Annie Lovelady crowned MBHS Homecoming Queen 2015

Writing center opens strong

2015 Homecoming AttendantsSeniorsAdele Bird

Anne Compton

JuniorsLaine Alby

Katherine Brian

SophomoresMary Allison Anderson

Lucy Holman

Please see “Queen”continued on page 20

Photo courtesy of Image ArtsAnnie Lovelady was crowned Mountain Brook High School’s Homecoming Queen at today’s pep rally.

News: 2-4 Opinions: 5-7 Features: 8-13 Sports: 14-17 Reviews: 18-19

Photo courtesy of Christina McGovernPeer tutor Emily Bolvig conferences with sophomore Caroline Monaghan to improve her paper.

Earlier today, at the pep rally in the Fine Arts Center, senior Annie Lovela-dy was crowned MBHS Homecoming Queen for 2015-16. Annie is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tim Lovelady. Annie’s mother, a graduate of MBHS class of 1980, per-haps best describes her daughter when she says, “Annie has an inner self-con-fidence that keeps her grounded in decision making. She is levelheaded, conscientious, independent, loving, hilarious and always happy.” Her optimistic attitude and her grounded nature has not been lost on her peers. Anyone who knows Annie first notices her welcoming smile. As her mother says, “I am most proud of how Annie treats her friends and others around her. She never wants to leave anyone out and likes to include people from all walks of life. She is a

the Sword & Shield

→The Cage Club, page 4→Class rank changes, page 7→MBHS Alumni Feature, pages 10-11→Basketball Preview, page 15→Pieology vs. Pizza 120, page 19IN

SID

Etrue friend.” Annie’s commitment to her faith and dedication to others is evident as she serves in numerous organizations within her school community. Her pri-orities include prominent service-ori-ented positions. At the high school, Annie is a member of the Interact service club and the Ambassadors. She also is a Jersey girl and is a member of FBLA, Spanish Club and Miss Olym-pian Pageant staff. Beyond the school community, Annie attends Donna Greene’s Bible Study and is involved in her youth group at St. Francis Xavier Church

Vol. XLX No. 1 Mountain Brook High School October 30, 2015

Please see “Center”continued on page 2

By CAROLINE LOWEStaff Writer

If you have been in the school’s library lately, then you probably have noticed the new Spartan Writing Cen-ter. Located in the left of the library as you walk in, the writing center is a place where student tutors take time during their day to help peers improve their writing skills. It is open before school, beginning at 7:15, and during 4th period. The English department has al-ways wanted a writing center to help students improve their writing skills. Mrs. Christina McGovern and En-glish department chair, Mrs. Melinda Cammarata, began exploring the idea about two years ago. “Senior English teachers, especial-ly, noticed how the seniors worked together so well in peer editing their students’ work and saw that they continued to edit each other’s work outside of class. They identified the

need to help the majority of students in the school improve their writing skills,” said Mrs. McGovern. At that time, McGovern added, “There was only one writing class available, the Writing Enhancement class.” Mrs. Cammarata, the administra-tion and Mrs. McGovern worked to form a committee to research the need for a center, and Mrs. Megan Hastings volunteered to work in the writing center with Mrs. McGovern. The com-mittee determined that peer tutors were important for making the center achieve its goals. Mrs. Hastings said, “The writing center’s goal is to offer a service to students to help them improve their writing for any paper in any class.” The peer tutors who are helping students in the morning before school are Emily Bolvig, Virginia Waters,

Friday, October 30, 2015 The Sword & Shield2newsnews

Emily Sykes and Paige Berryhill. Fourth period peer tutors are Henry Kilpatrick, Cece Sims, Hol-lon Skinner, Lucy Chapman and Marley Barnett. Junior Page Berryhill said, “I wanted to be a writing center staff member because I wanted to help others with their writing and to improve my tutoring and writing abilities. We have lots of people stop by every day to get help!” “I wanted to be on the writing center staff be-cause I thought it would be fun to see how I liked tutoring. I think it would be fun to be a teacher when I’m older, so I wanted to see if teaching was a thing that I enjoyed. I think the writing center was exactly what I thought it would be like,” said junior Emily Bolvig. Bolvig added, “Actually when we were getting started up, Mrs. Hastings was having doubts, but I somehow knew that the traffic would pick up. And it did! Now we are in full swing and it is even more popular than I imagined.” Other peer tutors have had similar experi-ences. Junior Henry Kilpatrick said, “I wanted to be on the writing center [staff] because I was trying to fill my schedule, and the writing center seemed like not only a good opportunity to help others become better writers, but also a chance to strengthen my own writing skills.” “Since this year is the Spartan Writing Center’s first, I was not sure what to expect. I have been pleased with my experience as a peer tutor and the response from fellow students,” added Kilpatrick. According to Mrs. McGovern, “so far mostly sophomores and juniors have come to the writing center, 73 total. We would like to see every student come by the end of the year.”

“We are off to a wonderful start and hope to see more students apply this spring,” said Mrs. McGovern. The applications for the writing center will go up on the website in April, and the applications are open to rising eleventh and twelfth graders.

Photo by Caroline LowePeer tutors Lucy Chapman, Marley Barnett and Hollon Skinner discuss conferencing techniques.

Center, continued

3newsThe Sword & ShieldFriday, October 30, 2015

Trader Joe’s comes to BirminghamBy NATALIE REED and MARGARET KENNEDY

Staff Writers There’s a new way to shop at the Summit. Trader Joe’s has settled in and opened its doors for Birmingham. The grocery store chain held its grand open-ing on October 13. With over 5,000 RSVPs, the store was swamped. Trader Joe’s is a grocery store chain that provides low prices for both organic and processed food products. Since 1958, the chain has expanded across several states. The store at the Summit is the company’s first in Alabama. Many students are excited. Junior Grant Little says,“Hopefully it will promote healthier eating and more cooking at home rather than eating out.” However, senior Caroline Lowe isn’t complaining about the indulgent choic-es Trader Joe’s offers. “I love the macroni and cheese--plus the cheesecake. The pumpkin cheesecake is amazing and only costs $6.99. Trader Joe’s prices are a major pull for me.” According to Mary Beyer Lell, the Leasing Manager of Bayer Properties, “Trader Joe’s has always been a tenant we thought should be in Birmingham. We have talked to them for years now. We just never had the right location within the project.”

Although Trader Joe’s isn’t an all purpose grocery store, people are sure to find a reason to visit frequently. With lots of different food and drink choices, many patrons already have their favorites. Sophomore Annie O’Neill says, “I’m a big fan of their cinnamon toasted raisin bread.” Some of the store’s recently recommended fall items include the coveted Cookie Butter, Peanut Butter Pretzels, Pumpkin Spiced Pumpkin Seeds, Fall Harvest Salsa, Pumpkin Seed Brittle, Pumpkin Spice Coffee and Nonfat Greek Pumpkin Yogurt. The store’s atmosphere encourages shopping. The store is decorated with mu-rals depicting many famous sites around Birmingham, including Railroad Park and the Alabama Theater. The Summit has welcomed the new store with open arms, and empty stom-achs, hungering for a taste of fresh produce.    

4 Friday, October 30, 2015 The Sword & Shield

Friday, October 30, 2015 The Sword & Shieldnews

The Cage Club t-shirts continue to stir controversy:

Photo by Carter EnnisNot everyone is happy with the design of the Pines, a popular teen drinking spot, on the back of the Cage Club shirts.

