The Sword & Shield

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Vol. XLIX No. 6 Mountain Brook High School May 1, 2015

Now Available Online

News: 2-5 Features: 6-9 Sports: 10-12 Reviews: 13-14 Opinions: 15-16

BY SCOTT LEPLEYStaff Writer

Both boys and girls varsity tennis teams fin-ished in the top two at the state tournament this season. The boys won their first state champion-ship since 2010, having lost the previous four to Vestavia, and the girls finished second. The boys championship is the 50th in Mountain Brook Tennis history and the first in class 7A. The boys team, captained by seniors Sam Lidikay and Will Hargrove, finished the regular season at an undefeated 9-0 and dominated sec-tionals winning 26 matches and dropping only one. The boys claimed all six singles spots and #1 and #2 doubles in a commanding victory. At the state tournament, the boys claimed their first championship since 2010 in a dom-inating performance. The team won all three doubles finals and four of the six singles fi-nals. Lidikay and junior Yates Jackson won at #1 doubles, sophomores Peter Hartman and David Faulkner won at the #2 doubles and capped off an undefeated season and Hargrove and sophomore Paul Jones won the #3 doubles finals. Hartman, Jackson, Faulkner and Jones all won their singles positions as well. The boys won with a dominating score of 74 points while Spain Park and Huntsville tied for second at 35 points. Hargrove said, “Of any team that I have been

a part of, this has defi-nitely been the best. The dedication and positive chemistry that everybody has showed pays off.” The girls team, captained by seniors Lil Kilgore and Elinor Anthony, finished the regular season 8-0. At sectionals, the girls finished second behind Vestavia edging out Spain Park for the final spot in the state play-offs thanks to singles wins by Cele Sullivan and Elinor Anthony at the #5 and #6 spots and sophomores Ellie Polk and Sarah Cooper at the #2 doubles spot. The girls were narrowly edged out by Hunts-ville in the state tournament and finished sec-ond overall. Sophomores Sullivan and Polk won their singles positions at the #4 and # 5 spots and the #2 doubles team of Polk and Cooper also won, but the team lost by a score of 61 to 57 to Huntsville. Kilgore said, “We had a great season. We

lost a lot of great players from last year and still managed to come within a few points of a state championship.” Coach Susan Farlow said, “Both teams this year had top to bottom some of the best talent that we’ve had on a team. We lost both the girls and boys number one players last year and to still be at the top shows their hard work. Every-body worked well together as a team, and we were rewarded with great placements at state.”

Mountain Brook boys win first 7A tennis championship

Photo courtesy of Benny EavesMountain Brook boys hoist the first 7A tennis state championship trophy.

By MARGARET HEATHFeatures Editor

Two years ago, seniors Natalie Jones, Thatcher Rickertsen, Vince Bolus, Richard Rice, Lindsey Kirk, Charlie Steinmetz and Reese Williams embarked on a project to assist medical science in the pro-duction of pharmaceuticals. The of-ficial name of the project was “How to Maximize Protein Growth in a Micro-Gravity Environment,” and the outcome, increasing the speed at which crystals grow, could have a huge effect on the production of future medicines. The project at UAB was head-ed by Lawrence DeLucas, O.D., Ph.D., who taught students the basics about protein growth and how to create crystals in general. Although Mountain Brook teacher sponsors, Mrs. Misty King and

Dr. Sue Davis, guided the process, most of the work was done by the students. According to Davis, the teachers were “to have a limited input” which required “the students

[to work] hard and [ask] excellent questions.” Two years might seem lengthy for a project involving high school students, but the time was an inte-

gral part of the experiment. According to Bolus, “[the team] sent two proteins into space in the hopes they would crystallize.” The proteins needed to be launched into space before the project could really take shape, and the timing posed problems. Davis says, “space flights [were cancelled] due to weather and/or mechanical diffi-culties.” Once the proteins were finally in space, the students still had to create a final presentation for the competition. This competition, held at Jefferson State Communi-ty College, brought together the ten teams DeLucas had recruited from area high schools. Each team presented their findings, with a

Is it a bird? A plane? No, it’s space crystals

Please see “Crystals”Continued on page 2 for more

information about the program.

Photo courtesy of Mrs. Misty King Seniors Natalie Jones, Lindsey Kirk, Vince Bolus, Charlie Steinmetz, Thatcher Rickert-sen, Richard Rice and Reese Williams proudly show off their poster at the competition held at Jeff State.

Letter from the editors

The Sword & ShieldCo-Editor-in-Chief: Claire DavisCo-Editor-in-Chief: John SissonManaging Editor: Chandler Gory

Art & Photography Editor: Mathilde SharmanNews Editor: Madeline Mitchell

Sports Editor: Alec LewisFeatures Editor: Margaret HeathOpinions Editor: Coke Matthews

Reviews Editor: Natalie JonesBusiness Manager: Sarah Beth Daniel

Staff Writers

Sponsors: Ms. Catherine Lowe and Mr. Peter Perez

Letters to the Editors PolicyThe Sword & Shield welcomes Letters to the Editors from its readers. We re-serve the right to edit any letters for grammar, length, or libel; however, the meaning will be preserved. Whenever possible, changes made with a letter will be discussed with the author prior to publication. All letters must be signed, but

names may be withheld upon request. Email letters to gosands@gmail.com.

The Sword & ShieldMountain Brook High School

3650 Bethune DriveMountain Brook, AL 35223Telephone: (205) 414-3800

Fax: (205) 969-8113

Printing made possible byAlabama Web Press

1793 Eva RoadCullman, AL 35055

Telephone: (256) 734-5104

Summer is in the air. Temperatures are rising, and everyone is itching to get out of school. Seniors, in a few months you will be spreading out across the country to begin the next chapter of your lives. Enjoy every second that you have left, especially the big events like Relay for Life, Prom and graduation. With the end of the school year comes the end of several sports. Boys tennis won the first 7A state title while the girls notched a solid runner up finish. Read more about these teams on page 1. Unfor-tunately, the baseball team fell to Thomp-son in three games in the first round of the state playoffs after an incredible regular season. To read more, go to page 10. While sports are winding down, other activities for Relay for Life are just heating up. The MBHS Color Run is new this year

and so is the PowerBuff dodgeball tourna-ment. To learn more about these activities, go to pages 3 and 7. If you’re having a bad day, there is only one cure: read page 9. I promise your day will be turned around. Trust me on this. Well, this is the end of the road. Claire and I will be parting in a few months as she stays in Birmingham to attend Samford and I head up to Annapolis. You will be in good hands next year as Coke Matthews and Mathilde Sharman take over as the new Co-Editors-in-Chief. Hopefully, their Letters from the Editors will be a little better than ours. Stay classy Mountain Brook.

Thanks for reading, Claire and John

Thomas CooneyWill Davis

Carter EnnisCasey Fan

Scott Lepley

Leigh LewisCaroline Lowe

Jonathan McWaneLily Smith

Brooke Tucker

2news Friday, May 1, 2015 The Sword & Shield

scholarship being awarded to the top team. Bolus said “four judges walked around and interrogated us about our data after observing our poster and notes.” A highlight of the judging por-tion of the competition, according to Rice, was getting to meet Rich-ard Garriot, the entrepreneur who was the first man to fund his own trip into space. Although Mountain Brook did not come in first place, an honor that went to Tarrant High School, the Mountain Brook students still

had fun working on the project together. Jones says, “It was really exciting to see the team that won first place because they were all so excited [about winning], and everyone else was just excited about the project.” Some of us cannot even re-member what we had for dinner last night, but these seniors will definitely remember the last two years. As Bolus says, “[the project] matured me as a group member as well as an amateur scientist.”

