the western hemisphere - oct. 2012

whthe western hemisphere

Western Albemarle High SchoolOctober 2012 - Vol. 28 Issue 1

2 the western hemisphere october 2012

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table of contents

october 2012 volume 28 issue 1 the western hemisphere 3

What’s Inside?

news4

opinion8

a&e20

feature14

sports16

latitudes22

featuring...

happy35th

WAHS!

October 2012

Life Journey

Church at WAHS

page 4

spirit week11

spirit week24

The Road to the

White Housepage 5

Spirit Week in

Review

WAHS Fanatics --

No Standing Room

page 11

page 17

FIND US...on facebook

on twitter @wahsnews

online www.thewesternhemi-

sphere.org

Lucie Taylor

struggles to

hold ground

in freshmen

v. junior

Tug-of-

War. Photo

by: Deepa

ShivaramPhotos by: Deepa Shivaram and Ryan Jones

The team

huddles dur-

ing a time-

out at the

game against

Fort Defi-

ance. Photo

by: Deepa

Shivaram

Mr. Lawson

runs for his

life in the

junior v. fac-

ulty dodgeball

match. Photo

by: Deepa

Shivaram

news


Jovial cheers resonate from the WAHS cafeteria and glowing faces shine with

anticipation and excitement. Crisp black curtains encompass a large stage with rows of chairs expanding outwards. A great variety of snacks is laid upon rows of tables in the back. Kids bouncily float away from parents, heading to Journey Kids, the church’s Sunday school. The pastor, Walt Davis, hurries about, eagerly greeting all the newcomers. The grand opening of Life Journey Church was on Sept. 9. About 100 attendees flooded into the cafeteria, where the church service was held. The church service began with a broad welcome and a brief introduction of the church’s journey to Western Albemarle. Davis moved to Crozet from Lynchburg, Va., in June with his wife, April Davis, and their beautiful baby daughter, Gwyn Pearl Davis. Due to his football background, Walt Davis was given insight to Western by Ed Pierce, the former football coach, who warmed to Davis’ passion for sports and Christianity. Davis and his church team held many activi-ties to gain support to start their church at Western Albemarle. In mid-August, Davis and his team held a car wash at the Shell gas station where people were ironically given $1 instead of paying Davis’ team. When Davis was asked the point of the car wash, he replied: “Our ultimate goal is to spread the fame of God. We desire to see community groups on every street of every block of every neighborhood in the greater Crozet area.” Davis commented on the meaning of the name of the church: “My wife and I went through a crazy journey in our lives in trying

to have children. Through the pain of loss after loss we began to see God in a whole new light.” Though the couple had three miscarriages in three years, “God’s love and grace was greater.” Davis said, “So we moved here to Crozet last summer to share the reality that no matter the journey of life we're in, God's grace, his love and his mercy are greater, deeper, grander, than we could ever imagine.” According to Ms. Sloan, a member of Western’s clerical support staff, the school is simply used as a renting space for the church. They are not associated in any way with the church -- the church is responsible for provid-ing all of the necessary equipment for their services. To follow up, Davis said, “Albe-marle County Schools has an open policy for churches and other groups to rent the county facilities.” Davis filled out the needed paper-work and was allowed to use the building. When asked about her feelings towards the church, freshman Candice Grobler said, “The first time I went to Life Journey Church I was very excited because when I lived in South Africa I went to church with my fam-ily every Sunday. It was amazing to see the amount of people that came.” Katrina Barredo said, “A family friend told us about [the church], and so my family decided to go and see what it's like.” Katrina added, “I like the church because it's not as strict as other churches I've been to. It's not run by deacons and stuff. It has a strong sense of community.” LJC regularly holds services and Sunday school every Sunday at 10 a.m. in the WAHS cafeteria. In response to what lies ahead for LJC, Davis said, “WAHS is a temporary meet-ing location. Again, we’re so humbled at the ability to rent the space on Sunday mornings. We’ve begun praying about where to go next, but we don’t have any final decisions yet.” Although LJC’s journey seems to reach a conclusion, Davis and his team look forward to another journey yet to come.

JOURNEY TO WESTERN

Pg 4 : Journey to Western

Pg 5: A New Face in the Halls of Western & Independent Study Program Cracks Down on Paperwork

Pg 6: WAHS Reaches

Life Journey Church spreads the fame of God By LILLIAN XU

photo courtesy: Deepa Shivaram

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news


The independent study program

is leaping forward into the

age of technology and has added

new requirements. Students must

now create and maintain a Google

website, where they will upload their

work and describe their project.

Every other week, students must

turn in journals, which are one page,

single-spaced, detailing the students’

explorations and reactions to their

study. Starting this year, the require-

ments for the journal have also

increased to make students reflect

more deeply on their activities. Previ-

ously, the basic requirement was to

fill out a chronological list of events

and activities the students would

do. Now they must actively process

their information and interpret what

it means to them, adding a deeper,

cognitive element to their journals.

The Gifted Resource Teacher,

Ms. Ledford, who is in charge of the

independent study program, said

that this new requirement has been

successful, as she has seen a notice-

able increase in the quality of writing

being produced.

Alternating with the journals are

bi-weekly time cards and mentor

evaluations, which are records of the

student’s activities. In addition, they

must also turn in a weekly anno-

tated bibliography of the resources

they have used. All of these materi-

als -- the journals, work logs and

bibliographies -- must be uploaded

to the student’s website, along with a

Independent Study Program Cracks Down on Paperworkby KRISTI HAGEN

A New Face in the Halls of Westernby MORGAN BROADUS

Musty white chalk is smudged on

the board, smeared vocabulary

words and definitions are visible, but

incomprehensible. Mrs. Porter sits at

her sun-yellow desk stationed before

the large, dark green chalkboard. She

types on her laptop, preparing for the

next day and grading vocab quizzes

from the class before.

Western Albemarle has many

new teachers this year, some new to

teaching entirely, some who’ve had

some previous experience and some

who have taught many years before

joining this school’s staff. Mrs. Porter

is one of the new teachers here, but

she is certainly not new to teaching.

Before teaching Honors English 9

and PVCC English 12, she taught at

Longwood College, Tandem Friends

School for nine years and several

other places here and there. As she

comes to Western, it now marks her

20th year of teaching. Before ever as-

piring to become a teacher, she once

lived in Alaska, surviving in a tent

for a total of eight months when she

was in her 20s. She comments that

she went out to work in a fish factory

because she wanted to experience

some type of adventure.

When she was younger she had

always known that she didn’t want

to ever become an English teacher,

even though her dad was one him-

self. Although, as the years flew by,

she decided to take a job as a teacher

because she would be provided

free tuition at her graduate school,

Purdue University, where she got

her master’s degree. After taking the

teaching job, she found out that she

actually loved teaching English, and

from then on she pursued it.

