campus lantern_june 2010

volume MMXI, No. 4 Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania June 2010

The Campus Lantern Congratulates the Class of 2010

In this issue: Social Security, Off the Wheel Art Show, Why Latin?, CHA Track, Commencement and Prize Day Awards, Tea Party Movement, New College Counselor, Catholic School Closings


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The Social Security Dilemma

Off the Wheel: A Showcase of Slab-built Pots for the Table and Home

Griffin Horter ’11

With the looming retirement of the Baby Boomer generation, Social Security has once again moved to the forefront of political debates. Passed in 1935 as part of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, Social Security was created to aid seniors, widows, the poor, and the unemployed. Today, it costs $678 billion per year to fund this program (the U.S. government’s biggest expenditure besides defense spending). The government pays this enormous sum by means of the payroll tax which deducts 6.20% of a worker’s wages from each paycheck. When senior citizens retire, they can start collecting monthly checks from the U.S. government starting at age 67. Social Security thus acts as a forced retirement savings plan which helps keep retired citizens out of poverty.

Historically, the payroll tax has resulted in a surplus for the government because there have been significantly more workers than retired citizens. But what will

happen when the Baby Boomer generation starts to retire? This nightmare is becoming a reality. Social Security’s surplus decreased from $63 billion in 2008, to only $3 billion in 2009 due to Baby Boomers starting to retire and hundreds of thousands of workers forced to retire or claim disability as a result of the recession. As the Social Security surplus begins

to diminish, it becomes quite clear that reform is needed. The two most obvious ways to address the issue are to increase the payroll tax or to reduce the amount of money given by monthly benefits checks. However, both of these options are distressing to different groups. The first option, increasing the payroll tax, will anger fiscal

conservatives who are already opposed to Obama’s big government agenda of increased spending and taxation. The second option, decreasing the amount of money given by monthly benefits checks, will anger current and future retired citizens who are counting on these checks as their only source of income during their retirement years. One popular criticism of Social

Security is that it is a legal Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme is an illegal investment technique that pays off investors with their own, or other investors’, money instead of profits. The most famous Ponzi scheme was recently carried out by Bernie Madoff. Critics argue that Social Security works in the same way as a Ponzi scheme because it uses the payroll taxes of current workers to pay retired workers benefits. Economist Thomas Sowell supports this idea in his book Social Security: The Enron That Politicans Have in the Closet: “Social Security has been a pyramid (Ponzi) scheme from the beginning. Those who paid in first received money from those who paid in second — and so on, generation after generation. This was great so long as the small generation when Social Security began was being supported by larger generations resulting from the baby boom. But, like all pyramid schemes, the whole thing is in big trouble once the pyramid stops growing.” As evidenced by Congress’ disagreements about and inability to resolve the problem swiftly, the Social Security question is a tough one to answer. Yet it is one that we will be forced to answer very soon when the small Social Security surplus turns into a large deficit. Hopefully, Congress will be able to fix this problem before it is too late.

Jeffrey Ng ’12

Nowhere have art, home, and school been more closely intertwined than at the exhibition that took place in the Barbara Crawford Gallery during the month of April. In Off the Wheel: A Showcase of Slab-built Pots for the Table and Home, various tall pots as well as dishes, tea kettles and pouring vessels were on display. A key organizer was NCECA, the National Council on Education for Ceramic Arts, which held its 44th conference in Philadelphia in early April for a large number of teachers, students, and collectors. The Clay Studio, a nonprofit organization which performs outreach to local schools, was also important in organizing the exhibition. Featured in Ceramics Monthly and the Chestnut Hill Local, the exhibition attracted over 500 individuals both outside and inside the school by its close on April 30th. Since many of the cups and pots

Today, it costs $678 billion per year to fund this program (the U.S. government’s biggest expenditure besides defense spending).

See Off the Wheel, Page 3 Artwork by Andrew Moss ’ 11

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Why Latin?

from the exhibition look like any other ceramic piece and appear to all serve the same function, we might wonder what difference there is between a piece that is “slab-built” and a piece created by some other means. Mr. Brian Grow, CHA ceramics teacher and a main supervisor of this exhibition, explained that there is “no difference in the functionality,” but only in the technique used to build the piece. In slab-building, sheets of clay that are soft and pliable are curved, indented, cut, and joined together. In contrast, pots made using a potter’s wheel start out as a ball of clay and through pushing and pulling the clay results in a symmetrical pot.