Crystals, continued from front page

Photo courtesy of Mrs. Misty KingThis test tube contains some of the crystal experiments grown by our students for UAB.

Photo courtesy of Mrs. Misty KingThese crystals were part of an experiment to determine better ways to create vaccines.

3newsFriday, May 1, 2015The Sword & Shield

By MADELINE MITCHELLNews Editor

On Sunday April 19, Crestline showed its col-ors in a fundraiser to benefit Relay for Life. That morning, around 200 runners gathered for the first annual Run for Relay, a 5K race in which race volunteers shower participants with various shades of dye powder, resulting in a colorful array of runners. The race began as senior Michael White’s idea for a project in his English class. White had originally planned to hold a 5K race called Running Water to fund the construction of wells in third-world countries. Around the same time, the SGA Executive Council, known as the Super Seven, was looking to organize a community project and, after hearing about White’s idea, asked him to join forces to create this unique fundraiser. Though his project originally had a differ-ent purpose, White says, “Since Relay is such a big deal here, [using the race to benefit Relay] would be a better way to get students involved. I could either do Running Water and just have

random runners, or I could do it for Relay and have participants from the high school and the community. The race was a lot of fun because everyone knew each other and everyone is passionate about what the race was for.” Volunteers from Key Club, Interact Club and SGA threw dye and helped run the event, which used around 200 pounds of powder dye to color participants. Despite the rainy start to the race, the event ultimately raised $5,600 for Relay for Life. As for the future of the race, Girls Vice Pres-ident Ellie Naff says, “We really would like the race to continue in the future. We’re hoping to pass it along to next year’s SGA leaders.”

SGA Treasurer Katie Reiss believes the race could likely become a lasting fundraiser. “I’m excited about the future that this race will have for Relay for Life.”

MBHS color run paints Mountain Brook purple

Photo by Coke MatthewsVolunteers and runners alike got covered in dye at the first MBHS Color Run.

By NATALIE JONESReviews Editor

With summer right around the corner, Mountain Brook Junior High School students involved in the MBJH TED-ed Club aim to in-spire others through the upcoming TEDx event scheduled for May 11, 2015, at MBJH. The club and all TEDxYouth@MBJH events, operated under license from TED, are inde-pendently organized and supported solely through sponsors and private contributions. The central focus of the TEDxYouth@MBHS pro-gram is service oriented, intended to foster the sharing of student passions and ideas. Reflecting this central goal, students cho-sen to speak at the upcoming TEDx talk were instructed to select their topics based on sub-jects that have sparked their interest or concern. With the freedom to pursue individual interests, MBJH students chose quite a wide range of topics spanning from wetland conservation to the art of storytelling and the problem of food deserts. Current eighth-grader Claire Kimberlin choose the topic of food deserts for her TEDx talk describes her experience on a summer mission trip. “I got interested in foods deserts this past summer on a mission trip with my youth group. The trip was actually here in Birmingham through an organization called Youth People Paint Birmingham, and it was just crazy to see how many people lived in food deserts and were affected by food deserts. The experience touched me, and I realized that it was something I really cared about and could create my talk on,” said Kimberlin.

Emily Bebenek, a current seventh-grader at MBJH, also shares her personal experience at The Humane Society and how that led to her TEDx talk on animal rights awareness. “Once I started volunteering through the Humane Teen Club, I started thinking about an-imals a lot more. The animals were so cute, and I noticed how animals feel emotions like humans do just in different ways. I decided I wanted to become involved with animal rights awareness. People don’t really talk about animals’ feelings as much. People don’t always put as much focus on animals’ rights,” said Bebenek. Despite the unique variety of discussion topics, the common thread between the night’s conversations is from the common desire to inspire change, awareness or passion. Along with these student speakers, other students will participate in the event through musical performances. With these performanc-es, ninth-graders Mary Louise Howland and Avrham Robinson will assist in helping run the event by serving as the MC’s for the night. “We’ll be introducing all the talks and giving a little bit of insight into what each one is about. I think having opportunities like this that allow me to practice my public speaking skills are im-portant because they better prepare me for the future,” said Robinson. Whether participating as a speaker, perform-er or even audience member, all seem to agree that the night will indeed be an experience filled with lots of learning, sharing and growing from the passions and talents of others.

MBJH students pursuing passions through TEDxYOUTH@MBHS

Photo courtesy of Red Mountain Theater CompanyNinth grader Avrham Robinson looks forward to speaking in front of an audience during the upcoming MBJHYouthT-EDx event. He will be serving as one of the MCs.

4news Friday, May 1, 2015 The Sword & Shield

ADHD abuse in Mountain Brook: the dangersBy THOMAS COONEY and

MATHILDE SHARMANStaff Writer and Art & Photography

Editor

While the percentage of stu-dents in American diagnosed with ADHD and treated with medica-tion is difficult to determine, up to 11 percent of students in America have been told at some point that they have ADHD. Some Mountain Brook students without a prescrip-tion or a diagnosis are also taking ADHD medication, and this abuse could set a dangerous trend. There are many dangers asso-ciated with the illegal use of ADD medication. Dr. Dale Wisely, a clinical psychologist who is Student Services Director for Mountain Brook Schools said, “If students exchange medication on campus they are violating not only school rules, but are going to be facing criminal charges. As a community and school district, we cannot be lenient about distributing con-trolled substances in our schools.” ADD and ADHD medications like Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta, Vyvanse and all the generic equiv-alents are classified as Schedule II controlled substances, alongside drugs like, crack, cocaine and mor-phine. There are some health risks asso-ciated with abusing ADHD med-ication. Abusers can experience rapid mood changes, loss of appe-tite, agitation, fatigue, headaches, and stomachaches. When it comes to using someone else’s ADHD medicine, students may question the significance, asking themselves if it’s really so wrong--are the risks really that big? When asked about the dis-

missive attitude toward abuse of ADHD medication, Dr. Wisely explained that there are significant risks involved. “It’s a serious crime for a student to possess someone else’s medication. It’s a crime to sell or give your medication to some-one else. You can get into really significant legal trouble.” Dr. Wisely explained the danger of addiction. “The medications that are used to treat ADHD are almost all stimulants. Stimulants help peo-ple focus, but these are powerful

drugs. Addiction is not at all likely in people who have ADHD who take the medication as directed. But people who don’t have ADHD and use someone else’s medication might find themselves on the way to addiction. Addiction is abso-lutely possible in people who abuse these drugs by taking them without medical clearance and supervision.” So you take it for something else, and then another thing and before you know it, you’re hooked. The human nature part of us, that part that loves to eat one more piece of

German chocolate cake, gives into addiction. If it works once and you enjoy it, many people are going to use it again. Each use raises the risks. Dr. Wisely explained the theory behind the risk involved in medication abuse. “Some people, truthfully, might be able to take unprescribed stimulant medication to study once or twice and get away with it. But a substantial number will do it again, and then again, and that will be the start of an addictive process. No

one can know in advance whether they will be prone to addiction to the drugs,” explains Dr. Wisely. So to students who question if taking their friend’s ADHD is a problem, yes, addiction and major legal risk present a problem. “And for someone without ADHD who takes the medication to study, they run the risk of having side effects to the medication, which would make them feel bad enough that they couldn’t really focus to study anyway,” adds Dr. Wisely. Some students may question if

ADHD even exists—if it's not just the result of the ever increasing high standards of our society. “One thing that complicates this is there’s no test for ADHD. It’s always about collecting data to see if the data points to ADHD, and a student and her parents working with a doctor who understands the disorder, ” explains Dr. Wisely, who is also frustrated by the way some dismiss the disorder. “The most common misconception of ADHD is that it’s just a moti-vation problem. That ought to be the last thing we believe about a struggling student. There’s no cure for “unmotivated” or “lazy.” People do well when they can, and if they aren’t doing well, there’s probably something wrong,” says Dr. Wisely. Dr. Wisely admitted that overdi-agnosis, especially in an affluent community like Mountain Brook, is certainly an issue. “I think it’s probably overdiagnosed in middle class and upper middle class com-munities with higher expectations and more resources. When nine or ten percent of school age kids are being diagnosed, it’s pretty hard to justify numbers that high,” explains Dr. Wisely. In addition to the legitimacy of the disorder, some question if their friend, who is just as intelligent as they are, doesn’t somehow have the upper hand by having access to medication. But when students pose questions like this aren’t un-derstanding the science. “The legit-imate use of medication isn’t giving someone advantage, it’s managing a deficit. Their brain is not as capa-ble of focus, not as persistent, is more easily distracted. Medication levels the playing field,” explains Dr. Wisely.

