The Vedette - March 2011

TheVedette

Volume 114, Issue #4

“I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

-Voltaire

“You say you want a Revolution.

Well, you know. We all want to change the world.”

-John Lennon

Cover photos from: www.lib-art.com, flickr.com, and www. opinion-maker.org.

In This Issue...

Honors in Arts CMA Leadership The Middle East Chinese New Year Top 5 in Culver Sports And More...

STUDENT VOICE OF THE CULVER ACADEMIES FOR OVER A CENTURY

March 2011

a note from your

editors Dear Culver, Unless you have been hiding under a rock lately you will have noticed the recent revolutions occurring in the Middle East and North Africa. This combined with the (eventual) changing of the seasons and we’ve got revolution on the brain.

What exactly is revolution? At its most basic level it is a change in thought which is what we would like to focus on with this particular issue. We aren’t asking for sudden upheaval and a reign of anarchy wherein the students run rampant in any clothing with all night internet; we’re asking you for something much more important and difficult.

Change your mind.

It doesn’t have to be anything big. Here’s an example: you’re waiting patiently in line for a Chewy Bar at midmorning, and you discover that the chocolate chip Chewy Bars are gone! How do you respond? Do your curses resound through math and science, or do you shrug it off and focus on the signs of spring appearing around you?

We’d encourage the latter. Sure it can be fun to complain sometimes, but that energy could be put to much better usage. Focus on the good and find ways of improving the bad.

That is revolution.

Whether we can believe it or not we have a limited time left in this school year. What we make of it is largely dependent on how we choose to see the world. We hope that you will be able to find a solution in the face of difficulties. We hope that you will be positive when you have the chance and enjoy the little things. We hope in this sense that you would be truly revolutionary.

Your Editors, Clancy and Laura 2

the Vedette s t a f f, M A R C H :

Editors-in-Chief: Laura Freymiller and Clancy Tripp Layout: Laura Freymiller, Cricket Gullickson, Jake Kang, Clancy Tripp Writers: Anna-Christina Betekthin, Carina Conti, Deanna Dilts, Laura Freymiller, Cricket Gullickson, Jake Kang, Kevin Kim, Mary McKinnis, Lauryn Robinson, Alan Simonini, Maddie Slykas, Sky Strycker, Clancy Tripp, John Van Duyn, Molly Walker, Jeffrey Wang, Betsy Whitfield Editors: Anna-Christina Betekthin, Jordan Berger, Sharon Chen, Laura Freymiller, Cricket Gullickson, Kevin Kim, Maddie Loney, Skyler Strycker, Molly Walker Photographers: Deanna Dilts, Laura Freymiller, Cricket Gullickson, Jake Kang, Lauryn Robinson, Alan Simonini

about us: The Vedette is the student-run newspaper of the Culver Academies which seeks to provide a campuswide forum for discussion.

The goal of The Vedette is to facilitate open and honest discussions between students, faculty, and administration, and to inform its readers of campus, local, and world news. We are open to letters, ideas for articles, photos, cartoons, and other contributions; if you have contructive criticism, please contact us. Campus papers are only as good as their contributors and we know you have something to say.

Opinions expressed in The Vedette do not reflect the opinions of The Vedette staff, and their publication does not in any way imply an endorsement of these opinions by this magazine.

Vol. 114 Issue #4

News Sadie Hawkins Dance: In My Khaki Pants Think about what you ate for breakfast this morning. Think about all the homework you didn’t do last night, but don’t freak out. Now think about today’s date. Yes, that’s right; it’s that time of year again.

No, I don’t mean CAR or Spring Break. I’m talking the real deal here. Sadie Hawkins- the time-honored tradition where girls ask guys to a formal dance.

This year’s dance is March 12th, and its theme is Mardi Gras. I’m guessing most of you didn’t even know that, but don’t worry: masks will be provided.

Now that’s out of the way, I ask you to think about the history behind Sadie Hawkins. Bet you don’t know much about that either, right? Now I bet you’re wondering who Sadie Hawkins is and why we have an entire occasion named after her. Well, be patient and I’ll do my best to explain. Sadie made her first appearance in the comic strip Li’l Abner in 1937, which was later adapted into a musical. In this story, there was one day a year when unmarried girls could chase men around town hoping for marriage.

This was Sadie’s favorite day of the year, and as the comic grew in popularity, so did the simple “the girls ask the boys” idea. Traditionally, Sadie Hawkins dances are held in November, however times have changed and they’re now held at almost any time of the year.

This change in date is somewhat reflective of the change in attitude towards the dance. Nowadays, die hard activists protest the idea of a “girls ask boys” dance because they say it implies that girls can’t ask boys to other dances. Personally, I feel that anyone should feel free to ask a crush, a friend, or even your teddy bear, Wilfred to any dance of any type at any type of year. I especially encourage the last; Wilfred has some exceptional dance moves.

-Molly Walker ‘12

Khaki pants. Is there anything better? http://www. casualclothing.dk/images/ Belstaff_bermuda_pants_ khaki_1.jpg

Vol. 114 Issue #4

March 2011

Protests in the Middle East Two months ago, Tunisian Muhammad Bouazizi lit a match after police confiscated his fruit cart. Did he know all that would happen as a result of his action? His self-immolation has sparked anti-government protests that have spread across the Middle East and North Africa like wildfire, affecting fifteen countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Algeria, Djibouti, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Sudan, Syria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Palestine.

In general, these protests arise from a popular discontent with government corruption, restraint of personal liberties, and deteriorating economies.

Perhaps the biggest changes have been seen in Egypt and Tunisia, where both heads of state have stepped down. The former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak faced protesters angry about his 30-year rule, a lack of free elections, a corrupt police force, high food prices, low wages, and high unemployment. In Tunisia, protesters cited similar complaints, including high unemployment, government corruption, rising prices, and political repression. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who had ruled for twenty-three years, fled the country on January 14 after weeks of demonstrations, sparking many of the protests now seen in North Africa and the Middle East.

Yet it seems that the overthrow of these dictators is not enough for those protesting. Democratic activists are now calling for demonstrations to demand the removal of Egypt’s interim government. After Mubarak stepped down, the army-led administration remained virtually untouched.

While military rulers have said that changes in the constitution to allow for elections should be ready soon, they have continued to rule with emergency law. Similarly, Tunisia’s caretaker government is taking steps to distance itself from the former regime. While the acting prime minister and several other key members also served as part of the former government, protesters continue to press the government to get rid of any lasting symbols of Ben Ali’s regime. The government insists that it is creating plans for elections.

Only time will tell how successful these revolutions will be. Perhaps Egypt and Tunisia will secure functioning forms of democracy, but perhaps they will revert back to autocratic regimes. Nevertheless, the protests across the Middle East have proved significant and powerful; the whole world is waiting to see what the end results will be.