As reflected in the Off the Wheel exhibition, the slab-building process allows

artists to create various shapes and styles unique to each artist. Eight artists were selected for the exhibition: Sam Chung, Marc Digeros, Allison McGowan, Sandi Pierantozzi, Liz Zlot Summerfield, and Amy Scher. In Ceramics Monthly, Curator Cheyenne Chapman Rudolph said that “the artists chosen represent a wide range of work and work types, from tight and rendered to loose and fluid”. Mr. Grow explained this dichotomy further. He stated that “loose and fluid,” may refer to a piece that is not completely symmetrical and more freeform, like the work of Marc Digeros. This artist leaves the seams of his pots visible, showing the less refined nature of art resulting from a looser style. In contrast with Digeros’ loose style is Sandi Pierantozzi’s tight and refined style. Mr. Grow explained that he enjoyed her work for its perfect symmetry and

machine-made appearance. In conjunction with slab-building exhibition, Mr. Grow’s Ceramics II class built their own slab-built pots after watching a DVD on the process demonstrated by Sam Chung, an artist featured in the gallery. Many of these student-created works were featured in May’s student art exhibition. For next year, two sculptors have been scheduled to exhibit their works. They are Joe Castle, who creates bronze cast sculptures, and Brad Litwin, who creates kinetic sculptures. Brad Litwin’s work should be especially enjoyable for students since it contains many moving pieces, mechanically timed to avoid collisions. At the end of next year, a coordinate faculty art show will be put on display in the gallery.

Off the Wheel, From Page 2

George Kunkel ’13

Traditionally a core element of any complete education, in recent years many schools have begun to question the value of Latin in modern curricula. Latin skeptics wonder why twenty-first century students should learn a language that is spoken nowhere in the world. This question is no doubt at the forefront of the minds of incoming CHA Middle School students and their parents. CHA and Springside offer Mandarin Chinese, the most widely-spoken language in the world, Spanish, the most spoken language in America next to English, and French, the co-official working language of the United Nations along with English. Would not Latin take a backseat to these other languages in importance? Whatever our personal opinions on the subject, Latin has continued to be one of the most taught languages in schools. At CHA, the number of students enrolled in the “dead” language has not changed. While these facts may seem surprising to those who consider Latin a poor choice, to CHA Latin teacher Mr. Wes Winant, this is no shocker. Mr. Winant has been at CHA for 27 years and acted as Head of the Language Department for five of those. His own experience in learning Latin began in sixth grade and continued all the way through college. Currently, Mr. Winant teaches both

years of Latin for Middle School and Latin IV/V Honors for juniors and seniors in Upper School. Having taught Latin for so many years and to so many different age groups, Mr. Winant has answers for those who challenge the importance of Latin in today’s world. Firstly, Mr. Winant knows from experience that Latin provides a student with a “foundation for the romance languages.” The progenitor of Spanish, French, Italian and more, Latin makes it much easier to understand the structure of romance languages. Although English is not a romance language, the similarities in grammar between Latin and English are sure to bolster a student’s command of the English language as well. Latin also “focuses a student on accuracy because of all the rules involving grammar.” Due in large part to the logical aspects of both subjects, Mr. Winant has seen a connection between students who do well in Latin and math. In addition to strengthening a student’s skills in other academic subjects, Latin is very prevalent in modern professions. It appears in law, science, history, medicine, and many others. Many people also have questions regarding Latin and the SATs and colleges. Mr. Winant believes that colleges do look at Latin differently from French or Spanish. Like Chinese, Latin is not as common a language to have on one’s college resume. The “dead language” has also been seen to have a very

real connection to higher scores on the SATs. While these are reasons to continue teaching and learning Latin, they are certainly not the only ones. For those with any interest in history, the ability to read an ancient text or the writing on the walls of an ancient or medieval building may just be reason enough to learn the language which, along with Greek, has been central to Western education since the Renaissance. But whatever the reason, Mr. Winant has not noticed any changes in Latin enrollment in recent years and does not foresee a change any time soon.