In 1996 she moved to Virginia

and taught at Longwood Univer-

sity located in Farmville. Although

teaching at the university was a fun

experience, she didn’t like having to

wake up early, considering she had a

one-and-a-half hour commute from

her house to her 8:30 a.m. class.

After leaving Longwood, she got a

job at Tandem Friends School and

taught for nine years before coming

to teach at Western.

Mrs. Porter’s inspiration to pursue

English came from her junior and

senior high school teacher Mr.

Lasser, and her father, who was a

very devoted English teacher as well.

She says one of the many things she

loves about being a teacher is being

able to have very wonderful and

deep conversations with her father

about English, her students, the

literature and much more because

they can really relate to anything.

When asked why she loves English,

she replies with a smile on her face,

“The opportunity to be enthusiastic

about being able to read and write

with people is something I love.”

Mrs. Porter describes her teaching

style as “casual and enthusiastic.”

She believes that to think clearly, you

need to be able to write clearly.

When not teaching or planning

for her Honors classes, Mrs. Porter

enjoys being with Shannie and Aldi,

her eight- and six-year-old children.

Being an English teacher, Mrs.

Porter really loves to write and read,

for she loves to dive into English

literature by sitting down and reading

a good book.

photo courtesy: Morgan Broadus

news

october 2012 the western hemisphere 6

proposal at the beginning of the year and a final evaluation at the end.

Ms. Ledford said that all of the paper-work is necessary for students so they can “verify the fact that they have been attaining fruitful academic pursuits.” However, senior Rosalie Stoke, who is taking an independent study in Cog-nitive Neuroscience, notes that these could compromise the independent nature of the class because “no matter

the subject, the requirements stay the same.” Angela Li, a junior taking a self-guided French study, admits that it is a lot of paperwork, but is happy that she can plan her own course: “I can do what I want, so if I’m really interested in a certain book or something then I can pursue that.” Even so, she says she would prefer to use only one format, print or electronic, as the technical aspect is often time-consuming. Because the class is taken pass/fail, as long as students complete their

activities with effort put into them, they can make it through the course. Ms. Ledford cites the biggest problem as procrastination, when students get behind in the work and don’t turn in journals. Those who are enthusiastic about their study and have the motivation to pursue it, however, often succeed in the class. Said Stoke, “It’s great to be able to get school credit for studying an area of interest, practicing a hobby or gaining real-life experience in a certain field.”

CONTINUED FROM

PREVIOUS PAGE

Although Finely Overby generally spends his summer traps-ing around Russian Hills in San Francisco this year was

different, “I drove cross country with my mom, my sister and my dog [Sweetpea]- oh, and the cat, can’t forget the cat,” said Overby. He and his family moved across the country from Al-bequerky, New Mexico and only arrived a week before school started. He also spent time camping in the Haymez Wilderness, where he forgot to properly prepare and ended up that, “[he] kind of, almost, got hypothermia because I only had a sleeping bag- without a comforter.” said Overby.

Western Gets Down Under the Summer Sun:

WAHS Students got to work doing some pretty unique things from misdsion work to governor’s

school; spreading Western influence all across the nation and even overseas. Ian Grimshaw attended the Governor’s school

for vocal performance where he spent his days from 9-5 singing and improving his vocal technique. The final performance was montage of singing in a choir, performing a solo piece, an opera piece and a broadway solo piece. “Yeah, it was a pretty long day,” said Grimshaw. Ian definitely enjoyed his time at the governor’s school but said the people were what made it so great, “The cuddle puddles on the portch were the best; being surrounded by really cool people was my favorite.”

Junior Faith Hatter was a jetsetter this summer to Costa Rica where

she spent her days voluenteering for a church and playing playing games with the local kids. It was a trip she will always remember because, “It really broadened my horizons -- I had never been out of the country before and it was interesting to be immersed in another culture.”

What did you do this summer?

by MAYA LANGMAN

opinion

Voting is a civic responsibility, but it is not enough to just fill out the ballot, take your “I Voted” sticker and walk away.

Voters who know nothing of who they are voting for are not doing their country a service. Voting is to be encouraged, but only if the voter has been properly informed. The Republican and Democratic National Conventions have come to a close, and the United States prepares for what should be an excit-ing presidential election. As the country -- and many Western seniors -- prepares for the presidential and vice presidential debates, here is a recap of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions:

The Race to Pennsylvania Avenue

by LUCAS RHONDEAUObama and Romney go head to head

Ann RomneyChris Christie

Condoleezza Rice Paul Ryan

Clint Eastwood Mitt Romney

Main Speakers:Elizabeth Warren John Kerry Michelle Obama Bill ClintonRahm EmanuelJoe BidenBarack Obama

Main Speakers:

Focal Points:Day 1: The inadequacies of the Obama campaign Day 2: The fact that Americans -- not the government -- built this country Day 3: The ability of the Romney administration to fix the problems left to them by the Obama administration Day 4: The greatness of America and the capability of the Romney Campaign to restore that greatness

Because President Obama already holds office, understandably more

was said about the flaws in the Romney campaign rather than the strengths of their own campaign. There were

some very good speeches by extremely respected govern-ment officials, and this resulted in a solid convention.

Focal Points:

Anytime you have two of the best public speakers of this generation, the result is usually positive. Former President Bill Clinton is always very persuasive, so Democratic or Republican, one cannot argue that the guy is good. Barack once again proved very adept at sparking up a crowd. The extreme frenzy that he creates every time he speaks shows us that this campaign does not lack adequate support. Obama spoke about how it would take more than four years to repair our struggling country that he inherited. He said that he has kept his promises as commander-in-chief, and that the American people can count on him to submit four more honest years as president. While the Romney campaign took a more tactical approach to their convention, the Obama campaign used a more blunt manner of speaking, and I thought this was an interesting technique and provided good contrast. It worked well for them and resulted in a well-received convention.

