Freeman said, “I like to see my colleagues and catch up with them because they are nice and funny people. I also enjoy talking with students about di-versity in more of a casual environment”. Half days are usually a favorite at St. Andrew’s. The classes are shorter, the homework load is less, and the students have more free time. Although some teachers do not enjoy the second half of the half day, they get a lot of work done. “Half days are essential because they give us time to learn and to get a substan-tial amount of things done,” said Dr. Ian Kelleher.

Half Days: The Inside Report

to stay late on a Friday or a Saturday night, even if no goes. For example at the Back-To-School-Dance last year there was minimal attendance. Mr. Michael Da-vila, English teacher, said, “It just became a very sparsely attended dance… I can see why the SGA canceled it.” In direct response to Cobb’s statement, Davila said it was, “not a wasted time, but a wasted opportunity for the community.” Cobb, Moore, Marino, and Chavis all said they were excited by the prospect of the new dance committee and hoped that it would improve the dances. Moore said, “In the past the dance committee was three or four SGA members, but this year since everyone in the past has complained… now choices are opened to everyone, left in the students’ hands. I also think that will help attendance, when you invest time in something people tend to want to go. We haven’t had an official dance committee

meeting yet, but once that ball gets roll-ing, we’ll start having ideas to make the dance better.” Chavis said, “if the dance committee puts a lot of effort it will im-prove.” There are a number of views on im-proving the dances. Ford said, “We should have Spirit Week before every dance.” He added that spirit week before home-coming causes students to want to attend the dance. Marino and Chavis said that, “morning meeting skits before the dance help.” The two also suggested a themed dance. Davila said, “Eight years ago, seven years ago [the Back-To-School-Dance] was an incredibly popular dance. It really kicked the school year off to a good start. It’s too bad that at the dance people could not come together to welcome the fresh-men. I hope the dance will be revived.”

Ben Coleman and Tommy FintonMane News Staff Writers

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1it is easy to see that their specialty is ca-tering for special events, so a change was inevitable and the best bet was Sage Food Service. Phelan had consulted some schools in the area about Sage and finally made the decision to use them for the up-coming school year. The upside is that the food is made fresh in the school’s kitchen everyday whereas Ridgewell’s was frozen food heated up and served at school. But does a change in companies entail that the school is suddenly given the students healthier food? Obviously, the food from Sage is fresh-er and, with the additions such as the pasta bar, there is more variety. What seemed to draw students the most at first were the four choices. Becca Hyde, a senior, said, “I’m really excited about the new food because the same eight meals got a little old after six years.” With Sage, there is a few hot lunch choices, a salad and sand-wich bar, a pasta bar, cereal and of course, dessert. But just because there are some healthier choices does not mean that the students are actually making them. In terms of freshness, senior Dannie Moore said that the food tastes a lot better, but she doesn’t think that that makes it health-ier. When consulting the nurse, she said, “I don’t feel that the food is any less nutri-tious than Ridgewell’s, there are just more choices. The variety of food and the fact that the food is prepared on campus as op-posed to being brought in from another facility is a huge plus in terms of fresh-ness. The variety and quality of fruits and vegetables adds to the appeal of making a healthy food selection.” Another positive aspect is that there is a color coding system that tells the students

and faculty what food is healthy and what is not so healthy. If a food has a green la-bel that means that one can eat as much as he or she desires. If there is a yellow label, it should be eaten in moderation. If there is a red label, one should be careful of how much he or she consumes. The nurse thinks that this is extremely helpful for students because it is important to know what one is consuming and promotes peo-ple to make healthier choices. In terms of financial details, preparing food at schools is already proving to be cheaper than getting it from outside. The school has made many changes this year but everything seems to be paying for it-self. All in all, the students and faculty are satisfied, it is cheaper for the school and there is a fresher variety but it is up to the individual to make the healthy choice for him or herself, because it definitely is available.

During the first in-service day of the new year, the Committee for Equity and Inclu-sion (CEI), the school’s diversity organization, convened a panel of students to share their experiences around race with their teachers and administrators.

...And here’s the problem. A photo taken at last year’s Back to School Dance shows the small attendance (mostly freshmen) and general lack of interest or fun.

Upper school students test out the variety of offerings in the new pasta bar.

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NEWSTHE MANE NEWS OCTOBER 17, 2008 5

Adolescents today do not have the same passion for reading that they had 30 years ago. With so many distractions such as television, computers, and video games, teens these days feel little incentive to pick up a book. Despite all these distrac-tions, could the fault really lie in teachers who turn the joy of reading into a jumble of metaphors, symbols, and themes? Dresden Koons, Head of the English Department, said the reason that books are torn apart in class is “because it scales critical thinking and the art of persuasion.” When applying for colleges and jobs, Koons said people must be able to prove that they deserve a chance and they can do that by first learning how to interpret a topic and then use supporting evidence in a thoughtful way to be persuasive. Junior Corbin Ayers does not have a strong desire to read a book in his free time. “I don’t like it when they dissect the books, it takes away from the flow of the book.” Students such as Ayers have been de-tached from the world of words by a con-stant stream of analyses and critiques. The urge to read a book for pleasure has no meaning anymore. Students are under the constant stress of picking apart a reading and having to learn ideas that appear un-related to the text. “If we had independent reading it would be really good because we could pick a book interesting to the reader without a teacher tearing it apart. We’re actually reading the book and not looking for themes, motifs, and symbols,” Ayers said. The Washington Post ran an opinion article on this trend recently. The author of the article was an English teacher. On August 24, 2008, Nancy Schong wrote, “As much as I hate to admit it, all too of-ten English teachers like me—as able and well-intentioned as we may be—close down teen interest in reading.” Schong says that teachers, not TV or computers, are responsible for turning teenagers away

Activity period after school: clubs are in their meeting places, but many students stand in the halls and talk. Outside the front entrance a larger collection of stu-dents sit on and near the benches. One such student, sophomore Francis Ford, said, “none of the clubs get anything done.” Tim Gregg said, “Last year when I was involved in clubs they weren’t fun and they didn’t do anything.” Poor organization and productivity are the reasons for a lack of participation in student-organized clubs. Upper School Dean of Students Ginger Cobb does not believe that the school and the administra-tion should be more involved. “The clubs are for the students” and “the success de-pends on the student leaders,” said Cobb, “Students should take their complaints up to the teacher advisors of the clubs.” Student run clubs in other schools, such as GDS, seem to have greater organiza-tion and stronger student support. A GDS student said, “They get funding and have structure. They have many goals and have

public affiliation such as events and fund raisers.” Clubs at St. Andrew’s usually only meet during activity period. The most attended and structured is Roar, which raises attendance at sport-ing events. The club meets on a regular basis to discuss future sporting events to sponsor. “There is always stuff to do,” said student leader Nikki Azzara. “Roar requires attendance from member if they want a Roar t-shirt” The affinity clubs have fewer members. Gay Straight Alliance President Ryan Banner said, “I don’t think people under-stand that you don’t have to be black, gay, or Jewish to be in one of the groups.” Connor Voss partakes in the Black Stu-dent Alliance as a white student. “I have friends in BSA and I want to help causes that don’t pertain to me,” said Voss. Many students are not interested in join-ing and participating in affinity groups. Senior Rob Silberman said, “It’s hard to join a club when you can’t relate to any of their problems.”

Low Structure and EfficiencyCarey CrookeMane News Staff Writer

Clubs not Drawing Ideal Numbers

Reading Less than the MandatoryWhy are we Falling Short?Philip ShulmanMane News Staff Writer

from reading. The idea of independent reading at St. Andrew’s high school is something that only surfaces freshmen year. “If we were to give the students a category such as American Literature and they were able to pick a book for class, read it and write their own personal thoughts on it I would be in full support of that.” Koons said. She added that high school students who currently have no say in the books they read might be more interested if given the opportunity to read books of their own choosing. Parents also struggle with this trend away from personal reading. Tony Cam-panella, a Bullis School parent said, “I would like to see my boy read more, but with the amount he already has for school and all the work that goes with that I just can’t force him to.” All students go into the new school year with a summer reading books under their belt, never getting a break from ana-lyzing literature. However, Georgetown Day High School does not have a summer reading list. “Not having summer reading makes me want to read when I get back to school,” said GDS junior Jake Kahn. At St. Andrew’s there has been a re-sponse to the one-dimensional reading with the formation of a book club. In this club, books are chosen by the students and discussed in a stress free environment. Ju-nior and co-founder of the club Ava Weiss explained the club as “a chance for stu-dents to pick their own books and discuss what they feel is important.”

A sampling of the books teachers require students to “dissect” in their classes.

The News in Brief

On September 26, student leaders attended SGA Day to bond and create goals for the school. In the morning, Assistant Head of School John Holden led a tutorial on how to speak to groups. In the afternoon students broke into five committees. Tory Johnson is head of the Dance Committee, Jonathan Burket of Special Events, Dannie Moore of School Spirit, Philip Doerr of Policy and Marco Bonvillian of Treasury. Members also voted on homecoming judges. The SGA’s fundraising ideas include a barbeque night with movies, donut sale Tues-days, a car wash, and a Saturday night variety show. It also hopes to hold one dollar dress down days for charity. SGA is sponsoring a Junior-Senior Powderpuff Football Game on October 28, and the canned food drive in November. Speaking of last year’s School President Tom McMackin, current head Moore said, “He set up a good structure of how to do committees… but this year the SGA is really about change, starting new traditions.”

Student Government Association UpdateEmily HattonMane News News Editor

Around the WorldNeha Shastry Mane News Features Editor Since last year organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Economic Forum have predicted slow times for the U.S. and World economies. In their 2007 World Economic Outlook, the IMF predicted a decrease in world growth, but said it would be held up by a strong momentum from support of growing economies like China and India. The current state of the U.S. economy will likely lead to further economic downturns in some of these countries, according to new IMF research. About $2.5 trillion was lost from stock markets as a wave of selling spread west from Asia to the United States in recent weeks. The sudden dive in stocks has inves-tors around the world worrying and doubting if any U.S. rescue plan will succeed. Russian and Brazilian stock exchanges have been temporarily suspended, and Brazilian banks are selling American dollars from foreign reserves on the domestic market to curb their depreciating currency. The British pound is currently trading at 1.7 to the U.S. dollar as opposed to the 2.2 it was this past summer. The Indian rupee’s U.S. exchange rate is 50:1. At the October 2008 World Economic Outlook press briefing, Olivier Blanchard, Economic Counselor and Director of Research at the IMF, said, “We project that growth in advanced countries will be very close to zero or even negative until at least the middle of 2009, with a slow recovery during the rest of the year.”

New Teachers Join Staff

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“After having taken last year off to stay at home with my daughter Willie, I was a bit nervous about returning to the classroom. The old bike cliché works well in my case - you just don’t forget how to ride and it feels great to be back.” -Evan Brooke

Ms. Evan Brooke is an English teacher and the Girls JV Lacrosse coach.

Mr. David Christiansen teaches science and coaches soccer and softball.

Mr. Michael Chapper teachers English and coaches basketball and lacrosse.

“Adapting to the culture of a new school, everything from how the schedule works to how different members of the com-munity interact with one anoth-er: it has been a challenge, but a good challenge.” -David Christiansen

“I read a lot, go to the sympho-ny, play Tetris on an original Nintendo system, and imag-ine myself working out.”

- Michael Chapper

Photo: Borden McKinnon

THE MANE NEWSOCTOBER 17, 2008 THE MANE NEWS6 OPINIONEDITORIALS the staff takes a stand

Ridgewell’s vs. SAGE:Wendy EisenbergMane News Staff Writer

The Epic Battle Between Present and Past

Diversity: More Than Black and WhiteJessica FigueroaMane News Staff Writer

was when we had a meeting to talk to the last diversity speaker in a room filled only with students of color from our school. I understand that the speaker wanted to talk to the minorities of the school to see how we feel in a white majority school, but what if the Caucasians wanted to speak about diversity and how they feel about it as well? Each year, our school takes only minority students of our school to a diver-sity meeting in another state to talk about what it is like to be a minority. Sophomore, Benjamin Mitchell says, “I wanted to get an application to go to the Diversity Con-ference this year but they said I couldn’t have one.” Although Ben is Caucasian, it should not prevent him from wanting to contribute his opinions about the sub-ject. Other factors as to why he got turned down might be that there were only lim-ited spots for the conference or because they just want the “colored people” to ex-press how they feel. Whites also have a right to talk about diversity and how they feel in this multiracial, multicultural envi-ronment. And why is it that the speaker who comes to talk to us every year about “di-versity” is always black? Black people are not the only ones who have life stories to

tell about being treated differently because they grew up in a white majority environ-ment. There are other students of color who can come in to talk about diversity, maybe a person who is part of a religious minority could, even a Caucasian could, but I assume that our school always pre-fers a black person’s perspective. I think the next diversity speaker should be of a different race just so we could realize that blacks aren’t the only ones that can talk about “minorities and majorities,” this job could easily be given to any other colored person or someone who is of a religious minority. So, the big question, is our school di-verse? Sophomore Josyln Jacoby says, “I think that our school is barely diverse.” In some ways, I agree with Josyln Jacoby. Our school’s majority is Caucasian and I think our admissions officers aren’t going to do much to change that right now, but maybe in the future that might change. Sophomore Liam Sullivan states, “I think that a school can never be diverse. There will always be a more dominating race than others at our school.” This might be true but it wouldn’t hurt to try and mix

it up a bit. People today might still have a problem with people of color or a per-son that doesn’t believe the same thing that they do, but they aren’t going to say it out loud. Racism and prejudice are al-ways going to be hidden from the ears and eyes of the public, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t still exist. I admire how St. Andrew’s is taking action by trying to demolish racism and prejudice from exis-tence and focusing on uniting the student body. Overtime, our school will hopefully be more diverse and take more pride in its diversity.