Photo courtesy of wikimedia.comADHD and ADD medication is an abused substance amongst high school stu-dents, who don’t always understand the risks.

5NewsFriday, May 1, 2015The Sword & Shield

By MARGARET HEATHFeatures Editor

For 96 hours in April, Mountain Brook High School became a hotspot of sin and debauchery. Teens ran amuck doing things that horrified their parents and disturbed the faculty. No, the senior prank did not occur early this year. All the faux drink-ing, smoking and immorality was part of the spring musical, Grease!The cast looked completely at ease portraying 1950’s teens because each member had been working for weeks beforehand to make the show as perfect as possible. Senior ensemble member Harper Alexander said of the weeks leading up to the production, “Even though it was a lot of hard work and very stressful at certain points, I have never had more fun in my entire life. I met a lot of people and made a lot of friendships that will last me hopefully a life time.” Junior Katy Grace Lipscomb observed, “Although all audiences that came to watch the show loved it and saw us having tons of fun, they will

never get to experience back stage where we laughed, cried and made memories that will last longer than the memories of the show itself ever will” Clearly, participating in the school musical – whether as a star, an ensemble performer, or a member of the invisible, invaluable stage crew – has a great impact on the students involved. In fact, if you are not grad-uating this year, you should consider auditioning for next year’s show – whatever it is. Because, as junior Emilie Harwell so aptly explained, “Grease has proven that there is a necessity for the arts in at least some aspects of life.” Sophomore Gabe Ivker succinctly concurred with the comment that it was an “eye opening experience.”

Grease: MBHS performs spectacular rendition of an old classic

Photo courtesy of Haley LewisFinal Bows: the cast finishes a successful run of the musical Grease. Sandy Dumbrowski was played by senior Anne Thomas and Danny Zuko was played by senior Hunter Stanley.

6Features Friday, May 1, 2015 The Sword & Shield

By LILY SMITHStaff Writer

With only a few weeks of school left, everyone seems to be in that sum-mer mindset right about now. As we all eagerly anticipate the glory days of sunshine and freedom, it’s about time to start thinking about how we want to spend summer. Admittedly, for most of us this means sitting in bed watching Netflix all day or going to the same old boring places with friends. But with these local outdoor spots, you can break that monoto-nous routine.

Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve Located in urban Birmingham, Ruffner Mountain is a great place to enjoy the outdoors. It is Alabama’s oldest nature center, one of the largest urban nature preserves in the country and the highest peak in Birming-ham. Pretty impressive, right? There are 12 miles of trails to explore, rang-ing from easy, lower level paths to higher level trails for your hardcore hiking enthusiasts. In addition to the beautiful, natural scenery along the trails, several of them lead to breathtaking overlooks, like the one with a view of the airport. Also, it’s free. And who doesn’t like free stuff?

Oak Mountain State Park If you haven’t figured it out from the name, this park is located in Oak Mountain. It is recognized as Alabama’s largest state park (9,940 acres) with a variety of activities available. Mountain biking and hiking are certainly the most popular, but the park also allows swimming, horseback riding, camping, boating, fishing and backpacking. Sophomore mountain biker Brian Schmidt says, “Oak Mountain is a great place to ride on the weekends or whenever. It has a nice flowy singletrack with a few techy rock gardens. You can also chill in an eno for fun.” One of the best attractions Oak Mountain State Park has to offer is Peavine Falls, which is a 65-foot tall waterfall with a pool of water at its base. The park is open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Unfortunately, there is an entrance fee of about three dollars.

Moss Rock Preserve Moss Rock Preserve is located in Hoover. This 350 acre preserve offers over ten miles of trails and a boulder field. The trails provide beautiful natural scen-ery, including several waterfalls and streams. The boulder field is geared more towards those who enjoy rock climbing, but anyone can visit it. Sophomore Ellen Waller says, “Moss Rock is a great place to go hike or climb. It has good trails and sweet spots to climb the boul-ders. I would definitely recommend.” The best part about Moss Rock is - get excited - it’s free, too.

Red Mountain Park Red Mountain Park, located in Birmingham off of Lakeshore Drive, has several attractions to offer. It is well-known for its ziplines, scenic trails, historic iron ore mining sites and even a dog park. There are about 11 miles of hiking and biking trails, including two beautiful overlooks. Another way to access a view is to visit one of the treehouses scattered around the park. While there is no cost to explore the trails, the other attractions cost money, which varies depending on the attraction. Red Mountain Park is open seven days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Best of Birmingham: Outdoor Hangouts

Photo by Sarah Beth DanielPeavine Falls at Oak Mountain State Park is a refreshing and fun site to visit during the dog days of summer.

Photo by Mr. Peter PerezRuffner Mountain is so easy to climb that even energy-filled children can make it to the top for the amazing site of downtown Birmingham.

Photo by Lily SmithRed Mountain Park offers exciting attractions like ziplines and treehouses.

7FeaturesFriday, May 1, 2015The Sword & Shield

By SARAH BETH DANIELStaff Writer

Relay for Life hosts many exciting events for Mountain Brook High School. Two of them, Powder Puff football and Power Buff volley-ball, have become iconic Relay events run by the Interact club. This year, senior Paul Roth, Relay Co-Chair, proposed a new idea for Power Buff. With help from Mrs. Katrina McGuire, on April 28, Power Buff featured dodge ball rather than volleyball. “We thought it would be more interesting to change things up a bit,” Mrs. McGuire said. “Not only that, but it allows for students with an interest in the sport to play, seeing as Moun-tain Brook doesn’t have a dodgeball team.” Power Buff was also changed in an attempt to appeal to a wider range of the male student body. “We felt like a larger portion of the male student body would rather play dodge ball than volleyball,” said Mrs. McGuire. Despite the major change, the system worked just as before. Students formed their own teams. Each team had a team captain who was respon-sible for making sure that everyone was aware of the rules.

As far as team uniforms go, “you never know what you’re going to get,” Ms. McGuire said. This year uniforms mainly consisted of colorful combina-tions of athletic gear while one team coor-dinated with various jerseys. Teams played with six team mem-bers each. Each team played the best two out of three games. To win a game, either all the players from one team are eliminated or the team with most players left at the end of 7 minutes wins. In the semi-final game, the team the Dodge Fathers and the faculty team won their respec-tive games and went on to face off against each other. The Dodge Fathers, consisting of seniors Roth, Sam Morris, Bill Perry, Parker Henley, Vincent Zicarelli and Alex Graham, took down

the faculty team, consisting of the following coaches: Derek Jones, Jacob Sparkman, Justin Ransom, Benny Eaves, Bill Strickland and Shane Martin.