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Despite what people might tell you, an uneducated vote is not better than no vote at all. Learn not only about the so-cial views of your potential president, but also his economic standpoint and his views on foreign policy. You might

not have many fiscal responsibilities right now, but monetary problems get passed down through generations. Some laws can be changed during the term of one president, but economic turmoil can take decades to recover from.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie delivered a good speech that was toned down from his usual charismatic nature, although it could have been delivered later in the convention. Republican vice presi-dential candidate Paul Ryan seemed a little nervous at the beginning of his speech, but warmed up to the audience and ended up delivering a solid speech. Actor Clint East-wood’s speech had us questioning his senility. While Obama was set up by Clinton, Romney was intro-duced by Clint. An overall poor choice, but not an awful deterrent. To wrap up the convention, Romney delivered a moving and eloquent speech about the state of the country and the steps he would take to improve the fiscal and emo-tional state of the country. When all is said and done, the Republicans did a very good job at their convention.


opinion


The “Sullivan Saga,” as it has come to be called, reflected a failure of leadership at the university and

showcased the issue of differing visions in Thomas Jeffer-son’s Academic Village. Helen Dragas, the rector of the university, offered little explanation for as to why Sullivan was fired on June 7, 2012. Over the last few months, e-mails have been released showing that Dragas wanted control over the situation that unfolded, but was unable to attain it. One of the e-mails was a message sent to the student member of the Board of Visitors Hillary Hurd. Dragas contacted Hurd wondering whether there would be a group of students interested in “working with a public relations con-sultant to assist with a communications effort by engaging constructively in the blogs.” Another e-mail was directed to professor of American politics Larry Sabato, asking him to write an op-ed in the Washington Post or New York Times to help quell the criticism. She wrote to Sabato, “I feel this needs to be done immediately.” In the course of the Saga it became clear that an institution of higher education requires exceptional leadership in times of uncertainty. The first failure of leadership in this situation came with Dragas believing that the media and faculty would not take notice and blow the ousting out of proportion. It is probably not a coincidence that the story was released on a Sunday via e-mail to university faculty. The beginning of the week is often the slowest for news agencies and the media. She didn’t anticipate the blowback of her actions. In all, she spent over $250,000 in public relations in attempt to gener-

ate a positive image. Dragas never predicted the hundreds of thousands of staff, students and community members (in-cluding several Western students and parents) coming out to the Lawn on multiple occasions to stand with Sullivan. The second leadership issue was a direct result of Dragas’ secrecy. As Thomas Paine said, “truth never envelopes itself in mystery.” When she was questioned by faculty for as to why Sullivan was fired, she cited confidentiality and revealed nothing. This hurt the highly regarded community of trust at the university and led the Faculty Senate to cast a vote of no confidence in the Rector on June 14. The final major lack of leadership on Dragas’ part was

her attitude toward the situation. She was closed-minded on her decision and pursued it. She blatantly lied to Sullivan and told the president that she had to board votes to give her the boot. She refused to engage the UVA community in a dialogue and didn’t offer the critical evidence needed to justify the firing.

Dragas was in a position of great influence and power and abused it to achieve something still unknown to many. The main debate at the heart of this issue isn’t Dragas ver-sus Sullivan, but corporate America versus academia. Dra-gas thought that the university wasn’t moving fast enough, relating Sullivan’s term to decreased student funding, low rankings as a research university and declining faculty com-pensation. Dragas also wanted to expand online education.The style of leadership the Rector acted on was business-like and nonconformist Unfortunately, she failed to see that corporatism doesn’t work in a scholastic setting.

Hundreds gather on the UVA Lawn with signs, picnics and laptops. For some it is a protest and for others a vigil. Most are anxiously awaiting the decision of the Board of Visitors, hoping that President Teresa Sullivan will be reinstated. For two weeks they have been in the dark, demanding answers and attending rallies, unable to lift the shroud of secrecy cast over the university. A radio buzzes and shouts of “Quiet! Quiet!” spread through the crowd. A few moments later a wave of cheers flows over the Lawn and the mood is immediately uplifted. The much missed president has been returned to office. Sullivan walks out on the marble steps of the Rotunda and greets her supporters. After giving a short speech, the “Good Old Song” starts, and the university returns to normal.

Dragas was in a position WN �OZMI\�QVÆ]MVKM�IVL�XW_MZ�IVL�IJ][ML�Q\�\W�IKPQM^M�[WUM\PQVO�[\QTT�]VSVW_V�\W�UIVa�

The Sullivan Saga A Look at Leadership by TIM DODSON

photo courtesy: Malcom Andrews

opinion

october 2012 the western hemsphere 9

The main debate at the heart of this issue isn’t Dragas versus Sullivan, but corporate America versus academia.

Sure, the quantity of funds can go up, but the quality of education is not numbers-based; it’s human-based. Profes-sors, such as Bill Wulf, resigned over the issue, but Dragas turned a blind eye to them. Faculty and students at UVA felt that Sullivan was doing a good job. She valued their work and they felt the connection. Things certainly could have been improved at UVA, but she was trying her best to make the changes appropriate to maintaining the quality of educa-tion the univer-sity strives to offer. She had been pressured to cut important programs, in the language department for example, but she felt that their presence outweighed the costs.

How does the Sullivan Saga apply to Western students? We should be able to hold our school and community leaders to the same standards the faculty saw in Sullivan and failed to find in Dragas. Honesty, effort and dedication should be at the forefront of our minds when examining those in positions of leadership. We should revere those who stand for a humanistic approach to tackling our school’s issues and not look at things solely from a numeric view. The other key takeaway is the influence of outside organiza-tions. Corporate influence is present in our very own county and it needs to be monitored. For example, the SchoolNet debacle of last year has cost the county $2 million and has proven to be ineffective with faculty. Don’t sit back and let things unfold. Stand up for what you believe in, and com-munity will become a much better place. In the words of Jefferson, “Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”

As many students know, lockers almost never play a part of student

life at Western. “They play no role in the school and aren’t even a good color,” said Deborah Ayers-Brown. Very few students take advantage of them but they are still taking up space in the hallway. So where is the logic it keeping them? I recently moved to the area and am used to everyone using their lockers on a regular basis. At most schools, lockers are an essential tool for students and school is close to impossible without them. Then again I always had too many books to carry around. Which doesn’t seem to be the case here. Also, the

lockers are way too small and students find that it is impractical to walk out of their way when they could simply carry their things around with them. Now that I don’t use a locker, I find that I can get to class much quicker and not have to wonder about what I forgot. On the other hand, what if the school were to replace the lockers with wider, roomier ones? Would students use them then? Then again what would we gain from getting rid of them? Maybe a little extra room in the halls wouldn’t hurt. Either way, I think that it is obvious that the need for lockers is questionable.