Every year our nation becomes more and more diverse as immigrants from different ethnicities and cultural back-grounds make their home in the “land of opportunity.” Student bodies are made of individuals from all different races, cul-tures, and beliefs, which the majority of the country thinks is beneficial. Many believe that attending a school with a diverse student body amplifies the students’ education. It places the students in a broad, diverse environment which helps individuals understand the perspec-tives of a variety of backgrounds. Diver-sified educational environments teach students to interact with one another re-gardless of what they believe in, what they look like, or how they dress. Today, teachers and parents are trying to mold our schools into places where children from any background, race, or culture can come learn and feel comfortable with ev-eryone. They aim to foster tolerance and respect for others, so that a child may call upon these qualities when in a multiethnic and multicultural environment. St. Andrew’s Episcopal School has strived to make sure that everyone accepts each other for who they are, but some do not feel this message as much as others. Sophomore Emily Williams is particularly struck by the lack of religious acceptance, “Our school seems as if Episcopalian is emphasized too much. What about the other people that attend school here that aren’t Episcopalian?” I, as well as most of you, are well aware that you do not need to be of the Episco-pal faith to attend this school. In fact, only 20% of the student body is Episcopalian. We cannot help acknowledging that the school follows the values and beliefs of the Episcopal Church. We are required to attend chapels, follow most of the tradi-tions, and take religion courses. What I have come to realize is that you do not need to believe in what this school preach-es, but you do have to be respectful.

The Diversity Coalition and umbrella affinity groups help to provide a space for interested students to learn more about cultures, beliefs, and races different than their own. Anyone can join these clubs; you don’t have to be Jewish to be in the Jewish Culture Club (JCC) or black to be in the Black Student Alliance (BSA). The school’s acceptance and support of these clubs is a clear portrayal of their belief in ensuring comfort for all students. We also likes to bring speakers to talk to students about diversity and have the student body discuss it openly with one another. One thing I did not like last year

“I think that a school can never be diverse.”

Liam Sullivan

The recent change of lunch services reminds this reporter of the switch from “The Homework Site” to “Educator.” The death of “The Homework Site” last year was a formidable change to many students acclimated to its glorious simplicity. “The Homework Site” served the purpose of teaching students to be self reliant; it re-quired a student to enter in his or her own classes, creating a feeling of satisfaction in knowing his or her own schedule, and also feeling secure about who entered it. It gave only the homework, the teacher, and occasionally the period – not the type

of day, nor the student’s middle name. Once it was introduced, “Educator” quickly roared its way into our hearts; or at least, stopped garnering protest some-where around November. It told students every bit of information that it could. Sure, many of us didn’t pump our fists with ex-citement for the efficiency of “portal.saes.org”, but it got the job done. Both Ridgewell’s and Sage provide quality food to hungry, weary students. They operate similarly, however, with the acquisition of Sage, our kitchen’s colors turned decidedly warmer, serving sizes were more enforced, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch (hereinafter referred to as “CTC”) became a consistent fixture of many lunches. Every option, every mor-

sel that Sage serves is something which anyone can become excited about. But lazier Lions often find themselves eating what they consider safe, instead of trying the brilliant new options. I personally used to find solace in the delicious Mac ‘n’ Cheese that Ridgewell’s so perfected. Their bizarrely cooked, eco-nomical “pizzas” in their many forms were so refreshingly un-food-like. Their unhealthy-seeming, consistent options filled my quota for “delicious food that isn’t actually food,” so perfectly. It be-came what I would always consider one of

the more wonderful things about high school: our prep school was, in the truest sense of the word, a prep school, because it was prep-ping us for that peculiar zing of “cafeteria food.” It was the one concession to more ordinary high school life; a student wouldn’t have to choose what to eat, and the food was that “high-art” type of awful. I miss it. But because our school must be exceptional, our organic food, for refined palettes and culinary adventurers, offers a veritable plethora of sumptuous options.

The food is always freshly cooked, and always accommodating of the student’s desires. Pasta? It’s there. Soup? It’s there. CTC? If it’s not, it will be. Sure, this isn’t the usual assembly line type of meal service: however, most of the students I asked considered Sage to be far superior to Ridgewell’s. Like “Educator,” Sage offers more options, a more reliable representa-tion of what St. Andrew’s has to offer for every individual student, and a healthier and simpler way to fulfill certain require-ments. However, like the antiquated and comparatively worse “The Homework Site,” I can’t help but miss Ridgewell’s slipshod charm. Though, for the better, it truly is the end of an era.

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The new lunch system offers students many more healthy choices.

In an environment such as a private school, where students literally sign away most of their constitutional rights when they sign their contract, it is sur-prising how fortunate we are to be as in-formed as the “powers that be” choose to make us. For politicians and govern-ment administrations, of course, it is a different story. According with our rights as democratic citizens, we elect the leader of our country and endow him with the supreme policy powers. However, this is not the pattern we have seen in our American history textbooks, and this is still not the case today. Crises such as the Watergate scandal and the Pentagon Papers show that not only is the government keeping personal scandals that have potential to affect policy a secret, they are also hid-ing significant policy information that

is often controversial. One now-infamous withholding of information is the case of the alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq preceding our invasion in 2003. The government manipulated national se-curity information to instigate a public desire for war. Once the war had begun, it became clear that the WMDs had been a diversion of interest. I understand that complete knowledge of security threats would only create an atmosphere of distrust and fear. Howev-er, there are certain areas of policy, such as privacy laws and health care reform, need to be public information Perhaps then the American people will come out of their political lethargy and realize just how much potential they have in a de-mocracy.

“What I have come to realize is that you do not need to believe what this school preaches, but you do have to be respectful.”

OPINIONTHE MANE NEWS OCTOBER 17, 2008 7

cartoon by: Scott Womer

I don’t think that is

just it.

I’m worried, I think he is getting a bit violent.

Violence in Video Games:A bad influence or the fulfillment of an urge?Ben WaldMane News Assistant Opinion Editor

A Dragon EmergesDylan ThayerMane News Sports Editor

ing rebellions by dangerous sects against the Chinese state. But the British weren’t alone. By 1900, Germany, France, Rus-sia, and even the United States enjoyed the privilege of holding vast commercial spheres of influence on the Chinese coast. Later on, the Japanese would get their fair share of Chinese plunder: they came, saw, and conquered eastern China in the 1930s, destroying Nanking and many other cit-ies. At around that same time, Mao Zedong commented that the Chinese people were like a blank piece of paper. He didn’t mean that as an insult, merely as a reflec-tion on the possibilities that China’s mas-sive number of people held if only their energies could be fully harnessed. Nearly seventy years later, Mao’s prediction has come true. China’s economy has taken off, and its manufacturing sector is one of the most active in the world. American steel was once the material that held together the ships and planes and trains and auto-mobiles of countries the world over. No more; China builds everything for us and for other countries now: from the toys we get at Burger King to our computers and other types of software and hardware, to the parts for planes used by our military in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Chinese have watched their economy soar and Ameri-can prestige plummet and have wondered, none too quietly, if now is their best op-portunity, their moment, to seize the reins of the world. But you cannot be the world’s lead-ing nation and a hermit kingdom at the same time. So the final message of these Games was clear: after centuries of infe-riority complexes and imperialist oppres-sors and isolationist relapses countered by modernist reforms, China finally has its swagger back like never before. This was China’s big coming out party, a chance to display how far the nation has come and how far it intends to go. This action, this flexing of industrial muscles for the entire world to see, is an event unprecedented in a China that has always sought isolation, with the most sincere hope of the Com-munist Party elites that that fact alone will frighten the West. Watch out world. Here comes the drag-on.

Whenever there is a school shooting or some type of in-school violence, many peo-ple say that video games are the cause. In an essay by Massachusetts Institute of Tech-nology Professor Henry Jenkins, he states that “juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low.” This contradicts the views of people like Jack Thompson, who said, “Almost every school shooter the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Secret Service has found is immersed in violent entertainment,” when he was interviewed by MSNBC following the Virginia Tech shooting. As an avid video game player, I can say that video games have not made me think violently. I realize that these are just games and that I am not actually in a high-speed cop chase through the streets of New York. The people who play video games and then go kill people have a different problem. If someone cannot see the difference between a video game and real life, the problem is

not the games. If a teenager goes home, plays a violent video game, and decides that it is real and that he needs to go out and kill his friends, he has other prob-lems. Parents, whether their kid plays vio-lent video games or not, need to make sure their kid realizes that just because you can jump off a cliff without dying in a game does not mean that the same goes for real life. Now I am not saying that video games do not have an effect on your brain. I agree that young children should not be allowed to play games like Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row, but to say that all the fault lies with these games is wrong. Some people have an inherent need for excitement, but many of the things that they want to do are illegal. Video games are a legal outlet for these urges. Instead of hijacking a car and causing mayhem in real life, why not do it in a game?

As the Olympics drew to a close this past August, as medals were awarded, as records were broken, and as all the pomp and circumstance ended with a bang with 2,008 drummers on a hazy Beijing night, the world began to step back and reflect. Many felt underwhelmed by the spectacle, and they almost had a right to feel let down. With the riots in Tibet this past March, an earthquake in Szechwan province this past May, and subsequent protests in San Francisco, London, and elsewhere on the torch’s rout around the world, the Earth itself seemed to be bracing for something major to happen in Beijing. In a subtle, quiet way, something never before seen in world history did occur by the very nature of these Olympics: the Chinese threw a party, and everybody came. China is one of the world’s oldest na-tions. It has been an organized state for over four thousand years. Only Egypt, India, and Middle Eastern nations have histories that extend farther back in time. Yet unlike all of those nations, who have tolerated, even encouraged, an influx of outside ideas, China has always remained monolithic and unmoving, keeping for-eigners as far outside its physical and so-cietal boundaries as possible. This close-minded attitude is hardly surprising when one considers the history of China’s interactions with foreign na-tions. In 1271, the Mongols, led by Kub-lai Khan, overran China and slaughtered millions of ethnic Han Chinese in order to consolidate Mongol control of the state’s political apparatus. Kublai and his equal-ly bloodthirsty descendants would rule China for another century. Ethnic Chinese then conducted their own affairs until 1644, when they were once again over-run by foreign invaders, the Manchus. In the 1800s, as Manchu power began to de-cline, the empires of the West moved in and began to parcel out Chinese territo-ries among themselves. The British were the main perpetrators, directly control-ling Hong Kong and other provinces on the Chinese coast, exercising a sphere of influence over Tibet and areas of western China, enslaving the Chinese populace by means of the devastating drug opium, hu-miliating the Manchu regime in a series of highly crippling wars, and encourag-Hallway Soundbit

“It’s interesting to have an opinion on it right now. Obviously the economy is in bad shape, but very few people understand the com-plexities of the bailout bill.” -Ms. Liz Kiingi

“I’m not too worried about it. I think the economy will re-bound and get back to where it was.” -Ralfe Hickman

“I don’t think we should have saved the big companies. The economy is so bad that the bailout won’t really change anything.” -Jessica Jones

“The only way to really solve it is to reassure the American people that things are under control and that the market’s not going down. Then the market will fix itself.” -David Nega

How do you feel about the current economic crisis and the bailout legislation that was recently passed through congress?

