Diller Street Journal - Issue 1

NS Football’s Last Chance

Cori Chandler: Super Mom

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The Diller Street Journal

Tuesday, September 25th, 2012

310 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, IL, 60093

Vol.1 #1

A look back at Homecoming 2012 Ilia Labkovsky ‘13

This year’s unusually early Homecoming has come and gone. Aside from the fact that it had to be moved to mid-September to coincide with a home football game, it was a pretty familiar Homecoming. From the school spirit that was present all around campus to the sports games and the dance, the festivities were not far removed from past years. Yet some events do shine in the memories of attendees and differentiate this year’s Homecoming from others.

Homecoming kicked off with the traditional spirit week that led into the pep rally. The spirit this year seemed to overtake the school, and students remarked about how it was the best school spirit they have felt in a while.

“This pep rally was the best one I’ve been here for,” said Joel Hylton ’13. The annual pep rally pie eating contest was won by Clair McCarthy ’15, a surprise competitor who overtook favorites like Ayo Okesanya ’13 and Brent Rolfes ’16.

The annual bonfire was held Friday evening. It was a pretty normal affair, complete with introductions for the fall sports teams and the burning of a large pile of wood. This year, for the first time, Joel Hylton ’13, Kendrick Hales ’13, and William Curren ’15 performed a selection of popular songs on the quad. Students were overcome with emotion as Hylton’s beautiful voice sang the lyrics to Kanye

North Shore Students at the Pep Rally West’s “Heartless.” It was very well received.

Per tradition, the first P.I.L.L.O.W.S. of the year was held after the bonfire. P.I.L.L.O.W.S. is an open mic performance club, and this year’s event led to some interesting performances (including a stand-up routine from this writer).

The soccer and football teams both won, with foot-

North Shore’s new diversity consultant Annie Murnighan ‘13

This weekend I had the pleasure of speaking with Prexy Nesbitt, North Shore Country Day School’s new consultant for diversity.

After researching Mr. Nesbitt and his incredible background - which includes extensive work in the anti-Apartheid movement with Nelson Mandela, the Civil Rights Movement with Martin Luther King, Jr., and speaking and educating people around the world about multiculturalism and diversity — I was a bit intimidated.

Any nerves I had disappeared once we began talking, as I realized how kind and wise Mr. Nesbitt is.

I see you’ve done a lot of amazing work with some really incredible people, could you tell me a bit about your background?

Mhmm, I was born into a family of teachers who

were at one point — including my parents, eight immediate family relatives that I had — all working for the Chicago Board of Education.

Oh, wow.

My parents each taught for 30 years. We were very fortunate, my sister and I, and some of my cousins, all went as a group to Francis Parker, commuting from the far west side, Laundale, all the way up to Francis Parker in the 1950s and 60s. And I went then Antioch College, which reinforced my desire to be involved in social justice issues and education.

Very cool.

And then it was all doubly reinforced, triply, by spending time in Tanzania... as part of my undergraduate education. I spent a year there as the first foreign exchange student that they ever had at the University of Tanzania.

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ball crushing Luther North. Volleyball won one of their games, and tennis lost but held their own against a strong New Trier team. Athletics have been flourishing lately. One alumni visiting for Homecoming claimed, “It’s a sports school now. I don’t know if you [kids] know, but it used to not be a sports school at all.”

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Getting respect into nocturnal dancing Matthew Griffin ‘14

Once again, the annual Homecoming Week has come and gone. The festivities are over for now, and we’ll all fondly remember them. However, I feel that before we start getting ready for the next part of the school year, it might be good to take another look back at Homecoming 2012.

Being a concerned student, I discussed setting up the dance with one of the seniors. The person I talked to was on the food and drink committee, and once he heard that the theme was “Superheroes,” he got to work immediately. He knew that it was his responsibility to make sure the food and drinks represented the very epitome of heroics — the pinnacle of power. He was charged with beverages, and he knew he had to buy red Mountain Dew. Red represents so much for superheroes, after all: the costume of Spider-Man, the cape of Superman, Jump to 8

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News

North Shore’s new diversity consultant Annie Murnighan ‘13 Cont. from 1 Yeah, I read that. What inspired you to bring your work back to Chicago to teach young people about diversity?