The Logic of Lockersby GARRETT HATMAKER

photo by Deepa Shivaram

Letters to the Editor: The Western Hemisphere welcomes letters to the editor of any topic of concern to the Western community. All letters must be signed; works submitted without the author’s name will not be published. All materials are subject to editing for libel, obscentiy, poor taste, spelling, grammar, punctuation, style and space. Submit letters to the editor to 5941 Rockfish Gap Turnpike, Crozet, VA 22932 or [email protected]

Our Mission: The Western Hemisphere is a student run newspaper for Western Albemarle High School in Crozet, Virginia. The Hemisphere seeks to inform, educate, and entertain the student body and local community. The opinions expressed in our newspaper do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any school governing body, such as the school

board, school administration or faculty.

opinion


In preschool, one of my favorite picture books was “Wem-berley Worried,” the story of a little mouse who worries

about everything. I’d always thought it was exaggerated, the amount she worried about school. However, as I got onto the bus on Aug. 22, I’d never been more worried before in my life, and to be honest, I could totally relate to the little cartoon mouse. Will any of my friends be on my bus? How will I be able to find any of my classes in such a huge school? Who will I sit with during lunch? Will the teachers be nice? By the time I got to school, I was a nervous wreck, and for the most part things just went downhill from there. In my first class I accidently tripped my teacher with my field hockey stick, which I later found out was supposed to be put away in the locker room. At lunch my friends and I made the mistake of sitting in the hallway and got lots of annoyed glares from the upperclassmen. During Spanish I nearly had my phone taken away because it kept buzzing since my dad was texting me. But despite all of this, when I got home I was bursting with excitement about the day. That night I sent an e-mail to my

friend and said, “I forgot my schedule and map at home today, so for me high school was like a giant scavenger hunt adventure that was full of surprises. Even though today was hard, I loved it so much and cannot wait for tomorrow.” The second day turned out to be much better than the first because I was able to learn from all of my mistakes. I got to school earlier so that I could put my stick in my locker, sat outside for lunch and learned how to silence my phone. For me, some of my favorite things about high school are being able to see my friends, getting to be a part of the field hockey team and meeting so many new people. Mitch Stamp, another freshman, voiced similar opinions, saying, “What I like about high school is being able to see my bud-dies every day.” Radu Serbulea, on the other hand, said, “I like how people are so much more mature.” Now that a month has passed, a lot has changed. I have real homework (not just getting syllabi signed), I finally un-derstand how the bell system works, and I know where all of my classes are. But even though school is not like a scaven-ger hunt anymore, it’s still an adventure and always will be.

Wemberley Worried?First thoughts on WAHSby LAUREN KEARNS

Walking up to the stadium as an upcoming freshman for field hockey tryouts was daunting. Once inside

the gates, I was awed by how official the track and turf ap-peared. That feeling of respect should be the reaction we receive from our opponents at all athletic meets. As most returning students and faculty are well aware, during the summer several changes were undertaken at various parts of Western. County funds went to purchasing new chairs, tables and computers for the library, providing students with an enhanced learning environment. In the athletics depart-ment the school has installed a new polyurethane track and brightly-colored cement tennis courts. In order for Western Albemarle to remain a top-ranked school we have to bring our facilities up to the standards of other schools in our area and maintain quality facilities for both academics and sports. New librarian Ms. Wilkins states, “Everything is new.” Walking through the library doors, the first things that you will notice are multiple computers lined up on long tables and dozens of crisp new tables and chairs that harbor scholars throughout the day. The library is a very popular location for students during study halls, lunch and Inde-pendent Study. People go there for a quiet and productive

work environment, and it is important to have enough of the proper materials to help students thrive. Most Western students will use the track, whether during gym or for sports conditioning. “There were bubbles in it,” explains gym teacher and field hockey coach Mia Fields. The old track was worn and faded from 20 years of use and was becoming a tripping hazard. For the past two years, cracks prevented Western from having home meets. In late August, a new polyurethane track was installed to provide students with a safer, smoother running surface. The tennis teams and Western tennis court users are prob-ably thrilled to have the new red and blue courts at their disposal. As many remember, the 15-year-old tennis courts had visible cracks and drainage problems. These new courts not only provide a higher quality playing area, but they also help the appearance of Western sports facilities. These new additions were greatly needed to bring West-ern up to the standards of the facilities at Albemarle and Monticello. And hopefully we can look forward to further improvements and make sure that students are provided with the best advantages that the school can offer.

The Facilities are A-Changin’ Changes to academic and athletic facilities are a welcome improvementby EME MASSERELLI

the western hemisphere


WESTERN HEMISPHERE STAFF

Haley Roland, co-Editor in ChiefMorgan McKee, co-Editor in ChiefSarah Rainey , Executive Editor, WebBrandt Berry, Managing Editor, SportsMaya Langman, Managing Editor, DesignMaggie Spindel, Business ManagerMorgan McKee, Business ManagerKristi Hagen, Copy EditorSophie Webb, Copy Editor Patrick Andrews, News Editor Tim Dodson, Commentary EditorZach Mandell, Arts and Entertainment EditorSarah Duska, Latitudes Editor Deepa Shivaram, Photo EditorKamila Setaro, Assistant Sports Editor Sarah Honosky, AssistantGrant Tolber, AssistantIan McKechnie, AssistantKelsey McKechnie, AssistantMorgan Broadus, sta! writerIsabella Fernandez, sta! writerGarrett Hatmaker, sta! writerLauren Kearns, sta! writerSam Lesemann, sta! writerEme Massarelli, sta! writerLucas Rhondeau, sta! writer

Jill Williams, Advisor

The Anness FamilyThe Applebach FamilyArt and Carol KnopThe Barlow FamilyThe Baruch FamilyThe Berry FamilyBeth and Jeff WhiteBill and Martha McKechnieThe Castleman FamilyChrista LivermonChristian HughesThe Coles FamilyDan BledsoeDeborah Elder, MDThe Domecq FamilyElizabeth AndrewsThe Ferguson FamilyGayle MillerGinger GermaniThe Haling Family

The Halliday FamilyThe Higgins FamilyHowie and Lillian EpsteinJonathan HashisakiThe Kearns FamilyKiyoko RagostaThe Mason FamilyThe McKechnie FamilyThe McLean FamilyMelody NicholsMs. Sue KlettThe O’Loughlin FamilyPaul DiamondThe Paulson FamilyThe Reese FamilyMr. Reid TolberThe Roesch FamilyThe Servine FamilyThe Setaro FamilyThe Wheeler FamilyThe Willams Family

Women’s Health Care Practice in Crozet

Elizabeth Mandell, MD

Phone: 434-249-1613

Email: [email protected]

325 Four Leaf LaneLocated in the Shoppes of Clover Lawn

(across from Harris Teeter)

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Spirit Week:It’s always a good time1

What to wear?

2

3

4

5

Seniors Noah Oakland and

Grant Gearhart pour over their senior shirts on

Class Color Day.Maya Langman

Cata Chernavvsky-Sequeira, Megan

Flannagan, Bridget Sweeney, and

Jessica Moskaluk relax during lunch

on Tie Dye/Pajama day. Deepa Shivaram

Students listen intently to Kinda-Karaoke

on Cameo/Neon day.

Maya Langman

Annie Lorenzoni shows her colors

at the pep rally on Wacky Tacky/Blue

and Gold Day. Deepa Shivaram

Seniors pledge al-legiance to a pirate

flag on Theme Day to pay hom-age to the Pirates of the Caribbean. Deepa Shivaram

Twins Andy Cohen and Roi Pineda dress as

Ash Ketchum from Pokemon on Su-

perhero/Twin day.Maya Langman

6

(TOP LEFT)Seniors pass out senior shirts. Maya Langman(BOTTOM LEFT) Danny Mclearnan, Ben Spencer and Andrew Periasamy strut their stuff on stage during Kinda Kara-oke. Maya Langman

...and the winner is?