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Without an official party platform and with no elected political officials, in this sense the Tea Party may be characterized more as simply a political movement and less as a firmly defined party.

Tea Party Movement

CHA Track Takes Second Place at Inter-Ac Champs

Griffin Horter ’11

Over the past year a new political group known as the Tea Party has grown from a small grass-roots organization into a nationwide political movement to be reckoned with. The Tea Party was born out of an anti-government protest held in February of 2009, and since then it has become the go-to party for disgruntled citizens who are against anything associated with big government. But what exactly is the Tea Party and what might it mean for the nation? It is important to note that the Tea Party is not a centralized party and that it is not a partner of the Republican Party. The Tea Party instead is a nationwide organization with local chapters and a very loose national governing body. Without an official party platform and with no elected political officials, in this sense the Tea Party may be characterized more as simply a political movement and less as a firmly defined party. Furthermore, although the Tea Party is mostly made up of fiscal conservatives and has many Republican

supporters, including Sarah Palin, it is not a solely Republican organization. The Tea Party catapulted into the spotlight in December 2009 when it helped to propel Senator Scott Brown to victory in the Massachusetts Senate race.

However, since then the Tea Party has endorsed both Republican and Democratic candidates. As stated, the members of the Tea Party do all have one thing in common: intense distrust of big government. Tea Party “Patriots” are opposed to the big bank bailouts, health care reform, taxes, and nearly all elected officials. This anti-government backlash

is in part a result of the election of Barack Obama and what many fiscal conservatives fear to be his so-called “socialist takeover” of the American economy. According to Philip Dennis, a member of the leadership board of the National Tea Party Coalition (one of the governing bodies of the Tea Party), “The Tea Party’s goal from inception has been to replace big-spending politicians from both political parties with common-sense, fiscally responsible leaders. America has moved away from the vision of our Founding Fathers who

advocated for a nuanced balance between federal and state power. As America has drifted from constitutional values, federal power has grown.” Dennis goes on to say that the federal government needs to drastically cut spending, abolish organizations such as the EPA and move their powers to the states, repeal the Stimulus Bill, and reduce welfare and unemployment benefits. The idea of reigning in federal spending is not solely a Tea Party idea, however. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in an interview that took place in April, “To avoid large and unsustainable budget deficits, the nation will ultimately have to choose among higher taxes, modifications to entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, less spending on everything else from education to defense, or some combination of the above.” This issue is crucial because many scholars have argued that if we do not balance the federal budget the country will cease to be a world superpower. It is hard to tell what kind of lasting effect the Tea Party will have on American politics. Many political pundits believe that once citizens stop caring about health care reform the Tea Party movement will disappear. Others believe that the Tea Party will continue to gain momentum and could, in the very near future, become a third party that could sway the votes of many citizens.

Jamil Poole ’13 Finishing second in the League at the Inter-Ac Championship held at Episcopal Academy on May 22nd, the CHA Track and Field team had another successful year. Although unable to take first place away from Malvern Prep for the second year in a row, the Blue Devils set a number of school records and will send a group of runners to Nationals. At the outset of the season, Coach Paul Hines explained that he sets three goals for his team. These goals are to “win a championship, have some people qualify for nationals, and break all-time scores.” In working toward these ends, before the Inter-Ac schedule begins, Coach Hines has the team take part in a number of PIAA indoor track meets in order to strengthen the efforts and performances of his athletes. Also, the workouts and experience the athletes get from these pre-season meets helps to peak them at

the right time of the season. Essential to the success of the team is the quality of leadership provided by its seniors. Coach Hines stated that he looks for seniors to provide leadership in “the workouts and drills, play as assistant coaches, and gain points to win meets.” This year, seniors Ibraheim Campbell ’10, Ryan Ansel ’10, Ben Morse ’10, and Brenden Plunkett ’10 played large roles on

the team. This year, CHA track achieved two of Mr. Hines’ goals. Just like the 2009 season when CHA lost to Malvern by one point at the

Inter-Ac Championship, the Blue Devils came in second again for 2010. That said, the team did set records and will send runners to Nationals. The distance medley team broke the school record multiple times and distance runner Dustin Wilson set records for four different races. Coach Hines has high hopes for the 2011 season. He looks forward to the

addition of “new high and long jumpers,” to help propel the team toward first place next year.