Because I think it’s the only way that we can possibly make a world that everybody can be totally comfortable in, and feel that they have a piece of — a world where we much more closely recognize each other’s strengths and uniqueness, and our interdependence. Otherwise we’ll just have a world of conflict forever and ever.

Is there any challenge that comes from working with teenagers in particular?

Well, I think there are a lot of challenges... while your age group has wonderful energy and strength, I think there’s a lot of things you have not necessarily been exposed to. And I think you’re wonderfully stubborn, strong, and that’s all great, but it has to be combined with lessons. I think school should do much more creating of situations where you’re the teacher, as much as the student.

Over the years, have you found an effective way to reach younger people? Because, as you said before, we can definitely be stubborn.

I think that the best way to reach younger people is to listen to younger people. If we have a situation where every one’s voice can be heard, then people will want to be participants in that situation. But there have to be learning situations created which are based on mutual respect and mutual caring.

Right. What do you think is the biggest civil rights issue today? As an activist is there one in particular you are focusing on now?

I think that my friend Nelson Mandela said it best.

He said some years back, about three or four years ago, that the inequalities in the world today and the mass poverty many people face is maybe the greatest challenge we’ve ever had to cope with as human beings. And I think that that’s true whether we’re in Chicago, in the suburbs, or whether we’re in South Africa, or whether we’re in Sri Lanka. I have been to all these places and I find that what Nelson Mandela said is absolutely accurate. There can never be a fair situation as long as there are such vast inequalities.

So I know you’ve been around North Shore — is there anything in particular you are looking forward to working on as our diversity consultant? Or anything you’d like to bring to the school?

I think that the first thing one notices at North Shore Country Day School — (and I’m not a stranger, having gone to Francis Parker, my first exposure to North Shore Country Day was in 1958, playing in a football game, I think I may have been one of two African-Americans on either team) — what I notice at North Shore now is the tremendous hospitality, it’s very welcoming. There’s a great sense of caring. I think the slogan is “Learn and Serve,” isn’t it?

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Homecoming 2012 Ilia Labkovsky ‘13 Cont. from 1 Homecoming is not just a festival constructed around a pep rally and some sports games — it is a celebration of “coming home.” It is the first celebration students experience as they “come home” to their familiar school. Alumni are welcomed back home to experience the changes their school has gone through. Even the teachers are often overcome with the joy and spirit that surrounds their “home” during this time. We have now come home and are primed for a solid school year.

Photo courtesy of prexynesbitt.com

Prexy Nesbitt giving a speech Close, it’s “Live and Serve.”

“Live and Serve!” There’s a great sense of people wanting to serve, I hear that. At the same time it’s not representative of the whole world. There are other groupings of people that need to be more present, and I think that what I’m impressed with is that people at NSCDS realize that. They are taking steps to make that different and to create situations where there can be much more diverse and broad participation in the process of learning, in a NSCDS way.

It’s all very impressive, and I think it’s not just being done just to help people at NSCDS, it’s also being done to help people as a contribution to making the world a more just world.

I’ve noticed how the school has changed over the years, and I agree with you, and I think that’s why bringing people like you who have such amazing experience into the school and getting outside perspectives is really important.

I’m really honored to join NSCDS. Years and years ago, I was walking in a march with Dr. Martin Luther King, and there was a woman from Winnetka in that same march with me [by the name of] Moore.

She was from NSCDS and had many children who went to NSCDS. She passed about two years ago, in her eighties. But she was a firm believer in everything that Dr. King stood for, and I was very impressed with that.

That’s amazing. Is there anything you learned from MLK that has affected you over the years, and affected the way you approach diversity?