By CARTER ENNISStaff Writer

For better or for worse, the Cage Club is and always will be an important fixture of the commu-nity. The club means different things to different people, but there is one common idea amongst the members that unifies them: subversion. For those of you who don’t know, the Cage Club is an organization comprised of MBHS students that exists solely, as senior and Cage Club member Charlie Cope said, “To increase school spirit in the student section at football games and to provide support at school events in general.” At football games, the members of the Cage Club scream the loudest and play the hardest. However, recently their enthusiasm for “semi-harmless fun” has come under fire. The Club’s shirts have once again become a source

of controversy as this year’s design (pictured above) contains a reference to a well-known teen drinking spot, The Pines. However, almost as notable as this case of per-haps indecent symbolism is, it has been overshad-owed by the fact that Cage Club members are no longer permitted to display their nicknames on their shirts. Principal Mrs. Amanda Hood insists that the prohibition “is mainly due to the dress code, and that we (MBHS) don’t allow students to wear anything that is distracting or inappro-priate. Historically, the Cage Club shirts have ventured into the inappropriate realm.” Many students agree that it is fully within the school’s jurisdiction to censor the often lewd names on the Cage Club shirts, even though it is, in the words of Mrs. Hood “a community group not affiliated with the school.” Regarding the reference to The Pines on this year’s shirt, senior Brianna Lipp remarked, “It’s the school’s right to censor what is inappropriate, but the design is subtle enough that I don’t have a problem with it.” However, those who know people who may have fallen victim to the vices of The Pines are less likely to buy into the cleverness of the design. Teacher Mrs. Missy Cunningham has a more personal connection with The Pines and what it represents. She said, “I know of kids who have been killed coming home from The Pines. I know of my own child having an experience with a friend who was intoxicated to the point where they almost had

to go to the hospital. I know of accidents that have happened as a result. There is nothing okay to me about teen-age drinking.” However, given all the controversy the

Cage Club ordeal has elicited, Cope explained, “It’s tradition for the shirts to have names on them-it’s always been like that. So, I feel like censoring that has ruined that tradition, but I definitely don’t think it has ruined the spirit of the club.”

Spurs discussion among faculty and students

The Sword & ShieldCo-Editor-in-Chief: Coke Matthews

Co-Editor-in-Chief: Mathilde SharmanArt & Photography Editor: Cole Summersell

News Editor: Thomas CooneySports Editor: Will Davis

Features Editor: Angela FuOpinions Editor: Jeffrey JonesReviews Editor: Patrick Doud

Business Manager: Jackson Sharman

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 mbhsgosands@student.mtnbrook.k12.al.us

5Friday, October 30, 2015The Sword & ShieldFriday, October 30, 2015The Sword & Shield Opinions

Alex DebrugeJulia Jane Duggan

Carter EnnisJack Kennedy

Margaret KennedyLeigh Lewis

Caroline LoweNatalie ReadLily Smith

Emma TaylorAnn McQueen Whatley

By PATRICK DOUDReviews Editor

Our dreams have come true. The school has finally issued us personal technology. At long last in 2015, Mountain Brook High School has given us Google Chromebooks for both in-school and at home usage. Personally, the Chromebooks have been a bless-ing for me. They have enhanced my educational capabilities by placing an abundance of learning at the tip of my fingers. For example, I could be sitting down bamboozled by Physics, but my Chromebook is there to save the day, giving me quick, easy access to all the students who had the same question on Yahoo Answers. Additionally, it helps me in class. The Chrome-book allows me to take notes easily at school and keep them in one location without having to deal

with a mess of papers and notebooks. My backpack and binders are less cluttered this year, and I now can keep important documents electronically. The best part about the Chromebooks is the automatic saving feature of Google Drive. I have no doubt that this will save multiple students from the dreaded experience of losing a document that they forgot to save. This feature is magical. Google saves each file as you type to ensure that noth-ing is lost. Even at home, the Chromebook helps me. When I’m not doing homework (or am supposed to be doing homework), I am able to listen to free music on Spotify or check my fantasy football team at surpris-ingly fast internet speed. Also, I can pro-crastinate as much as I want to in my room on Netflix watching “The

Office” instead of studying for that big Econ test the next morning. These Chromebooks have been very useful for me as well as my peers this year, and I believe that giving them to the students was a great idea and should be continued at the high school for years to come. I give the Chromebooks two thumbs up.

Chromebooks enhance student learning

Photo by Caroline Lowe Ben Parker and Frank Crockard use their Chromebooks to do homework during their free period.

Stop the Sniveling “The new furniture just gets in the way.”“It’s impossible to get WEPA to print anything correctly.”“The Chromebooks aren’t even real laptops.”

For the past few months, comments like these echoed through the halls as students griped about recent changes, feeding off of each other’s negativity. While it’s easy to criticize the new changes, students must realize that their remarks reflect badly on Mountain Brook and uphold the stereotype that we’re spoiled and entitled. Obviously, these claims do not apply to the majority of students here. However, when we complain about receiving Chromebooks while other schools don’t provide internet access for their students, much less personal laptops, we’re doing nothing to disprove those stereotypes. Instead of scoffing at the mall furniture, we need to recognize that some schools in the U.S. do not even have air conditioning. The very fact that we’re able to complain about such trivial issues reveals how fortunate we are. And when it comes to what actually matters– namely, receiving an educa-tion– Mountain Brook High School is doing an excellent job. We’ve been recog-nized by publications like the Washington Post, Newsweek and The Daily Beast as one of the best schools in the nation. Our average ACT score (26.4) is much higher than the national average (21.0). Since 1968, 648 National Merit Finalists, four Rhodes Scholars and one Fulbright Scholar have walked these halls. Ask recent graduates about their college courses during freshman year, and they will likely tell you that their classes at MBHS were much more demanding. Of course, MBHS is not perfect, and students can and should voice legitimate concerns. However, a complaint that it takes you an extra 20 seconds to navigate the furniture in the mall is not a “legitimate concern.” Moreover, you will not remember these issues in a couple of years. Instead, you’ll remember the people and wish you could see your classmates even though they will be scattered across the nation by then. These are the last days you and the members of your class will all be in the same place at the same time. So appreciate them– and Mountain Brook– now. Go to the Homecoming pa-rade this afternoon. Go to the game and enjoy the exhilaration that only comes from cheering alongside a hundred of your fellow Spartans. Go to the dance, even if only for an hour, even if you don’t have a date, even if you think school dances are unbearably lame. Go and enjoy these last few years you have at the school. Don’t wait until you’re an alumni to appreciate it.

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6Opinions Friday, October 30, 2015 The Sword & Shield

Virulent criticism reveals misunderstanding of feminism

By MATHILDE SHARMAN

Co-Edior-in-Chief For the 2015 sorority rush at the University of Alabama, Alpha Phi released a recruitment video that was subjected to public criticism. Al.com writer A.L. Bailey lambasted the video, saying the young women of Alpha Phi have turned themselves into the “poster children for detrimental stereotypes and clichés.”

There is little to nothing redeeming about Alpha Phi’s video. The video shows an uncomfortable lack of diversity and fails to highlight the numerous attributes of sisterhood, friendship, and the net-work of connections that serves as a base in a sea of students. But whether we like it or not, the video accom-plishes its purpose to attract a large pool of appli-cants for Rush 2015. Like any ad, it identifies what will attract customers. The video is an element, a preliminary part of the recruiting process. While the video fails to portray the girls the as well rounded, complex women with numerous attributes, Critics like A.L. Bailey say the video satisfies the appetites of the girls’ male peers and is damaging to women, but their criticism is ironic, and in some aspects, hypocritical. In their great defense of women, they tell a group of girls how they should feel about their bodies and assume they dressed for frat boys down the street, ignoring any possibility that the girls’ pride in their bodies comes from self-confidence. When they complain that the girls’ promiscuity merely serves to satisfy men,

they sabotage their feminist argument, ignoring any possibility that the video comes from a place of self-confidence and pride that isn’t tied to men. Our society has invested money and energy into helping women love their bodies. We’ve created ad campaigns, clothing lines and hired psychiatrists to combat eating disorders, yet when a group of young women shows a great deal of confidence in their bodies, we erupt into a dialogue of criticism and shame. While women hold varying personal beliefs, no woman deserves to be shamed for what she chooses to wear, and her choices should be understood as her own. Young women should see themselves as well rounded, complex human beings. But critics should be wary of the way they understand women in their attempt to empower women. There’s a fine line between protecting women and sabotaging the freedoms they’ve gained.