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New Director of College Counseling to Come to CHA

With declining enrollments and rising costs, the Archdiocese has been forced to make more efficient use of its resources.

...he served on the admissions boards of Ursinus College, Haverford College, the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Princeton University.

Michael Fuery ’11

Chosen for the position of Director of College Counseling in February, Mr. Brian Walter is eager to begin his new job at CHA this fall. Starting in September, he will work alongside Mrs. Krieger and Mrs. Rotay in the college office. Mr. Ayres, current head of college counseling, will retire this June after seven years at CHA.

Mr. Walter comes to CHA with a great deal of experience in the field of college admissions. After earning his B.A. in History from Haverford College in 1997 and his MS Ed. in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003, he served on the admissions boards of Ursinus College, Haverford College, the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Princeton University. Drawn to work in college admissions by the opportunities to “work on a campus and be an integral part of a university” and to be “able to select and shape a class for the university,” Mr. Walter looks forward to helping high school students apply to and choose among different colleges. He

stated that his new position will allow him to “work closely with high school students and their families as they enter the difficult, yet ultimately rewarding, college-search process.” Speaking on his college counseling philosophy, Mr. Walter emphasized the importance of “quality communication between students, parents, and the college counseling office.” He encourages students to “take ownership of the process,” but will be there to provide “accurate and realistic guidance to students and parents.” Mr. Walter envisions the college counseling office as “an open and friendly place, where students know they will find a caring, wise, and honest voice.” Even though the college selection process is difficult and challenging for both parents and students alike, Mr. Walter feels as if it should be a time

of “self-discovery” as well. While excited to work with juniors and seniors in the college process, Mr. Walter also plans to become involved with the CHA

community as a whole. “I hope to be a voice for the school and make a positive impact on all students, not just those who I am advising for college,” he stated. “I plan to work as a coach and an advisor in an effort to make CHA a better place.”

After stepping on campus for the first time earlier this year, Mr. Walter immediately noticed “the pride that the students take in their school,” and the “great sense of community.” He appreciates “the quality of the people [he] will be working with,” and foresees a helpful and productive stay as the Director of College Counseling at CHA. We look forward to his arrival in the fall.

Alex deBerardinis ’12

In the past year, a flurry of Catholic School closings hit the Philadelphia region. Last October it was announced that Cardinal Dougherty and Northeast Catholic, two large schools with rich histories, would close at the end of the school year. More recently it was announced that two more Catholic schools, Saint Joseph’s Parish School and Stella Maris Parish School, would close as well. While these two schools are not as large or well-known as Cardinal Dougherty and Northeast Catholic, their closing is the continuation of an unfortunate trend for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

With declining enrollments and rising costs, the Archdiocese has been forced to make more efficient use of its resources. Cardinal Dougherty and Northeast Catholic both have fewer than half the students their

enrollments call for. They were once filled to the brim with high school students during the baby boom. Today, however, Cardinal Dougherty has 642 students in a building capable of holding 2,000. In recent years, the number of high school students enrolled in Catholic schools has been declining. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, public school enrollment is predicted to increase by as much as

9%, whereas the enrollment in private and parochial schools is expected to decline by 2%. One of the immediate reasons for this decline in Catholic school enrollment is the economic downturn. In these harsh economic times, parents have become less willing to pay for education for their children. Even

as families become more willing to choose public schools, private schools have been

forced to raise their tuitions as they too struggle in the economic downturn.

While the economy is certainly a large factor in these Catholic school closings,

it is not the sole reason behind them. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has consolidated or closed 27 schools since 2005, a few years before the economy took a turn for the worse. It has been made known that for the past five to ten years, alumni have to a large extent kept the schools afloat financially.

Whatever the reasons behind the difficulties of these Archdiocese schools to keep their doors open, the poor financial state of these schools has caused a scare for other

parochial and private schools in the area. Facing similar problems as Cardinal Dougherty and Northeast Catholic, let us hope that CHA and other schools in the area are able to remain financially solvent.