After all six days,

SENIORSwere able to cinch the win over all the other grades.

Seniors, including Sarah Jane Cushing and Erin O’Connor, take Superhero/Twin Day into their own hands and pronounce it Toga Day. Maya Langman


Spirit Week:

Memorable Moments

festivities in review

(TOP)Juniors scramble to finish their mural on time on class colors day. Ryan Jones(CENTER)WAHS students show their dedication to the football team on TV at the football game. Maya Langman(MID)Quinn Cross, Abby Sewell, and Kayleigh Warbur-ton, cheer on the singers at kinda-karaoke. Maya Langman(BOTTOM) Freshmen class officers lead a celebratory cheer in their finished hall. Deepa Shivaram

(LEFT) Devin gets a talking to for his “nervous twitch” during class skits. Maya Lang-man (RIGHT TOP)Competition cheer shows their stuff. Deepa Shivaram. (RIGHT BOTTOM) The football team tops CHS by one point on Homecoming. Ryan Jones

(LEFT) Students enjoy the bonfire the day before the big game. Deepa Shivaram(RIGHT)Senior boys take the fight outside during the tug-of-war finals. Deepa Shivaram.

Seniors Pull out thier secret weapon during skirts; the sophomore’s old mural. Maya Langman


feature


The year is 1977. You walk into the school building and note the smell of sawdust and Lysol in the air, the brand-new walls, floors, doors -- everything. You realize you forgot your lunch, so you go to the nearest pay phone and dial up your mom to bring it to you. You sit in your first period class, which is equipped with the latest technology: VHS play-ers, slide projectors and state of the art typewriters. You look around, seeing the diverse and populous student body crammed into the new school. Back to 2012. A bit different, isn’t it? Western has seen a remarkable evolution during its 35 years of existence. Perhaps no one can retell the story of the school’s lineage better than the WAHS faculty who have experienced these

changes firsthand and share the details about the evolution of the school, and how it has progressed over the years.

The improvement of technology has been one of the most dramatic changes that have occurred, which is both a good and bad thing. For most math students, it’s hard to imagine that there was a time before calculators. Ms. Shuey, who has been a WAHS teacher since 1982, says, “Graphing calculators came out in the late 80’s and have changed the way I teach mathematics dramatically.” Because of these de-vices, learning can become easier and faster. But not all techno-logical advances are thought to be good. Mr. Mann, who started working at Western in 1984, says, “Technology has changed the school in the same ways it has changed the world: it is most of-ten used to satisfy our ever-decreasing span of attention, as well as our need for immediate, though temporary, gratification.”

Spirit week is a big deal at Western. Anyone who visits the school during that week will instantaneously be overwhelmed with school spirit. This raises the question, however, when did the first spirit week start? Chuck Witt said, “I don’t think we had spirit week, but we did have a “toga day,” because animal house came out my senior year.” Skits came a bit later. “Spirit week has always been fun at WAHS, but with the class of 1987 as sophomores,” Said Ms. Shuey, “We put on the first skits as a show in the cafeteria and the other classes started doing the same once they heard about what we were doing. Now that the leadership class plans Spirit Week, it is more organized so that everyone can participate each day.”

“Gone are the typewriters, ditto machines, pay phones (big problem during lunch everybody want-ing to use them). Now every room has an LCD projector, computer carts and computer labs, and cell phones the norm.” -Mr. Carter

Western’s Evolution

photo cred: Ryan Jones

Cas Girvin holds up a “15” after a performance at kinda-karaoke during spirit week

photo from of The Odyssey, 1983

“Kim Shiflett prepares her verbal attack on the typewriter” - The Odyssey

by LAUREN KEARNS and MORGAN MCKEE

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“In academics, standards have been lowered, rigor has been lost, and class time has been re-duced. Students are learning less and less about more and more,” said Mr. Mann, commenting on the shift of focus in Western from quality to quantity-style learning. His thoughts seem to resonate also with Mr. Witt, who said, “I don’t think the Honors classes are what they used to be…I think some of these Honors courses have been watered down. When I was here, we had six classes, and now we have eight. And obvi-ously when you do that you lose a big chunk of time, and there is no way possible to teach what we used to teach.” Nevertheless, Western has continued its tradition of being one of the most academically competitive high schools in the state, pumping out impressive SOL scores and showing that it is a force to be reckoned with.

Sports have obviously been a large part of Western tradition, or else associate principal Dr. Domecq wouldn’t have written his famed “Tradition” speech to perform at the class assemblies at the start of the school year. Many cosmetic changes have occurred in Western’s world of sports. Among a few: the addition of the auxiliary gym, the new tennis courts and the installation of both the turf field and the track, among others, to name a few. Teams have also been added onto the list of the many offered by WAHS, although some have been taken away. Western used to have a little known equestrian club, as well as a…wait for it…horse. Bill Campbell, Western’s first warrior mascot would ride the horse during the home football games. Gymnastics was a sport, while cheerleading was still a club.

Chuck Witt was a junior when the school opened up, and reflects on the disparity between then and now, especially in the student body. When the school opened, there were no trailers, no auxiliary gym, and no addition on B-Building. Yet the school was overflowing with students, by far more diverse than it is now. He said, “Student body, to me, is a big difference because it is just not as diverse as it once was. It was a larger school then, and I think we were over 1200 those first couple years. When it opened, it drew from a much larger part of the county.” This is because Monticello High School hadn’t opened up yet, and students came from all over the county to go to school. Now the vast majority of the students are from around the Crozet area, making the community of the school closer-knit and not as diverse. Since the beginning, Western has been a school to behold. In 35 years, it has seen many changes, ranging from cosmetic changes to the building to the closer-knit community of the student body. Yet as the school evolves, the spirit stays the same.

Western football celbrates a victory in 1978

Photo courtesy of the 1979 yearbook

Western football celebrates a victory in 2012

Photo cred: Ryan Jones

Photo courtesy of the 1983 yearbook

Students hang out behind the breezeway-less school in 1983

sports


The Attendees:They are generally unin-terested in the game but feel obligated to attend as a social event.

The Watchers:Most of them are freshmen who don’t pay much attention to the game but are there to show their support anyways.

The Crazies:The traveling fans. They wear blue full-body spandex, have war paint on their faces and/or wear jerseys of the team. They are quite true to their name and go crazy the entire game.

The Fanatics:The avid support-ers who follow the dress code of that particular game (black out, blue out, etc.), and their eyes are JOXHG�WR�WKH�À�HOG�to cheer on the team.