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THE MANE NEWS THE MANE NEWS8 OCTOBER 17, 2008 Election 2008

By “Joseph Biden”

Change! Change, change, change, change, change, change, change, change, change, change, change, change! Yes, the Democratic Party is back and better than ever in 2008. We’ve dropped the long face and now we’re about (have you heard?) change! Yes, indeed, my friends, (as they say) Obama will come and change things in Washington. He will change the situation in Iraq, he will change the current financial crisis, he will change our broken social security sys-tem, and if you’re like 95 percent of all Americans, he’ll even put a little change into your very pocket! But the real changes of Senator Obama’s nomination are being felt within the Party itself. Now that the Republi-cans have gone and dropped the baton on family values (see Palin, Sarah), I guess the time has come for our party to start billing itself as God-fearing family men. This isn’t going to be easy; it’s the first time we Democrats have had to be genuinely concerned about religion since someone found out that Johnny Kennedy was actually taking orders from the Pope! It’s a good thing we’ve got the media to back us up, and that our Republican candidates seem to have taken the high road and focus on the issues rather than bicker about silly diversions. I’m really glad that no one has chosen to call into question the comments Senator Obama’s pastor may have made, however incendi-ary they may be. And I’m also overjoyed that no one has tried to make a not-so-veiled attack on our candidate’s religious or national loyalties by repeatedly bring-ing up that his middle name happens to Hussein. Sometimes lines get crossed in campaigns, and it’s good to see that this time around, everyone seems to be on the same page about what is acceptable and what is absolutely disgusting and rude. However, we Democrats are more than willing to rise to the challenge of being the new moral hypocrites for this country to groan at for the next four years. That’s

another aspect of Obama’s promise for change. And like all Democrats, I’ve got my religious beliefs figured out. I pray the rosary to the great Ganesh five times a day while facing Mecca, and when I die, Moses will come and whisk me off to nirvana. See? Now I haven’t offended anybody, and you can’t accuse me of anything. It’s like Pascal’s wager, minus the actual belief. Obama also wants to change our level of commitment to the environment. Since I hail from Delaware, a state which has been graced with unparalleled natural beauty, Senator Obama’s proposals on climate change really strike a chord with me, and I think that same sentiment is reflected in the broader American popu-lace. (Just ask Al Gore, and the Green Party.) I am fully behind his plans to put 1 million vehicles that are capable of getting 150 miles to the gallon on the road by 2015, rid our-selves of all Middle Eastern and Venezue-lan oil imports within the next ten years, and reduce total emissions to 80 percent of our emissions levels in the year 1990 by 2050. I also enthusiastically support his plans to halt all large-scale industry by 2070, return to the use of horse-drawn chariots for all personal transportation needs by 2080, and the forced adoption of all Americans of a hunter-gatherer lifestyle by the year 2100. Just because you put lipstick on a pig doesn’t mean it’s not a pig. And just because you beg a senator from Dela-ware who is likely to slip up and say something that will ruin your campaign to keep his mouth shut doesn’t mean he necessarily will. Fortunately for me, the Obama camp doesn’t seem to have grasped that fact. Democrats picking an experienced, yet boring, white guy whose lack of rhetorical polish could hijack the campaign? Some things never change.

By “Sarah Palin”

This country has always been great because it was founded on the three Gs: Guns, Gold and Gesus (at least I think that’s how you spell His name - let me check the Bush Doctrine on that). I’m here to tell you that John McCain is the perfect choice for president because he will return America to these lofty ideals. The guns bit is particularly dear to my heart, and was part of the reason why I became so infatuated with the sena-tor from Arizona (of course, overriding ambition may also have played a part, but let’s not go there). Being an avid hunter, I am a firm believer in the right of every American to own a gun that allows

him or her to fell an eight hundred pound herbivore or whatever else might be in his general vicinity. Our country’s belief in the power of the dollar is something that has always played into my party’s hands. Republicans started

this financial crisis, and Republican leadership will get us out of it. In my opinion, the cure to our current economic woes is some good old-fashioned Rea-ganomics. Helping the rich is helping the poor, because if rich people have more money they can buy more yachts, planes, and homes (just ask Senator McCain), thereby creating jobs for poor people who can create all of these things. Of course, those poor people may still not have enough money to send their kids to college or own houses or cars or have health care or proper clothing or food to eat, but sometimes that’s just the way life is. Or something like that. To be honest, I really don’t know very much about the economy, so if we could just stick to the parts of Senator McCain’s platform that I’m more comfortable with, I would re-ally appreciate it. Ah, here’s one! Morality! Another old

Republican favorite! Since the time of Lincoln, we Republicans have always known how to deal with racial tensions, and both Senator McCain and I are very familiar with bridging the gaps between different races. I feel as though Obama has played the race card too often in this election. He claims to know a lot about racial unity, but being a native Alaskan, I’m really much more familiar with diversity than he is. We’ve been get-ting along great with Native Americans for years. And we’re proud to announce that our fifth black family just moved to Nome from out of state on Friday. But racial harmony isn’t the only aspect of morality that Senator McCain is con-cerned with. We firmly believe that the problems we face in climate change, rad-ical Islam, a nuclear Iran, a rising China, an economic crisis, a poor image abroad, a faulty education system, and a trillion dollar debt could all be alleviated by sim-ply outlawing abortions. And if you don’t think that two gay men holding hands in San Francisco or a rich teenage girl getting an abortion in New York makes it that much easier for Osama bin Laden to try and attack us again, you know even less about geopolitics than I do. And if John McCain and I are elected, you gays and teenagers better watch out, because I will be watching you like a deranged caribou watches the Northern Lights. By the way, I will not tolerate any questions about my family. What goes on in my family has absolutely nothing to do with what I think is best for the rest of the country and it is absolutely vile, disgusting, and reprehensible that you sick media people would even bring it up. This press conference is over.

Many celebrities, including Kanye West, Jennifer Aniston, and Tyra Banks, have thrown their support to Obama. Along with his campaign slogan, “A Need for Change,” celebrities have helped mo-tivate the youth through TV commercials, shows, and radio ads stressing the impor-tance of making a difference by voting and allowing each voice to be heard. If it really is the year of the youth vote, 2008 will turn out to be a successful year for Obama. Young voters helped guaran-tee eleven straight primary wins dating back to Super Tuesday (www.diversity-inc.com), and are giving him the edge in many current polls. Over the course of the 2008 year, The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE) has followed the trends of the youth vote. CIRCLE says, “Young Democratic voters

were the most racially/ethnically diverse voting block in the Super Tuesday prima-ries. The majority of young voters, ages 17-24, were non-white (53 percent); this reflects a growing trend in the youth popu-lation.” CIRCLE goes on to say, “Overall, when looking at all Super Tuesday states, Obama won the vote among 17-24-year-olds by a 14-point margin, and the 25-29-year-olds by a 17-point margin” (www.diversityinc.com). Senior LaShay Roper said, “I am go-ing to vote this year and I’m voting for Obama because he is black. It is time for a black man to be in office and make posi-tive changes.” When asked whether or not Obama has increased her desire to vote, Roper says, “Yes, Obama has made me more enthusiastic about voting because if he would not have run, I probably wouldn’t have voted. We need a change and Obama is that change. He is a change I can believe in.”

Dannie Moore, a Republican, said, “I’m not sure who I am going to vote for yet, but I think I’m leaning more towards Obama because typically Republicans have more conservative values, but McCain doesn’t. I feel like he is a Democrat in disguise and while Obama doesn’t have conserva-tive values either, he at least supports the middle class which I am a part of. You just have to pick the lesser of the two evils.” Even though Obama has sparked the enthusiasm in the youth to vote, many Americans have anxiety over the prospect of having an African American president because America has been run by white men since the time of colonization, and many do not believe America is ready for a black president. Moore said, “To be hon-est, while this is a great step, I’m not sure if America is ready for a black president. I think it would be really cool and progres-sive, but I really fear for his life.”

They constantly have their iPods con-nected to their ears, their fingers going at rapid speed on the keyboard of their cell phones, their heads bumping to the music in their cars, and frequently updating their Facebook status, but the youth could pos-sibly be the determining force that decides who wins the 2008 presidential election. In the past two elections, young people have been more involved with the voting process, but when Senator Obama and Senator Clinton ran against each other in the primary election to become the demo-cratic nominee, the participation and spon-taneity of young voters increased signifi-cantly. Time Magazine coined the phrase, “The Year of the Youth Vote.” In many states, young voters doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled.

Has Your Spontaneity Increased?

Varying Viewpoints:The Vice Presidential Candidates

Go Head-to-Head

Disclaimer: For the literalists among our readership, the Mane News would like to make clear that these two pieces were written by a staff writer, and not the candidates themselves.

Vivian Swisher-JonesMane News Staff Writer

believe it will ever be duplicated. It was so unique, so incredible, so titanic in size, scale, and significance, that it will never be surpassed or replicated. An entire football stadium was filled because of one man – one leader. First time voters scrambled to get in to Invesco Field, the line extending for miles. People waited for hours in the scorching Colo-rado sun, oblivious to the heat. Of course, getting in was not easy at the Pepsi Center or at Invesco. Spotters and snipers were on high vantage points, armored guards patrolled in and around the stadium, and high chain fences surrounded the field as people slowly shuffled their way towards the gate and to show their credentials. Yet everyone was talking and getting excited, sharing their hopes and their views with

people as if they had known them for years. It was this sense of unity, this at-mosphere of har-mony, that truly blew me away. A party that had been written off

four years ago as weak, stale, and out of touch was now gathering numbers for its convention the likes of which had never been seen before. Americans were com-ing together to be a part of history, and it was a beautiful experience. I could go on and on about the symbolism, or the passion, but there is only so much I can say. But the moments and the experiences were the greatest part. The moment that I remember most, that represents the spirit of the conven-tion, was the way the crowd roared back in support at Obama as he condemned the obstinacy of Republicans and their val-ues, listing off how it is possible to have guns but have tighter gun laws, or about abortion, or sex education in schools. To us, it was more than him pandering; it was him speaking to us. It was him voicing our frustrations, our pains, and telling us that things were going to get better. That he was the man that was going to make things better, and we all, and still do, believe him.

THE MANE NEWS 9OCTOBER 17, 2008Election 2008

Borden McKinnonMane News Photography Editor

Getting to Know Sarah Palin:Her Past Legislation and Current Views on Government

On September 4, Republican Vice-Pres-idential nominee Sarah Palin proclaimed in her acceptance speech, “The right rea-son [for politics] is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.” Her plans to challenge current govern-ment policies for “the common good” sound very similar to the progressive legislation that McCain and Obama have spoken for, but in reality she is far more conservative than either presidential can-didate. At this point, Americans generally know very little about her past and what she plans to reform as Vice-President. Her past political decisions and her current views on important aspects of our govern-ment are key to understanding how well equipped she is to hold one of the most influential political positions in the United States. Possibly the most controversial aspect of McCain’s pick for Palin as his running mate is her supposed lack of experience. She referred to Barack Obama as nothing more than a “community organizer” and said of her past job as a mayor, “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘com-munity organize,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.” Although she might have a good deal of experience as a mayor of a small town and a governor of a sparsely populated state, that does not necessarily mean she is ready to hold one of the most influential political positions in the entire country. History Department Head, Mr. Alex Haight, said of Palin’s experience, “Some of our best presidents have been one’s

with least experience… Often times the ones with least experience have the fresh-est perspective. Experience for me is less important than wisdom and being able to make choices that will help the country as opposed to hurt it. It seems strange to me that McCain made experience such an is-sue and then chose by far the least experi-enced person out there. I don’t think you necessarily need experience to the presi-dent… I’m more afraid about her wisdom and her thinking.” Another source of controversy over Palin was her mention of the “Bridge to Nowhere” in her acceptance speech. During Palin’s time as governor, there was a plan proposed to build a bridge that would connect two incredibly small towns in Alaska, one with a total popu-

lation of only 50. While governor, Palin supported the bridge for a period of time and then opposed it as soon as congress chose against funding for it. She claimed in her acceptance speech, “I told congress ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ for that Bridge to Nowhere,” trying to emphasize the fact that she always against the idea of build-ing the bridge. In reality, she only recently began to oppose the idea. Ms. Burke, the Associate Director of College Counseling, when asked about the Bridge to Nowhere said, “From my perspective I understood that that was a part of a larger bill. She was getting fed-eral funding for her state and she wanted that funding., so she took the whole thing and then she weeded out and threw away what she didn’t want.” The constantly rising price of oil is an issue of greater national importance in this election. Palin believes that the key to lowering oil prices is to tap into our own local resources versus relying on other countries. A recent article in Scientific American revealed that Palin is a propo-nent for drilling in ANWR, the Arctic Na-tional Wildlife Refuge, and recently pro-posed the Alaska Gasoline Inducement Act. This act, if passed, would permit the construction of a pipeline from the north-ern slopes for natural gas. Zach Atchinson, a senior at St. An-drew’s, said of Palin’s support of drilling, “Drilling in ANWR is only going to be a temporary solution, because the oil there will dry up at some point. While it may help lower prices, and it may help allevi-ate our dependence on foreign oil, it’s re-ally not going to do anything to solve the problem.”

During her career as governor, Sarah Palin maintained conservative values. In light of her daughter’s recent pregnancy, people have begun to particularly ques-tion her belief that sex education should not be taught in school. To many people, her daughter’s pregnancy is proof that prohibiting sex-ed in school is the wrong approach to take. Haight said of the controversy sur-rounding Palin’s pregnant daughter, “I think it’s completely hypocritical... We get surprised when it happens to people like her, but it happens all the time. What I found most interesting about that was that she made the comment that it was her daughter’s choice to go and have this baby. Well Palin’s pro-life, so technically she believes there is no choice.”