-Cricket Gullickson ‘11

An example of the emotional often violent protests occurPicture from http:// www.dw-world. de/popups/popup_ lupe/0,,14873484,00. html

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News

March 2011

The GrayMatter Foundation Q: What is The GrayMatter Foundation?

Shah: The GrayMatter Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to sponsoring public school students in need. We aim to provide both educational opportunities and extracurricular programs for students interested in academics, along with sports and the arts. We look forward to making a difference in the lives of public high school students facing budget cuts and underfunded educations.

Jake: The GrayMatter Foundation is unique in the sense that it is student run from the top down. The executive team consists of CEO Jeremy Meyers, Chairman Shah Ullah, and Vice Presidents Safanah Siddiqui and me. All of us are seventeen years of age. Our slogan is “Students Know what Students Need.” Our goal and mission is to have students help students nationally.

Q: How did The GrayMatter Foundation get started? How did it come to Culver?

Shah: I was inspired to found The GrayMatter Foundation with my classmate from NYC, Jeremy Meyers, because of the large funding cuts that the city was experiencing. Originally, my co-founder and I received very little support; it felt like we were getting pushed against a wall. However, after a few months, we began developing a website and had our first event in Central Park, which raised a few hundred dollars. Deciding to repeat my junior year, I came to Culver in order to have a better opportunity to spread GrayMatter and help myself attain a better education.

Jake: Immediately after meeting Shah, I realized that we both had a similar passion for entrepreneurship and the betterment of public education. Excited, I began working with Shah, and we have been able to make significant progress these last few months. The GrayMatter Foundation gained the support of the following as advisors: Charles Best, Founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org, Art Morgan, CTO

Gender in Advertising

Advertisements represent a subtle cross between what others want us to see and what they think we want to see. In any case it is interesting to watch the growth and development of advertisements especially in conjunction gender stereotyping. Despite numerous exceptions, advertisements as a whole reflect the revolution of attitudes towards men and women. The revolution is not yet complete, but it shows signs of progress.

I conducted an experiment of sorts which involved watching one (1) hour of television and taking notes on the advertisements I saw. Obviously, this experiment would need more time, a variety of channels, and many more notes in order to give a clear picture of advertisements as a whole; however, for my purposes it gave me an interesting snap shot.

The time: 6:30-7:30 PM. The chan-

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nel: Spike TV (Star Wars was playing…). The results: an interesting assortment. Of the thirty-four commercials, twenty had male announcers, eight had female announcers, and six had either no announcer or both. The chocolate and jewelry commercials usually drew a connection between love and receiving either chocolate or jewelry while car commercials and insurance commercials overwhelmingly had male announcers and males pictured. On the positive side: no male or female objectification.

Although stereotypes still exist, it is clear that advertising has progressed at least a bit (if you can judge this based on a single hour of Spike TV). The revolution towards gender equality and universal respect is far from over, but at least it has begun.

-Laura Freymiller ‘11

of Junior Statesmen of America, and Mark Bao, Serial Entrepreneur.

Q: What’s going on now?

Shah: Currently we are working on redesigning our website. My friend from NYC and I designed it ourselves over the summer (graygivesback.org). We are hoping to have complete functionality with just an overall better feel for things.

Jake: We are starting several chapters all over the United States including Washington D.C, Maryland, New York City, Kansas City, and of course, Culver. If anyone is interested in helping out or getting involved, please email either Shah at Ullahs@culver.org or me at Rallsj@culver.org. Please check out the official website at graygivesback.org.

-Jake Ralls Feldman ’12 and Shah Ullah ‘12

Tech Revolution In technology, the only constant is change. Everything is always changing, evolving, and improving to meet new demands. Remember the original iPod, big and white, with a click wheel and monochromatic screen. Look what is has evolved to, the iPhone 4, a touch screen with bright colors that can do much more than simply play music. In fact an iPod that only plays music seems almost laughable nowadays.

Apple is a prime example of constant change.

Quite frequently, new groundbreaking products are released to meet demands and show what an innovative brand Steve Jobs has created. Another example is recently, on Jeopardy, a computer beat a human, showing change from the original computers that took up an entire room.

Although technology progresses step by step, these changes add up to impressive new technologies that make the past seem obsolete. Sadly we may find that if we don’t evolve our way of thinking to match these technological advances we may be left in the dust like the first iPod. -Betsy Whitfield ‘13

Vol. 114 Issue #4

Features

March 2011

Student Leadership in CMA: Reach for Perfection

Culver Military Academy (CMA) was founded in 1894 and is known as a school that teaches leadership. CMA is a unique school; First Make Operation Officer Captain Guanlin Chen said that “CMA gives the opportunity for high schoolers to experience something that most other high schoolers can’t experience.” When new cadets walk through Logansport Gate, they see the cadets with diamonds and pips and dream about becoming one of them. To become such a man, a cadet starts from the bottom of the chain of command and works his way up through the promotion system.

He works hard to achieve his goals. However, does the promotion system at Culver Military Academy give those hard working cadets fair chances, or does it give an unfair advantage to some? According to a Chinese proverb, “Gold cannot be pure, and people cannot be perfect.” Even though CMA has a military history of one-hundred years, it is not perfect. Since 1894, CMA has changed and experimented with its method to get one step closer to the idealistic military system. However, we still have issues that we need to address, such as favoritism. Most cadets that the Vedette interviewed said, compared to the past 2~3 years at Culver, we have a fairer promotion system. However, it is also the truth that there are still people who claim that they are the victims of favoritism. When people talk about favoritism they mean that people feel that they are treated unfairly, which is a signal that the current system has a problem. How are we going to improve our system, so that people will feel that it is fair to everyone?

Several cadets suggested some solutions.

CMA is famous for “student-run systems.” Students take charge of the units, battalions, and regiment. The cadre, which is the group of selected cadets within each unit, is responsible for the promotions and performances. The Vedette asked cadets’ opinions about student run system. The Battery B First Make Regimental Operation Sergeant Major, Second Make First

Sergeant Alex Dodane said it’s effective because, “peers look up to each other no matter what.” He also mentioned that, “sometimes we see adults who are not on our side. However, in this student run military system, we cadets are working together to achieve our goals.” First Make Regimental Commander Captain Ryan Kolden said, “It is effective because you are put into an opportunity where you have to perform to the highest standard.” CMA always encourages cadets to perform their best, “to become the best person they can be.”