Volleyball vs. dodge ball: this year’s Power Buff change

Photo by Sarah Beth DanielThe faculty team instilled fear into the hearts of student teams.

The Sword & Shield8Features Friday, May 1, 2015

By JOHN SISSONCo-Editor-in-Chief

Juniors, beware. A storm is brewing. Sooner than you think, you will be in the midst of the busiest season of your life: the college appli-cation process. Just that thought can be over-whelming; however, have no fear. The Sword & Shield sat down to find the best tips for the application process. First of all, start early. The earlier you start, the less you have to worry about as the dead-lines approach. Also, you may even be able to get some of your applications started or even completed before school begins in August. This way, you are not as busy and can give your full effort to the application. Part of the application process is teachers writing recommendations for you. Because many people will be asking for them from the same teacher at the same time, it is important to ask them early so they have time to write you an excellent recommendation. I know this may seem silly, but make sure to ask a teacher who will write a strong rec. So, it’s best to ask a teach-er in a class in which you have performed well. Second, The Common Application is your friend. If a college accepts the Common App, use it. It is designed so you can apply to multiple schools with one application. Usually schools will have supplemental essays to fill out after

you complete the Common App, but this ap-plication is a huge time saver. It saves you from having to fill out 10 different applications for 10 different schools. I would suggest buying a calendar as soon as you decide which colleges you would like to apply to. Look on their websites and see when the application deadlines are. Then, mark all of them down on your calendar. This way, you are sure of when you need to have everything in. You would be surprised at how confusing it can get if you are applying to many different schools and don’t have the deadlines organized. You could easily miss a deadline and miss the op-portunity to be accepted by the college of your dreams. Throughout this process, it is important to stay in touch and work closely with the coun-selors’ office. Mrs. Karen Svetlay, the college admissions counselor, is a great resource on anything you need to know about college. Also, you have to send things like transcripts and ACT scores to schools through their office, so it is important that you stay in touch with them. Another reason why I recommend the calendar is because I could mark when I needed to have all of my materials to the counselors, as they generally need it three weeks before the deadline in order for it to make it to the college on time. Most importantly, take the college appli-cation process one step at a time. It is easy to

become paralyzed when you think of all of the applications, scholarships and college visits at once. You may feel like you will never be able to complete all of the steps necessary to apply. However, you definitely can succeed if you bite off little pieces at a time. I would recommend starting off with the Common App. When you’re finished with that, start completing applications one at a time. Also, as you complete an application for a school, I would go ahead and complete their scholarship application. That way, you aren’t waiting until you have already finished all of your applications to apply for scholarships. Instead, you are able to give the scholarship ap-plication your best work, increasing your chanc-es of actually receiving money that makes your dream school a reality. I know several friends who waited until the deadline drew near to do their scholarship essays, and in the end, they were too exhausted to complete them. If you complete applications one at a time, you are less likely to get stressed out. It’s hard to believe, but you juniors are rapidly approaching college. With that comes the ardu-ous task of filling out applications. But, if you follow a few simple steps, the task will seem less daunting and you will be more likely to have the opportunity to choose your college from a list of acceptances!

Surviving the college application process

Margaret Heath- “Apply as early as possible. Don’t wait until the last second to apply.”Jonathan McWane- “Don’t trash all of the college-related emails you get. Read them. They can be pretty important.”Alec Lewis- “If you know what you’re interested in doing, research pro-grams at different schools and also apply early for certain preferences like rooming.”Casey Fan- “Start working on essays and/or supplementary materials during the summer. That way, you will have time to polish your essays and still have time for all your other work and commitments.”Madeline Mitchell- “Focus your efforts by only applying to schools you really like. Doing so will save plenty of time and stress.”Chandler Gory- “Make sure you have a resumé that you can add to as you go through school. It’s stressful trying to remember everything you have ever done in the last four years at one time. You’ll thank yourself for staying on top of it.”Claire Davis- “Have your essays peer-reviewed. Your parents can also help you think of essay topics.”Brooke Tucker- “Get your parents to help you throughout the whole pro-cess- they are the ones who know you best.”

The Sword & Shield senior advice

The Sword & Shield 9FeaturesFriday, May 1, 2015

By CHANDLER GORY and CASEY FAN

Managing Editor and Staff Writer

Have you ever seen that kid who carries a tray of Starbucks to school every morning? Well, last week The Sword & Shield met with senior Lewis Fitzpatrick to discuss his obsessive coffee habits. At 7:44 p.m., he walked in late to our 7:30 meeting with Chipotle. We then procrastinated for roughly 28 minutes.

Lewis’s Recipe for Success: So the amount of coffee I drink is inversely correlated to the amount of sleep I get. I would say roughly that if you have gotten maybe less than 6 hours of sleep, in between 6 and 5 hours of sleep, and that’s your first night to only get that much sleep, then you’re going to get about two shots of espresso. And personally, my rule of thumb is to always mix espresso with soy milk in an iced latté. It’s literally the shots, the soy milk, the ice and maybe a Splenda in a grande cup, because the thing is, the hot cups always spill. Pet Peeves: Literally there’s something wrong with the hot cup tops, which is ridiculous to me considering that Starbucks is literally a glob-al, multi-billion dollar company. I don’t understand why their hot cup lids drip. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve walked into school with hot coffee dripping down my arms and onto my clothes. I have marks all over my car and binders where coffee has dripped because it’s dripping off the top. It’s literally such a problem. Especially for me because I carry so much stuff into school everyday. I always have my calculus binder, a bag of food, my bag over my shoulder and some-times I have another bag full of workout clothes. It’s just a lot to deal with when I have hot coffee dripping down my arms.

Disaster Attacks: One time, this was one of the worst days of my life, but it doesn’t really have anything to do with the hot coffee and dripping lids. But anyway, one time I had a tray full of lattés because first of all, I hadn’t slept, so I had a very strong, four-shot latté. I also had a latté for one of my teachers, be-cause long story short, she didn’t like me, so I had to bring her lattés

to school every day for at least one semester. And I think some other friends wanted some lattés. So anyway, I had a tray full of lattés in the passenger seat of my car, and if you’ve ever come from the Cahaba Heights Starbucks to the high school in the mornings, you know about that stoplight by the Piggly Wiggly. So anyway, the car in front of me had barely made the light, and I wasn’t really paying attention so I thought I could make it, but I had to slam on the brakes to stop before I hit another car, and all of the lattés flew forward and exploded in my front seat, which soaked the carpet for months. It was so disgusting. Only recently has it stopped smelling gross… and it’s been almost a year. Anyway that was terrible be-cause, not only did my car smell like lattés, I also didn’t have my caffeine for the day, so that was just a real bummer. Lewis’s Philosophy Behind Cof-fee: Well, for me, caffeine is another tool in the tool box for a student who is high achieving and doesn’t get any sleep. Because, the thing is, in my personal view, I don’t under-stand how people do it any other way. If you’re going to be taking a lot of AP classes, like more than 3, it’s very difficult to have time to even get sleep on any day of the week, except Saturday night or maybe Friday night. So, if you want to have a balanced social life, you’re going to get 8 hours of sleep once a week, basically. And given the fact that I find it easy to fall asleep in the daytime when I’m not very well rested, I have to have coffee, or I won’t be able to pay attention in class be-cause I’m asleep. Teachers will get mad at me and that’s just bad. So if I’m going to focus and be doing work in school, then I have to have coffee if I haven’t had adequate sleep. That’s just how it works. For me it’s just another tool, just like studying is, honestly. So that’s important. Um… I kind of lost my train of thought… On the other hand, the amount of coffee I drink is directly correlat-ed to the amount of work ethic I have. There comes a certain point when you’re in the middle of your first semester as a senior and you are dying; the fact that I’m taking 7 AP classes and applying to like 15 schools probably explains why I’m addicted to coffee, but that’s okay

because I’m literally a high-achieving student. The rea-son I work so hard, like, not right now though, is because I felt like every grade I made literally had a direct impact on my future, where I go to college, what job I will have and my success in life, so that was a very powerful motivator so every grade I didn’t do as well on, like getting below a 90, I took as a personal failure that would affect the rest of my life. So given that amount of stress, it’s easy for me to not get any sleep because no amount of willpower will keep you awake when you haven’t slept all week.