I think one of the most important lessons that I have learned from the various wonderful people I have been very lucky to have worked with in my life, is that patience is a tremendous and most important asset to have in living, and it’s much better to take the long distance runner perspective than the sprinter perspective. Not to say that sprints aren’t wonderful and impressive, but long distance runners are there for the duration. And we need to be there for the duration, to help make meaningful change, and to help make a contribution to a world that needs a lot of contributions made to it.

Thank you so much for speaking with me!

Join the DSJ!

Help us release new issues by writing articles, taking pictures, conducting interviews, designing the issue, and editing. Come to the Leadership Lab on the Garden Level at lunch on Tuesday, October 2nd for assignments.

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Features

Cori Chandler: Super Mom Andrew Bedford ‘13 What is your role at North Shore currently?

I chair the Athletic Council, I am a room chair for 12th grade, and I am a trustee.

I know that you had involvement in the creation of “Pep Club” at North Shore. Tell me a little about that.

Mrs. Gordon [parent of Rachel Gordon] and I started Pep Club. We had this idea that we wanted to get more school spirit at North Shore. At the time I was talking to Mr. Mangana [former dean of students] a lot, so I would run into him and we would chat every once in a while. The idea was born at that time. We tested the waters to see how much of a need there was for more school spirit. We organized a lunch for students to sign up to see who was interested, and we had 20 kids respond. We bought lunch for 25 kids, and over 50 kids showed up. It was very clear kids wanted some sort of spirit club.

How did you come up with the name and phrase for Pep Club?

Geoff Curley [former student] said “Rowdy Raiders,” and that was it. Once the words came out, the name stuck, and that’s how we branded ourselves.

Pep Club stuck, Rowdy Raiders stuck, and we thought if that’s what everybody wants, we will just go with it.

What did you expect Pep Club to be at first?

We just tried to get kids out at games, and I tried to get a core group of kids, but that never got off the ground. We have now evolved into, “this is a project we have going on, who wants to come help?”

Who are the main groups you try to recruit to become more involved in Pep Club?

We tried to get students who are not on teams at first, to come out and support games and special days, but I also try to get kids who are on teams.

We then started to make t-shirts. The shirts have to say “Rowdy” on them because that is our branding for the club.

Is there a high demand for the apparel you have created?

We did the long-sleeve tee this year. We sold out of them, ordered more, sold out of them, and now we are ordering more. The long sleeve T-shirts were just for Upper School. Now I think we are at a point where we need to expand with apparel.

What is next for Pep Club?

I would really like to get a school store. It is online now, but I think parents and children need to see it and look at it, so we are trying to figure out a way to get a school store physically on campus somewhere.

There are different ideas we are looking at, but it is definitely on the radar.

What can students to do get involved with school spirit?

It isn’t very formal, but the big push is the beginning of the year. We need volunteers. Homecoming was very successful, but I’m always looking for new ways to get students involved. Students can also help with promoting and supporting teams that make it to finals or tournaments.

Thank you so much!

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Dr. R: “Don’t be afraid to jump in the pool” Justin Savin ’15 & Floris Hondmann ’13 With Homecoming having come and gone, we would like to take some time to recognize one of the many challenges students at North Shore (and everywhere) initially face: moving to a new environment.

While North Shore is a fantastic and welcoming place, it may sometimes be hard to adapt to the new community. Student Cam Czerwinski ’15 said, “I’m adapted now, but I was a little nervous at outdoor ed.”

Such was the case for Dr. Jerry Rietveld — commonly nicknamed Dr. R — who moved from Georgia to our community last year. While initially settling into North Shore and adapting to the everyday lifestyle and culture, Dr. R said he encountered some difficulty.

As a first-year teacher at the School, Dr. R had to change his teaching style as well as learn the new faces of the students for whom he now had responsibility. The differences were huge compared his time at Pope High School.

This brings us to our quote of the issue: “Don’t be afraid to jump in the pool.” Dr. R, as he would say, was afraid to jump into the pool. He was afraid that the outcome might not be in his favor. He was, in the metaphorical sense, afraid he was going to drown in the pool that is North Shore Country Day.