However, a couple students mentioned that the student-run military system can be improved. Executive Officer Lieutenant Jarrod Drake from Band said, “Adults playing a huge role in the student leadership system can de-motivate the student leaders.” He also mentioned that only adults are mak-

Look for the CGA Leadership article in the next issue! If you have a viewpoint please contact us. ing decisions, for example, in the 1st Sgt. Notes, all the major events are planned and scheduled by adults. Squadron Commander Marcus Shannon said, “Students can have an idea, but they have to be approved by adults.” He also said that he understands why- because they have more experience with these topics and issues. However, he said if adults were to have more faith in cadets, it would make student run military system more effective, and also prepare them for life after graduation, when they have to make big decisions. The first step to allow cadets more freedom to make decisions can be taking more students’ input in the promotion process.

Promotions are a bridge to bigger responsibilities. Every year, every make, cadets go through the promotion system, and each unit counselor and military mentor ultimately decides the promotion; cadre, consisting of upper classmen, have input in the process. 1st Sgt. Dodane said, “For the in-unit positions, cadets go to a unit counselor, and he makes decision with cadre.” For the out-of-unit positions, Cpt. Chen said, “Talk to a counselor, and ask for a recommendation for battalion, regimental, and in unit positions.” Each unit counselor is the critical person in the promotion system. This also relates to the previous statement about “adults playing a huge role on the student leadership program,” which we need to work on to make the student leadership system more effective. Most of the cadets agreed that the promotion systems in the regiment and battalion level are very effective and fair. However, some cadets were not satisfied with the in-unit promotion system. 1st Sgt. Dodane said, “In unit is where we need to focus. It’s the heart of Culver. The inner work of the unit can make the regiment look so good.” What is the difference between the battalion, regiment promotion systems, and the in unit promotion system? The difference is the interview. Cadets who want battalion or regimental positions have interviews that they need to prepare. Several cadets suggested having interviews for in-unit positions to make an improvement in the unit promotion system.

To make the unit promotion system more fair and effective, the process should have interviews, and adults need to put more confidence in student leaders. Surprisingly, these suggestions have already happened in Troop B. The Vedette interviewed Mr. Montgomery who is the counselor of Troop B. He said, “We have interviews for the 1st and 2nd classmen positions, which are leadership positions above platoon sergeants, and sometimes squad leaders.” Mr. Montgomery

Continued on page 6.

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F EAT U R E S M a r c h 2011 “Leadership” continued from page 5. the U.S. Army. “A lot of it is in time and Because the present promotion system judgexplained the promotion system in Troop B. He said he makes an announcement about the promotion during a unit meeting, saying whoever wants the promotion should send him an e-mail including a position that they want before the deadline.

When cadets send him an e-mail, he sends the questions that they will be asked during the interview. Mr. Montgomery said, “Candidates prepare themselves for interview, and they have interviews with unit commander, and myself. But most of time, it’s just them and the unit commander.” Some people may raise the question. “Are they fair to every candidate?” Mr. Montgomery said, “At the beginning, I had to be there until I could develop a trust and they took it seriously.” This type of in unit promotion system has already proved its effectiveness in Troop B from their military performance for past decades. Why is having an interview so effective? 1st Sgt. Dodane, who experienced an interview with the Commandant for the regimental positions, said, “For interviews, you have to have your plan ready. You have to know what you can offer to the position. So, the interview really shows who is ready for the position.”

We can also learn a great deal from the US Army, Navy, Marines, and the Air Force who have proven their leadership throughout the world. Mr. Montgomery served as a 1st Sergeant in the U.S. Army and knows firsthad about the promotion system in

grade. There is a time requirement, and you need to go through certain school in order to make it to the next level.” This idea of having requirements for the promotion was suggested by Lt. Drake. He said, “To have a fair promotion process, we need to have thorough requirements of promotion. When candidates satisfy the requirements, it doesn’t matter if someone favors them or not. They are still qualified.” But what should be requirements? According to Culver Code of Conduct, leaders should try hard “To lead by example, and take care of those I lead.” Requirements should include not only military performance, but also GPA and sports, which will allow the promotion system to look at the candidates in different aspects suggest Cpt. Chen.

Meanwhile, Lance Corporal Kilbourne from Troop B said the promotion system in his unit does onsider such aspects. He said that during the promotion, the counselor and cadre take a look at the candidates’ “grades, how they lead others, how good of follower they are, sports, participation in the honor organization.” Therefore, in Troop B, you need to be a “leader” in academic, military, and sports to get promoted, which is what Culver wants cadets to do.

Another issue which 1st Sgt. Dodane notes about the Culver promotion system: “We focus too much on negative and don’t pull out the most positive from the cadets.”

es a cadet by past records, if he is known as a slacker, he will often get discarded from the promotion. However, to give him a chance “to become a better person,” the promotion system should give everybody an equal chance of getting promoted.

In this article, the Vedette attempted to find a variety of ways to improve the CMA leadership system from interviews to modeling the U.S. Army to taking the candidate as a whole into acount, but one of the most important things we uncovered was the power of constructive criticism when combined with encouragement. We should point out positives and always encourage those cadets “to become the better person.” As 1st Sgt. Dodane also mentioned that “Feedback is big part of a unit.” Feedback is critical to not only units but also battalions and a regiment.

If someone believes that he is the victim of the current military system, he should talk to his unit commanders or unit counselors to improve the system and prevent others from becoming one of the victims. Absolute perfection is impossible, but it is always possible to get closer to perfection. We always need to make improvements. People who have complaints should not hold their grudges against the system, but should talk to peers or counselors. Let‘s make improvements and move one step closer to an idealistic system for future cadets, and Culver itself.

-Kevin Kim ‘12

Anatomy of a Revolution

Revolution! We throw this word around a lot, describing people or events as revolutionary. But what constitutes a true revolution and when is it necessary?

According to Mr. Crane Brinton in his “Anatomy of a Revolution”, there are several conditions that must be present before any revolution must take place. (I have only listed five of the ten for simplicities’ sake.

If you would like to see the full document please email me.)

1.)People from all walks of life are discontented.

2.)People feel that they are held down by “unacceptable restrictions”.

3.)Social classes begin to shape and hostil-

ity erupts between the classes.

4.)The government does not respond to complaints.

5.)The government faces internal and financial struggles.

From this list it becomes clear that a revolution is only necessary when a divide is created between those with power and those without power. When compromise fails and reform is either too slow or restricted, then revolution runs its course. Revolution is nothing more and nothing less than a change, or at least attempt at change, of the fundamental basis of a society. It is a paradigm shift.

From the French Revolution to the Rus-

sian Revolution to the revolutions taking place now in North Africa and the Middle East, revolutions seem to be a part of human history. But could such a revolution ever occur here at Culver? Has the divide between faculty and students or employees and employers become so great as to necessitate revolution? According to Brinton, no.

We have lines of communication available to us: the proposal system, the department heads, the counselors, and of course student newspapers. If and only if people stop listening to new ideas will a revolution take place at Culver, and I for one cannot believe that such a day will ever come.