Random tips: But it’s also important to know how to use caffeine wisely. So pace yourself. 2 shots is probably enough when you get more than 2 hours of sleep, 4-5 hours 3 shots, anything less than 4 hours is 4 shots. But um, okay, it’s important to stay hydrated; if you don’t get enough water, your mouth is gonna get dry, your eyes are gonna get dry, and you’re not gonna be able to pay attention so you’re going start feeling really crazy. Also, the more water you drink, the better your skin will look, so you’ll be less stressed out because you’ll feel prettier. Oh yeah, I definitely would al-ways start with an Ariana Grande, oh excuse me a grande, that’s usu-ally my go-to size, but sometimes I’ll have a day where I just have to get a venti. Well this is just me personally, but what I have learned is that what will really give me a kick is to not drink coffee for the taste, I drink it slowly throughout the day whenever I feel like I’m about to fall asleep because I just need to stay awake. That’s what it’s like for an AP Student; you’re in the jungle and you will do whatever it takes to survive, especially like when it’s November, you are barely surviving; it’s survival of the fittest. Murder is on the table, so copious amounts of caffeine are on the table. Coffee itself doesn’t help, just no, because it’s better to get espres-so shots.

I also should mention that I use coffee in conjunction with really high-power female power pop stars like Ariana Grande, Ke$ha, and Lady Gaga, just so that you can... it gives you the motivation to do stuff at 4 in the morning. When you’ve forgotten what it’s even like to sleep, that’s when you pump up some Ariana Grande and take another shot of espresso and keep on doing your calculus homework because if you don’t you’re not go-ing to get into college, and the rest of your life is going to fail because you were too weak to stay up.

Origin Story: I first started drinking coffee with hot lattés, I’m basically on shots of espresso right now. The first Starbucks drink I had was a Pumpkin Spice latté during the winter of my sophomore year... yeah. And then I progressively added more shots to that latté, then I was into Peppermint lattés, and then somewhere around there I discovered that what I really need-ed was shots of espresso and soy milk. Although I will say, coconut milk is bullsh*t. It tastes so bad, but when you mix it with coffee, it tastes terrible. Like they should’ve realized that when they tested it. Once again, I’m really disappointed in Starbucks for not testing coconut milk adequately, like come on guys.

Lewis Fitzpatrick and coffee: survival of the fittest

Photo by Chandler GorySenior Lewis Fitzpatrick poses with his espresso and waxes poetic on high school, stress and coffee stains.

By ALEC LEWISSports Editor

They won 14 games in a row, they defeat-ed nationally ranked teams but ultimately the Mountain Brook baseball team’s run came to an end against Thompson in the first round of the AHSAA baseball playoffs. In a new format with 7A, Mountain Brook returned to the diamond in Alabama’s best baseball region. Battling through college talent game-by-game, the Spartans’ goal of surpassing last year’s final eight finish seemed attainable, but ultimately it just wasn’t enough.

“My senior year of baseball was the most fun season of any sport I've ever played,” said senior catcher Jack McPherson who totaled eight home runs on the year. “We did a lot of things that I will remember for a lot of years, and I’ll cherish these memories with my team for the rest of my life. I hope we set a bar that Mountain Brook baseball will com-pete at for the coming years.” After playing 30 games, including a 4-0 start in area play beating both Spain Park and Hewitt-Trussville, Mountain Brook’s baseball team stood 27-3 and perched atop the AWSA (Alabama Sports Writers Association) poll. Game 31 came against rival Vestavia, and a win against the Rebels would mean back-to-back area wins. The first contest in the series (which was played at Mountain Brook) got out of hand a bit early, and the Rebels never looked back, winning 6-1. Then, in the series’ second game, McPherson hit two home runs for the Spartans, but Vestavia hit a walk-off grand-slam to win, 11-7. Then, against Thompson in the first round of the playoffs, the Spartans were unable to close out game two after winning the first and on Saturday, they were defeated. In the end, the team might’ve run out of gas, but senior pitcher Alan Hale has another thought to how it unfolded. “I personally thought that it wasn’t that we were running out of gas at the end, but that oth-er teams were getting better,” said Hale. “Teams would hit on all cylinders to get prepared to play

a highly-ranked team like us and it paid off.” And although the team lost, a lot was sal-vaged from a close-to record breaking season for Coach Lee Gann and his Spartans. This year’s Spartans finished 30-7, has the po-tential to send numerous players to play college ball and was close to winning yet another area title. For seniors John David Kubiszyn, Hunter Holcomb, Parks Shoulders, Tucker Ellis, Bai-ley Shelfer, T.J. Beard, Drew Odum, John Ea-gan, Mac Harris, John Sisson, Andrew Autrey, McPherson and Hale, getting to play with the guys they’d grown up with, the guys that they loved playing the game with the most, made it nothing but a success. “The guys are my brothers and I wouldn’t trade these years I’ve had with them for any-thing,” said Shelfer. “It’s truly been unbelievable how far we’ve come and I know I’m going to miss them.”

By WILL DAVIS Staff Writer

The Mountain Brook girls soccer team completed a regular season

that saw them hold the number one ranking in the state for the ma-jority of it, with a 7-0 win over Shades Valley on senior night. It was the final home game for a special group of seniors who have been a part of two final four teams, including a state championship in 2013 and were hoping to be part of one more. The season started off very strong. The team was 12-2-2 and had a firm grasp on the top spot in the state, but three straight losses forced the Spar-tans to go on the road

at Oak Mountain for the first round of the playoffs, facing the same team that defeated Mountain Brook in the state championship game a

year ago and fell to the Spartans in the final game two years ago. “We had a great start, a great middle, and we just kind of fizzled out a little bit,” Spartans’ coach Scott Flowers said. The team was encouraged by their final game against Shades Valley and hoping to regain their energy heading into Tuesday night’s playoff showdown at Oak Moun-tain. “I think senior night helped,” Flowers said. “The playoffs are a

new season.” Despite their late season strug-gles, team chemistry remained a strong suit for this team. “We get along and work very well together,” junior Frances Mor-ris said. Despite the renewwed confi-dence going into the playoffs, Oak Mountain handed the Mountain Brook girls their final loss, 0-4, ending the girls’ playoff appear-ance.

10Sports Friday, May 1, 2015 The Sword & Shield

Photo courtesy of Image ArtsSenior Julia Garrison dribbles the ball away from Spain Park in a 2-0 game.

Mountain Brook girls soccer finishes season at 13-5-2

Baseball team falls in first round to Thompson

Photo courtesy of Image ArtsSeniors John Eagan, Tucker Ellis and Hunter Holcomb celebrate after a big hit.

Photo courtesy of Image ArtsSenior Jack McPherson takes a big cut during a home game.