The Fan Section: Dissected

In past years, football fandom at Western Albemarle had been char-acterized by the student section’s rau-cous enthusiasm and wit rather than by staggering attendance numbers. To compensate for showings at football games that were sometimes skimpy in comparison to the likes of Louisa and Monticello, a few students -- often a rowdy group of senior boys -- would always make Western’s presence felt. But this year, due in part to the efforts of Dale Savoy, Timmy O’Shea and others in charge of WAHS Fanatics, the presence of Western football at-tendance has flourished in size. Senior Dale Savoy created WAHS Fanatics, originating as a Facebook group, on Aug. 2 and advertised the Aug. 24 season opener against Albe-marle. On Aug. 5 Timmy O’Shea, who Savoy promoted to admin, post-ed, “1st big event ladies and gents 1st week of school everyone is required to be in attendance [sic],” along with a link to the Facebook event for the Western vs. Albemarle football game. Savoy and O’Shea organized a hugely popular blackout for the game and, according to athletic director Steve

Heon, the attendance at the home opener approached 2500 -- making it the best attended event in his nine-year tenure at Western. Coupled with the spike in atten-cance, the team hasstarted their year with a 5-0 record, their best in recent memory. Some of the credit for the enthusiasm of the crowd and the subsequent success of the football team must go to Savoy and WAHS Fanatics. Though the focus so far this fall seems to be on football, Savoy seeks to bolster sup-

port for all Western Sports. In the Facebook group description, Savoy says he envisions “a big groups [sic] for all sports... so people can post big games they’re playing in and also organize fan groups.” WAHS Fanatics hopes to synthesize Bas-ketball’s “Crozet Crazies,” Soccer’s “Hooligans” and the entire student body into one mass of fiercely fa-natic supporters of WAHS athletics for years to come.

NO STANDING ROOMNew Student Group Bolsters Fan Supportby ZACH MANDELL

1on1 David Taylor:Q: “On average about how many miles would you say you run a week?”

A: “I’m at a pretty high mileage. I ran about 73 miles in singles and 20 in morning runs last week. I’ll step that down later in the season when things have gotten well under way, but my workouts will increase in intensity.”

Q: “What are your team and individual goals for this season?”

A: “We want to rebuild the team and be competitive in the state. We want to perform well in the regional meet and win the district title as well. Another goal of mine is to make the podium at the state tournament.”

Q: “What schools might pose a threat to Western’s history of district domi-nance this season?”

A: “In the past we’ve been dominant in the district, but we’d like to beat up on Albemarle, and we have to look out for Monticello and Fluvanna.”

by GRANT TOLBERwith

graphic by: Maya Langman

Taylor Facts:

Nickname: “Dave”

Grade: 12

Fun Fact: De-fending State Champion in the 1 mile

photo by: Ryan Jones

sports


When synchronized swimming comes to mind, the common thought is of girls in brightly colored floral swimsuits and caps cheerfully diving into the water in perfect unison. In reality, there is much more to the port then just splashing around in a pool. Just ask Emmeli Gordon, a senior at Western, who has been com-petitively synchronized swimming since she was in the sixth grade. Emmeli was introduced to the sport by two of her friends in the fifth grade and quickly became a member of the team, which typically consists of four people for competition. “I started out egg beatering, which is a water treading technique, and then I moved on to the more difficult moves”, said Emmeli. The name of her team, the Charlottesville Flamingos, may seem comical to an outsider of the sport, but is actually the name of a move in

synchronized swimming. The Flamingos, who practice in Charlot-tesville, started out at the local level and have qualified for Nationals the past two years. “We got first place in all of the local competitions but I guess I never thought we were that good until we qualified for Nationals”, said Emmeli. The first year, Nationals was located in Washington state, so the team could not attend, but last year luck struck when the location of Nation-als was announced to be in Ohio. The competition was stretched over a week, but the team attended for just two days, and placed 25th overall. Emmeli is very passionate about the sport as a whole, but particularly loves competitions. She especially enjoys how

all the work and presentation come together. “The teams with more money have sparkly suits and things like that, but we just order patterned suits”, said Emmeli. Besides suits, the standard look for synchronized swimming included a stiff high bun created with gelatin and, of course, nose clips. Competitions consist of two parts: the routine, which is three minutes long, and figures, in which everyone competes. Generally, Emmeli per-forms in duets and trios in competi-tions, which are usually located in Virginia Beach. Synchronized swim-ming is based on a 100-point scale with teams at the Olympic level usually scoring in the nineties. “I watched the Olympic synchronized swimming this summer and I was amazed by how good they were”, said Emmeli. Local teams like the Flamingos score in the 60s and 70s. The only aspect of synchronized swimming that she dislikes is the extreme precision and perfection required. Emmeli plans to continue syn-chronized swimming in college and is looking at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts.

In SyncWAHS senior Emmeli Gordon makes a splash

by EMILY WILLIAMS

Q: “What times do you hope to improve and which event is most important to you?”

A: “My cross country times are my number one priority. I want to beat Kyle Satterwhite’s 15:10 min-ute school record time, averaging about 4:53 per mile.”

Q: “Who are the runners for this season to look out for, and are there any youngsters that have the potential to be running varsity this year?”

A: “Junior Alex De Jong has been looking good for the last trainings and races. Freshman Trevor Stutzman, brother of Western star Tyler Stutzman that now runs at Stanford, has been looking good as well. Other racers that look like they could be running varsity at some point this season are Mac Outlaw, Will Rogers, Cy Webb (also know as Miley), Henry Cohen, Kyle Mahoney, Nathaniel Hashisaki and Ethan Cole.”

Emmeli and part of her Flamingo team

photo courtesy: Emmeli Gordon

XC alum Dallas Pugh and coach Cass Girvin shooting the breeze with Dave

photo by: Deepa Shivaram

sports


KnowTeammate:Your

FieldHockeyby KAMILA SETARO

Who is your favorite

musical artist?

Michael Phelps or Ryan

Lochte?

Maple Syrup or

Cheese?

What is your favorite

movie?

If you could marry any

celebrity, who would it

be?

Nicki Minaj

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Maple Syrup

Michael Phelps

Matty from Awkward

Train or Bob Marley

Ryan LochteRyan Lochte


Maple SyrupMaple Syrup


Channing Tatum

No Idea

Ryan Reynolds

Becca Moriconi, FWD Tess Lohr, FWD Morgan Schuler, DEF

The varsity field hockey team has

had a triumphant season thus far.

With five straight shutouts, the team

is set to close out their regular sea-

son and begin the Jefferson District

Tournament on Oct. 22. Their

clear success as a team has shown

that they have chemistry on the field

and seem to know each other well.

But how well do they know one

another off the field? We inter-

viewed senior team leaders Becca

Moriconi, Tess Lohr and Morgan

Schuler to see how well they know

each other. Moriconi answered

several questions and we asked the

others to answer what they think she

would say.