-Laura Freymiller ‘11

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Vol 114 Issue #4

F EAT U R E S

M a r c h 2011

CGA, be prepared, for coming the first weekend in March is CWC. CWC, or Culver Women’s Celebration, though occasionally confused with the Spring Cleaning which occurs at the same time, attempts to celebrate womanhood and its triumphs. . Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega, our guest speaker for this year, is one of the top CNN Heroes for 2010. Although the drug war in Juarez, Mexico threatens lives every day, Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega still maintains the

CWC Speaker

Hospital de la Familia in Juarez that started over thirty years ago that provides medical care for even the poorest of patients. While reading an article on CNN on Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega, I discovered there was more to her than just the hospital. Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega met a woman in jail who stabbed her own stomach in order to kill the fetus containing her tenth child.

On learning the woman did not know how to prevent pregnancy; Guadalupe Arizpe

De La Vega sought legal counsel for the woman and joined other community volunteers through Mexico to educate women on family planning and maternal and infant health. It is fitting that Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega could come to this year’s Culver Women’s Celebration and remind us that women have the power to be brave, caring, and independent. We look forward to hearing her speak.

-Maddie Slykas ‘12

C.A.R. Revolution program, the new C.A.R. will give CMA an

C.A.R. stands for Culver Annual Review.

It is one of the biggest events for CMA. C.A.R. usually consists of room inspection, uniform inspection, platoon drill, and then a decision on who is the best unit in the regiment. However, this year C.A.R. is different than in the past. Col Jordan explained “This year’s CAR has elements of old and new in it.” According to Mr. Sherck, counselor of the Band Company, “This year, we are measuring the Corps against the standard rather than each other.” The biggest difference is that this year, the whole regiment will work together to meet or exceed the standard.

Now the whole regiment needs to achieve 96% or above on class attendance, religious service attendance, formation attendance, personal inspection, general inspection, general knowledge test, school history test and each unit’s specialty test. The specialty test checks proficiency of each unit’s field; Infantry unit drill and manual of arms, Band marching and musical ability, Artillery howitzer crew firing procedures, and Troop horsemanship skills.

The old style of C.A.R. had been in place for over a decade, what precipitated the change? Col. Jordan had this to say, “While always important in the life of the Corps, C.A.R. had became somewhat divisive, preventing it from fulfilling its three-fold intended purposes of providing an effective assessment of the Corps’ abilities, providing a common experience to bring the Corps together, and enhancing the Corps’ military abilities. In response, the Military Activities staff and the cadet chain of command worked together to develop a program to

make C.A.R. more of a unifying event for the Corps, as opposed to the divisive competition it has become; to use it as a goal toward which we strive together to assess our ability to conduct our mission-essential tasks of leader development, cadet training and development, and military skills; to provide the cadet chain of command an event for which they can plan, execute, and assess their own abilities as leaders and that of their units; as a way of increasing and improving the Corps’ ability to conduct its mission-essential tasks during the winter drill period so that we emerge in the spring with improved capabilities and increased proficiencies; and to give the Corps an opportunity to regain the national recognition it enjoyed in terms of military proficiency during the period 1906-1988.”

1906 - 1988, Culver Military Academy had the Army JROTC program and we won the national recognition every year. However, 1989, CMA decided to drop the Army JROTC program and pursue its own program. As a result, Culver didn’t have the national recognition anymore. However, this year the country’s premier military school organization, the Association of Military Colleges and Schools in the United States (AMCSUS), reviewed and agreed to support the resulting program, called the National Independent Military School Comprehensive Evaluation Program (NIMSCEP), which is the program that allows schools not affiliated with JROTC the opportunity to assess the overall proficiency of their programs against a common and nationally recognized standard. Therefore, through the NIMSCEP

opportunity to bring the national recognition back the Culver.

As for opinions: Mr. Sherck said that he believes that the new C.A.R. system is good because it makes sure that every cadet is an expert in their field. He said “It sends the message that we learn specialty skills for boards and remember and maintain those skills. It makes any unit stronger. Also, every cadet will be an expert, so we will be able to train new cadets more efficiently.” Captain Anderson said “Past years some units did not take C.A.R. seriously, but this year since we need to achieve 96% as a regiment, everybody will need to work hard together and no units will slide.” He also expressed his hope that this year C.A.R. will improve the proficiency of the regiment.

Culver hasn’t had national recognition for a long time. However, Col. Jordan also mentioned, “based on our consistently high levels of performance and proficiency in military tasks, we deserve the national recognition.” This year’s C.A.R. is Col. Jordan’s plan to bring national recognition back to Culver. An overall proficiency level of 96 percent is not an easy goal to achieve; however, we can do it. This year Culver will earn national recognition as the NIMSCEP program’s first “Distinguished Unit.” Culver will bring the honor back to home, and show the nation that the Culver of 1906 – 1988 is still alive - We are Culver!

-Special thanks to Col. Jordan for his help!

Vol 114 Issue #4

-Kevin Kim ‘12

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Opinions

March 2011

Some Battles are Appeal to the Lingo Better Fought with Critics Our generation has experienced what generations tend to experience from time to time; that is, a linguistic revolution. The articulate Donuts and Milk At the risk of sounding utterly pretentious, I would like to exactness of traditional communication is gradually submitting to

state, for the record, that there is one subject on which I will go to my grave knowing I was right about, and that Culver was wrong. That subject- that makes my eyes wince and my teeth grind, and sends a horrible shiver up and down my spine- is breakfast.

I won’t pretend to be all noble and say that the reason I refused to go to breakfast was to hold onto my dignity or pride… it wasn’t. It was because I wanted to sleep.

There: I said it. What every other Culver student, faculty, or staff member in their right -Culver mind should be thinking: I am sleepy.

The first semester of my senior year, I can say with certainty that I ate breakfast at the dining hall less than ten times; I probably signed in less than twenty-five. To me, I felt like I had the right to sleep. I did my homework, I was, by popular opinion, the cleanest person in my dorm, and as surprising as it might have been to some, I could brush my teeth and clean myself up in the morning without constant nagging from some prefect of sorts. I was a big girl now.

What makes it so wrong for students like me to sleep in 20-25 extra minutes every day, eat some Krispy Kremes or oatmeal or cereal from the privacy of my own room? Have I not earned that? Am I interfering with the Culver mission? Because by forcing me to “go to breakfast”, the Culver admin, had, in effect, me sleeping twenty minutes less, not eating any breakfast, taking a five minute walk that could be time better spent, and worst of all, promoting the idea that getting a name highlighted, is more important than actually eating.

Yes, I embellish on occasion, but truly that is the statement the school has chosen to make: eating breakfast is not required, signing your name is. Forgive me, but I do not know what uttering “41-Atrium” after a chilling walk in the cold and after six hours of sleep does for my mind, body, or spirit.