By WILL DAVISStaff Writer

To say the Mountain Brook boys soccer team overcame a lot in 2015 would be an understatement. All year, the Spartans were constantly hav-ing to cope with injuries to key players, including star seniors Will Free-man, Adam Elrefai, and Ben Rysedorph. As a result, Mountain Brook fell short of another playoff berth, despite still being in contention late in the year. “At one point we had six starters out injured,” Spartans coach Joe Webb said. “The injuries were just a little too much to overcome.” Before the injuries started, Mountain Brook started strong on the field. The team began 4-0-2, not actually losing a game until the seventh game of the year against Hoover, a 2-1 loss. The team lost 7 out of 10 at one point, but was still in contention for a postseason berth before a late sea-son loss at Spain Park, before finishing the season with a record of 15-8-3 and pondering what could have been. “I think we could have really challenged for state if we didn’t have the injuries,” senior Brother Swagler said. Despite not making the playoffs, the team is aware of the adversity they overcame this past season. “To still wind up 15-8-3 overall is quite an accomplishment consider-ing the hills we had to overcome,” Webb said.

Arguably the top moment of the 2015 season was a Friday night win at Vestavia, providing this decorated senior class their first ca-reer win over the Rebels. Next season, Mountain Brook will have to re-place 14 seniors. “Tryouts begin in September if anyone’s interested,” Webb joked. “I don’t know how you replace them. That’s just a lot of experience. There’s a lot of work to be done.” While there is a lot of work to be done leading up to the 2016 season, Webb has confidence in the remaining players. “The guys that we have returning are hard workers, and they’re very coachable,” Webb said.

By ALEC LEWISSports Editor

By shooting a team score of 300, Mountain Brook’s golf team won their fourth tournament of the year. This time, it was sectionals. With the season coming to a close, it looks

as if the Spartans are poised for anoth-er run at a state championship. With it being new athletics director Benny Eaves final season as coach, this one means that much more. “Because it is Coach Eaves last year as golf coach, it would be fitting to send him out on top,” said junior starter Jonathan Eyster. “Coach Eaves has put so much time and energy into our golf program, and a state championship ring would cap off his golf coaching career.” To do that, this team -- led by seniors Michael Brown and Wilson Simmons, as well as juniors Eyster, Harlan Winn, Matthew Parker, Hugh Rowe Thomas,

and sophomore Ben Fuller --will have to continue their in-form play as the sum-

mer continues to approach. The team already has already won the Bradley Johnson Memorial tournament, the Azalea City Invitational, the Fairhope Invitational and now the sectional tournament. “To me, this team is just as good if not better than last year’s team,” said senior starter Michael Brown. “For the second year in a row, I honestly

believe that all five of our guys could win state individually which is obviously a huge confi-dence boost.” He also added, “Our biggest strength is that this team has depth. All five of our guys can compete at a very high level and because of that, nobody feels a tremendous amount of pressure to play well. We can all just be relaxed.” Next Monday, on May 4, the golf team will travel to Hampton Cove for Sub-State and if they qualify, they’ll look to play at Magnolia Grove on May 11-12 for the state title. “The thing that will make the biggest differ-ence at Sub-State is our poise,” said Brown. I think it’s important to be able to balance being calm while being focused come postseason play.” Asked on who’s standing in their way, Eyster said, “I feel that Vestavia and Fairhope are the biggest threats to what we want to accomplish.” It’s been four years since the Spartans reached that accomplishment; this team is hoping to get back to their winning ways.

11SportsFriday, May 1, 2015The Sword & Shield

Mountain Brook boys soccer overcomes adversity, but falls short of the playoffs

Photo by Will DavisThe boys play one of their last games against Prattville.

Photo courtesy of Benny EavesMountain Brook golf won the Section 3 tournament and will play in the Sub-State tournament in Huntsville on Monday, May 4.

The Mountain Brook boys golf team’s next test is Sub-State

By ALEC LEWISSports Editor

Mountain Brook football coach Chris Yea-ger spun his chair around after my six scripted questions concluded. As I gathered my stuff and clicked the top to my mechanical pencil, he complimented my questions saying, “I’ve had many professional guys come in here and not ask one-tenth the caliber of questions you just did.” Walking into the field house on that sunny afternoon with a lined notepad and pencil, I was nervous. I’d tried out for basketball teams, I’d tried out for tennis teams, I’d tried out for golf teams, yet that interview yielded more butter-flies. Yeager was the first interview I ever did for The Sword & Shield back in 2012. We probably talked about the team’s leaders. We probably discussed the team’s schedule. I’m sure we went over the loss the year before against Oxford in the playoffs on a game-deciding drop. For cer-

tain, though, we talked about what my goals were. He asked about them, and besides “sports,” I didn’t know how to respond. We agreed I’d get back to him. A year before that, I’d walked into the counselor’s office at the junior high school to set the schedule for sophomore year. “You’ll take algebra two, advanced chemis-try, American history, English, Spanish and

physical education,” said the counselor. “But, you

need one more class, unless you’d like to have a free period.” Being the overachiever I am, a free period? No, more work sounded good. So I asked her what my options were. “Well, it says at the top of this sheet you want to be a sportscaster,” she replied. “I know The Sword & Shield newspaper needs some sports-writers, would you be interested in journalism?” Newspapers? Writing? If sports hadn’t been included, I’d probably have rolled my eyes. I thought back to Finebaum -- my idol at the time, and yes, he still ranks up there like it or not -- and remembered how he began--colum-nist turned radio host. I told her I wasn’t sure about it, but she marked it, and three months later I was scram-bling to sell ads to begin in good standing on the staff. If not for that counselor, I wouldn’t have kept all of the Mountain Brook parents up to date on Twitter. If not for that counselor, I wouldn’t have

had the opportunity to interview Amari Cooper at SEC football media days, to interview a 2nd-round pick in the MLB draft, Jacob Lindgren, at the SEC baseball tournament, to interview NBA stars from Dwyane Wade to Aaron Gordon, and so on. Over these last three years, I’ve witnessed some of Mountain Brook athletics’ greatest accomplishments. I covered the first basketball state champi-onships and Coach Bucky McMillan and staff which have helped open remarkable avenues. I’ll be forever indebted to those teams -- be it play-ers, coaches and fans -- and the passion-filled accomplishment. I also covered the volleyball team’s first state championship, another fantastic reward for being the Sports Editor at such a high caliber school. Baseball has been successful during my time on staff as well as wrestling, golf, tennis and of course, the cross country and track teams that place highly each and every year. Without the overall support and editing of Catherine Lowe, Peter Perez and Megan Hastings over the past three years, none of this would be possible. Without the motivation and the drive instilled by my parents, none of this would be possible. And without the support from my peers, the community and all of my teachers, none of this would be possible. If not for that counselor and The Sword & Shield paper, I wouldn’t have been able to an-swer Yeager when he asked in our final inter-view this season what my goals were. This time, convincingly, I told him: I want to write sports for the rest of my life.

12Sports Friday, May 1, 2015 The Sword & Shield

Sports Commentary: a farewell to where it all began

Photo courtesy of Paul WardSenior sports editor Alec Lewis talks with another media representative during one of the final basketball games.

13ReviewsFriday, May 1, 2015The Sword & Shield

Second half of “Mad Men” season 7 bringing new drama

By JONATHAN MCWANEStaff Writer

As usual, the final seven ep-isodes of “Mad Men” is highly anticipated. After seemingly losing viewers’ interest with a rather mundane last few seasons, the creator of the show, Matthew Weiner, split the fi-nal season of his Emmy award-win-ning show into two seven episode halves. Naturally, Weiner ended up leaving the faithful viewers with a cliffhanger, setting up what is sure to be an amusing finale. The first seven episodes were pretty much what everyone ex-pected. Viewers were aware that this season would be the last. That being said, Matthew Weiner and the show’s other producers did an excellent job catering to the wants of the show’s audience while also establishing proper rising action to compliment what all of the viewers expect to be an intense final few episodes. Weiner and his co-writers had to make a major scenery change to spice up the plot in season seven: the majority of scenes are set in Los Angeles rather than New York City, where the first few seasons had been set.