Behind the Homecoming mask

By JEFFREY JONES

Opinions Editor Senior president of the Latin Club, Jake Sansom, has been eagerly planning and designing a self-proclaimed “legendary homecoming float.” Senior pres-ident of the croquet club, James Franklin, advertises his plan to feature the “classy undead” on his club’s float. And Junior president of the rock climbing club, William Bloodworth, intends to do nothing less than “climb to the top” and win the parade’s float competition.Notice a theme? Homecoming, home-coming, homecoming. Sophomores, have you realized this disappointing news? When you walked through sophomore registra-tion at the beginning of this year you were bombarded by the sight of an array of clubs vying for your attention and enrollment. Maybe a few of them stood out to you, and, seizing the opportunity to get involved and meet others with similar interests, you joined some. With few exceptions, your good intentions will mostly fall on rocky soil. It’s a sad truth. Most clubs exist for at the high school for two explicit pur-poses: floats and resumes. Not that either of those things are inherently bad, but something must be amiss when the culture at the high school says it’s more reasonable for someone to campaign for the president of the frisbee club by promising to deliver an awesome homecoming float than their actual talents as a frisbee player or participation at club events. Which reminds me: what club events? What should be the preeminent purpose for any recreational club, is unfor-tunately a forgotten side note. Clubs have the unique potential to provide the

appropriate setting for people to engage in interests that otherwise don’t have a well-defined outlet. However, ask the Croquet club when the last time they actu-ally played croquet and that should indicate how serious they are about playing the game. This is not to say that some clubs at the high school have not prevailed over the monotony of t-shirt designs and float building. However, for clubs to surpass the routine requires an exceptional level of enthusiasm and dedication from its leadership. While these difficulties are by no means insurmountable, a number of tangi-ble and intangible factors contribute to an environment that encourages clubs into their minimalistic role. One very fixable hindrance preventing clubs from fulfilling their potential is scheduling. The current calendar strategically includes many club days in the weeks leading up to homecoming, but after this milestone, club days drop off dramatically with only one in the entire second semester. In order to be successful post homecoming, clubs need more club days at the very beginning of the year to cultivate a strong status quo of operating meetings on a purely interest based focus not a homecoming one. More club days would alleviate some of the circumstances that prevent even motivated student leaders from making clubs successful. It is much harder to regain interest after the majority of members have already relegated club membership to a line item on a resume and not a legitimate extracurricular

activity.     This cycle perpetuates itself as seniors already indoctrinated in the system run for office solely for resume motivations, and peers with low expectations are content not to challenge their officers. The confluence of unmotivated leaders and members leaves clubs languishing without direction. Here arises the true heart of the issue: a general apathy of the student body towards club membership.

    The problem stems from a lack of incentive. Club performance cannot be quantified with a value like GPAs quantify academic achievement. Regardless of our intentions, we strategically choose to devote time to pursuits that give us a return on our resume, rather than a return on our interests. For the administration to schedule more club days and take away from instructional time, students must fully participate in the clubs, both during the allotted time and outside of school. Given that half the student body is in the lunchroom during club periods, the administration can’t justify scheduling more. Change must come from the students before more club days are scheduled.

“For the administration to schedule more club days and take away from instructional time, students must fully participate in the clubs, both during the allotted time and outside of

school.”

A deeper look at MBHS Clubs

7Friday, October 30, 2015The Sword & Shield Opinions

By JAKE SANSOMStaff Writer

I must admit, I was upset when I heard the news. After several years of sleep deprivation, late-night study sessions and grade-related worries, all of my work had instantly been devalued: my class rank was gone. During the 2014-2015 school year, Mountain Brook Schools formed a committee to review class rank and GPA policies, focusing on their role in the college application process. After much delib-eration, the committee released a report with their findings, and in September they decided to remove class rank. The decision was by no means an easy one to make. Although class rank may be a simple method of student evaluation, its effects are quite complex. First of all, class rank creates competition among peers, especially those near the top of the class. For these students, class rank serves as a motivat-ing factor, an extra reason to work hard. College admissions seem far off during the first half of high school, and GPA doesn’t really indicate how you compare with others, but class rank is easy to understand; it is a direct com-parison between you and other students in your grade. Because of this, class rank fosters a com-petitive environment at Moun-tain Brook High School. Class rank also makes it easier for students to assess the quality of their work and the caliber of their grades. Take Jeffrey Jones for example, a senior who began his sopho-more year ranked number 61 out of 337. “I had no idea I was ranked so low,” he said. “I just assumed that since I had all A’s, I was in the top five percent of my class.” For many students, class rank is very informative, making them realize their place in the grade. After viewing his class rank, Jones discovered that he was not where he wanted to be, began working hard, and has now ascended to number 29. In the long run, class rank helps students identify their place in the grade, an essential for self-evaluation. The only detrimental effects of class rank are rooted in the flaws of the college admissions process. Nowadays, colleges receive thousands of applicants to sort through every single year. The struggle to find efficient methods of sorting has only lead to substandard analysis of candidates; instead of reviewing

candidates holistically (as they always claim to do), colleges oftentimes discard students on the basis of class rank without ever considering the difficulty of the high school. According to Mrs. Amanda Hood, the principal of Mountain Brook High School, exact class rank gives admissions officers “an easy way to sort and classify,” a fact that creates a problem for Mountain Brook students. In fact, the committee was created because of several students whose class rank nega-tively impacted their admission processes. With the new decision, class rank has been re-placed by a bar chart that displays the GPA distribu-tion of the entire class. This enables colleges to get a rough estimate of where each student ranks without having to report the actual number. Regarding class rank, lack of specificity makes it more difficult for

colleges to make decisions based on ranking alone since they cannot automatically deny students below a certain ranking (as some colleges seem to actually do). By removing class rank, colleges are forced to “look further into the classes that you’ve taken, the rigor of your coursework, the high school that you come from, all of these other things . . . to figure out what kind of a student you are,” says MBHS college counselor, Mrs. Karen Svetlay. By removing class rank, MBHS students will encounter less difficulty with colleges who refuse to

review candidates holistically. However competition will drop off, and students will also have a harder time evaluating the quality of their grades. Also, by not phasing class rank out, current students have essentially lost a product of their hard work. We should not have to make such a trade off. Across the United States, high schools are favoring less accurate, less competitive systems of ranking, forcing other schools to follow suit. Class rank will always be the best way to evaluate students because of its simplicity. Instead of altering the dis-play of grade distributions to cast everyone in a pos-itive light, class rank reports your actual location in the class. There is no possibility of skewing results as long as colleges properly consider the difficulty of each school. The problem inherently lies with admission staffs, not with classranking itself. With these factors in mind, our school conceded to a national trend. There could have been more representation of top students, and it definitely would have helped if they had phased class rank out (they did this to benefit current students), but they made their decision. Class rank will always be the best way to display a class distribution, but colleges have rendered this method ineffective. Mountain Brook High School has essentially fallen victim to a flawed post-secondary system, and the only way to make amends is to fix the problem at its root: college admission staffs must change.

Class rank changes raise important questions

Chart by Jake SansomThe above chart shows the GPA distribution of the entire class of 2015. Colleges will see this information rather than class rank .

“Instead of altering the display of grade distributions to cast everyone in a positive light,

class rank reports your actual location in the class.”