After Full Restrictions, however, I allowed my cynicism to soften, and make way for a more positive attitude. I have been to breakfast every day for the last four weeks….and am proud of it.

No longer do I have people to avoid or corrective action to face at every turn; it is quite relaxing. Of course, that is not to say that me compromising my rebellious nature in this matter translates into compromising my belief. I will always believe it is wrong… but there is a time and a place for revolution, and I fear that the Culver Breakfast Revolution’s time has not yet come.

That does not mean I will stop fighting…I will just protest silently, by taking the time every now and then to forgo signing away my dignity by having a donut and milk in the comfort of my flamingo-covered futon.

-Sky Strycker ‘11

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the vague inaccuracy of colloquial speech. In this, authority is sacrificed for camaraderie. This transition seems to be appealing to most students and young adults who utilize their advanced knowledge of conversational dialect to recreate themselves as more attractive individuals. However, dilemmas are evinced in the findings that this idiomatic speech cannot be easily loosed on command, and seeps uncontrollably into public presentations and formal discussions, much to the dismay of educators and parents. I contemplate, however, why, when restricted to appropriate environments, the development of common English cannot be viewed with reverence and respect. After all, this shift embodies a significant and powerful revolt of America’s young people, whose power and influence ought to be admired, not extinguished.

Translation, (For those who need it): Our peeps are dealing with what we’ve got to deal with every now and then…I mean, a revolution of lingo. The annoying old English is like, becoming shorter and easier to understand. Basically, instead of being tools, we’re just being chill. We’re pretty much ok with it, because we know that we totes sound legit. But the rents aren’t so stoked about it since they think that when we have to do school stuff, we won’t be able to stop talking slang. I get that, but I wanna know why they can’t just go with the flo and see how bro we are, especially if we know how to use big words when we have to, ya know? The way we talk is hella-cool, and the grownups just need to like figure out what’s up or something.

- Carina Conti ‘12

This is what breakfast is truly all about: delicious, nutritious food. Photo from http://www. flickr.com/photos/salim/208692428/

Vol. 114 Issue #4

Arts

March 2011

Honors in Arts

Students honoring in art at Culver dedicate hours upon hours of hard work to their desired area, whether it be dance, visual arts or music. Many of us don’t realize how much work, technique, and skill is needed in order to achieve the prodigious title of honors. We interviewed several artists and instructors to gain better insight into honors. We apologize that not everyone persuing honors was interviewd for this article, but if you know someone working towards honors in any of the programs please support and congratulate them!

Honors in Art

To be able to honor in Art, you must be a junior or senior with department permission and have taken three visual art courses of your choice. While focusing in on presentation and exhibition, honors students while create pieces in one or two visual art medias.

The instructor will meet any individual needs of the student and help them achieve their personal goals, while pursuing honors. While the instructor clearly supports each student, they will work independently. The course is one solid the first term and two days a week for two terms.

Honors in Dance Ms. Duke says, “We have 4 students trying for Honors in Dance this year: Riley Scott, Maggie Crowell, Tori Senicki, and Eddie Kim. Dancers who have been in Dancevision two years and who have taken Dance History are eligible. They declare in the junior year that they are interested in this full senior year project. They also have to be of a performance caliber and proficiency that they can handle the project, as they need to prepare a three minute solo and four minute group piece in their senior year. The two dances must reflect versatility in styles of dance and music choices must be approved by me. They keep a journal of their choreographic process that I read, and they must be organized to run weekly rehearsals with the dancers they choose. It is challenging to have enough ideas to create two different dances, and to also communicate well enough with your peers to get out of them what your group choreography requires. The project overall is a great leadership challenge, and the students do the project to develop organizational skills and communication skills, as well as to broaden their creativity. The projects are judged at the Parents Weekend performances by the dance faculty. The feeling of accomplishment after all of this work is done is tremendous. There is no better feeling then to see your creative ideas reach fruition.”

“Completing an honors project occurs doing your free time. Finding that free time has

Two examples of the artwork produced by Ruini Ma one of the candidates for honors in photography.

Dancevision Fall performance including two of the seniors persuing honors; Maggie and Tori.

(Picture from Maggie Crowell)

been the biggest challenge for me.. I also was confined to my room to create two dances, and I received countless bruises from kicking my bed and wardrobe dozens of times.

Creating a piece of art that is all yours has been such a rewarding experience. I truly loved every moment with this talented group of girls, and I was so lucky to have the opportunity to work with them. Seeing the final product on stage was worth all of the bruises from furniture, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.” -Riley Scott “The most challenging experience was deciding what to. There were so many paths I could have chosen and it was hard to decide what exactly to create!I now am working on my group piece choreography, and working with the dancers is by far the most rewarding!” –Maggie Crowell “The most challenging part has been finding music. It has been a challenge because songs will pass in some categories and not others and I like too many!

I enjoy getting to work with my peers from a teacher stand point, I have defiantly learned so much about the girls from my piece and it brought us closer!”–Tori Senicki Honors in Music “In my opinion, music, which might seem to others to be an easy area for honors, ends up being quite lengthy and difficult.

For music performance, repertoire is usually chosen somewhere between now and spring; a commitment is made to clear as many known, planned conflicts over the next year as possible, and the classes are planned at about this time. If all the parts can be put in place, the rest will play out over time. There is practice on the repertoire, researching the history of the compositions, the composers, the instrument or voice and the theory behind the music- (why it works.) Then there is more practice, a mid-year jury, more practicing, and finally the presentations of the research and performing the pieces. For music composition, the requirements are similar,

“Honors” continued on page 10.

Vol. 114 Issue #4

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March 2011 “Honors” continued from page 9. but the timetable and due dates change.

The biggest obstacle to achieving honors is in long-term planning and the self-discipline with which a student can follow it through. There are many people with talent to spare, but when it comes to a steady effort over time, everything else at Culver and at home seems to get in the way. Continuing with the process is totally a student choice, and if an honors student isn’t absolutely committed to the plan, the price becomes very steep, and the reward begins to tarnish.

The biggest reward as an instructor is in seeing and hearing the phenomenal individual growth of our students, knowing that they have done something few students of this age achieve unless they are already in a conservatory environment.

In addition to all the wonderful social, educational and organizational benefits this provides, the bottom line is that music was learned thoroughly and performed well.

That is an end in itself that is worth all the effort expended.”

-Major Browne Pre-requisites 1. Enrollment in the ensemble class (Band, Orchestra, or Choir) as appro¬priate to the honors area, for at least the full senior year, with a grade of B or better.

2. Enrollment in or satisfactory completion of Music Theory (647), Music History (646), or Advanced Placement Music Theory (640), with a grade of C or better.