The silence was deafening. For a small moment, time had stopped. All 87,000 people were holding their breaths, wait-ing for the grand finale, for what we had all come to see. Then a shape appeared on that long blue walkway out towards the platform. For a split second, people didn’t know it was him; we didn’t recognize him. But as quickly as the surprise came, it faded, and exploded into a cacophony of cheering and celebration. Pure ecstasy had taken over the crowd as the man of the hour made his way towards the podium. Before I knew it, I was cheering and screaming too, waving my blue rectangu-lar sign with the words “CHANGE” writ-ten in bold, white letters. I couldn’t con-tain my joy and excitement any longer, and neither could my fellow democrats. All the pent up ex-hilaration and antic-ipation was released at once, and for what seemed like an eternity we reveled in the presence of Barack Obama. Fi-nally, after my voice was hoarse and my head swimming due to lack of oxygen, I took my seat and listened to a speech that I will never forget hearing. The 2008 Democratic National Conven-tion was a spectacular experience, full of these kinds of moments, and something I will be sure to remember for the rest of my life. Though I arrived on Wednesday, the second to last day of the DNC, I came at the peak of the excitement. I heard power-ful speeches, caught a glimpse of famous party members in person, and I saw the core of my political party come together to revel in democracy and nominate our candidate for president. I saw Bill Clinton control a crowd in a way only Bill Clinton can. I watched Joe Biden stand up and denounce John Mc-Cain’s policies. I saw Al Gore support his party and their nominee, and Bill Richard-son make 87,000 people chuckle. I heard Stevie Wonder, Melissa Etheridge, Mi-chael McDonald, Jennifer Hudson, Will.I.Am, and John Legend. I bought pins, shirts, and took pictures. I have never seen so much love for democracy, so many ce-lebrities, and so many politicians and pub-lic servants all in one place, and I don’t

Ben MitchellMane News Staff Writer

Two Days of Democracy

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Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin receive standing ovation at Republican National Convention.

Sen. Barack Obama stands before crowd of 87,000 in Denver to receive the Demo-cratic Party’s presidential nomination. Ben Mitchell was there for the excitement.

Page credits: Thanks to guest Political Editors Zach Atchinson and Becca Hyde. Photos: MCT Campus unless noted.

“It was him voicing our frustrations, our pains, and telling us that things were go-

ing to get better.”

From the Archives (October 25, 1998):

THE MANE NEWS THE MANE NEWS10 OCTOBER 17, 2008 11OCTOBER 17, 200830th Anniversary 30th Anniversary

The day of September 5th marked the beginning of a year of celebration of the 30th anniversary, beginning with the school’s “30th birthday party” commem-orating the new synthetic fi elds. The day was the culmination of several years of planning by the school’s administration and the board of trustees. The day consisted of the annual open-ing ceremony at the National Cathedral, followed by a surprise cancellation of classes. The classes were replaced with fi eld games including tug-of-war, a leap-frog race, and fi nally the dedication cer-emony of the new synthetic fi elds. As-sistant Head of School John Holden also jumped out of a giant cardboard cake wearing a Dr. Seuss-fashioned top hat. According to Head of School Robert Kosasky, the anniversary has been a re-sult of nearly two years of planning by the upper management of the school. “The nice thing about an anniversary is that you know when it’s coming,” said Kosasky, “You can plan for it.” Specifi c plans for the birthday party began last school year; teachers learned about the event in the spring. They were also notifi ed that classes would be can-celled a month before the event, “well before opening meetings,” as Kosasky describes. The birthday party borrowed consider-ably from the school’s 10th anniversary, when Holden also leapt out of a cake, only that time wearing a lion costume, as well as a similar cancellation of classes. “We were able to draw upon tradition, but we were also able to have something new,” adds Kosasky. To commemorate the anniversary, for-mer English teacher Donna Weingarten is writing a history tracing the school

throughout the past 30 years. This history is to be released early in the year. The birthday party was the fi rst of three major events that are to comprise the an-niversary celebration, the others being the Founder’s Day Chapel, and the 30th an-niversary gala. The founder’s day chapel, on Monday, November 17, will honor the founders of the school, and will serve as the offi cial in-stallation of new chaplain Luther Ziegler. The chapel will assume the religious as-pects of St. Andrew’s night, which will now place its focus upon student perfor-mance. The 30th anniversary gala, though not fi nalized, is likely to take the place of the school auction. The gala is intended as a “thank-you to the faculty,” says Kosasky, and will take place on March 14. The gala may be held off-campus, as the gym sim-ply isn’t large enough to contain the nu-merous parents, alumni, and faculty that are expected to be present. Kosasky de-scribes it as “the party for the adults.” Overall, the goal of the year is not only to celebrate the anniversary but also the numerous improvements that have come to the school in the past year. “We have new fi elds, a new lower school… we’re bigger and better with many new pos-sibilities,” said Kosasky. Kosasky also explained that St. Andrew’s could not celebrate its 20th and 25th anniversaries due to times of transition, so the 30th is particularly special. Kosasky adds that, “we’re celebrating a lot of things: we’re celebrating the 10th year on campus, the growth of our alumni program, and our fi nancial strength,” in addition to the 30th anniversary itself. “30 years is almost a generation,” con-cluded Kosasky, “The school has grown up.”

Happy Birthday, St. Andrew’s!Steve WhiteMane News Assistant News Editor

After returning from the opening ceremony at the National Cathedral, students eagerly await the arrival of the new lower schoolers for a surprise announcement.

The students from the new St. Andrew’s Potomac Village campus are greeted with applause as they join the Middle and Upper School for the fi rst K-12 morning meeting.

Head of School Robert Kosasky’s announcement that classes would be canceled for 30th anniversary festivities is met with celebration from the student body.

The senior class takes on underclassmen in tug-of-war, one of many school-spirited activities that fi lled 30th Anniversary Day.

Turf Fields in the Making

photo: Jonathan Burket photo: Borden McKinnon photo: Joe Phelan photo: Joe Phelan photo: Dick Hurney

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A game of leap-frog was just one of the many fun activities planned for the 30th an-niversary celebration.

At the end of the fi eld dedication, students threw their 30th anniversary souvenirs in the air.

From the Archives (December 16, 1997):

THE MANE NEWSTHE MANE NEWS12 SPECIAL FEATUREOCTOBER 17, 2008

Much has been made over the past year about the worldwide spike in energy prices. All over the globe, businesses and individuals have taken substantial finan-cial hits because of the increase in the price of energy. So, how does this trend affect a school’s operation? Mr. Joseph Phelan, Director of Operation, said that the school has not suffered financially. Phelan said that the school’s approach has been to “hedge the energy market.” In other words, the school worked with a commodities bro-ker to purchase a large enough quantity of energy in advance to power the school for three years. Phelan said that he had been watch-ing skyrocketing energy prices, and this led him to purchase energy on the futures market. “The idea of hedging the energy market came from a guy by the name of Gary Kelly, the CEO of Southwest Air-lines. Southwest bought enough fuel for three years and is now paying $48 a bar-rel rather than the market price of $120,” Phelan said. Phelan said that St. Andrew’s saved $85,000 on energy costs in the 2007-2008 fiscal year. If he were to give a ball park estimate about how much money we will save this fiscal year, it would be a mini-mum of $120,000. Considering that the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that the average price of gasoline will increase from $3.61 in 2008 to $3.88 in 2009, Phelan’s estimate indicates the wisdom of pre-purchasing.. Phelan said that when costs from the new lower school were added to the ener-gy budget, the school revised its contract with the energy provider. Phelan called this process “extend and blend.” The school extended its contract and blended the lower school into the contract. This did increase rates for the school but only marginally.

One of the ways we are saving money on energy costs on a daily basis is pas-sive light control. Phelan said that school lights are still on timers to save energy, but the timers have been extended this year because of complaints that the tim-ers turned off too quickly last year. “Passive light control has saved the school a lot of money. When I first got here, we used approximately 85,000 to 90,000 kilowatts per month. On average we’re about 77,000 to 80,000 kilowatts per month,” Phelan said. Phelan cited chapel as an example of the benefits of passive light control. He said that during chapel the whole school is in one building, and all room lights are left on in the main building. However, because of passive light control, all the classrooms are powered down and en-ergy is saved. Head of School Robert Kosasky said that he was aware of the school’s ap-proach to buying energy and said that “it was a great decision.” Kosasky said that considering the likelihood that prices will continue to rise, “you can sleep at night.” Kosasky gave credit to Phelan, Mr. Walter Manning, the Chief Finan-cial Officer, and the Finance Committee of the Board for making decisions that helped the school save money. Kosasky said that the school’s ap-proach to buying energy is part of a larger effort the school makes to consider long term costs rather than short term costs. Kosasky cited the energy contracts, the new fields and the new kitchen as an ex-ample of upfront costs that will become money savers over the years. Phelan reiterated Kosasky’s comments by saying that, “saving money on energy has been significant for the school bud-get.” According to Phelan, the money saved on energy helped the school fund the new kitchen and the new sports fields, the two most noticeable changes at the school this year.

Gambling...to Save MoneyHow St. Andrew’s escaped high energy costsNathan RichterMane News Staff Writer

St. Andrew’s

Goes Green

Greener ClubsMarta MariñoMane News Assistant Editorial Editor-in Chief

Mr. Ben Rich drives his electric motorcycle to school every day. Rich has calculated his colleagues’ commuting patterns and their carbon footprint.

The year has barely started and clubs are already in a mad dash to recruit new members with flashy advertisements and promises of brownies and cookies. Among all this chaos, two clubs stand out for their initiatives towards the envi-ronment, the Young Environmentalists, and the returning Recycling Club. These two clubs are slowly localiz-ing the new “Green Movement” that is sweeping the nation. From political de-bates to marches to the white house, Americans are moving into a new era of environmental awareness. Through an emphasis on making students more con-scious of the current problems, the clubs are hoping to further this trend within the St Andrew’s community. Led by students Tina Hwang and Liam Sullivan, the Recycling Club, after years of existence, is finally strengthening its impact. On most Mondays and Wednes-days after school, members are separated into different teams, each in charge of a different area of the school. By emptying the bins and collecting all the trash that can be recycled, the club is taking great strides in both keeping the school clean and more eco-friendly. The Young Environmental-ists Club is setting a greater emphasis on changing school habits by undertaking small but important projects. One of their more recent goals in-volves switching all the sty-rofoam cups and lunch plates to paper. For example, many teachers are being encouraged to bring their own mugs to school instead of using Styro-foam cups every time they get a cup of coffee. Both clubs however, are informing the community through several awareness campaigns. Catie Dubensky,

one of the club leaders of the Young En-vironmentalists stressed that “we need to change the school’s habits, and this doesn’t happen overnight, it happens when it’s easier to be eco-friendly and when people understand just what part they are taking in improving the school’s impact on the environment.” So the school can expect to see a whole set of posters and more accessible bins in the coming weeks. Each club is doing their part in mak-ing a change in the school’s environ-ment, whether through keeping the hall-ways clean or switching all the paper towel dispensers to automatic drying machines, they each have a set of goals that they hope to reach by the end of the year. As club sponsor for the Recycling Club Ms. Phyllis Robinson said, “there is no perfect solution, ever, but when just a couple of people set an example, may-be a couple more will follow them, and maybe something really great can then happen.” These two clubs are setting the example—now it is up to the rest of the school to follow them.

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Leaders of the new Young Environmentalists show video during the Club Assembly to raise awareness and draw new members.

photo: Borden McKinnon

A major source of pollution is the car exhaust we create when we commute between school and home every day. To gauge our school’s contribution to the metro DC air quality, Mr. Ben Rich re-cently surveyed a number of faculty and administrators to estimate the carbon footprint they leave. The survey encompassed a number of factors including the miles to school each faculty member traveled, his or her mode of transportation, the fuel efficiency of that vehicle, the CO2 emitted by that person in an average month and year, and the cost of the commutes per month. Rich found a wide spectrum of carbon production, ranging from zero, for those commuters

who walked to work like Mr. Joseph Phel-an (who lives at the Gate House), to up to over 26,000 pounds of CO2 for those with long commutes and less energy efficient modes of transportation. One of the potential environmental ben-efits of this survey is to help commuters recognize their impact on the environ-ment and use that information to change their driving behavior. Students, too, are becoming sensitized to the environmental impacts of their trips to school. Will Carr, who carpools with his two sisters and two classmates every day, said, “I have enough space in my car and it saves gas money, … the lower impact on the environment is good too.” Look for the results of the survey in the next edition of “The Mane News.”