Self titled “best friends” and teammates (L-R) Mor-

gan Schuler, Becca Moriconi, and Tess Lohr

photo by: Maya Langman

sports


Mid-Calf Rises

Every athlete has been there, no matter what level you are playing at or how long you have played. Profes-sionals, first timers and everyone in between all have one thing in common, the socks. Regardless of your sport (OK swimming, not you), socks are an absolute necessity to any athlete both in sports and in everyday life. It may seem unimportant but the sock has much more to do with sports than anyone would believe. However, senior football player Isiah Cowan insists that sock choice is essential on and off the field.: “Your socks play an important role in your performance. If your sock game isn’t up to par, then your natural game isn’t up to par. If you don’t look good, you don’t play good.” As Cowan explains, it is evident in the way we dress, but most

importantly, our socks express our swag-ger. Think back a few years -- scratch that -- think back a whole eight to ten years; you are in elementary school, ready to go play some Pokemon and have fun at recess for the whole day! You are sitting on the edge of your bed when ponder-ing what socks to put on, but we all know what the answer will be. The overwhelming consensus in the sports world and real world during the early 2000s was that ankle socks were the pair to wear. From NBA stars such as Tim Duncan to an aspiring NBA player like myself, you had to be wearing ankle socks to be cool. But where have those times gone? You know you’re at a crossroads when the only semi-famous ankle sock wearer is American tennis player Mardy Fish. And the sad thing about that is, is that at least 70 percent of the people reading this have no idea who Fish is. On the other end of the spectrum, the number of mid-calf athletes is endless. From new Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III to well-known YouTube sensa-tion Branford Winstonworth, mid-calfs are everywhere you look in the sports world. One theory to the meteoric popularity spike of the mid-calf has been the appar-

ent desire to start and join in on a hip new trend. Junior runner Will Romness was, as he told me, one of the first to blaze the trail for the new footwear. “Ankles socks went away as people realized that they weren’t that swag,” says Romness. “I was the first to notice, the same way I was the first to start the trend of polar fleeces or sunglasses.” So what is the piece de resistance of the mid-calf genre? Cowan notes that, when choosing the cotton creation with the most swagger and athletic functionality, the choice is easy: “It has to be Nike Elites. The cushion, the style, the fit, it all makes you feel kinda’ personal with your sock.”While not every mid-calf wearer will feel a connection to their socks like Cowan does, they will no doubt sense the swagger that the socks bring to their everyday life. There is no deny-ing that the sensational sock style has found a home at Western for years to come.

Socks playing an important role among Western athletes

by BRANDT BERRY

Will Romness proudly runs in mid-calfs

photo courtesy: Will Romness

Football players sport their pink breast cancer awareness socks photo by: Maya Langman

Freshman Carter Elliot loves to rep his Nike mid-calfs

photo by: Deepa Shivaram

a&e


Summer of the SuperheroWhich movie was your favorite?by KELSEY MCKECHNIE

Recently, the movies that have been generating the most buzz at the box office have been the ones that involve men donning tights and mysterious masks. The three top-grossing movies of the summer were “The Aveng-ers,” “The Dark Knight Rises” and “The Amaz-ing Spider-Man.” For many Western students, a popular way to beat the heat this year was to kick back and enjoy these action-packed flicks. “The Amazing Spider-Man” turned out to be a surprise hit. Many felt the movie was unneces-sary and wouldn’t do well because it was released so close to the previous Spider-Man series, which ended in 2007. Many thought that another attempt at the Spider-Man series was redundant and that this time around, they would not be successful since it has only been five years since the latest installment concluded. “They probably should have waited a little while before they made the movie because the two series were so close together,” said junior Christian Cullinan. Still, Cullinan en-joyed the latest movie, which featured newcomer Andrew Garfield, more than the others. “I thought that the new

Spider-Man was better. The Spider-Man movies with Tobey Maguire were good, but this new movie was much truer to the actual comics,” said Cul-linan.

“The Dark Knight Rises” was argu-ably the most highly anticipated film of the summer due to the fact that it was the final installment in the popu-lar Batman series. The movie was centered around Batman’s return as the protector of Gotham after a villain named Baine began to terrorize the city. There were many loose ends to tie up, but several fans raved that the last few minutes of the film were what made it so great. “I thought that ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ was by far the best

out of the movies this summer because it was just a really great way end the Batman trilogy. ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘The Avengers’ were both really good too though,” said Cullinan. Sophomore Kyle Benson also saw the three films.

“Yeah, they were all awe-some, but ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ was my favorite,” said Benson. “The Avengers” raked in an impressive $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie of the summer. It was also senior Andrew Periasamy’s favorite of the three films. “It was interesting. All of the Marvel superheroes came together to join in a battle between good and evil,” said Periasamy. The movie featured popular characters from other recent

Disney Marvel Studios movies like “Thor,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Ironman” and “Captain America” in a showdown against an alien army in order to save the Earth. Across the board, the responses to the superhero films of the summer were enthusiastic, and there is already progress being made on sequels to “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “The Avengers.” Only time will tell if our fascination with these caped vigilantes will hold.

?

Which super hero movie did you like best?

a&e

My friends are always asking me to get a Facebook. They want to be able to talk to me in the summer, tag me in unflattering photos and compete with me for amount of “friends.” And I ask my friends to get a Twitter or a Gmail or maybe even a blog because I want to know what is going on in their lives without having to make an unavoid-ably awkward phone call. I don’t ask my friends to get a Tumblr, however, for no other reason than I don’t want them to get in the way of my hardcore all-out-passionate fangirling. In this world we live in, it is way too easy to be overly invested in the lives of celebrities. The Internet allows us to keep up with their every movement, whether we are freaking out over some newly released pictures or squealing over a tweet. We are so reliant on these forms of media. You can take away my

“The thing about fangirling is that everyone does

it...try to deny it, there is always something that

gets you talking.” food, and you can take away my water, but you can’t take away my WiFi. It’s great to read your celebrity crush’s newest tweets or buy tons of merchan-dise with his or her face plastered all over it, but honestly, there is no better retreat for fangirls than Tumblr, a place

many of us fangirls call home if only because we are surrounded by people just as obsessed as we are. One of the more noticeably obses-sive fangirls at Western is Langlee King. She can tell me the exact date of every tweet from her obsession, Australian teenage heartthrob Cody Simpson. Any mention of his name causes her to blurt out a string of “ohmygods” followed by lots of manic giggling. She will also pull out her phone and regale you with thou-sands of pictures of Cody in various poses. Trust me, I would rather be eaten by a lion than go through that again. However, not all fangirls are girls. Tim Dodson’s obsession with Ron Paul is borderline terrifying. He describes his love for Ron Paul as “not just a hobby, but a lifestyle.” When he gets home from school, he checks Google News for any new mentions of Ron Paul. Tim participates in vari-ous message boards that discuss Ron