For those who aren’t consistent viewers of the show, it’s hard to see how a program with such a relatively simple premise could have so many layers. Set in the 1960s, the show stars Jon Hamm as Don Draper, the creative director of an up-per-class New York City advertising agency. The plot of the show itself fo-cuses on the various businesses of the agency, and that’s really all that can be said without getting into the specifics. With that in mind, potential viewers should not forget that once you do get into the show’s specifics it’s very hard to get out. The series has been praised for taking the plots introduced in the first episode and simply expand-ing and expanding. However, this technique became boring in the fourth and fifth seasons. The show’s writers - Matthew Weiner, Maria Jacquemetton and Semi Chellas -

realized this and rebounded with a stellar and exciting season six. The first few episodes of the second half of the program’s final season have so far risen to its audi-ence’s expectations to tie up all old loose ends while also keeping the show exciting with new plot devel-opment. Personally, I believe that the writers have done an excellent job of not introducing so much new

development that the audience feels hurried and confused, yet are not focusing on simply resolving outdated conflicts and not keeping the show exciting. It’s a very deli-cate balance, but Matthew Weiner and his co-creators do a very good job of this.

Photo courtesy of slate.com“Mad Men” season 7 came with a lot of new scenic and plot changes to change the pace for bored viewers.

14Reviews Friday, May 1, 2015 The Sword & Shield

“Insurgent” a lesser movie than “Divergent”By CAROLINE LOWE

Staff Writer

Most of us are familiar with the popular book series “Divergent” by Veronica Roth. Well the film version of the second book in the series, “Insurgent,” came out March 20, 2015, picking up where “Divergent” ended. The first movie ended with Tris, Tobias, Peter, Caleb and Mar-cus riding in the Dauntless train car trying to escape from all the chaos in Abnegation head-quarters. How does the “Insurgent” movie stack up to the book version and the previous “Divergent” movie? In my opinion the book itself and “Di-vergent” were both much better than the film version of “Insurgent.” “Insurgent" begins with Tris (Shailene Wood-ley), Tobias/Four (Theo James), Peter (Miles Teller) and Caleb (Ansel Elgort) running into the Amity headquarters. Tris then wakes up revealing this opening scence as her nightmare. The majority of the film is a series of movie action scenes, along with the romance between Tris and Four. One problem for me was that the movie left out Zeke, a character important to the book. In chapter 19 of “Insurgent,” Zeke, Uriah’s old-er brother, goes on the mission to get inside Erudite headquarters. Also, I noticed that the movie left out Lynn, a minor character who is best friends with Uriah (Keiynan Lonsdale) and Marlene (Suki Waterhouse). She is also close friends and allies with Tris and Tobias and is very involved with the gang in action scenes. I do like how the bully of the books, Peter, is fleshed out more in “Insurgent.” There are some

scenes with Peter that are somewhat humorous where you would least expect it. Some of my favorite parts of the movie have to be the scenes with Peter and Tris at the Er-udite headquaters. Peter gets angry at Tris for being herself and says one snarky comment to her during the simulations. The comments that Peter makes are sort of funny. He just seems to be sarcastic every time he opens his mouth. Also, “Insurgent” includes some exciting scenes where the antagonists Eric (Jai Courtney) and Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet) try to control the factions and capture or kill some of the Divergent. Even though some of the characters are somewhat developed in the movie, the book version is better than the film. First, the book is not just all action. The film overdoes the action scenes. Also, in different parts of the book a few tear jerking moments get to me. And the most important reason that the book is much better than the movie is because of the characters and the bonds they form. Not only does “Insurgent” the film fall short, it also does not improve upon its predecessor, the movie “Divergent.” “Divergent” is just a better movie. One scene in the “Divergent” film really stands out: the game of capture the flag. This scene was action packed, but also looked like they were having so much fun. The film captures the danger of the scene on the Ferris wheel. Yet the action in “Divergent” is not the primary focus of the film. Characters such as Tris, Tobias and others in the Dauntless faction really come alive in “Divergent” the movie. They do so much more than just run around trying to escape danger.

“Insurgent” does manage to retain some key quotes from the book. For example, when Tobi-as says, “You die, I die too,” I felt like clapping. “Insurgent” also does include a few romantic scenes between Tris and Tobias to break up the action scenes. The end of the movie twisted the ending of the book, leaving the movie dangling in order to lead into the next movie, “Allegiant.” I won’t spoil the twist, but I can’t see how the directors will stretch the last novel into two separate films.

Rating: 3.5/5

Photo by Caroline Lowe“Insurgent” by Veronica Roth made a better book than movie.

15OpinionsFriday, May 1, 2015The Sword & Shield

By CLAIRE DAVISCo-Editor-in-Chief

You are standing on the foot-ball field watching the action around you. Everywhere white pop-up tents are selling every sort of unhealthy food imaginable and chances to win a raffle prize big enough to tempt everyone who walks past. You and your friends have spent hours planning what your tent will sell and how to get it on the field before the event starts. Everything is exciting and hope-ful and fun – until you turn just as a face full of silly string meets you head on. You glare at the kids responsible, who just run off and leave you to clean up the mess. Relay for Life is one of the best events Mountain Brook hosts. It’s a chance to give back to our com-

munity, a chance to honor those who have struggled with cancer and won, a chance to mourn the less fortunate and a chance to hang out and have fun as a school. It can’t exist without the community’s involvement and support. That being said, do you know how hard it is to have fun when you’re constantly trying to stop rowdy kids from smashing glass bottles on the side of trashcans? Or cleaning up the whipped cream and silly string for the third time be-cause someone’s aim isn’t the best? I’ll save you the effort of thinking it over and tell you that it’s irritating and unnecessary to have to police these children. But this isn’t necessarily the kids’ fault, though I would be concerned if all these chil-dren thought smashing anything was a good idea. In many case, the prob-lem is the parents. I understand. Relay is something like a carnival, and kids like to run around and have a good time wear-

ing themselves out while their par-ents chat and watch their children play. The key word here, however, is watch. Parents do not and should not leave their child unattended for the night and swing back around at midnight to pick them up. Kids like to get into mischief, no matter how old they are, and supervision at these events shouldn’t be left to the teenagers and teachers working booths. We can’t discipline your children. Often our efforts to stop them are useless. You, as parents, are the only ones who can control them.

Even leaving one parent in charge of a group of kids is trouble waiting to happen, unless that par-ent can exercise control over all of them at the same time (and I think

we would all like to know that secret). Foisting everyone’s children on one outnumbered adult rapidly leads to chaos. And what’s more, this isn’t any regular carnival where rambunc-tious play is to be expected. Relay for Life is an event to raise money and awareness for a cause. When your child makes a mess run-ning around the field, he is taking attention away from the focus of the event. The whole point is to remember, honor and celebrate cancer victims, not what crazy thing a sixth grader did last year. By letting your children run loose on the field and failing to keep an eye on them, you are making our job of hosting the event and keep-ing the focus of Relay harder than it needs to be. This year, though, a solution could be at hand. For a small price of $3, your child can have access to a Kid Zone where they can run and play to their hearts’ content. Per-haps this is the solution we have all been searching for. So parents, I urge you, pay the extra three dollars for your child to run themselves to sleep on the bouncy castles and obstacle cours-es. The student body would thank you immensely.