Making a Smaller FootprintEliot FlemingMane News Staff Writer

THE MANE NEWS 13OCTOBER 17, 2008OPINION

T H ER E D

ONION

Greetings, faithful readers! And welcome again to a new year! Overwhelmed as we all are by this stereotypical “fresh start,” there are several things to note in

this particular fall of 2008. In short, the amazing changes in lunch, scary teachers, homecoming preparations, our enthusias-tic class of 2009 (ah yes, so similar to the class of 2008, right?), and, for goodness sake, The Mane News! Because all things must be kept in per-spective, we will start with the most im-portant of the above topics, our beloved, and now nationally ranked, school news-paper. Ah, it seems that only yesterday… well, not much was different. However, one thing is radically, sorrowfully, ter-ribly changed: Joey. Oh yes, remember him? For those readers who are utterly confused, my faithful, rather sarcastic, co-writer Joey Gottlieb moved this sum-mer to Namibia, for the purpose of find-ing more material (a.k.a. things to make fun of). Yes, it is a country. If you look at Africa and glance down, down – okay, not that far – you will see it right above South Africa and next to Botswana. Okay, got that? We will now pass him into the Hall of Retired Writers with Lexi Heywood and Gabe Ellsworth, and move on, press-ing on from the past into the present. Lunch! The haven of the student, teach-er, and administrator alike, lunch is now better than ever! We have more types of bars than any school—pasta, salad, soup, cereal, water, cheese, crumb—bars where no food is served, bars where food is served hot, cold, dry, wet, old, new… But in all reality, the food is GOOD! And I mean good! Athletes feast daily, and we fear they will soon become too full to par-ticipate in sports. Picture this headline in the Sports section: “Cross-country team Declares a Season off as the runner’s average weight finally approaches 100 pounds!!!!!” The soccer teams have de-cided to wear fanny-packs to hoard extra food, and the volleyball team has devot-ed its energy to appreciation lunches for SAGE instead of funny morning meeting skits. Also reported, the Bridge Club is finally fueled enough for their strenuous competitions. But what kind of article would this be without a mention of Mr. John Holden’s annual Fresh Start Speech? This year’s op-timistic declaration of a fresh start comes in direct opposition to many teachers’ spiels on the first days of classes. Teach-ers seem to have decided that the “fear factor of learning” is the most important. Undoubtedly, it is a noble concept, as students run screaming from classrooms, declaring last-minute changes out of up-per-level and AP classes. Even the wildly excited Class of 2009 was subdued to

What to Note in the New YearLauren HeywoodMane News Staff Writer

Will Bailing Save the Ship?Chris PetitoMane News Staff Writer

whispers following the first week of syl-labi and teachers’ gloomy predictions. Ah yes, the Class of 2009. A class re-nowned for its screaming and hollering (to the horror of those who cherished the stoic class of 2008), general athletic abili-ties (you know who you are), and yes, the occasional brainiac or two. To be sure, the various grades of the high school (and, I am certain, the middle and lower schools) dread the day of graduation. However, they will have to rally from their grief somehow… Eager, as most senior classes have been, to make their last hurrah, this class has chosen the thrilling game of Clue for their tent theme at Homecoming this year. Indeed, for those of you failing to read the signs around school, Homecoming, aptly themed as board games, approaches quickly. Call a date! Get a group of friends together! Save that date! Heaven forbid that any dance should go unattended by a single person! Despite much debate, the highly estimable Class of 2010 has cho-sen Candy Land, and the Class of 2011 selected The Game of Life. The fresh-man class, indecisive as always, is keep-ing us in suspense until the fateful day that it should decide… Wait! This news just in! Its tent will feature the confusing game of…of…okay, I’ll admit, I can’t pronounce it; Jumanji? For those new to our exciting and dizzyingly confusing school, tents are a part of our class cup competition and are known to be an excit-ing mixture of espionage, sabotage, skits, the now-annual freshman tent food fight, Blast-ended skrewts, dementors, and near-death experiences for both bystanders and perpetrators triggered by zip lines. And finally, who could forget the 30th anniversary of St. Andrew’s?! After a promising start of field dedications, a new lower school, and a day with no classes (doesn’t that seem so long ago?), the year seems to be fairly, well, ordinary. But nev-er fear! No doubt Mr. Holden will jump out of a cake again soon enough… Well, my fearless readers, the time has come, yet again, to stop our talking of many things. Enjoy your fresh start, and remember, the point of the 30th anniver-sary is not to gain 30 pounds!!!

During the weekend before September 15, Lehman Brothers hosted several talks on avoiding bankruptcy. The talks failed, and on September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers Bank filed for bankruptcy. On the same day, Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch. The very next day, the Fed resolved to loan up to $85 billion to AIG, one of the biggest insurance companies in the world. These three major events were at the climax of a year of economic failure in the United States, and were the tip of the iceberg for what was to follow. Housing costs, as well as the Stock Market plum-meted, and banks no longer had the con-fidence, or the money, to give out loans. The loans that they had already given out could no longer be paid back thus, the bankruptcy rate of banks has continued to increase. The unofficial name this crisis has been given is the “Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis,” due to banks giving out housing loans to people who could definitely not pay them back. Unless something is done about this, the economy will decline steadily and rapidly without check, and the coun-try will plunge into a second depression. In order to resolve this crisis quickly and effectively, Hank Paulson, the Sec-retary of Treasury, and Ben Bernake, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, proposed to Congress on September 24, a bill to purchase distressed mortgage related assets for about $700 billion dol-lars. Distressed mortgage related assets are mortgage securities that own a piece of a mortgage pool, which contains many housing mortgage loans that collect inter-est. In other words, the government is go-ing to buy all these bad loans from banks to clear the bank’s records. Let’s make an

analogy – the country is a human body, and the economy is the heart. The arteries in the heart become clogged. The plan is for the government to unclog the heart’s arteries. The body will still be sick, but it has a chance to recover. This bill is a very good thing, potentially. Our country will not be in as much trouble as it could be if this is not resolved, but we will still be in some trouble. Banks get extra cash to spend, confidence is re-stored in banks so loans can be given, and the economy begins to work again. The government, if all goes well, may be able to sell the loans back when the market returns to normal, and may or may not make a profit. In either case, taxes may be lowered – not a significant amount, but slightly. On September 29, the House of Representatives voted to grant this $700 billion, but the bill was shot down for several reasons. Some of them include personal and underhanded reasons such as: It’s not the government’s job to bail out private companies, and, in politician’s minds, voters may not like me voting for this bill, and re-elections are coming up soon, so said politicians won’t vote for it. Some reasons are more empathetic: it doesn’t help struggling homeowners, it only helps out the corporations. Head of School Mr. Kosasky was of the strong opinion that the government needs to intervene, and the sooner the bet-ter – he is not as on the fence as some of these politicians. “I think it’s absolutely critical to restore confidence in banks and investments and it’s critical to make sure banks have the cash and confidence to make loans. That’s what we’re trying to do with this money,” he said. Hopefully, the governments of the world will act fast enough so that there will not be a second Great Depression, for this one will be on a global scale.

How Do You Rank Your Tunes?Eliot Fleming and Jimmy PetersenMane News Staff Writers

photo: Clinton James

DON’T WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE TO DO YOUR

COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS!YOU DON’T WANT TO BE THE ONLY SENIOR ON THE

SCHOOL BUS OR THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT A CAP AND GOWN!

GENRE POINTS AVERAGEROCK 72 2.6

CLASSICAL ROCK 104 3.9HIP HOP 103 3.8COUNTRY 185 6.9TECHNO 169 6.26

CLASSICAL 221 8.2JAZZ 211 7.8

R & B 169 6.26POP 134 5.0

METAL 238 8.8REGGAE 168 6.2

This survey was conducted to better understand the musical tastes of St. Andrew’s students. They were each asked to rank genres from 1 to 11 with 1 being what they most listened to and 11 least.

“Music expresses the way I feel and what I like to listen to.”

OCTOBER 17, 2008 THE MANE NEWS14 THE MANE NEWS

Style has always been a matter of choice, choosing one article of clothing over another, one hair-do over a similar one, and even choosing a certain slouch over another posture. For many, choice in clothes shopping has become a matter of where to go: mod-ern consumers choose garments from key stores that they fi nd attractive or fashion-able. For quite a few however, the answer lies not in the pre-arranged displays in de-partment stores and mall boutiques but in the sheer volume and variety of the thrift store. Divided by gender, size and material labels, thrift stores range widely in col-lection but often that eclectic side attracts many customers. In the case of thrift stores, shoppers opt out of pre-selection

~STYLE~Connor VossMane News Style Co-Editor

It’s 4:00 PM on a Friday, and students in the senior lounge are relaxing after a long week of classes. What are they discuss-ing? School, of course. It’s times like these that one can tell this is not the same St. Andrew’s it was last year. Whether it be more fans in the stands at a soccer game, or more students involved in the SGA, it’s easy to see that students are fi nally proud of their school. This is a welcome change to students and faculty alike. Before the year even started, Eng-lish teacher Dresden Koons cautioned some of her class of 2009 students that it was “their school to lose.” Koons is not the only one who felt that way. When asked why school spirit had been dismal in recent years, SGA President Dannie Moore spe-cifi cally referenced past senior classes. “Last year’s senior class was so unenthusi-astic that senior duties such as hosting pep rallies had to be given to the junior class.” Moore says the seniors are the reason for the resurgence in spirit. “We’re loud at assemblies,” says senior Zach Atchinson, “I think we help spread spirit throughout

the other grades.” Moore agrees, saying the class of 2009 brings a “trickle down effect” throughout the school. Dean of students Ginger Cobb says the class of 2008 “was strong academically, but not spirited.” In contrast, she says the current seniors “have been spirited since day one,” meaning the day last year’s se-niors left school. “Lack of spirit sets a bad tone for the rest of the school,” says Cobb. “The class of 2009 is more togeth-er, and likes to be part of school events.” Even with the major resurgence of

school spirit this year, students and facul-ty don’t think they have done everything possible. Cobb says that the SGA has many planned events for the future, and so do student run clubs, such as ROAR. Senior Megan Nash, co-founder of ROAR with sophomore Nikki Azzara, says the club was started last year when

Brenton Duvall Mane News Staff Writer

they noticed that the students had little spirit for their school. Nash wanted to do something about that. “We thought about how we would appreciate fans at our games,” says Nash, who is on the varsity cross country and lacrosse teams. She also considered that all of the teams at school probably felt this way. “It’s fun to cheer for your school. People value their school, and ROAR gives them an fun way to do just that.” Perhaps the greatest display of athletic spirit came on September 27th at George-town Day School. Long considered the school’s rival, GDS’ homecoming also happened to be the same day. In a spec-tacle that hadn’t been seen in years, St.

Andrew’s students outnumbered their opponent’s fans at an away game. In what senior goalie Matt Sparks called “the most exciting game in school his-tory,” the Lions won 4-3 on a last minute header by senior Alex Zurn. The follow-ing Monday, varsity soccer coach Alex Haight acknowledged the fans’ dedica-tion and thanked them for their support. The game really signifi ed how important school spirit has become amongst stu-dents. Whether it be at an honors assembly or a soccer game, it’s easy to see that stu-dents are fi nally proud of their school, and this year’s seniors have without a

doubt played a major part in bringing the spirit back. Although it is barely two months into the school year, it will be in-teresting to see the effect school spirit has on the remainder of the year, just in time for the school’s 30th anniversary celebra-tion.

Seniors Bring School Spirit Back to St. Andrew’s

Salvation Army: 7505 New Hampshire Ave, Takoma Park, MD 2091211181 Veirs Mill Rd, Wheaton, MD 20853

2100 New York Avenue, Washington, DC 20002

Goodwill: 4890 Boiling Brook Pkwy, Rockville, MD 20852 - (301)881-074410 S. Glebe Rd, Arlington, VA 22204 - (703)769-3711

A Matter of ChoiceThe Realities of Thrift Stores

and take the matter of fi nding something that they want to wear into their own hands. Naturally these stores exist for fi nancial reasons, and prices can be as low as $5 for a pair of jeans, or $10 for work boots.

photo: Connor Voss

The class of 2009 put in their free time to decorate the lounge.

phot

o: J

onat

han

Bur

ket

Most of the clientele is from a lower in-come background and often this gives thrift shopping a trashy reputation, espe-cially from areas where clothing can only be bought for prices above $30 and rang-ing into the thousands. A secondary impact is location; most thrift stores exist away from high proper-ty value areas and therefore require many in those areas to journey away from their usual shopping stops. Only higher end thrift stores are visible now to the middle and upper class on a regular basis. Importantly, thrift stores do not put dirty clothing on racks nor do they put up clothing no one will buy. In fact, an experienced shopper can often fi nd well made, often designer label clothing at a large thrift store. The experience is dif-ferent but overall more satisfying. Saving money and getting a unique look is something that most can appreciate.

Alum’s Play Produced Off-BroadwayJustin Pastorfi eld-LiMane News Staff Writer This fall, “The Language of Trees,” a play written by Steven Levenson ‘02, will be staged Off-Broadway in New York City. The play is produced by Subterranean Black Box Theatre and hosted by the Roundabout Underground production company. “The Language of Trees” is about a family in the suburbs. The father, who is a civilian translator, is sent into a U.S. war zone in Iraq. The play follows his journey while as well as his family’s situation. The focus shifts back and forth portraying both perspectives. Levenson has written other plays such as “Girl’s Day,” “Airless,” and “Almost Stuck.” He said that being new in his fi eld is exciting, but he also described the hesi-tation of production companies to support young writers. He said that investing in new writers is “pretty risky artistically.” Levenson, a St. Andrew’s student since 6th grade, attended both the old and new campuses. He became involved in the per-forming arts in sixth grade when he played a lead role in “Bye, Bye Birdie”. He is grateful to all his teachers and the encouragement they gave him. “Mr. Barber was hugely supportive of me, and hugely helpful,” said Levenson. Levenson went to Brown University, where he further pursued the perform-ing arts. It was during his junior year at Brown that he discovered his passion for writing plays. His senior year, Levenson began his work on “The Language of Trees.” Levenson currently lives in New York City and plans to continue writing plays.