8 Friday, October 30, 2015 The Sword & Shield

Friday, October 30, 2015 The Sword & ShieldFeatures

Clay Higginbotham’s slow road to recoveryBy LILY SMITH

Staff Writer As we approach the first nine weeks mark in the school year, school is really starting to give everyone a headache. But after you read this article, you may think twice about complaining because there are people that have much worse headaches to deal with. Literally. On Aug. 22, not even a week into the school year, junior Clay Higginbotham fell off a skateboard and hit his head on the pavement, landing him in a medically induced coma in UAB’s Intensive Care Unit. “I don’t remember anything from the accident, but I guess that’s a good thing because the doctors said that if I did, I would have PTSD,” said Higginbotham. The doctors had originally predicted that if Clay sur-vived the accident he would be in the hospital for much longer than he really was. But he just kept on surprising them with his incredibly fast progress. After being in the ICU for five days, Clay was sent to SPAIN Rehab Center. After 21 days of rehab, he was released (early, again) and finally went home. But Clay was only home for five days before he dis-covered he would have to go back to the hospital for an emergency surgery to remove scar tissue buildup (from a breathing tube he had in the ICU) in his esophagus that was preventing him from being able to breathe. “Not be-ing able to breathe was the worst part. It was horrible. I don’t remember this, but my mom said a couple of times I would be like, ‘Mom, I think I’m dying.’” Now that he has had the surgery, he can finally come home and continue the recovery process. The doctors estimate that he should completely heal in about a year. Until then, he will suffer from all of the usual post-head trauma symptoms, like constant headaches, heat flashes, trouble sleeping and extremely heightened senses and emotions. But as painful as it may be, he refuses to take any pain medications other than Advil. “The pain is not even close to being the worst part.

Just laying around and doing nothing is the worst; I need to be able to actually move around and do things. It’s driving me crazy,” he explained. Prior to the accident, Clay was a very active person, so not being able to do anything has been really hard for him. He typically mountain bikes and does Crossfit regu-larly, but now since the accident he can no longer do these things. “Eventually I will be able to pick it back up again, but I’m essentially starting from scratch and having to relearn every-thing. I was projected to go to the Crossfit games this year, but now that is completely out of the question,” said Higgin-botham. As far as school goes, he should be back in school next semester. “The goal is to be able to walk at graduation. I re-ally did not want to have to repeat this year, so we’re doing everything we can to prevent that from happening.” By everything he means dropping all but the four core classes, and even those four will be altered to make things easier. He will also be working with a tutor at home to catch him up.

Unfortunately, this will completely ruin his four-year plan. Although he will graduate on time, he will recieve fewer credits than previously planned. Talk about a headache.

Photo courtesy of Clay HigginbothamBefore his accident, Clay enjoyed lifting weights. He’s looking forward to returning to the sports he loves.

9FeaturesFriday, October 30, 2015The Sword & Shield

Sophie Brint transitions from homeschool to MBHSBy COKE MATTHEWS

Co-Editor-in-Chief I remember when Sophie transferred into the junior high in 9th grade. She excelled in Art Forms and quickly became an active member of our class. I was surprised to recently hear that she was home-schooled up until that point. So how did Sophie go from a class of one to fitting in and standing out at a large public school? The Sword & Shield sat down with Sophie to talk aboout her experience.

The Sword & Shield: How’s it going today, Sophie?Sophie Brint: It’s going great! Coke, how are you today? Let’s make this nice and chatty.S&S: Good. How’s senior year going for you?SB: It’s going really well. How’s yours?S&S: Sophie, I’m supposed to be the one asking questions.SB: I’m sorry, it’s just how I have a conversation. Okay, yes, Coke, senior year has been great. It’s a little more work than I expected, but that’s fine.S&S: I know you’re involved in a lot of things. What’s your schedule like on a normal day?SB: Well, first I go to calculus with Mrs. Burns. Wait, you don’t want that do you? Ok, so I have a bunch of AP classes that I’m taking, and I have lots of Key Club and SGA meetings. I do violin outside of school, am involved in church, and play for our band Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights with my youth group. I lead a Bible study, and in the middle of all that I eat and sleep and take showers. So, it’s all good.S&S: How long do you spend on the violin a day?SB: I usually try and practice for about an hour to an hour and a half a day. I’ll end up spending several hours Sunday and Wednesday doing it. So, it adds up to quite a bit.S&S: That’s impressive. So something most peo-ple don’t know about you is that you were home-schooled for a long time, can you tell me what that was like? SB: Well, I started homeschooling when I was in kindergarten up until 9th grade. My mom actually taught me through middle school. We had a very rigorous curriculum, and she was the facilitator for everything. Once I got to middle school, I started watching online lectures to get me used to a class-room environment with teachers and students and note taking so it was even more rigorous and a good transition.

S&S: It must have been a hard decision to switch to public school.SB: Yes, it was a God thing. We prayed about it and doors were just opened, and we came in.S&S: What was it like sitting in your first classroom?SB: It was exciting. It was a lot like what I expected, so I felt pretty comfortable, a lot more than I expect-ed.S&S: Was it hard adjusting to the workload?SB: No, actually I was used to working hard. I hon-estly kept longer hours than public school on most days. On most days I would start work by 7:30 or 8 and keep working until 5 or 5:30.

S&S: Do you stay in touch with friends from when you were homeschooled?SB: I do actually.S&S: Was it hard to make friends or adjust to school? I know you didn’t because it’s you ...SB: No, I loved it.S&S: What was the hardest part of starting school at MB?SB: For me it was the schedule thing, because if I wanted to do violin in the morning and school later at night, I could. Whereas, now my schedule is dictated to me. As long as you’re responsible and

manage your schedule well, it’s not a problem. But, it was hard to get used to having someone tell me exactly what to do.S&S: Are there any benefits to homeschooling?SB: Yes, flexibility and getting to do other things you love in addition to school. Another one for me would have to be the love of learning. The main thing is being able to control my own schedule. So, if there was something I understood well I could breeze right through it, take the test immediately, and not belabor it. I could spend more time on those subjects I was interested in. I love, love to learn.S&S: What colleges are you thinking about? Do you have a top choice?SB: Well, yes, I think I have pretty much decided on Auburn actually. I am very excited.S&S: Congratulations again on winning Miss Olym-pian. Any pageants coming up?SB: Actually, I’m giving away my crown this year, so I will be back on stage performing again and then giving away the crown to a very deserving young lady.S&S: Do you have specific career plans after college?SB: Yes, I want to major in Nursing and become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. Then, after college I want to go ahead and get my MBA and then do nursing administration for a hospital.S&S: Do you have any future plans for your music?SB: I want to keep it up, but there are not a lot of great music opportunities at Auburn. Still, I defi-nitely want to keep taking lessons and maybe play in a chamber group or something because I love it so much and I don’t want to give it up.S&S: What kind of music do you listen to the most?SB: Everything. I love to listen to Christian music. I listen to country, I love some good country and pop. S&S: You don’t listen to the type of music you play on the violin?SB: I do, I listen to a lot of classical stuff too. Truly, if you looked at my Spotify it is a little bit of every-thing.S&S: Out of all your activities, do you have a favor-ite?SB: Honestly, I love it all, but probably my church activity means the most to me because it enriches my own spiritual life as well as the lives of others since I teach a Bible study.S&S: What church do you go to?SB: I go to Dawson Baptist in Homewood.S&S: Thanks, Sophie, appreciate your time.

Courtesy of Image Arts Sophie Brint showcasing her musical talents in the 2015 Miss Olympian Pageant.

One of the first graduates of Mountain Brook and now CEO emeritus of Royal Cup Coffee, Hatton Smith, class of 1969, knew he would return to Mountain Brook. Back in the day, Smith served as the Student Council President, played basketball and ran track. Al-though he doesn’t get on the court very often anymore, Smith channels his passion for people and high energy personality into advocating for UAB football. And if you’ve been listening to the news at all, you know that he’s been pretty successful. Smith credits his public speaking skills, as demon-strated by the recent UAB football press conference, to his SGA experience. “You can dial things back to the days I used to address the student body at Mountain Brook, and that’s when the formative part of speaking to groups started.” When opportunities to address a larger problem in the community arose, Smith always stood ready with a quick course of action. “[You] feed the troops first, you make sure you know all the players, whether they’re the homecom-ing queen or the football star or the guy that’s not that popular. I mean that’s what you do,” said Smith. “You learn those principles when you’re in a position of leadership, and Mountain Brook, from my standpoint, was sort of the testing ground and helped me under-stand the principles of what has hopefully been effec-tive leadership.” The prospect of attending a college hundreds of miles away is always daunting, but Smith, who at-tended Washington and Lee University, encourages students to venture beyond the Brook. “Broaden your horizons. Just go see and do whatever. Be as broad as you can and take advantage of as much stuff as you can.”