Catholic School Closings in Philadelphia Region

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COMMENCEMENT AWARDS Alumni Gold MedalIbraheim M. Campell

Alumni Silver MedalDaniel A. DiIulio

Gilbert Haven Fall Memorial Scholarship AwardAnthony M. Gacita

Headmaster’s AwardJanet Giovinazzo h’01

SPECIAL CITATIONS

American Mathematics Competition 12th grade Daniel A. DiIulio

10th grade George Kunkel American Chemical Society AwardJeffrey Ng Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Medal for Excellence in Math and Science Iain G. Kuo

CHA Fathers Award Brendan J. Plunkett

Chestnut Hill Fathers ClubBrett A. Flannery

Philadelphia Inquirer Citizen Award C. Dylan Ward

The Joseph L. Castle ’50 Comcast Scholarship William A. Ford-Conway

National Merit Scholarship Award CommendedJohn D. Anthony John S. Canning

WPVI – Best in Class John S. Canning

ACTIVITY AWARDS

Players Cup Dramatics AwardOn Stage Vincent G. DuttonBenjamin MorseCharles F. Trulear

Off Stage Rob Ervin, Jr. h’08

2010 Commencement and Prize Day AwardsThe Student Guide Association Award Pearce F. M. Lockwood The Multicultural Students’ Association Award Ibraheim M. Campbell

Robert Magliano h’06 Peer Tutoring AwardRyan T. AnselAnthony M. Gacita

Honors for Senior Projects Ryan T. AnselGordon W. AnthonyRobert L. Ervin IIIAnthony M. GacitaAndrew J. Kraft

President of Student Government John N. McNiff

Student Government President’s Award Reuben G. Treatman

The J. L. Patterson Cup Ibraheim M. Campbell

The Graham–Franklin Lantern AwardDaniel A. DiIulio

The Hutchinson K. Fairman Memorial Award Richard D. Bilger

Yearbook Dedication John J. Plunkett h’92

DEPARTMENTAL HONORS

Honors in Two Dimensional Art J. Tate Sager

Honors in Three Dimensional Art Matthew J. FinkC. Griffin HorterAndrew N. Moss

Honors in English Ethan Y. Wang

Honors in History Ethan Y. Wang

Honors in Mathematics Anthony M. Gacita

Honors in Science Anthony M. Gacita

Honors in Latin-Classical Language John S. CanningAnthony M. Gacita

Honors in Spanish Edward J. McCrossen, Jr.

Honors in French Michael E. Nagelberg

Honors in Instrumental Music C. Dylan Ward Honors in Vocal Music Ryder G. HarmanPearce F. M. Lockwood

Honors in Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology Robert L. Ervin III

Honors in Community Service Samuel B. Brenman

COLLEGE BOOK AWARDS

The Virginia Club of Philadelphia AwardGregory C. Kozemchak

The Harvard Prize Book Edward H. DalglishMichael A. Fuery

Rhode Island School of Design AwardTimothy H. Bailey

Yale Book Prize Iain G. Kuo J. Tate Sager

FACULTY/PARENT AWARDS

Special Recognition Award John J. Plunkett h’92

William E. Shuttleworth Honorary Award D. Stanley Parker ’68

Honorary Alumni Daniel R. Brewer h’10 Patricia M. Mootz, h’10Lawrence G. Theuer h’10W. Wesley Winant II h’10

Chestnut Hill Academy Recognition Award Robert J. Keyes

Langdon W. Harris III AwardDr. Andrew Lubell R. Douglas Caplan


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James F. McGlinn Award Gerald BoyleCheryl Fennessy

The Edward C. Rorer Faculty of Promise Award Stephanie R. BookerSarah J. W. McDowell The Landreth Award William J. Dorner, Sr.