3. Enrollment for at least the full senior

ARTS

year in private music lessons at Culver in the area in which Honors in Music is sought with a grade of B or better. Since a very high standard of performance is expected from an Honors candidate, one year of private lessons is usually not enough to prepare a student for Honors in Music. The one-year minimum requirement presupposes considerable training prior to the student’s coming to Culver, or an unusually high level of perform¬ance due to prior ensemble experience.

4. The candidate must inform his/her instructor of intention to pursue Honors in Music no later than October 1 of the Senior Year. Lessons are then devoted to learning a 30-minute recital program, with music representing various periods of music (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern).

“The biggest obstacle voice students have to face while doing honors is initially, completing the research. AND… making time for practice.The greatest reward is it’s such a growing and learning process that seeing/hearing the realization of accomplishment is just cool as can be!

Frustration develops for both the student and instructor if work is not being done, especially with approaching deadlines. The student honoring in voice is Winnie Wei.” -Ms. Warren

consuming process. It doesn’t look like as easy achieving as when it is performed on the stage or in the gallery.

I enjoy witnessing my own improvement through countless practices and inspired by the music itself.”

-Winnie Wei “For me, fine tuning the pieces I am playing has been a challenge. It’s not very difficult to get the basic idea of each piece, but keeping up with each one and making sure each note is hit perfectly or each rhythm is played perfectly is the tough part. It takes time and patience. It is very easy to get frustrated, but thankfully there are other pieces to move on to when one is frustrating.

I really enjoy practicing. Once I got over the part of figuring out the pieces and going through different rhythms and notes, I started enjoying practicing. Having more than one piece makes practice easier in a way; I can always change what I’m practicing. None of my pieces are very much alike, so in changing what I practice, I am changing instruments, sticks, tones, and so on.”

-Alex Burke -Mary McKinnis ‘13

Winnie Wei performing at the All-School.

“The most challenging experience doing honors is that I have to maximize the efficiency of practicing in the limited time I manage for. Honors in Art is a huge time

We Met By Chance: A Poem We met by chance in the dark night too-brightly lit by buzzing and chemically white bulbs, in our collage restroom with the tile sinks and the drain in the middle of the floor. We prepared ourselves for that little death of sleep, and it was a comfortable and communal preparation, for we had seen each other in passing, earlier that day. And we started to drowsily converse in that little and wild and elusive space between sleep and

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waking-ness, when every syllable you speak falls out of lips too true and slow, much too real in a dreaming time, when thoughts should be of dandelions, clean dishes neatly stacked and fresh apples tumbled on oak tables.

We were, for the first time that day, really awake and ourselves, and poured every gossamer and light milkweed-pod emotion into one another like dark, dark wine into

crystal.

In that moment, the world outside that tan-tiled cave was exhilarating, terrifying, beautiful, wild, and full of enchanting and parlyzingly-lovely, catch-your-breath-and-hold-it-and-let-itout-slowly, possibilities.

-Anna-Christina Betekhtin ‘13

Vol. 114 Issue #4

Travel The Transportation Revolution

Animal-drawn wheeled vehicles were probably developed in Sumer in the Ancient Near East in the 4th or 5th millennium BC, and spread to Europe and India in the 4th millennium BC and China in about 1200 BC. The Wright brothers made the first sustained, controlled and powered heavier-than-air flight on December 17, 1903, in their revolutionary aircraft, the Wright Flyer.

The first human space flight was achieved with the Soviet space program's Vostok 1 mission in 1961. The first spaceflight to the moon occurred with NASA's Apollo 11 mission in 1969, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin becoming the first astronauts to land on the moon. Clearly transportation has been changing.

It took human-beings over five thousand years to make the dream of flying comes true but only fifty-eight years to launch the first space shuttle. By using increasingly advanced knowledge and technology and expanding increased amounts of time and resources, , humans have created and continue to create revolutions in transportation to fulfill and elevate the original desires that drove transportation: to save strength and time, to explore territories we could not explore by foot and to expand our horizons and knowledge.

However, as the world began to run out of fuel and energy resources, the public turned their attention to how to save money for the families and many countries focused more and more on finding new energy sources to replace fuel and gasoline. Now is the age of electric cars and biodiesel. Some strong countries are still spending large amounts on outer space exploration rather than meeting normal people’s needs, such as the USA and China. The question is now: which one is more important to our generations, continued exploration or solutions to a crisis?

-Jeffrey Wang ‘14

Transportation drives forward!

Above: The historic flight at Kittyhawk. Picture from http:// www.aviationtrivia.info/images/ WrightFlyer.jpg.

Left: Vostok 1 launched in 1961.

Picture from http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/spacecraft/russia/vostok1-launch.jpg.

March 2011

Year of the Rabbit This year, 2011, in our Chinese Lunar calendar is the Year of the Rabbit. The year started on February 3rd. The Chinese Year of the Rabbit is actually the Chinese Year of the Hare, as China has seven native species of hares and no native species of rabbits. The Chinese applied their word for hare to the first rabbits to be taken to China, and the word is now erroneously back-translated into English as rabbit. The hare is the fourth animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.

My grandma said: “In my memory, the New Year seventy years ago is way different from the New Year now. Before the Anti-Japanese war, China was really poor. Most families’ diet was porridges and weeds. New Year really had a lot meaning to kids because for most of us, New Year was the only day in the entire year they could have a chance to taste meat and eggs. The most important part of it was to go to the temple, pray and hope the Lord would protect us and bring us good luck in the following year.”

In my opinion, China is losing its culture. Young people are focusing less and less on our own culture and civilization. Some Chinese teenagers would rather celebrate Easter and Christmas than Chinese New Year. For some people, the New Year is not a festival any more, but rather an event for people to send gifts and flatter the leaders in their companies, so they could receive more care and opportunity in the upcoming year.

In Culver, we held a Chinese New Year party on February 6th.

Honestly, it was more like an American style party, of course, because we didn’t even have enough imagination to picture what a Chinese-style party could look like. At least I’ve never seen one back in China or in the U.S., probably only in the ancient-style movies. Grandma added when I interviewed her last week: “The reason why we have to celebrate New Year is because China is huge, every family members work in a different place, New Year is probably the only chance they have in a year to have a family dinner together with everybody’s attendance.”

-Jeffrey Wang ‘14

Right: Apollo 11. Picture from:http://apod.nasa. gov/apod/image/0309/ aldrinswc_apollo11_big. jpg

Left: The gas pump-- our new “space race”?

Picture from: http:// westorlandonews.com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/10/ gas-pump.jpg

Vol. 114 Issue #4

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Sports

M a r c h 2 0 11

CGA Swimming Sectionals

The CGA swim team placed second overall at the Warsaw sectional. Every individual swimmer and relay team placed in the top twelve, with a number of top six finishes. Michelle TankeJuska won the 500 yard freestyle and advanced to the state finals in Indianapolis. In that same event, Sophia Grazian placed 2nd, and Betsy Whitfield placed 4th. Other top six finishes include a 2nd place

by Rory Byrne and 6th place by Betsy Whitfield in the 100 yard breast-stroke. Catherine Potter placed 2nd in the 100 yard backstroke and Natalie Bittles placed 6th.