Model UN: A strong tradition of excellence Ilhana Redzovic ‘13 Since its conception in 1998, North Shore’s Model UN team has consistently been one of the most successfully run and one of the most productive clubs at North Shore. The members of the Model UN Secretariat at North Shore have regular weekly meetings to discuss conferences and club operations, and many students will have participated in at least one conference by the end of their high school careers.

What exactly is Model UN? What do you do?

Model United Nations, or Model UN for short, is a conference in which students gather to represent various countries as delegates and debate issues relating to things such as international relations, diplomacy, current events and other world issues, and the United Nations agenda. Each delegate learns about his or her country’s position on the issues through research.

After the delegate completes his or her research, he or she must write a position paper — a summary of the country’s position the delegate is representing.

During the conference itself, delegates debate and discuss various issues, ultimately working to craft a resolution to the issue or issues presented. In their role as diplomats, students face the difficulties of striving to maintain their national interests while being forced to compromise in order to achieve a

viable and acceptable solution to world problems.

Where do you go? Where have conferences been held? Where will they be held this year?

In past years, conferences have been held at The University of Chicago, American University, McGill University, University of Virginia, and in regional conferences in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago. This year, conferences will be held at Carl Sandburg High School, Carthage College, Chicago (CIMUN), Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of California-Berkeley, Haileybury (UK), and Northwestern University.

Members of the Secretariat will make announcements when applications for the conferences become available.

I am interested in participating in Model UN. How can I get started?

At the beginning of each year there are “Training Days” that serve as a sort of pre-season to the rest of the Model UN year. Anyone interested in attending conferences this year must attend at least one of the training days. Other than that, any questions, comments or concerns may be sent to Secretary-General Olivia Scheyer ‘13, Assistant Secretary-General Abby Trott ‘13, or any other members of the Model UN Secretariat.

Photo courtesy of Brent Rolfes ‘16

Dr. R (right) with Ian Talty ‘15 on Twin Day Then he jumped in. Dr. R jumped in the pool and embraced the community. And although he may have floundered initially, life preservers were thrown to him by his fellow faculty that helped him stay afloat.

Today, Dr. R regards North Shore Country Day not only as a place where he works, but a part of his home. As a student body, we should keep in mind the many new faces that inhabit North Shore and throw life preservers to them, just as so many did to Dr. R. With the help and support of the North Shore community, the many new faces can settle in, and begin to feel at home.

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Features

The Decision 2012: Picking the right candidate Nick David ‘15 We live in a free country. We are told that time after time while growing up. We have the right to live where we want, marry who we want, go to school where we want, say what we want, be whatever religion we want, and vote however we want. All of these rights are something that we take for granted, while many countries struggle for these rights on a daily basis.

Some of the seniors will be old enough to vote in this upcoming election and more than half the school will have the ability to vote in the 2014 election.

Your first chance to vote and have a say in politics could be just a month and a half away, or a little over two years away.

The upcoming presidential election presents several questions: who are you going to vote for? Will you vote for a specific candidate or along party lines?

If you already have a candidate chosen, are you vot-

ing for them because that is who you side with, or is it who your friends and family side with? That is the idea behind the website ISideWith.com.

ISideWith is a website with the goal to help you choose the best candidate for you. It is done as a blind test, meaning they ask you questions about your stance on current political issues and at the end they tell you who you side with most and least.

This site doesn’t only give you a simple candidate to vote for. They tell you how much you side with each candidate and party based on a percentage. The candidates are not limited to Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Also on the website are many independent candidates: Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, Jill Stein of the Green Party, Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party, and Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party.

I found that I sided 79% with President Barack

Football Game on Saturday, September 29th!

Obama, 71% with Independent Jill Stein and 36% with Mitt Romney. While I was not surprised that Obama was the first choice for me, I was surprised that Jill Stein was in a close second.