In the eyes of another distinguished alumni, the rigorous classes are what prepares Mountain Brook students for academics of all levels. Sam Todd, class of 2000 and a member of the “Fab Five,” or the group of five students who attended Princeton his year, credited his college readiness to the rigorous course load at the the high school. “I felt just as prepared for Princeton, if not more so, than a lot of my classmates who went to Exeter and Andover and all the other Northeastern prep schools,” said Todd. Todd, who spent a semester in Cape Town, Afri-ca, also encourages students to venture beyond their community. “I would absolutely go study abroad some place. At Cape Town, we went on safaris, bungee jumped off the world’s highest commercial bungee, met with govern-ment officials, researched on-site what was going on there. It was just an awesome experience.” Todd also stresses to take advantage of all oppor-tunities in college. “I think it’s easy in high school and college and grad school to be caught up in thinking ‘I can’t wait until next year when I’m in college, I can’t wait until next year when I graduate, I can’t wait until next year when I’m working.’ You gotta enjoy where you are.”

The best and brightest of the Brook: where are they now?mbhs Alumni Feature

Photo courtesy of The OlympianHatton Smith, above, managed to score the first basket for MBHS’s basketball team.

By ANGELA FU and EMMA TAYLORFeatures Editor and Staff Writer

Hidden deep between the far right shelves in the library, simple wood frames contain the portraits and names of Mountain Brook’s “Outstanding Senior Stu-dents.” Aside from old yearbooks tucked away in musty shelves, these pictures are the only proof of the existence of past senior classes. For each student featured, over a hundred more are left unrecorded, leaving passersby to wonder why exactly the students pictured were chosen to represent their class. We decided to delve into the lives of some of these former senior students, not only to discover who they were in high school, but also to determine where they are now.

Hatton SmithClass of 1969

Sam ToddClass of 2000

Photo courtesy of UAB Comprehensive Society Magazine

Sam Todd, now an attorney at Vulcan Materials Company, was featured in the UAB Comprehensive Center Magazine.

Photo courtesy of 78 MagazineMr. Smith swapped his athletic shorts for a suit.Nowadays you’ll find him serving as Vice Presi-dent of Food Service and Hospitality at Royal Cup Coffee.

Photo courtesy of The OlympianCivil service is nothing new to Sam Todd, above, as he spent senior year serving as president of Natural Helpers.

Despite the academic preparation Mountain Brook provides, the social scene in college can be a bit of a shock. “College is a lot different cause you’re within thousands of people,” said Kevin Jiang, class of 2010 and now a second year UAB medical stu-dent. Yet college also means more free time to make friends, according to Jiang. His only caveat? “Don’t try to be someone different. You can force yourself to be someone different for only a short amount of time, but it’s eventually going to show.” Even while juggling college and jobs, everyone we talked to still found time to take an active role in civic affairs. For Jiang, that meant biking across the United States with his fraternity for charity. “We had three routes, started from different spots, and we all ended up in DC. We raised about $500,000 for peo-ple with disabilities. We would stop by a city along the way and work with a local organization that served people with disabilities and then did different events with the kids or the patients there.” High school can be a bit overwhelming. During stress times, Jiang advises, “You gotta break things down, step by step. Everything seems unachievable if you just look at it as a whole.” This advice is especially applicable for seniors panicking over college admissions. “I applied to a couple of schools, and I thought if I got in somewhere I liked, I’d make the decision then. If I don’t get in there, it’s not meant to be. That’s just the way it is. If you always focus on things you can’t control, that’s how you get really depressed in life. So just focus on the things you can control,” said Jiang.

In high school, Amanda Claire Grayson, class of 2009, was a championship debater and Co-Editor-in Chief of The Sword & Shield. Although she considered pursuing her passion for journalism in college, she quickly realized a career in political science might provide more opportunities for growth. “The field of journalism has practical-ly collapsed, at least on a national level,” Grayson explained. She acknowledges that for many of Mountain Brook’s current students, college and post-graduation plans remain far away, making it easy to stress out over upcoming tests and forget to just enjoy high school. “It’s very easy to get in that mindset and to compare yourself to others around you,” said Grayson, a UNC graduate now at Har-vard Law School. “Relaxing, doing things you enjoy rather than freaking out about being perfect all the time is a good idea.” “The teachers are pretty understanding, and generally you just have to prioritize what’s important to you and just have good time management skills. I had a calender that was very well organized. Mountain Brook encourages people to be involved, and I wanted to take advantage of that.”

mbhs Alumni Feature

Photo courtesy of Kevin JiangKevin Jiang spent many weekends in high school at debate tournaments, honing his skills for col-lege, when he helped UAB’s Ethics Bowl team win Nationals.

Photo courtesy of Kevin JiangKevin Jiang spends his time in medical school these days after being accepted into the highly selective Early Medical School Acceptance Program at UAB his senior year.

Photo courtesy of Amanda Claire GraysonAmanda Claire Grayson celebrates the Fourth of July with her fiancé at the White House.

Kevin JiangClass of 2010

. . . and what do they have to tell MBHS students?

Amanda Claire GraysonClass of 2009

Photo courtesy of Amanda Claire GraysonBack before her days in law school, Amanda Claire Grayson put her public speaking skills to practical use when she made it to the top 10 at the National Debate Tournament

12 Friday, October 30, 2015 Features The Sword & Shield

By CAROLINE LOWE Staff Writer

Have you ever wondered what shops are in downtown Birmingham? It is easy to stay in Mountain Brook and not venture downtown, but if you don’t you’re missing unique places to shop. Downtown Birmingham has some of the coolest shops in town, most located on 2nd or 3rd Avenue North. Start your shopping at What’s on 2nd? located at 2306 2nd Avenue North. What’s on 2nd? is a shop that has a variety of collectibles. Senior Julia Bell Pope says, “It has a little bit of everything, and it’s a fun store to look at.”

The three floor shop is packed to the ceiling with interesting items and is a must for collectors as well as those who enjoy browsing. For collectors, What’s on 2nd? has action figurines from different movies like “Lord of the Rings,” “Star Wars” and “Power Rangers.” There are also old comics, political buttons and other offbeat memorabilia. Do you like Elvis? Well, What’s on 2nd? is the place to go. Even if you just want to browse around the shop, you are sure to find something for you. Usually it will take you at least half an hour or more to look at everything in the store. Steve Gilmer, the owner of What’s on 2nd? said, “The reason why I decided to open this shop is because I

love Birmingham and wanted the shop to be like a renaissance shop.” Steve added, “My favorite two items in the shop are the postcards and the things that come through the doors.” Before heading over to 3rd Avenue North, take a short break and stop by Urban Standard to pick up a snack. Urban Standard is three doors down from What’s on 2nd? The restaurant has some tasty salads and sandwiches, but I recommend the cupcakes. The selections vary, but the Red Velvet with cream cheese icing stands out. Another interesting shop in down-town Birmingham is Jim Reed Books--the Museum of Fond Memories located on 2021 3rd Avenue North.

Jim Reed has been the owner of the bookstore for 35 years now. When you walk into his shop, you immediately notice mountains of used books piled on the floor and shelves. This bookstore is the complete opposite of sterile chain stores like Barnes and Noble and should appeal to true book lovers. If you enjoy the smell of old books and browsing for hours among them, this is the place for you. “I love the way the books feel and smell, and there’s no way you can duplicate the books,” said Reed. His bookstore also has merchandise “that goes with the books.” In describing his love of books Reed added, “It’s not just the pages in a book and the glue. The

writer first dreams, and it might take 10 to 15 years to write the book. It is their life.” Walk two doors down from Jim Reed Books and find yourself at Sojourns, located at 2017 3rd Avenue North. This shop sells fair trade items from all over the world. “Fair trade advocates for a fair and living wage to artists, artisans, and producers and provides revenue to promote social and economic develop-ment,” said owner Melissa Kendrick. She decided to open a shop in downtown Birmingham because “I needed a fair trade store to shop at, so I decided that Birmingham needs one.” The owner also said, “There are 57 different countries that we get our

merchandise from. The merchandise has a little bit of everything of a little bit of everywhere.” Sojourns is a great stop for those who like funky jewelry and unique items from around the world. The store also has an eclectic variety of handcrafted Christmas decorations.and is an excellent place to shop for holiday gifts. Next time you are looking for a unique shopping experience and have time to spare, drive downtown on a Saturday and visit these shops. You will have to try your parallel parking skills, but the visit will be worth it.