There are a number of new movies com-ing out between now and Christmas that are going to catch the public’s eye. “Max Payne” based on the popular video game, comes out October 17. Mark Wahlberg plays a cop, out for revenge on those who murdered his family. One movie that is really getting people talking is ”Saw V”the fi fth fi lm of the series, which will be released October 24. The movies are best known for gruesome and bloody acts of the psychopath “Jigsaw.” For the young-er moviegoers “High School Musical”is also coming out on October 24. This movie highlights the senior year of the students involved in the prior two movies. Middle and Lower Schoolers may appre-ciate the release of “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” on November 7. The intrigu-ing tale starts with penguins repairing an old plane and helping the animals escape the New York Zoo to the wild of Africa. Skipping ahead, the day after Christmas, the notorious Adam Sandler stars in the fi lm ”Bedtime Stories”. In this comedy, Sandler’s character’s bedtime stories start coming true. All these movies are held in high regard and are great ways to kill boredom on a weekend night.

Philip ShulmanMane News Staff Writers

Weekend Movies

THE MANE NEWS 15OCTOBER 17, 2008

In the wee hours of the morning, when I’m clamoring to fi nish a paper, or write an article, or transcribe a solo, I fi nd my-self only looking forward to the music I have on in the background. I never ask myself why it matters that classical music makes me work harder, or why jazz gets my mind wandering in creativity, or why electronica and late 70s rock makes me focus. It never crosses my mind the mean-ing of M. Ward, or John Coltrane, or the Fleet Foxes, until I get the paper I wrote to their sweet sounds back, and I can hear every note through the words I write. With my friends, I never realize that “Maggot Brain”, by Funkadelic, is the only album I need to hear when we’re hanging out, or that 90s hip-hop is the only suitable background music to deep conversations about sushi restaurants. In times of solitude, I never question the power of Bill Evans’ solo albums or work with Jim Hall to make me feel more alone, or the power of John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman to make me love every second of that solitude. In times of spirituality, it seems only right that Pet Sounds is the album to put

on, and in times of nerves, the album that I must put on is Vince Guaraldi’s “A Char-lie Brown Christmas.” When I feel bright, who more than Jimi Hendrix can make me feel stupid and dull again in comparison to his brilliant light? When I feel dark, why do Animal Collective and Pavement make me feel like I’m exhilarated and cool (respectively)? How come fl ame-haired female Americana artists, such as Neko Case and Jenny Lewis, can document the feeling of loneliness in small Midwestern towns so accurately? How can saxophon-ist Ben Webster emit the laugh at the end of a scream so perfectly? How come the song “Black Hole Sun”, by Soundgarden, defi nes a failing relationship? How come “My Foolish Heart”, by Bill Evans, says, “I love you,” easier than words could ever attempt? Music is the most necessary thing, the most rational and ineffable thing that we’ve been able to make. Where logic ends, and events diminish in importance, music defi nes what we think about them, and how we face everything. It represents every subject in school: math, in the com-plexity of its theory; science, specifi cally physics, in how the sound is actually emit-ted; history, in that it has defi ned counter-culture as culture and changed the face of

The Necessity of MusicWendy EisenbergMane News Staff Writer

~STYLE~It’s that time of year again, when all the biggest concerts

come to town. From October 15th through December 15th one can see some of the hottest bands around. There is a

variety of music for upcoming concerts in the area.

All Tricks, No TreatsJanice Freeman and Masha Edmonson Mane News Staff Writers

ROAR IS SPONSORING THE FOLLOWING EVENTS:

GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL OCTOBER 17HOMECOMING GAMES OCTOBER 18GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER OCTOBER 24BOYS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS OCTOBER 25GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS OCTOBER 25

ROCKET CLUB

ON NOVEMBER 8, ROCKET CLUB WILL MEET AT SCHOOL AND THEN TAKE A BUS TO ROCKET CENTER AT THE MARYLAND DELAWARE BORDER FOR AN ALL DAY AFFAIR. SOME OF THE ROCKETS BEING LAUNCHED WILL GO UP TO 2 MILES IN THE SKY.

ROAR!

PERFORMER DATE TIME LOCATIONHanson with Dave Barnes October 15 7:00 PM Rams Head LiveCitizen Cope October 15 8:00 PM Music Center at StrathmoreJanet Jackson’s Rock Witchu Tour October 15 7:30 PM Verizon CenterT.I. featuring T-Pain October 19 7:30 PM Patriot CenterJason Mraz October 19 7:30 PM DAR Constitution Hall WashingtonAn Evening with The Black Crows October 23, 24, 25 7:00 PM 9:30 ClubAlan Jackson featuring Trace Adkins October 25 8:00 PM Patriot CenterMetro Station Sonar and Talking Head Club October 31 6:00 PM Sonar Rock Band October 31 7:00 PM Patriot CenterColdplay October 31 7:30 PM Verizon CenterThe Who November 3 8:00 PM Verizon CenterUsher November 3 8:00 PM Warner TheatreThe Cheetah Girls One World Tour November 9 7:00 PM Verizon CenterSmashing Pumpkins November 11 and 12 8:00 PM DAR Constitution Hall WashingtonAC/DC November 15 8:00 PM Verizon CenterEagles Long Road out of Eden Tour November 20 7:30 PM Verizon Center

Music: The Dirty Pilgrim

Molière Set to DebutFall Play PreviewNathan RichterMane News Staff Writer

The Upper School drama for the 2008-2009 school year will premier October 24. The production is called “An Eve-ning with Molière.” There will be three separate plays by Molière, a 17th century French playwright and actor. Mr. Ritchie Porter, Chair of the Per-forming Arts Department, said that he is “excited because the plays are genuinely funny and they don’t get performed a lot at the high school level.” Porter said that he is excited because he has never directed a Molière play. He added that the plays “give the opportunity for our fi ne actors to try something new.” Senior Zach Atchinson explained, “If you’re interested in old French culture, these plays are for you.” The main piece, entitled “The Miser,” is one of Molière’s most famous plays. The story involves a miser named Harpagon who never wants to part with his money. The story itself is about the attempts of Harpagon’s son and daughter to fi nd true love. The son’s and daughter’s attempts to marry their true loves confl ict with the marriage plans Harpagon has set forth for them. One such confl ict between Harpagon and his children is that Harpagon himself is interested in the young woman whom his son wants to marry. The second play is titled “The Rehears-al at Versailles.” This play, written by Molière, is about the rehearsal of a play he is directing two hours before it will be performed for the French king. The prob-lem is that none of the actors know their lines. The play shows how Molière must calm his actors and direct them, allowing the audience to see Moliere’s directing style

and to meet real members of his acting company. The third and fi nal play will be a snip-pet from “Love is the Best Doctor,” which pokes fun at doctors and parents who won’t let their children marry their true loves. According to Porter, only two or three minutes of this play will be shown. “An Evening with Molière” will be shown at 7:30 on October 24 and 25 and at 3:00 on October 26.

the public (music might be the only place where everyday people are accurately represented); English, in the literary way it captures moments, and feelings; and it is, itself, a Language. Music adds subtext to anything, and brings the mundane into the spectrum of the fantastic. And that is what I’m here for, readers. I will, to the best of my abilities, attempt to

help you use music to contextualize your life. I will give you the resources, if you want them, to fi nd music that will make you study better, fall in love, and win any game. If you want to show me anything, please do. I hope this year goes amazingly for everybody, but, only if you’re listen-ing to landmark modern jazz guitarist Jonathan Kreisburg.

Mama Mia- The spirited adaptation of the popular stage musical “Mama Mia” is now in theatres! This movie will get you jumping out of your seats with excitement and joy. This movie is fi lled with incredible performances from the cast. It includes songs once performed by the 1970s Swedish group ABBA. For example, “Danc-ing Queen,” “Mama Mia,” “SOS,” etc. This movie includes talented ac-tors you may be familiar with. Mer-yl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada), Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls), and Pierce Brosnan (James Bond). This talented cast plays a part in the wonderful movie which is about an independent hotel owner in the Greek islands. She is preparing for her daughter’s wedding with the help of two lifelong friends, meanwhile Sophie, Donna’s spirited daughter, has a plan of her own. She secretly invites to the wedding three men from her mother’s past in hopes of meeting her real father and having him escort her down the aisle for her wedding. Will she fi gure out who her real father is? You will have to watch the movie to fi nd out!

NG’s Movie ReviewsNiki Makkinejad and Gabby SolamonMane News Staff Writers

THE MANE NEWS16 THE MANE NEWSOCTOBER 17, 2008 ~STYLE~

COMIC BY: SCOTT WOMER

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Entering fall and winter, suddenly one must wear clothes – it is what makes fall fashions more interesting and less reveal-ing or distasteful. With possibilities for layers and covering, designers have more to work with and more to accomplish. This season, the major fashion houses seem to be producing conservative, un-original, and, for many, uninteresting gar-ments. Dior adopted a conservative mod image drawing on Jacqueline Onassis for inspi-ration, and perennial favorite, Moschino released dainty woolen attire which, was rather pretentious (imagine that) on the solemn-faced models, but still retained an adorable air. Many of the bohemian-styled Marni outfi ts from the last year have re-

mained popular and were evidenced in a sloppy, eclectic show earlier this year. Personally I liked Calvin Klein’s well-made, peculiarly fi tted collection in sig-nature blacks and grays. Spring and summer fashions have re-cently started appearing for next year— hopefully designers can come up with more than just a pile of bathing suits and threadbare jeans.

photo: Moschino Website

photo: Calvin Klein

FashiOn FashOffConnor VossMane News Style Section Editor

Teaism

Despite competition from numerous coffee shops, Teaism charms its custom-ers with many exotic tastes. This tea shop provides something that Starbucks cannot offer: great tasting food. One of Teaism’s perks is obviously its tea. With a menu fi lled with teas from across the world, this shop attracts tea-lovers from all over. One can even fi nd a delicious chai milkshake made with ginger ice cream! Tea aside, there are many other de-licious snacks and healthy treats. The foods offered range from Asian to American cuisine; there are burgers and waffl es on the menu as well other excit-ing options like Jasmine Crème Brulée and Ginger Scones. People craving something new can fi nd a perfect choice any of the four dif-ferent Bento Boxes or Japanese meal box. There are also many items on the menu for vegetarians: the Tofu Noodle Salad, the Veggie Burger, and the Veg-gie Bento Box. Teaism provides costumers with an assortment of teas and meals that are far from bland. All who enjoy experiment-ing with unique tastes will fi nd Teaism intriguing and fun.

Ellie BodeMane News Staff Writer

Where The Fresh Beats AtJustin Pastorfi eld-LiMane News Staff Writer

Teaism can be found at 800 Connecti-cut Avenue, 2009 R Street, and 400 8th Street NW

Many rappers who produce mixtapes and cut new tracks on a regular basis are creating music for minimal profi t, but ac-cumulating an overwhelming fan base.

This strategy pays off in the end, as artists are

giving fans what they want by con-stantly supply-ing new music and at the same time building up fans’ antici-pation for the

frequent releases of the artist’s music. Current sensation Lil Wayne has at-tained much of his success and prominence through mixtape production and promotion.

Few mixtape websites allow music to be down-

loaded for free. The vast ma-jority of sites demand credit card

payments for the purchase and deliv-ery of mix tapes, usually totaling around

fi ve to ten dollars. In an age where having the newest, most up-to-date cars, clothes, technology, and information is crucial to one’s status, for hip-hop listeners, getting their music is no different. That is why mixtape websites are spreading like wildfi re.

iTunes has made music more imme-diately accessible than ever before by allowing listeners to get music electroni-cally the moment albums are released. Mixtape websites have taken it a step fur-ther, though, enabling hip-hop listeners to get music before it comes out. Sites such as “Datpiff.com,” “Trackfi ends.net,” and “Mix-tapehype.com” are just a few of the many online sites on which fans can browse, sample, and download their newly found fresh beats. These sites are espe-cially important to lis-teners because the tracks and albums are almost entirely exclusive to the websites them-selves, meaning that the majority of the collabora-tions and compila-tions found on the websites are produced through lesser record la-bels and therefore unavailable from major retail stores such as Best Buy and Circuit City, as well as from iTunes. In addition, many mixtape websites offer public forums for listeners to rate the music and give their personal opin-ions. These forums are typically used for fans to trash talk or promote a particular album.

Image: M

CT C

ampus

A variety of materials appeared on CK’s fall show including Kevlar and plastic (above).

Frills abounded at the Moschino show last month which featured bell silhouettes and trapeze tops (left).