See below for other top six finishes.

2nd-200 Yard Medley Relay-Catherine Potter, Lauryn Robinson, Rory, Byrne and Michelle TankeJuska 2nd-200 Yard Freestyle-Michelle TankeJuska 2nd-100 Yard Butterfly-Lauryn Robinson 2nd-200 Yard Freestyle Relay-Jamie Powell, Eberle Miller, Betsy Whitfield, and Rory Byrne 3rd-200 IM-Rory Byrne 3rd-100 Yard Freestyle-Catherine Potter 3rd-400 Yard Freestyle-Nina Simonini, Eberle Miller, Michelle TankeJuska, and Lauryn Robinson 5th-50 Yard Freestyle-Lauryn Robinson -Deanna Dilts ‘11

Congratulations to all our outstanding winter athletes!

And good luck in the upcoming spring season! It’s a great day to be an eagle.

Instant Replay: Pros and Cons

As technology became more and more advanced, humans began to use it in every area, especially those connected closely to our lives, one example of this is found in the world of sports with instant replay. This is definitely a controversial topic in modern day sports. Many sports have accepted instant replay to help referees make important judgments, such as in Major League Baseball, where instant replay was introduced to address "boundary calls".

Instant replay has helped resolve questions regarding which hits should be considered home runs and which are foul balls. In the National Basketball Association (NBA), since 2002, instant replay has been involved in games to help the officials determine whether or not a shot was released before the time expired. However, some “stubborn” sports still insist on not using any instant replay techniques. The most famous of these sports is soccer. International Federation of Association Football’s (FIFA) president, Mr. Blatter, was quoted in 2008 saying, “Let it be as it is and let's leave [football] with errors. The television companies will have the right to say [the referee] was right or wrong, but still the referee makes the decision — a man, not a machine.”

Should every sport use instant replay? I don’t think so. If we use it too often, why don’t we just replay it with referees? Although cameras can help us to precisely determine the judgment in a game, at the same time they make the game less competitive and entertaining. If a soccer referee made a decision that is disproven during instant replay, this would become a huge conversation topic, especially if it happens during important soccer events such as the World Cup. Their reason is that people want to watch sports because it’s entertaining. They like to feel the suspense in the games and wonder through the entire game how it would turn out until the final blow of the whistle. If every decision is made by machines, I don’t think it will bring any advantages, do you?

-Jeffrey Wang ‘14

Famous Five 1.) CGA Basketball wins sectionals 2.) Michelle TankeJuska wins sectionals in the 500 freestyle 3.) Jermaine Myers scores 1000 points for CMA basketball 4.) CGA swimming places second in Warsaw sectionals 5.) Connor Kelley competes in indoor world rowing championships 6.) (Because 5 just wasn’t enough) Desirae Major wins big in Texas - Deanna Dilts ‘11

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One of the many calls that may have been overturned if soccer used instant replay. Image from http://photos.thefirstpost.co.uk/assets/library/100628Gnipengl and756--127771360087829300.jpg

Vol. 114 Issue #4

SPORTS

March 2011

Tadanari Lee, or Lee Chunsun: Victory at the Asian Cup

Just as we live without appreciating the value of air, there are not many times when we feel grateful of our nationality and country. I do not remember the last time I felt proud of being a Korean and have never seriously pondered my nationality or country. Many readers of this article probably think that nationality and country are pre-determined when a person is born.

Therefore, we cannot fully sympathize with this person’s feelings: it is the story of a soccer player, Lee Chunsun.

Lee is the fourth generation of Korean-Japanese whose family has been living in Japan since after the World War II and the day of Korea’s independence from Japan. Korean people’s hatred against the Japanese grew increasingly due to Japan’s

Tadanari Lee (or Lee Cunsun) celebrating. Lee demonstrates the difficulties of living in a multcultural world where identity and nationality are often combined in complex ways. Picture from http://images.theage.com.

Lee strikes a volley towards the Australian keeper to win the game and the Asian Cup. Picture from http:// www.watoday.com.au/ sport/soccer/aussieheartache-as-japanwins-asian-cup-thriller-20110130-1a9a2. html?from=smh_ft

mates to have a friendly attitude towards him: it was a complete misjudgment. For other Korean players on the team, it became routine to not pass the ball to Lee and even call him a “half-Jap”.

Being called a half-Jap by Korean people and treated as a traitor by Japanese people must have brought Lee a tremendous identity confusion. Imagine the sense of isolation when a mother says to his son “you’re just like your father” while his father says “you’re just like your mother” only thousands of times more confusing and painful. How can anyone possibly describe in words the sense of betrayal Lee felt from Korea after enduring all the discrimina-

tions as a Korean-Japanese in Japan?

Lee was not selected for the national squad for Korean team and came back to Japan. After spending a long time thinking, Lee determined to acquire Japanese citizenship. It could not have been a easy decision to make, knowing that his greatgrandfather died due to a conflagration while doing the cargo working in Japan.

The day Lee acquired his Japanese citizenship, he went to his ancestral burial ground and made a pledge: “I will never forget the spirit of my ancestors. I will never forget their pride”.

Seven years after his pledge, Lee demonstrated the pride of his ancestors in the

colonization of Korea and their harsh treatment of Koreans during the period. At the same time, Japan’s abhorrence for Korea also grew. Since then, at any time there is a competition between the two nations, the aggressiveness of each nation’s fans surpass one’s imagination if the person is neither a Korean nor a Japanese.

In 2004, when he put the Korean flag on his uniform and entered the training center in Paju, South Korea, Lee heard an unbelievable word flung his way. Lee thought he would be very much welcomed by his country and expected his Korean teamfinal match of the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar.

In the 2nd half of the extra time, he kicked the ball crossed from the left on the volley to score the winning goal of the cup for Japan. Due to the fact that Lee abandoned Korean nationality and contributed to the victory of Japan, many Koreans condemned him for his goal. However, they must all remember one thing: though his legal nationality is Japanese and he represented Japanese team, he is still has Korean blood and the spirit of his ancestors. He is not a traitor “Tadanari Lee”. He is a proud Korean “Lee Chunsun”.

- Jake Kang ’12

Vol. 114 Issue #4

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March 2011

SPORTS

The Superbowl: An Historic Event Crushed paper plates littered the floor amid a paste of Buffalo wings, salsa, and Pepsi. A group of freshmen stood alone, stranded on a small island of dirty napkins in the eye of what was the Battery A Super Bowl Party hurricane.