What’s hot in downtown Birmingham?

Photo by Caroline LoweEvery aisle at Jim Reed Books is overflowing with stacks of used books, many not normally found at chain bookstores.

Photo by Caroline LoweSojourns Fair trade items come from all over the world, including Latin Ameri-can countries such as Honduras and Guatemala.

Photo by Caroline LoweAmong the items for sale at What’s on 2nd? are presidential campaign buttons spanning several decades.

13Friday, October 30, 2015The Sword & Shield Features

By THOMAS COONEYNews Editor

Manly Luttrell sits in the freezing cold, at the crack of dawn, during every deer season. He’s waiting for another prized buck that he can show to 64,000 followers. Luttrell manages an Instagram account called Supreme Whitetails, an account for those who love hunting and the outdoors. Luttrell started the account in 2014 and in one year he gained over 64,000 followers and big name sponsors such as Yeti Coolers, Big Game Treestands, and Muddy Outdoors. While it seems like a fun hobby, the Instagram business is harder than it seems. Luttrell spends a lot of time brainstorming about posts and keeping his followers and sponsors happy. “I try to post everyday….and I stress when I don’t have pictures to post.” While most of students are trying to find the perfect filter, Luttrell, on the other hand, is worried about more than good hair. “I spend about 10 hours a week talking to my sponsors and deciding what to post and creating new posts.” For Luttrell, launching his Instagram was part strategy and part luck. “It was about one year ago when I made it and had no idea it would turn into what I have today. Honestly, I was just bored one day and I decided to make the account and try and post cool stuff.”

In the past few years Insta-gram has moved beyond a picture sharing app to a major marketing tool. According to an E-Market study, Instagram will bring in 595 million dollars in ad revenues this year and Luttrell has found a way to make a profit from Instagram. “I once got fifty dollars just to give someone a shoutout, and I get free merchandise from my sponsors all the time,” said Lut-trell. Sponsors also pay for product placement. Like his post with his Labrador and Yeti coolers. Lut-trell is on his way to creating the Supreme Whitetail brand as he branches to merchandising with T-shirts touting the Whitetail logo. Luttrell hopes his Instagram celebrity status will catapult him to the next level. “I hope, one day I can be on the hunting channel or something like Duck Dynasty.”

Instagram celebrity: Manly Luttrell attracts 64,000 followers

Photo courtesy of Manly Luttrell’s InstagramManly Luttrell turkey hunts in southern Alabama.

Friday, October 30, 2015 The Sword & Shield14Sports

By JACKSON SHARMANBusiness Manager

This year, the cross country team saw the return of many top runners from last year, for both the boys and girls. The leadership, however, was different; Coach Michael McGovern (Gov), the longtime assistant to Coach Greg Echols, took over as head coach. Some teams, no matter what sport, often experience a drop off when a new head coach takes the helm. While there are some differences in this team, however, the mindset is much the same: “The philos-ophy of Mountain Brook is definitely the team first. It has not changed in 20 years. Although most people see cross country as an individual sport, we see it as a team sport,” said Coach Gov. The always high-energy senior David Kirkpatrick feels the same way when com-paring his previous cross country years to this one: “It is different, but the same.” The abundance of quality runners returning to the varsity has also provid-ed some stability and continued success. Seniors Drew Williams and Francis Patrick lead the boys and girls squads, respectively, while many young runners who were in-troduced to the High School team last year have a bigger role this season.

Coach Gov. is furthering the philosophy put in place by Coach Echols; specifically, the team will continue the grassroots program bringing up emerg-ing runners from the Junior High to boost the lineup in races. Over the years, this tactic has come to fruition, especially in the girls varsity division. The girls have won 12 championships in a row while the boys have also been successful, winning five titles in the past ten years. As far as the running, some of the training has changed while much has stayed the same. Senior Jack Tucker said, “Coach McGovern has mixed up the training by having us run more long and tempo runs in addition to our intervals.” Traditionally, “intervals” were interspersed with distance runs in order to rest runners’ legs while still providing a workout. The long runs were put in place to help ensure that the runners would be pre-pared and in top shape for any racing condition. Coach Gov., when asked a prediction for the up-coming State Championship meet, stayed consistent with his running, and team, mindset: “I predict that we will run our best at the State Championship, and if our best is good enough to win, so be it.”

New leadership for cross country team

Photo courtesy of Image ArtsCoach Michael McGovern (left) plans to continue the philosophy of his predecessor, Coach Greg Echols (right).

Coach Michael McGovern takes the reigns of the program

Friday, October 30, 2015The Sword & Shield 15Sports

By JACK KENNEDYStaff Writer

Last year the boys basketball team was one win short of a championship, but Coach Bucky McMillan knows what his team needs to do raise the state championship trophy. “I think we are talented. All of our players on this team have character inside of them. I don’t see any self-ishness,” McMillan said of this year’s team. While he is thrilled about the talent on the team, he had one word for the weakness of this team: “Youth.” The 2015-16 Spartans only return four players from last year: seniors Jack Kline, Joe Donald and Drew Smith, and junior Clay Collins. Coach McMillan is working with the team to build chemistry. The Spartans are anchored by 4-year player Jack Kline. Kline has played on the team since 9th grade and was the MVP of the annual AH-SAA North/South basketball game. “To have him as a senior for young-er guys to look up to, and for them to say that is what a senior is, everyone will fall in line like Jack.” McMillan said, “When your hardest working player is one of your best players, that’s a good thing. Nobody

plays harder than Jack. No one is more team oriented than Jack.” Kline also commit-ted to University of Ala-bama-Huntsville on Aug. 19. “I love UAH. It’s close to home and is a top D-2 pro-gram,” Kline said. “The schedule this year will be a challenge. No doubt about it,” Coach McMillan said. The season kicks off against Northridge on Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. The team is participating in two local invitation tournaments and a national tournament in Nashville. Also, the Spartans are playing St. Pius (Ga.) in a national showcase in Atlanta. The Area 6 -7A includes Vestavia, Spain Park and Hewitt-Trussville, and Moun-tain Brook will play each team, both home and away in early January. Mountain Brook travels on Jan. 26 to Huntsville to play Madison Acade-my, which features top 50 recruit Josh Langford. The Spartans’ final game of the season is against Hoover, who Mountain Brook lost to in the state championship last year. “Every player on our team is going to have to give up something to be highly successful,” said McMillan. The Lady Spartans basketball team has also been practicing hard for the season opener. “Basketball is basket-ball. Even if it’s girls’ or boys’,” said Lady Spartans Coach Mark Cornelius. Coach Cornelius believes the team can have a very successful season if

they can patch a couple of holes. “Chemistry will be a big issue. We have three ninth graders, two tenthgraders, two seniors, and the rest juniors,” Cornelius said. “Everyone is going to have to step up and take on important roles since the three seniors we lost were import-ant pieces to the team,” senior Sara Carr said of this year’s team. Both seniors, Sara Carr and Kath-ryn Wason, play volleyball and cross country, respectively, but Cornelius says that is not an issue. “Sara is such a talented athlete that she picks up on her basketball skills quick.” Last year Sara was the Alabama Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year and led the Mountain Brook Volleyball team to a 7A championship. She also committed to Emory University last

fall to play volleyball. “It was a hard transition in 9th grade, but ever since, it has been smooth,” Sara said. The Lady Spartans will have a very similar schedule to the boys, but their schedule features two in-state tourna-ments. The Spartans will travel to Fort Payne to play in a state-wide tourna-ment on Dec. 21. After Christmas, the Spartans will play in a tournament in Decatur on Dec. 28. “It will be a very challenging region this year. Spain Park will definitely challenge us,” Cornelius said of the schedule. “I’m excited about this year’s team. We have a great group of girls and it’s going to be a fun year,” Carr said.