THE MANE NEWS 17OCTOBER 17, 2008THE MANE NEWS ~STYLE~

Mane News Trivia Smackdown!Look for the Mane News Trivia Smackdown! in all

our upcoming issues! You too could be one of our

lucky contestants!

Answ

ers

Ms. Cassan-Moudoud

Reverend Zeigler

Ms. Diaz David Bridgeman Lilly StatzerBrendan Toussaint

1. What country are the Nipponese na-tive to?

Japan Japan Japan Philippines NamibiaWhy would I know that?

Japan

2. Who, in Greek mythology, is forced to push a boulder up a hill everyday? Sisyphus Sisyphus Hercules Prometheus Satan Scandalous Sisyphus

3. Which current Vice-Presidential or Presidential candidate was head of his or her high school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter?

Palin McCain Obama Biden Biden McCain Palin

4. What is the shortest sentence in the English language?

I am! He is. Go! Go! What? My homie. Go!

5. Where is the U.S. Standard for the Kilogram located?

SmithsonianBureau of Standards

Smithsonian NSF CIA NIST NIST

Score: 3 3 2 1 0 1

Rock Band makes its comeback tour with Rock Band 2. Made by the good folks at Harmonix, this new edition has brought the rock with the party game of the year. Making its debut in 2007, Rock Band shocked the world with its interac-tivity and ability to take the stage with the microphone, guitar, bass, and drums. In Rock Band 2, Harmonix added three very important and fun things that make this game even better. First, the game comes with 80 new songs, from artists such as The Who, Me-tallica and AC/DC. You can also import songs from Rock Band for only $5 with the PSN or Xbox live. Depending on the system, you could have up to 200 songs on the day you get it! Second is the addition of the No-Fail-Mode. Even if you are not the best, or if you just want to goof around, you can play right through to the end with no worries about, well, failing. Lastly, while still keeping the look and feel of the original, new graphics were added by the designers. So whether you want a game that you can have for parties, friends, even for family or if you simply love music, this game is perfect for you.

The time has fi nally come for you to enter the primordial gene pool and the universe called Spore. Creator Will Wright, the man behind The Sims, has done it again with this new sci-fi adventure for PC. In spore, one can create a unique creature from the very beginning and build it up from a sin-gle cell. Eventually landing where it must survive, the creature can make a tribe or a town. From there, players make their own buildings, vehicles, airplanes, boats, and starships. This game’s selling point comes from its customization options: tons of different creatures, buildings, and ships. Going into specifi cs of the game, it does not require a super computer but an up to date computer or laptop would be recommended. The game is easy to pick up and play, and one heck of time explor-ing and creating. What might Will Wright do next?

Video Game ReviewsDavid UttMane News Staff Writer

Rock Band 2

Spore

Well, it looks like the end is near. Another sign of the apocalypse has just come true; one that I thought was close to impossible. The summer movies actu-ally beat the winter movies of 2008. With fantastic pictures like Ironman, Kung Fu Panda, Tropic Thun-der, and The Dark Knight, which I don’t even need to mention, the summer of 2008 could be the best sea-son for movies all year - something that has never happened be-fore. I hate superhero movies, and that was the only thing that kept me from fully enjoying my summer vacation. There is usually nothing out there except for another one of those awful Fantastic Four movies. A new feeling of optimism swept through me after I saw Ironman in May. With Tropic Thunder and The Dark Knight coming later in the summer, I knew things could not possi-bly go wrong. The winter of 2008 was terrible. It spawned trash like In the Name of the King, Meet the Spartans, and 88 Minutes. I am prob-ably going to rip on 88 Minutes the most by saying it is the worst movie of the year so far. Pete Vonder Haar from Film Threat magazine called it, “As dumb a movie as you’re likely to see this year and could go down as Pacino’s worst- ever.” Kung Fu Panda was every bit as good as it was hyped to be. Even with an all star cast it is pretty easy to mess up an animated children’s movie (you will see

this happen in November’s Bolt¸ I guar-antee you). But Panda pulled through and ended up grossing $620,553,019 worldwide. This was the fi rst of Jack Blacks two successes last summer. Unfortunately there was some bad

stuff in-between KFP and TDK, such as Meet Dave, The Happening, and You Don’t Mess With The Zo-han. But when The Dark Knight hit the theatres for

the fi rst time, people were astounded. July 18th marked the start of Joker-mania; an obses-sion with Heath Ledger’s portrayal of, the Joker. The love for this psy-chotic, menacing, sadis-tic, homicidal terrorizing

clown I will never understand, but the fi lm grossed $973,574,684 worldwide. The summer movie season ended not with TDK, but with three Hollywood actors wandering their way through

Vietnam in Tropic Thunder. Ben Stiller wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the best comedy of the summer

in which a small squad of actors is sent out into Vietnam in order to fi lm a realistic Vietnam movie. With the stock market acting up and confl icts raging, it’s pretty easy to believe that the world is

ending. But when the sum-mer movies actually beat

out the winter line-up, that’s when we know the apocalypse is coming. So don’t be surprised if the Redskins win the Superbowl or if Americans fi nally embrace soccer. Maybe Halo 4 will come out, because when the summer season has the best fi lms of the year, anything can happen.

Summer Movie Wrap UpCharlie GillMane News Staff Writer

+ Music options from rock to country and beyond+ No buddy? No problem, full on-line tour mode from beginning to end+ Smoother instruments feel more real-istic and much more durable

- Drum trainer did not meet expecta-tions- Not as quiet as we would have hoped (may not be an issue for some)

+ The variety of the customization + Thriving community in the game

- Some tiny glitches - Creatures change from level to level

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THE MANE NEWS

Update: On October 14, the golf team won their second consecutive MAC Cham-pionship.

The Golf team started the season los-ing their long time coach Reverend John Thomas as well as team captain and All-MAC player, Lee Mill-er. However now the team is led by All MAC players Ralfe Hickman and Nathan Richter, who say the teams real strength is its depth. With golfers like Aidan Bundy, Tim Gregg, and Jeremy Burke the team is able to fill out a near unbeatable lineup. Jason Hill came on board as the new coach for the boys this year. He is an assistant profes-sional golfer. Hill has been a professional golfer for 10 years. Aidan Bundy is a member of Bretton Woods where Mr. Hill works and Aidan told Mr. Hill about how the team was doing last year. After Mr. Hill heard the Reverend was leaving he was curious about the position and talked

to the school and found it to be a good fit. When starting as the new coach he did not want to try to take the Rev.’s place. “I certainly think he was very inspira-tional, a good leader and motivator. I had big shoes to fill,” said Hill. The boys still miss their former coach. “I miss him a lot.

He’s a good guy and awesome golf coach. The team has a differ-ent vibe without the Reverend,” said Ralfe Hick-man. Ralfe is not the only one who feels the dif-ference. “While the whole team misses the Tev. Hill has been an excellent re-placement. His knowledge of golf and relaxed

nature has been great for the team,” said Team Captain Nathan Richter. Richter became the team captain after being a strong member of the golf team

Lindsey ChristianMane News Staff Writer

The Road to MAC ChampionsFind out how the golf team went from getting a new coach and losing Lee Miller to winning the MAC championship.

On the left of the St. Andrew’s weight room Phil Shulman waited in line to get his reps in on the lat pull down. Alex Fac-ciobene, along with a few injured cross-country runners, alternated time on the el-liptical machine. In the center of the room, fall fitness students traded reps with the new dumbbells. Philip Doerr, Mark Small, and Daniel Parker were all trying to fit in a set of bench press before the bus left. This cramped scene is all too familiar for la-crosse player, wrestler, and regular weight lifter Corbin Ayers. “During the off season I lift almost ev-eryday, but the schools weight room can be a real pain when you’re trying to get a good, timely workout,” said Corbin.

Coaches encourage their players to workout during the off-season. Currently it can be hard to organize lifting sessions as a team, due to lack of machines. Many athletes have to go to an out of school gym. Lacrosse Coach Tucker Sowers said, “The weight room compared to our peer schools is just not as good. I understand it may not be on top of the priority list but it would be great to have a bigger one.” Soccer Coach Alex Haight said, “Yes it would benefit my team, but weight rooms are more important for schools with a

The Weight Room:

football team.” Over the past few years improvements have been made to the school’s weight room but lack of space and money has been a challenge for the Athletic Depart-ment. The new fields have made the bud-get tight for projects like improving the school’s weight room. Athletic Director Joan Kowalik said, “Currently I can’t say there are plans to get more space for a weight room for 8-10 years, however there are blueprints for a new athletic center.” Making the athletic center bigger would require a building permit, which is a prob-lem in itself because the school knows how much the neighborhood would op-pose to any expansion. “Of course it is major concern for the Athletic Department,” said Kowalik, “I certainly think the more we enhance our athletic facilities, the more student ath-letes will be attracted to the school.” Everyone agrees that a bigger weight room would be nice. At the time restric-tions limit any major expansion. In the meantime the Athletic department is open to suggestions. Corbin Ayers said, “Maybe we could buy some outdoor weights. Hopefully it would allow more people to workout at the same time.”

Restrictions limit possibility of major expansions

Jimmy PetersenMane News Staff Writer

The weight room is frequently crowded, and students are often unable to get in a quick workout before they leave school.

THE MANE NEWS18 OCTOBER 17, 2008 SPORTS

Most people that know me know that I am a diehard Redskins fan. The foot-ball season is my favorite time of the year. Sunday is a holy day at my house, and unless somebody is dying, there is no chance I will be disturbed during the game. This has remained true for as long as I can remember. This year is differ-ent, however. I can come out and say it proudly, “I love the Redskins.” Almost as long as I can remember loving them, I can remember being so disappointed in them, save for two seasons in recent memory. Years of hiring over hyped coaches (see Spurrier, Steve), signing dismal free agents for too much money (see Sanders, Deion) and basically treat-ing the draft like a crap shoot (see ev-ery Redskins draft of the past 10 plus years). However, somehow, someway, Dan Snyder realized how to operate a fran-chise. Over the past two seasons, he decided to stop treating his job like a game of Madden NFL Football, and start putting some thought into the Redskins game plan. With the help of VP of Oper-ations Vinny Cerrato, Snyder has made decisions that nobody thought would work. Now, the Redskins are winning games. This just goes to show that for the first time since acquiring the team in 1999, Snyder is doing his job right. Following Joe Gibbs retirement last season, Snyder decided to hire former Seattle Seahawks Quarterback Coach Jim Zorn to lead the team. Zorn had never led a team at any level. Snyder also traded for one of the biggest names in the game in Jason Taylor. The differ-ence between a move like that and a move Snyder would have made in the past is that the Redskins actually needed Jason

Taylor. The 2008 draft picks have yet to show much, but rookie safety Chris Hor-ton is having a phenomenal season. He currently has 3 interceptions in 4 games as a starter, and was named September’s rookie of the month. The most amazing statistic about Horton is the fact that he was the 249th player selected out of 252 players. The Redskins just recently re-leased a replica Horton jersey for sale at their online shop. I doubt anybody was expecting Dan Snyder’s last draft pick to be the star of the defense thus far. It’s always been hard for the Redskins to receive any respect, especially playing in the toughest division in football. After beating rivals such as the Cowboys and the Eagles, it is hard for any expert to deny that the Redskins are the real deal. Their 4-2 record currently places them 2nd in most power rankings, but don’t be shocked if they are in 1st by the time you read this article. Come to think of it, if these were the old Redskins, I would suggest that they could be in last by the time you read this. Somehow, though, I don’t think that will be the case. But by all means, continue to not believe in this team. Surely by now they have come to feed off of negativity.

Redskins Turn it AroundBrenton DuvallMane News Staff Writer

Washington Sports

The Redskins have surprised fans by surging to a 4-2 start.

last year. Nathan has been an exceptional leader as well as positive attitude for the team. “Nathan keeps everyone loose. Its great to have him as a senior leader,” said Hill. Ever since his return to St. Andrew’s and the golf team his presence has been felt, for Nathan not only has helped the team but also the team has had an effect on him. “While I have experienced a lot of success playing golf at St. Andrew’s, this year has been the most rewarding. I have enjoyed leading this team, it’s a great group of kids and some real good players,” said Nathan Richter. Nathan is not the only one having a good season. Tim Gregg impressed his coach by shoot-ing 32. “He’s made great improvements,” said Hill. These boys having been play-ing very well this year. “Golf isn’t one of

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those things you can be consistent about. You can have good days and bad days,” said Hill The matches that occurring during the season do not affect whether or not the boys will win the MAC Championship. Rather the matches get averaged and de-termines their seat in the MAC match. “ The potential is very good. They are the favorite to win the MAC. Talent wise the best in the Mac. Our expectation is to win.” Said Hill. The players also seem to have a sense of confidence about the possibility of taking the MAC title for the second year in a row. “ I’m not that wor-ried about it,” said Ralfe Hickman. With the a team as talented as this one, any-thing other than a MAC banner would be a disappointment.