Corning Pearson Service Award Anthony M. Zane ’48.Trustee Fellowship Kimberly A. Sivick

The Elliston Perot Walker Teaching Excellence Award Sheri S. Melcher

Thomas Sayre Ambler FellowshipMark Davies

SCHOLARSHIPS

The Daniel Webster Charles Memorial Scholarship Alex deBerardinis

The Robert A. Kingsley Scholarship Daniel A. DiIulioC. Griffin HorterJohn N. McNiff

Edward Morris McIlvaine Memorial Scholarship Andrew A. Ansel

DEEDED AWARDS

The Franklin D. Sauveur Memorial Award Ian F. Caplan The Garrett D. Pagon Award Jeffrey NgDaniel P. Trulear

The Lawrence R. Mallery Cup C. Dylan Ward The Christopher Fraser Carpenter Memorial Award Richard D. Bilger

The Class of 1959 Award Mark T. AnspachJ. Carson MutchDustin M. WilsonGraham F. MaskerMichael E. NagelbergEthan Y. Wang

The Edward Savage Memorial Award Robert L. Ervin III Gordon W. Anthony

The Martin Henry Dawson Memorial Brendan J. Plunkett Five Stripes Award 9th grade Alec HorterTimothy D. Ogle

10th gradeDean J. Kroker

CHA Special Merit Award William A. Ford-ConwayVincent G. DuttonRyan T. Ansel

L to r: Michael Nagelberg, Ryan Ansel, Ibraheim Campbell, Dylan Tracy, Ethan Wang, Anthony Gacita, Daniel DiIulio, Michael Fuery, Griffin Horter, Gregory Kozemchak, Iain Kuo, Todd Cramer, and John Canning

2009-2010 Cum Laude Inductees


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Editor in ChiEfDan DiIulio

Editor of LayoutRichard Bilger

Junior EditorIain Kuo

StaffDrew AnselJoe CozzaMichael FueryGriffin HorterGeorge KunkelIain KuoTim MenningerAndrew MossJeffrey NgJamil Poole

PhotograPhyRichard BilgerStephen Skeel

adviSorSMr. W. Wesley WinantMrs. Deidra Lyngard

Peter Adubato Lafayette CollegeRyan Ansel Davidson CollegeGordon Anthony Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteJohn Anthony Northwestern Preparatory School (California)Nicholas Auerbach Trinity CollegeTimothy Bailey Savannah College of Art and DesignEvan Booker University of PennsylvaniaSamuel Brenman Colgate UniversityIbraheim Campbell Northwestern UniversityJohn Canning Dartmouth CollegePatrick Connaghan University of the Sciences in PhiladelphiaTodd Cramer California Institute of TechnologyThomas Devlin Delaware Valley CollegeVincent Dutton Eckerd CollegeWilliam Emery IV Trinity CollegeRobert Ervin III Pennsylvania State University, University ParkMichael Fink Drexel University (Mechanical Engineering)Robert Fink University of Maryland, College ParkWilliam Ford-Conway University of Southern California School of Cinematic ArtsAnthony Gacita Johns Hopkins UniversityAndrew Greenspon Colorado CollegeRyder Harman Indiana University at BloomingtonPatrick Hawkins Pennsylvania State University, AbingtonErik Hubbard University of PittsburghKeenan Kline Syracuse UniversityAndrew Kraft Naval Academy Preparatory School Matthew Levin Pennsylvania State University, University ParkGreg Lobanov Drexel UniversityPearce Lockwood Davidson CollegeJonathan McAllister University of Maryland, College ParkEdward McCrossen, Jr. Georgetown UniversityBenjamin Morse The University of Texas, AustinSamuel Morse University of VermontMichael Nagelberg University of RochesterRobert Petrushansky La Salle UniversityBrendan Plunkett Pennsylvania State University, University Park Justin Purnell-Anglin University of PennsylvaniaMatthew Schreffler Roanoke CollegeZachary Schweitzer Gap YearGeorge Smith Temple UniversityBrendan Spearing Fairfield UniversityWilliam Standish St. Lawrence UniversityRyan Stapleton Drexel UniversityJohn Tordoff Indiana University of PennsylvaniaDylan Tracy Vanderbilt UniversityShane Trainor Temple UniversityEdward Trocky III Indiana University of PennsylvaniaCharles Trulear Howard UniversityCameron Vass University of PittsburghEthan Wang Indiana University of PennsylvaniaDylan Ward Princeton University

Where Are They Bound?Class of 2010 College Choices

campus lantern_june 2010

Documents

social security surplus

book social security

social security dilemmaoff

social security works

social securitys surplus

retired workers benefits

pyramid ponzi scheme

legal ponzi scheme