The sour smell in the lounge reminded me of the way the smell of gun smoke lingers long after the cannons have been fired. Unfortunately this smell would not be carried away on a strong breeze. Armed with nothing but trash bags and wet paper towels, we were ready to face the demon that awaited us.

As one would expect, the Championship of the most popular sport in America is a huge deal. Some shell out wheelbarrows full of cash to get a ticket, while others take the risk and arrive at the stadium in the hopes of meeting some scalpers. People rooted for the Packers when they are Bears fans and have hated the Packer all their lives. Once a year in football you get a free pass to check your loyalty at the door and root for a different team in the Super

“The Super Bowl has transcended its description as a national championship. It has since become a national holiday...”

Now, there is that small percentile of people who hate both music and football, a problem that has been diagnosed and cured by clever and creative Super Bowl Commercials. Although the Doritos commercials always take the cake, Budweiser and GoDaddy.com are usually close seconds.

Something that most Americans don’t realize is that companies spend millions of dollars for seconds of advertisement during the big game, so they have to make it count. Over the years, due to fierce competition as well as financial gain, it has become necessary for companies to make their commercials the

Above: Green Bay celebrate their victory. Below: The Black-Eyed Peas during the halftime show. Pictures: http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/dynamic_resize/?src=http://www.torontosun.com/sports/football/2011/02/06/ SC22.jpg&size=640x480&quality=90; http://media.washtimes.com/ media/image/2009/12/03/20091203-001424-pic-689964535_s640x407. jpg?e712abc55b0acf214be6de55fe2279c1a56d6379 Bowl. Packers fans will root for the Bears, and Colts fans will root for the Patriots.

Now, the big game isn’t for everyone. For those that aren’t too interested in touchdowns and two point conversions, the halftime show always draws in the stragglers.

Even though this year featured the Black Eyed Peas, a bunch of costumed people singing into computers while shooting off cheap fireworks (also known as a Greenwood Thanksgiving), it adds levity to a situation that some bet their life’s savings on.

funniest or the most impressive. Because of this tradition, advertisements like the Mean Joe Green Coke commercial have gone down as some of the greatest in history.

The last aspect of the Super Bowl that ties everything together is the food. People are willing to go the extra mile to provide their friends and family with delicious snacks and beverages. The most popular snacks include nachos, buffalo wings, Cheetos, and potato chips, as well as new twists to classic recipes such as pretzel fondue. As for beverages, one can never go wrong with soda, beer, or a

good, old-fashioned punch bowl. It doesn’t matter if an aspiring chef or a lazy friend is hosting the party, there is always food on the table, and fun to be had by all.

Since its humble beginnings in 1967, the Super Bowl has transcended its description as a national championship. It has since become a national holiday, an opportunity for friends, family, and food to come together in one room and share something they all enjoy.

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-John Van Duyn ‘14

Vol. 114 Issue #4

SPORTS

March 2011

Superbowl XLV: A Lounge Experience After a deep afternoon nap I awake to the pattering of feet above me. Down the hall I can make out eager cries of delight. As I get out of bed, I wonder what is going on. What could possibly cause this much ruckus? A quick glance at my watch says it all. It is February 6th, Superbowl Sunday.

I rapidly throw on a sweatshirt and slippers with the quickness and skepticism of the boy from the Polar Express. I make my way down the green and white corridor and after a few seconds, the hallway I am walking in becomes a foyer complete with a staircase. Groups of Battery A cadets are carrying cooler after cooler of food into the barracks. Phil is standing to the side saying something in a Russian accent that no one can understand. I make my way to the lounge and a few seconds after I walk in the faint cheers become

an intense roar and all eyes take to the screen, where Mason Crosby kicked the ball across Dallas’ Cowboy Stadium.

A few minutes after kick-off I notice people secretly standing up, and a few seconds later, a Battery A mom whispers in my ear to get some food. I follow the flow of what is now a crowd and find myself in a long line of cadets. As I near the front of the line, smells of delicious tacos and beans waft around me.

Soon my eyes synchronize with my nose and as I dish spoonfuls of beans and rice onto my already full plate, my stomach churns with hunger. A feeding frenzy begins in the lounge. Food flies from plates onto shirts, the floor, pants, furniture, or anything else it can find on its treacherous flight path. The game becomes a side to a main course of delicious food. Every square inch of free space in the lounge

has a plate or drink or something of that sort on it.

When the eating slows down to an idle, eyes questioningly transfer from plate to TV screen and the cheering recommences. Every play brings a new set of cheers or boos. The occasional whoop echoes off the white walls of the lounge, and as the game continues spirits rise. Everyone is happy except for Robbie, who is the only one rooting for the Steelers. The game goes on quarter after quarter and all too soon, it is over. Everyone stands up and walks out as if nothing happened. Their full stomachs and happy hearts go with them and life goes on. Everyone sleeps like a baby that night and then next day school begins with an ease like no other.

-Alan Simonini ‘14

Superbowl Timeline 10 Yard Line- National Anthem and Kickoff.We don’t really need to know the words to our National Anthem... do we?

30 Yard Line- Quiet, the commercials are back on!

50 Yard Line- Halftime show with the Black-Eyed Peas!

30 Yard Line- Attack the food! If your plate collapses under the weight don’t forget the five second rule.

Goal Line- Wait... the game is over? Well, there’s always next year.

Vol. 114 Issue #4

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March 2011

This Month in Numbers

842- The number of people who now have a new-found respect for blue tiger suits.

12- The number of people you can fit on a bicycle... if you really wanted to.

34- The number of snowmen sent to an untimely death by the February thaw.

16- The number of students who broke down crying when it started to snow the next day.

1- The number of dollars needed to enjoy an evening of music (recorder and non-recorder) at Benson Cafe.

636- The number of carnations sent to that special someone... or that someone you wish was that special someone... or that someone you see occasionally in the hallways.

25- The number of days until Spring Break!

32- The number of lectures we will have before Spring Break. Don’t do it; don’t take pictures; please don’t post them on Facebook.

201- The number of juniors now sporting ostentatious bling courtesy of seniors and grads.

155- The number of seniors suffering from separation anxiety without their rings.

3,675- The number of people now under the influence of “Bieber fever”.

2 million- The number of people thoroughly disillusioned with the entire film industry 14- The number of countries going through revolutions or protests in the Middle East and North Africa.

8- The number of Boeings now in existence. Finally, we can fly our pet elephants as well!

-Numbers provided by Laura Freymiller ‘11, Cricket Gullickson ‘11, Molly Walker ‘12 Disclaimer: This is not a factual or research- based article, and does not in any way reflect the opinions of the Vedette staff.

The Vedette is only as good as the people who write for it, and that could be you! (Also, remember we accept poems, short stories, prose, photographs, cartoons, graphs etc.)