Mane News Photo Archive

CONGRATULATIONS:ST. ANDREW’S GOLF TEAM

MAC CHAMPIONS2007 AND 2008

her as a leader on the soccer field because she looks out for the best interest of the team, as well as off the field in our school community” said Steph Shaw, a sopho-more on the Varsity Soccer team. Jenns’ athletic ability is not limited to the soccer field. She is also a force to be felt as a lacrosse player on the girl’s var-sity lacrosse team. However, Anders says she prefers to play soccer. In addition to being a star female athlete she is a mem-ber of Roar, the school athletic booster club and has been learning to play the guitar at school. Jenn spends a lot of time supporting other teams, specifically the boy’s varsity soccer team.

in all three of the sports he has played, a very rare accomplishment. Zurn is also interested in playing bas-ketball in college, and has been scouted by schools such as Gettysburg, Catholic, and Washington College. Zurn’s bas-ketball coach, Scott Corkran, recognizes Zurn’s skills not only as a player, but a leader. “Alex is a great athlete, and a great player, but a better leader,” Corkran says. “His enthusiasm for the game and his leadership makes all of his teammates better.” He led the Lions with 20.3 points per game last season. Zurn currently leads the varsity soccer team with nine goals in 11 games.

THE MANE NEWS 19OCTOBER 17, 2008SPORTS

You start practice and notice how “the ball always bounces the same” and how you don’t “trip on the holes in the field.” The turf fields that were installed over the summer look great. Teachers, parents and, most importantly, athletes all seem to like the new turf fields. Gregg Ponitch, assistant boys varsity soccer coach, said the new fields are great once you get used to them. Ponitch says that the ball does bounce, “exactly the way it’s supposed to.” Although he likes most aspects of the field he does not like the fact that “on sunny days it’s 15-20 degrees warmer.” Ponitch, who works with the goalies and other players, said that the turf is especially good for the goalies. When goalies play, they are in the same place for most of the game so that area gets torn up on grass fields. But on the turf, this area will never get torn up and will benefit the goalies greatly. Matt Sparks, a member of the boys var-sity soccer team, said, “At first the bounce was hard to get used to, but after a few weeks of practice on it, I found it easier to play on because of its consistency.” Sparks, a goalie for the soccer team, finds

cross country teams said that, “the fields have more traction, and are much better for running on when raining.” He thinks that the fields are great because of their surface. Freshman Hunter Goodrich, a member of boys varsity soccer, does not like the fields as much as most people. He said, “I don’t like how whenever you slide for a ball you get cuts all over your legs.” Even though he does not like this problem with the fields, he feels that “they still have many benefits… you get the cuts on grass

Level Playing FieldAre the new turf fields as good as they look?Alex FacciobeneMane News Staff Writer

Athletic recruiting. That’s a phrase that can often be thrown around, but not many people truly understand its meaning. Re-cruiting middle school athletes to come play at any given high school is a tough business. Since grading the athletic poten-tial of a 13- year- old can be tough, most programs allow their history to do their recruiting for them, and hope that future young athletic superstars will choose their high school. First of all, the word “recruit” is not

really the right word. When speaking to Al Hightower, the Boys Athletic Director at St.Andrew’s, Hightower used the word, “market.” Hightower believes that due to limits in time and resources the school must market itself. When asked about the new synthetic field turf, Hightower said that one of the reasons the turf was in-stalled was to help attract better athletes because now the school has facilities that are comparable to other schools in the area. Hightower says that it is not only the ath-letes and the athletic department that can

The constant struggle for top-flight athletesThe Challenges of an Athletic Director Kevin ZwislerMane News Staff Writer

Hope and Brumbaugh Fields were converted from grass to synthetic turf over the summer. In addition, they got new signs and other amenities.

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When students think about the athlet-ics at St. Andrew’s, it’s hard not to think of Senior Alexander Zurn. Since com-ing to the school his freshman year, Zurn has participated in soccer, basketball, and baseball, all at the varsity level. He is also a three-time recipient of the Lion Award, given to students who participate in varsi-ty sports all three seasons. For most of his junior year, Alex decided to concentrate on basketball. In addition to leading the Lion’s basketball team to its best season in MAC history, his AAU team Fundamental Hoops, which is sponsored by Nike, trav-eled to Las Vegas this summer to play in tournaments. Zurn came here from Georgetown Prep in 9th grade. However, he was interested in St. Andrew’s because of the academics, not the athletics. “I didn’t know anything about the athletics when I came here,” Zurn says. “I didn’t even go on the soc-cer pre-season trip.” During his freshman season, he played varsity soccer, basket-ball, and baseball. Some say Zurn has played a large part in the resurgence of athletics here. He has been recognized as an all-MAC athlete

As a varsity captain of Girls Soccer team for the 2008 season, Jenn Anders has shown her talent as a soccer player and as a captain. She has been on the Var-sity team since she came to St. Andrew’s in ninth grade. Jenn had no expectation of making the Varsity team as a freshmen. Jenn has played soccer since she was in 2nd grade. She stopped playing soccer out-side of school about two years ago. Jenn played soccer at Hoover Middle School before coming to our school. “Sports-wise I think I am better off here because Churchill’s varsity team is really com-petitive, and I probably would not have made the team. I have benefited because of playing time I currently have here” said Anders. Being at a small school has been critical for Anders. It has allowed her to develop as an athlete. Though Jenn has stopped doing exten-sive training during the off season, her ath-letic ability has not been affected. These days, her off season training consists of running when she has the time. Jenn is also an exceptional student. Her leadership is felt off the soccer field as a senior and as a student leader. “I look to

Athletes of the IssueBrenton DuvallMane News Staff Writer

Lindsey ChristianMane News Staff Writer

Alexander Zurn is an All-MAC athlete in soccer, basketball, and baseball.

Jenn Anders has played on the girls var-sity soccer team since freshman year.

it especially important for the bounce to be the same every time. Alex Haight, head boys varsity soc-cer coach, agrees with Ponitch about the fields: “Quality of the turf is top notch.” Many schools in both the MAC and ISL have turf fields and Haight says ours are some of the best. As well as having “top notch fields” Haight said that “building the stands was a great touch.” Even more importantly, not only do the fields look great, they play great. Some athletes complain about how the turf scrapes their knees and legs when they slide. Sophomore Steph Shaw said, “When you slide on the fields, they scratch your legs and it does not go away for awhile.” However, they can tolerate this because this one negative aspect is outweighed by many good benefits. Junior Michael Edmondson, a member of the boys junior varsity soccer team, said, “the fields are much better than the old grass ones be-cause of their consistency.” He has been on the soccer team since freshman year and has played the sport on different types of grass and field. But since he played on the new turf, he feels that it is one of the best playing fields he’s ever seen.Junior Severn Henry, a member of the

too, but the turf ones are usually bigger.” Even though there are some downsides to the fields, most athletes like the turf. Ju-nior Elliot Silverman, who runs cross coun-try, likes the field for practicing “strides.” The field gives under his foot and makes a good running surface. Sophomore Francis Ford said, “I love how when I practice [la-crosse] the ball always bounces the way I want.” Junior Jennie Chavis, a member of the girls varsity soccer team, likes the consistency of the field.

help bring these athletes to St.Andrew’s but that, “everyone is a marketer, and it is their job to market St.Andrew’s to the best of their abilities.” Hightower brought up a specific type of athlete that has been coming to St.Andrew’s: transfer students. Hight-ower explained that the reason a lot of kids over the past few years have come to St.Andrew’s is that he pitches the idea of, “being a big fish in a little pond.” Some of the schools that other kids have come from over the past few years include: Georgetown Prep, Landon School, Lang-ley High School, and Gonzaga College

High School. These kids have been lured to St.Andrew’s because they feel that they can better compete in the lesser MAC conference than the much more competi-tive IAC and WCAC Athletic directors can often feel pressure from the administration to let in students that would not normally meet the academ-ic requirements of the specific school. At St. Andrew’s, the athletic directors feel none of that pressure. When asked Joan Kowalik said that, “We feel no pressure as [athletic] directors, because we know we have a great school behind us.”

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SPORTSOUTBACK20 OCTOBER 17, 2008 THE MANE NEWS

HIGHLIGHT REELP

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On September 27, Georgetown Day School hosted their annual homecoming soccer game. The weather was rainy, but this did nothing to whether the spirits of the two teams. It did nothing to deter the fans either. In a surprisingly bold move, St. Andrew’s actually had more fans at-tend the game than GDS. The game was vicious; both teams traded goals back and forth, one-and-one, all the until the fi nal whistle. Scorers in-cluded Juniors Noah Platt, Mark Small, and Steve Webster, and Senior Alexander Zurn. These athletes have proven them-selves to be a force to be reckoned with; they hold a league record of 2 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie, and an overall record of 7 wins, 2 losses and 3 ties. What this re-cord doesn’t tell you, however, is that the team is undefeated in the MAC, which

puts them in a great position to win the banner this year. When asked to talk about how the team plays, Asst. Coach Gregg Ponitch had nothing but compliments to deliver: “We are right up there with the best of them. We can compete against any team in the MAC.” He also spoke of the team unity, saying that the 2008 team is one of the most cohesive teams he’s coached in his seven years. Small, one of the three captains this season said that, “We don’t have the pure talent that other teams have, but we do have the intangible attri-butes that a team requires.” He, agreeing with Mr. Ponitch, also mentioned that the cohesiveness of this year’s team would be the separating factor from the rest of the MAC this year. Let’s hope that they speak the truth so that St. Andrew’s may bring home the banner this season.

Lions Maul Hoppers at Rival’s HomecomingChris PetitoMane News Copy Editor

Both the boys and girls cross country teams had good showings at the William & Mary Invitational. The boys squad fi n-ished fi fth overall out of 24 teams and the girls fi nished sixth of 15 teams. For the boys, junior Tom Belikove had a personal best with a 16:59; for the girls, senior Yaa Addison proved she is one of the ISL’s best runners with a solid time of 19:56.

The boys varsity soccer team played away at Maret two weeks ago. With an aggressive fi rst half from both teams, the score remained 0-0 at the half. Then, fi ve minutes into the second half, Junior Darian Conklin scored with a header off a throw-in from Junior Mark Small. Encouraged by the goal, the Lions quickly took control of the game. Conklin soon scored again, this time off a corner from Junior Noah Platt (above). Less than a minute later, St. Andrew’s scored for a third time, with a long ball from Senior Alexander Zurn. The team was able to maintain its lead for the rest of the game with the help of goalkeeper Charlie Sparks, a sophomore.

The girl’s soccer team was off to a great start, with an exciting win over Madeira. The girls came out strong with Jenn Anders scoring the fi rst goal. Go-ing into half time the lady lions were dominating, but as the second half drew on, the game became more evenly matched. The Lady Lions thought they had the game won, but with 8 minutes left, Madeira scored, tying the game at 1-1. The game ended tied and then went into overtime. The fi rst overtime went by with no score and both teams were getting tired. The game went into a second overtime and was looking bleak until Anders scored a goal to end the game and secure the win for the Lady Lions.

Girls Volleyball Off To A Roaring Start Dylan ThayerMane News Sports Editor

The girls’ varsity volleyball squad is off to a historic start this season. After years of developing a core of elite play-ers, the squad has emerged this year as a powerhouse in the ISL. The team is off to a great start this season and has been able to play competitively with tradition-ally strong programs like Maret and Holy Cross. The team’s record puts the girls in a strong position for the ISL Tourna-ment. Much of the team’s success this season derives from the approach taken by their new coach, Coach Jolene Shepardson, a fi ery competitor who has played pro-fessionally in Indonesia. Senior Cassie Banks has noted that Shepardson is “in-tense” when compared with her predeces-sor, but she believes that this tenacious, dedicated approach has “helped us a lot.” Their coach’s passion seems to have had a trickle down effect on the team’s perfor-mance, helping them play with an elevat-ed level of passion and win close games. Aside from her incredible dedication, an-other attribute that sets Shepardson apart from previous coaches is her determina-tion to improve the team’s mental tough-ness along with their physical prow-ess. As well as holding tough practices, Banks believes that Coach Shepardson’s habit of making the girls do little things to show their affection for their teammates, like putting their arms around each other in the huddles during practices or games, has been responsible for an overall rise in team camaraderie.

Shepardson has also been responsible for helping the girls to work better as a team than in previous seasons, both on and off the court. The girls are regularly assigned homework that focuses on the mental aspects of the game, whether it be defi ning the word “aggressive” or put-ting their goals for the next match on pa-per. She is a great and welcome addition to the team.

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The girls celebrate after playing a great set.

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TEAM STATS

BOYS VARSITY GOLF: 9-1GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER: 5-4-1GIRLS JV SOCCER: 4-3-1BOYS VARSITY SOCCER: 7-2-3BOYS JV SOCCER: 1-6-1GIRLS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL: 2-7GIRLS JV VOLLEYBALL: 1-6GIRLS VARSITY TENNIS: 2-6GIRLS JV TENNIS: 0-4

Notes: These statistics are ac-curate as of October 15.