Paul and politics. Tim has met many fellow Ron Paul supporters at rallies and protests. His final comment regarding his feelings for Ron Paul’s campaign is: “It’s something you take to heart, not just send out a tweet about.” In general, Twitter is for the more superficial fangirls. The ones that want you to be aware of everything they are doing and everything they are feel-ing. Tumblr is a more anonymous way to express fangirling tendencies, a per-fect blend of all different forms of media to get the full celebrity experience. The thing about fangirling is that every-one does it. You can try to deny it, but there is always something that gets you talking. Adults are always complaining that our generation is too technology-focused, that we spend too much time in front of a screen and not enough time paying attention to what they have to say. But the truth is, what they are say-ing is old news. I would much rather be focusing on the fact that Naya Rivera just tweeted a picture of herself on set and “OHMYGOD I CAN’T EVEN WITH THESE FEELS.” This is something I care about, and isn’t passion the hub of our culture? There wouldn’t be any bands or artwork or TV shows without us fangirls to fuel them. Fangirling is a time consuming com-mitment. I have to make time in my schedule to not only do homework, go to soccer practice, eat dinner and maintain some form of hygiene, but to also spend a couple hours a day admir-ing Naya Rivera’s bone structure and interpreting everything she has ever said in her life. It’s a little embarrassing, and a lot pathetic, but I don’t need your respect or your approval. Every inch of my being is too busy being consumed by my irrational, infinite, unstoppable need to fangirl.

The Phenomenon of FangirlingA Pro!le of the (Sometimes) Closeted Celebrity Crushby SARAH HONOSKY

photo by: Kevin Arani-bar/CrazyInSane/Cre-

ativeCommons



Looking Forward

The Pavilion is blessed, and sometimes cursed, with a variety of acts every spring, summer and fall. From Pretty Lights to Jack White, all manners of music play on the outdoor stage. On October 28, Counting Crows, on their tour of their new album, “Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vaca-tion).”, will stop by the Charlottesville nTelos Wireless Pavilion. Combining hard, guitar-driven sounds of the ‘90s

with softer, vocal-based, acoustic sounds more associated with the ‘70s, Count-ing Crows has managed to appeal to both fans of alternative and classic rock. They have a wide variety of influences, taking their lighter, more upbeat ap-proach from bands such as Van Morrison and their much darker, downbeat songs with harder guitars and angrier lyrics from bands such as Nirvana. Their entire career, the Counting Crows have com-bined these two unique styles. Often split-ting an album between the two, Counting Crows have created their own fusion of alternative grunge and light ‘70s sound. Formed in San Francisco in 1991 by singer Adam Duritz and guitarist Da-vid Bryson, the band quickly became a staple on the local music scene. Their breakout performance, filling in for Van Morrison at the band’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was directly followed by the release of their first album, “August

and Everything After.” The album was massively successful, with sev-eral hit songs like “Mr. Jones,” which climbed to the number one spot on the Billboard 40. They quickly fol-lowed this up with two albums in four years: “Recovering The Satellites” in 1995 and “This Desert Life” in 1999. Both included several hit songs, such as “A Long December” and “Hangin-around.” After “This Desert Life,” the band released another two origi-nal albums, “Saturday Evenings and Sunday Mornings” and “Underwater Sunshine.” The band also released two live recordings, and a Grammy-winning single “Accidentally in Love”. Whether singing along to “Mr. Jones” or holding up a lighter for “A Long December,” the Counting Crows concert promises a diverse mix of music with an incredible atmosphere.

by SAM LESEMANN: CONCERTS

Singer/guitarist Adam Duritz was one of the founding members of the Counting Crows

Couting Crows: Sunday October 28, 6:00 P.M., nTelos Wireless Pavilion

A & E

Looking BackP H O T O E S S A Yby DEEPA SHIVARAM

(L-R) Mr. Martin opens Debate by displaying his beloved teddy bear; 9th grader Phoebe DeVito double checks to see if the Freshman mural can exceed last years debacle; Katherine Donnaly signs in for the Senior Seminar. Seniors attended three sessions on PSAT day

latitudes


New and old members of WAHS faculty revealed through Keirsey test.

Things You Never Knew about Mr. DriverEven though Mr. Driver is a long time veteran at Western, there are still a lot of things we don’t know about our assistant principal:

1. Mr. Driver is getting his doctorate at the University of Virginia. 2. He wrestled and played rugby in college. 3. This man might have the record of number of broken noses... seven times!

Psychological Profile ESTJ-naturally steps into leadership roles -values order and rule adherence -takes their commitments seriously

“The most important thing to me is making sure this years seniors get into college,” Driver says.

What Everyone Wants to Know about Ms. VoreasWestern Albemarle High School’s new study hall teacher, Ms. Voreas, has to compete with the beloved reputation of Mr. Crickenberger who served our school a great honor by being one of the greatest study hall teachers of his generation. It is the consensus that she will fit the bill quite nicely though. Here are some cool things to know about her:

1. Ms. Voreas attended the Univer-sity of Virginia where she swam and played water polo. 2. Her favorite color is turquoise. 3. She has the same kind of dog as President Obama! His name is Mikey.

Psychological Profile ENFJ-excellent people skills-intuitive awareness of other people -loyal and trustworthy

Cool things about Mr. DEveryone who has Mr. DelDotto knows he originates from the home of the New York Giants (NJ), his absolute favorite football team. Mr. D is the government teacher for the first semester. What you don’t know about this new teacher is that:

1. He went to George Washington University and is getting his graduate degree in teaching at UVA. 2. He has no pets, but he loves dogs, especially BIG ones. 3. Queen and Jackson Browne are his favorite bands.

Psychological Profile ENFP-very excited and passionate about things -works best in environment with lots of different people and ideas

-very consistent in their values

Get the 411

photo by: Deepa Shivaram photo by: Deepa Shivaram photo by: Deepa Shivaram

latitudes

the western hemisphere october 2012 24

Most teenagers would probably be happy with

whatever beat up, piece of junk, it-has-character car their

parents wanted to give them. However, some just get a

little bit luckier.

“It’s a 1976 MG Midget,” says grinning junior

Ryan Jones, of the sporty red convertible he drives. The

six-cylinder, manual transmission, two-seater was bought

by his father, nine years ago, in New Hampshire. Jones

concedes that learning to drive stick was a challenge, es-

pecially because he began driving in an automatic. In the

beginning he would “kill it, every single time,” but he

The Best Car in the Lot Vintage convertible has heads turning

adds that after a month it became second nature, and he never

forgot.

Jones says the Midget “drives like a racecar, it’s really

great, but it doesn’t go as fast as a race car, cause it’s got this

tiny engine, but because it’s small... any road makes it feel fun.”

Ryan’s father shares his love of the brand; the older Jones has a

1961 MGA, which he bought about a year ago.



By SOPHIE WEBB

the western hemisphere - oct. 2012

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