Basketball focuses on team chemistry as season begins

Photo by Jack KennedyJunior Chris Hellums attempts to drive on senior Jack Kline as the team prepares for the Nov. 12 Northridge game.

16 Friday, October 30, 2015 The Sword & ShieldSports

By JACKSON SHARMANBusiness Manager

From 2001 to 2013, the number of youth lacrosse players in the United States increased by 500,000. Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in America, even though the number of players in the Southeast is still drastically less than those in Virginia and Maryland and the Northeast. In Alabama, specifically, lacrosse has grown dramatically in the past ten years in urban areas like suburbs of Birmingham and Huntsville, but the number of teams in these areas greatly out-number those in other parts of the state. There are many areas in Alabama where the residents have never even heard of lacrosse. The problem to solve is to figure out how to introduce lacrosse to these cities and rural towns. What has worked in the past is to host a clinic for a day or a weekend, and then start a youth team to generate some interest. A youth team in Shades Valley was formed in 2006, and many of those play-ers are on teams in Mountain Brook, Vestavia and Hoover.

What has slowed the growth of lacrosse in Ala-bama is the difficulty in obtaining equipment. Out-side of going online, the only place to go to purchase equipment is at a major retailer like Dick’s Sporting Goods, and the quality of the gear there is usually low and overpriced. Another issue is that structure for lacrosse in Alabama in terms of coaches and field space is not

in ready supply. For example, when kids in Moun-tain Brook decide to play youth basketball, they are assured that they will have a place to practice and hold games, and that they will have an adequate coach (probably a father) to guide them and teach them the fundamentals of basketball. However, these are not guaranteed with young lacrosse players. Very

few parents, when signing up for lacrosse, know about the sport, and are unable to give guidance on how to play. Rathmell Sports Park, in Vestavia, has long been the site of youth lacrosse practices and games in Bir-mingham. But far too often teams are forced to with-hold practice due to the fields being used by various soccer organizations, which have first priority.

Finding qualified coaches is a significant prob-lem. How are young lacrosse players supposed to develop their skills if the coaches are learning the fundamentals with them? The best thing we can do for youth players is to give them a good coach to guide them. Having fathers teach their children basic skills is the most effective way, and this can easily be achieved through modern technology.

Lacrosse is still a long way off from becoming a major sport in Alabama. However, the problems can be fixed by a continued spread of the sport as the game grows and more children are exposed to it.

By NATALIE REEDStaff Writer

Nintendo considers bowling a sport, why don’t you? When bowling became a sanctioned sport last year, a lot of people were pretty bitter. The student body was under the impression that the school itself had chosen bowling over lacrosse, when in fact this was not the case. In reality, the decisions to sanction one sport and not another are separate discussions. Sports become sanctioned through the Alabama High School Ath-letic Association (AHSAA), not the school. Almost every school in Alabama is a member except for a few private ones. Each school gets a vote on the dif-ferent sports up for decision. This past year, bowling received enough votes and lacrosse didn’t. Bowling is heading into its second season at Mountain Brook, and it is making quite a name for itself. Bowling is seen as a sport in which anyone can

participate. Everyone grew up bowling, so it’s not hard to score a few points each game. Mr. Jeremy Stearns, coach of the bowling team, says his favorite part of having a team is that “You can see kids that wouldn’t normally be involved in a team sport being able to compete with their teammates and playing for a reason greater than themselves.” Many students who joined last year did so because of that. They saw it as something that could make them part of the school but without as much work as a varsity sport. Member of the 2015-2016 team, sophomore Annie O’Neill, says, “Bowling was something I felt comfortable doing, and it seemed like a

fun idea.” The bowling team has practice or a game twice a week. And they work up quite a sweat. According to the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America, “Bowling burns through roughly 240 calories per hour of activity; it improves your heart and respiratory fitness, and tones your arm, shoulder, chest, and leg muscles.” The team usually has 10 girls and 10 boys. Each team can have five people bowl at a time, with three subs. “Bowling is a great life-

time sport; it is something you can do for the rest of your life. That makes it all the more better,” said Stearns. All over the state, around 70 teams have sprung up. These teams compete in tournaments that do get competitive, but it is definitely friendly competition. “Bowling is an awesome way to meet new friends,” said sophomore team member Warner Neal. Bowling is an everyman sport, and it’s here to stay at Mountain Brook.

Lacrosse still struggles to grow in the South

Photo by Natalie ReedSophomore Molly O’Neill looks down the bowling lane, contem-plating her next move.

Bowling: no longer just a date night

“What has slowed the growth of

lacrosse in Alabama is the difficulty in obtaining equipment.”

Commentary

Commentary

Friday, October 30, 2015The Sword & Shield 17SportsRoughed up Spartans look to finish strong at Homecoming

Mountain Brook volleyball soars through season

By WILL DAVISSports Editor

Though The Mountain Brook Spar-tans will not be in the 7A playoffs, they are looking to win the season finale for the seniors, who have led the team through a tough season, and will play the final games of their careers on Friday night. “I want to see the seniors finish in a strong way,” Mountain Brook coach Chris Yeager said. “I’d like to see the young guys rally around them and honor them in a way they deserve.” The season started off well, with an encouraging 16-14 comeback win over Huntsville, a team Mountain Brook lost to a year ago, but a valiant effort fell short against defending state champion Hoover, 21-14. They followed that up with anoth-er 21-14 loss, this time on the road against Thompson. As the season pro-gressed, however, the injuries started to pile up, with as many as 23 players inactive for a 51-14 loss at James Clemons. While the team insists on not making any excuses, the Spartans

acknowledge the toll the injuries took on the team this season. “It’s had a huge effect,” senior defen-sive lineman Kemper Sanders said. “The team that we started with against Huntsville is totally different than the one we have now,” Yeager said. “We have some players that have done an incredible job fighting through injuries.” Mountain Brook’s signature mo-ment in a tough season came on the road against Tuscaloosa County. With 25 seconds left, and trailing 16-14, sophomore QB Hamp Sisson led the Spartans down the field, and junior kicker Mason Dillard kicked a 28 yard game winning field goal as the clock expired to give Mountain Brook a road win. Despite a disappointing 2-7 record, Mountain Brook is proud of the resil-ience they showed in a season marred by an uncanny amount of injuries and late-game disappointments. “It’s been a rough year,” senior linebacker Joe Donald said. “A lot of players have gotten hurt, but it’s still fun to play with everybody.”

By WILL DAVISSports Editor

For the third straight year, the Mountain Brook Spartans volleyball team will end their season at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Unfortunately, whether the team hoisted the trophy this year was not known at press time. The Sword & Shield is not able to report the results of Wednesday’s elite eight matches or Thursday’s state championship. “What happened last year was amazing,” senior Sara Chandler Mitchell said. “But we are a com-pletely new team this year, with a huge target on our back. We’re going to get everybody’s best game.”

Two years ago, the Spartans made it to the elite eight, but fell just short of the state title. Last year, Mountain Brook was able to finish it off, becoming the first ever 7A state champions and the first team in program history to win it all. This season, the Spartans responded with a 50-5 regular season, a season which saw them ranked number one in the state from start to finish, and even in the top 25 nationally for parts of the season. “We’ve had the best season any of us have ever been apart of,” senior and reigning 7A player of the year Sara Carr said. “For a team in Alabama, that’s a really big deal.” The national ranking was especially sweet, even if the focus remains on the big prize. “Nothing like that has ever been accomplished in school history,” Mitchell said. “But the funny thing is that we care so much more about working hard in the postseason and getting that state champi-onship. Following the regular season, Mountain Brook once again hosted the area tournament, where they easily dispatched Hewitt Trussville and Vestavia Hills, sweep-ing both teams in three straight sets. The super regionals in Huntsville were more challenging. Mountain Brook was able to sweep Thompson in the first game, but was upset in four sets by the host Huntsville Panthers in the

second game. The Spartans were able to bounce back and sweep Hoover to claim the third seed in the elite eight. With or without a championship, the end of this season marks the end of an historic run for a group of seniors who has shattered just about every school record for on-court success. “It’s surreal knowing the things we have accom-plished,” Mitchell said. “That’s an amazing legacy we will get to leave.”