Relay for Life: not your babysitter

By COKE MATTHEWSOpinions Editor

If Avery Johnson is going to succeed as the Crimson Tide’s new head basketball coach, he will first have to figure out how to make bas-ketball even matter in the football-crazy world of the University of Alabama. The star power of Tide head football Coach Nick Saban and the football team’s annual run for the nation-al championship has cast a long shadow over basketball in Tuscaloosa. Johnson faces a formi-

dable task, but he might just be a perfect fit for the job. Johnson was a successful player in the NBA, playing point guard for 15 years despite his rel-atively short stature of 5’11”. As a player, he was known for his high basketball IQ and his leader-ship on and off the court. He is one of the few players in NBA history to go straight from his playing career to being a head coach, and his early success of leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals earned him Coach of the Year honors. Johnson is talented, highly energetic and, most importantly, he has succeeded at the high-est levels in his profession as both a player and a coach. Johnson’s media experience as a head coach and later as a TV analyst should help him deal with the public scrutiny of his program. This success hopefully provides the type of con-fidence that will create momentum in Tuscaloo-sa despite the spotlight on Coach Saban and the football program. Another advantage that Coach Johnson should enjoy is in recruiting. Though Alabama first sought coaches with college experience, all were relative unknowns and would likely have faced difficulties in convincing young high

school players to come to Tuscaloosa. Johnson’s own star power will give him an immediate edge with many young players and their parents. For a young high school player deciding where to attend college, Johnson’s own success should attract players who hope to make it to the next level in their career. Building the Alabama basketball program to compete for SEC and national championships will not be easy. Johnson’s name might help him start, but he will have to learn to relate to today’s college players who weren’t even born when he was a NBA star. Calling plays will be the easy part. Getting good players to come to Tuscaloosa and keep-ing them motivated will be tougher. Hopeful-ly, Coach Johnson will build an alliance with Coach Saban to take advantage of Saban’s influ-ence. The NCAA rules on recruiting are intense, but if he hires a skilled, experienced staff he will be fine. Coach Saban could help there as well. Even though his personality is energetic and enthusiastic, Coach Johnson probably will need to learn patience as well as he turns the Tide’s basketball ship around.

Avery Johnson - giving college basketball a shot

“Parents do not and should not leave their

child unattended for the night and swing back around at midnight to

pick them up.”

The Sword & Shield16Opinions Friday, May 1, 2015

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATION: The Mountain Brook School system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or age in any of its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries re-garding nondiscrimination policies: Dr. Dale Wisely—Director of Student Services (Title VI), (wiselyd@mtnbrook.k12.al.us); Mrs. Sylvia Harper—Personnel Director (Title IX), (harpers@mtnbrook.k12.al.us); Dr. Missy Brooks—Director of Instruction (Title II), (wildman-brooksm@mtnbrook.k12.al.us); Mrs. Shannon Mundy—Special Education Director (Section 504), (mundyl@mtnbrook.k12.al.us). Contact Information: 32 Vine Street, Mountain Brook, AL 35213, 205-871-4608.

By BROOKE TUCKERStaff Writer

Drafting a date, searching for that perfect dress – one that no one else has of course (God forbid you ever match with someone), choos-ing your favorite from a cliché list of different hairstyles, picking

a place to eat (although, let’s be honest, you probably won’t be eat-ing much anyways as the thought of spilling something on yourself lurks in the back of your mind the whole time) and last, but definite-ly not least: the after party. Better refresh yourself with all of those ballroom dancing techniques you learned way back when because it’s that time of year again. That’s right-prom. As most of you know, prom has caused a lot of disagreements this year, mainly because of the late May 16 date. Mostly seniors attend prom, and for those who are exempt from their exams, their summer begins with the date of prom. For those seniors who fell short from exempting, the weekend

of prom is the weekend before final exams. Students petitioned and tried to do all they could to change it, but sadly the date remains. The confusion of why prom was so late has lead people to rethink the importance of prom in the first place. Is it even worth it? Being a senior, I would have to say that for me it isn’t. Most seniors at Moun-tain Brook go to their first prom senior year. Many of us have waited three years to have our first high school prom experience, and hon-estly, it’s overrated. In my opinion, all formal high school dances are over-hyped. The makeup, the hair, the dress, the nails, the plans for before and after – all of it. When so much stress and worry goes into the planning

of prom, it sometimes turns into a disappointing night that doesn’t meet your expectations. With that said, prom can be very different for many different people. When so much effort is put into only one night, I begin to think that the whole event might be a little ridiculous. But you never know; your prom experience could potentially be one of the best nights of your high school career that you will look back on later in life and remember. Surrounding yourself with friends you will never forget and making new memories is what this night should be all about, not all of the stress and worry that goes into it.

Prom: more stressful than it’s worth?

By LEIGH LEWISStaff Writer

Smart watches have started gaining popu-larity, thanks to Apple’s new product: the Apple Watch. Although many people do not like or plan to buy the Apple Watch, I believe the watch will improve the way people live. Many people say that the watch is a dumb idea as a whole because of its similarity to the Iphone, but I would love to point out that tons of people thought this about the Ipod as well, yet it turned out to revolutionize the digital music industry. Some consumers can see that the Apple Watch might be revolutionary. From being able to pay from your watch, open hotel rooms and board planes to being able to text, call and track fitness, the watch will be a whole new way to navigate through the day. A huge issue with the watch is the outrageous prices. I will admit, the pricetags are ridiculous. The most expensive Apple Watch is an 18 karat

gold $17,000 watch. But, if you are willing to settle for the cheapest watch ($349), it isn’t too pricey. Even if $349 sounds expensive, I am quite sure we can find some more expensive brand watches worn by students that do much less than the Apple Watch. Another con of the exciting new Apple Watch is its possibility of being too complex. However, as many reviews of the Apple Watch have stated, although it may take a few very long, hard, and tiring days trying to figure out how to work the watch, once you figure it out you will appreciate it. Also, the Apple Watch has a lag when trying to see the time. Because it detects the motion of your wrist to show its clock, it sometimes takes heavy effort to make the watch turn on. This is a big problem, considering the watch was made to be a timepiece. Many people believe that the watch is just another smartphone on your wrist, but this is incredibly inaccurate. Unlike the Iphone, the Apple watch has the ability to open doors to hotel rooms with just a tap of the watch to the door. Also, the watch is able to act as a boarding pass for planes; no more printing boarding pass-es when they are on your watch. With a whole new software design along with a new range of functions, it becomes its own device with its own purpose. One of Apple’s goals with the watch is to de-crease the amount of time people spend staring at a phone screen. With the device, notifications are quick, and there is no full keyboard to type out full messages. Instead of spending minutes, or even hours, looking at a phone, people will spend merely seconds looking at their watch.The watch allows you to stay in touch without becoming obsessed. Farhad Manjoo of the New

York Times has been testing out his new Ap-ple watch: “The Apple Watch could usher in a transformation of social norms just as profound as those we saw with its brother, the smart-phone — except, amazingly, in reverse.” With Apple’s desire for notifications on the watch to be extremely quick, people will become more social and learn to stop texting and start truly communicating. So, although the watch may still have a few kinks to be worked out, in the near future, I believe the watch will be a necessity, and it will change the way people communicate for ever.

Why you should buy the new Apple Watch

Photo courtesy of arstechnia.netApple’s newest product, the iWatch, has stirred up dissen-sion between Apple enthusiasts and skeptics alike.