Photo by Jackson SharmanSenior Sara Carr highfives Lacey Jeffcoat after a point against Vestavia.

Photo courtesy of Image ArtsConner Bussman and Will Pardue team up to force a tackle against Hoover in a Sept. game at Spartan Stadium.

Friday, October 30, 2015 The Sword & ShieldReviews

By ALEX DEBRUGEStaff Writer

Many of us have been using the same shampoo for years. It smells good, makes your hair clean and easy to comb, and above all, is relatively non-toxic. Despite all your shampoo may have going for it, I decided to conduct an independent study of several shampoo alternatives. The alternatives explored were all common household items, but varied greatly in composition, intended purpose, toxicity, and so on. Despite their great variation, the test materials all served a bene-ficial purpose, whether it was for cooking, cleaning, or lubricating. The tested substances were as follows: Spongebob Hand Soap, Tide Detergent, Dawn Dish Soap, Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, and finally, DexMerc Automatic Transmission Fluid.

Softsoap brand Spongebob-themed hand soap:Safe and gentle enough for everyday use. It foamed well, being quite a sight to look at, and rinsed out readily. It also left hair easy to comb. Overall, this would perhaps be the best choice for a true shampoo

substitute. Total score: 5/5Liquid Tide Classic detergent:A poor choice at best. Made hair slick, smells a bit too much like a washing machine, does not rinse out easily, and irritates skin. Total score: 2/5

Dawn Dish Soap:The most realistic alternative. Smells like a kitchen, forms tons of suds to clean all the crud out of your hair, and is mild enough for frequent use. Total score: 4/5

Olive Oil:A bad choice. Makes hair slick and controlled, but it smells like, well, olive oil and is difficult to rinse out. Total score: 2/5

DexMerc Automatic Transmission Fluid:DO NOT try this. Even though it looks like melted gumdrops and smells enticing, it has several short-comings. It makes hair extremely slick, dyes hair red, and does not rinse out at all. Total score: 3/5

Photo by Alex Debruge

DexMerc Automatic transmission fluid is not a good choice if you value your hair.

Shampoo alternatives: dishwashing soap to detergent

Friday, October 30, 2015The Sword & Shield 19ReviewsFive-minute pizza pies in Birmingham: Pieology vs. Pizza 120

By ANN MCQUEEN WHATLEYStaff Writer

If you are desperately craving pizza but do not have the patience to wait the usual 30 to 45 minutes for most takeout pizza restaurants, you are in luck. There are two options for you to get a quick pizza meal. Here in Birmingham there are two restaurants that specialize in the five-minute pizza for all of you impatient pizza fanatics. Locat-ed right next to Zoe’s, Pieology is one of the newest additions to the Summit. Pizza 120 also came to Mountain Brook Village about a year ago. The Sword & Shield visited both places to seek out the best five-minute pizza. When entering each restaurant, I immediately noticed that the atmosphere of Pieology and Pizza 120 are substantially similar. As soon as I walked into each pizzeria, I felt an organic and cheery vibe reflected by the employees and inviting space of the buildings. The atmosphere in both is great for any casual dining experience. The service at the two restaurants is excellent. Employees of Pieol-ogy and Pizza 120 are eager to please. They will also help any indeci-sive customers determine just the right taste and pizza for them. It is not difficult to sense the friendliness of the employees through how they do their job and interact with the customers. Except for their speciality pizzas, the menus at Pieology and Pizza 120 are also similar. They both offer a ten-inch pizza, $7.99 for Piz-za 120’s and $7.95 for Pieology’s, with any toppings of your choice. When it comes to dough, however, Pieology offers white and whole wheat, while Pizza 120 does not offer wheat but does have a glu-ten-free dough. For all of you cheese lovers, Pieology has a larger se-lection of cheeses. However, each place has a similar variety of vege-table and meat topping choices that will not disappoint.

Looking at the atmosphere, service, and ingredients of Pieology and Pizza 120, it would seem that they might as well be the exact same restaurant with two different names and locations, but what truly sets the two restaurants apart is the taste of the actual pizza. Pie-ology’s tomato sauce is the ideal consistency and sweetness, while the sauce Pizza 120 uses is much less appetizing with chunks of tomato among a liquid consistency making it nearly tasteless. The overall taste of Pizza 120’s pizza is also very cheesy compared to Pieology, which has a quality balance between sauce, cheese, top-pings, and a unique spicy/sweet seasoning. The pepperoni at Pieology is much more flavorful than Pizza 120’s. Their crust is also a little bit thicker and less cooked because they use an electric oven to bake their pizzas whereas Pieology uses an oven with an open flame to make a crisper and better cooked pizza. With all of these things in mind, my final verdict for the best five-minute pizza is definitely Pieology. Overall, many things about Pieology and Pizza 120 are similar, but once I ate each, the vast differences between the two are extremely clear. The place to go for the best five-minute pizza is by far Pieology with its exceptional taste compared to Pizza 120.

Photo by Ann McQueen Whatley Junior Murray Brown samples a cheese pizza at Pizza 120.

With 5 pizzas being the best score, Pieology beats out Pizza 120.

Pieology

Pizza 120

Best All Around:

Charlotte McRaeDuncan Manley

Most Likely to Succeed:

Helen Catherine DarbyLeo Styslinger

Most Intellectual:Angela Fu

Jake Sansom

Most Active in theCommunity:Carlton Cooper

John Gross

Best Personality:Kennedy Schwefler

Conner Lantz

Most School Spirit:Kaylyn Greene

Patrick Trammell

Most Athletic:Sara CarrJack Kline

Most Talented in Writing:

Adelaide KimberlyCoke Matthews

Most Talented in Music:

Sophie BrintHugh Rowe Thomas

Most Talented in Drama:

Elizabeth TurnerWilliam Scott

Most Talented in Art:Gabrielle Berman

Baker Smith

BestLooking:

Maggie BeasleyJoe Donald

Cutest:Meme Marshall

Graham LeJeune

Best Dressed:Lucy Long

John William Price

Friendliest:Adele Bird

Alex Debruge

Wittiest:Eleanor BaddleyEdmund Perry

SeniorSuperlatives

where she plays rec league basketball. She also is a Birmingham Belle. Annie’s passions include cheering for her brother Tom, a member of the University of Alabama golf team, and supporting her cousin, senior Joe Donald, at Spartan football games. While close to her many friends at MBHS, Annie also values the relation-ships she has made at Camp Skyline. Annie has attended the camp since 3rd grade, and her mom refers to it as “her happy place.” She adds that Annie’s “very favorite thing to do is to be a Camp Skyline Counselor.” “In addition to meeting and lov-ing the young campers, Annie gets to spend the summers with her forever friends who were once campers with her and are now counselors, too,” says Mrs. Lovelady. Annie has a wide variety of inter-

ests. When asked who Annie would like to meet, her mother says, “Beyon-cé to learn her dance moves and Taylor Swift for her music and sense of style.” Upon graduation, Annie plans to attend the University of Alabama and major in Business. She will be room-ing with a longtime Camp Skyline friend from Montgomery. As is custom, this afternoon, Annie will bring up the end of the tradi-tional 2:30 p.m. homecoming parade. During the halftime festivities tonight, Mr. Joe Donald will escort Annie. Last year’s Homecoming Queen, Maggie Neal, will then crown Annie Moun-tain Brook High School’s 2015-2016 Homecoming Queen.

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.

Photo courtesy of Mrs. Kitty LoveladyAnnie Lovelady has brightened the world with her smile ever since she was a little girl.

20Homecoming Friday, October 30, 2015 The Sword & Shield

Queen, continued

Sophomores:Mary Allison Anderson

Sid Ortis

Class FavoritesJuniors:

Katherine BrianCarter Kampakis