This site also tells you how much you side with the average American voter and the average Illinois voter, along with users of certain websites. You can also look at statistics for certain types of voters. For example, Yahoo users tend to side with Mitt Romney, while users of Huffington Post and NPR tend to side with Barack Obama. This site also promises to have a poll for Senate and Congress in the near future.

While you may find out that the candidate you agree with most is the one you have been supporting all along, you just might surprise yourself.

You might find out that you side with an independent candidate — or the opposite party.

Gay Straight Alliance National Coming Out Day is October 11!

Come out to support the Raiders as they play Christian Liberty Academy at 1 p.m.

NS food: Real Urban BBQ David Wilson ‘13 & Michael Jaharis ‘13 In Highland Park, 20 minutes from North Shore, is a gem of a restaurant known as Real Urban BBQ (RUB). It was opened with the goal of bringing delicious, Southern-style barbecue to the North Shore area, and it’s been a hit.

RUB has a great selection of barbecue classics such as ribs, brisket, pulled pork, Texas sausage, chicken, smoked turkey, and their extremely tender burnt ends. Plus, they have a variety of sauces with the two standby varieties being sweet and spicy.

I go so often with friends that I would say I help keep this place running. When I go, I often order the pulled pork sandwich with two sides of cornbread and mac and cheese. I have been there so many times that I have tried most of the menu with all of the sauces.

This place may not be possible to go to for an off-campus lunch, but it’s a good place to grab a bite after practice or on the weekend. It is great for the

amount and quality of the food. It’s a fast bite, but by no means is it fast food.

This is hands down my favorite place to eat on the North Shore. If you don’t believe me, believe them: “It’s a taste of Texas in Highland Park.” - Andrew Segal ‘13

Photo courtesy of Real Urban Barbecue

RUB’s signature ribs

Coming Out Day is a celebration of sharing everyone’s individuality. Come to GSA meetings on the stage during Tuesday lunches to help plan and discuss what we will be doing for the Town Meeting on October 10.

“It’s a great place to go with friends.” - Joel Hylton ‘13 “The home wrecker [sandwich] is so good, I would cheat on my wife with it.” – Gagan Bhambra ‘13 Directions from NSCDS: Hop on Willow heading west (away from the lake). When you get to Forest Way, take a right and drive until you hit Tower Road.

Take a left and hop on 41 heading north. Travel for about 5 miles and get off on to Central Avenue heading toward the lake. Drive through downtown Highland Park and take a right on 2nd Avenue heading south. It will be on your left in a brown building.

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Sports NS football: one last chance David Blechman ‘13 It was a cold night in November when the Raiders spent their last waking moments on the field during the 2011 season. Knowing the pain they felt after a tough loss to Forreston High School, they do not want to let the same thing happen this season.

“We are a team on a mission,” said senior wideout Austin Curren ‘13. “There is nothing that is going to get in out way.”

Although they are coming off of one of the most successful seasons in North Shore history, a little reloading had to be done at some major positions.

The new-look Raiders are led by senior quarterback Elias Butler ‘13, who brings a unique skill set to the position.

In the backfield, the Raiders have workhorse Ayo Okesanya ‘13 returning for a 4th year, and he hopes to make a big impact after getting a lot of good playing time as an underclassman.

“This is the year to make an impact,” said Okesanya. “You want to end your high school career on a high note, and I have a great opportunity to do so.”

After losing two-year starter Stephen Smith ‘12 , at quarterback, this team has transformed into something much different.

“We are more of a running team now,” said senior wideout Gagan Bhambra. “With Ayo in the backfield and Elias’ athleticism at the quarterback position, we can beat them on the ground with our speed, but it’s also great to know that we have a complete playbook if we need to go to it.”

Photo courtesy of Elias Butler ‘13

The Seniors of North Shore football There is a saying, “Offensive sells tickets, and defense wins championships.” There are several members of the North Shore team who would back up this claim. The Raiders’ ferocious defense is led by senior captains Samuel Tullman, at linebacker, and Joel Hylton at tackle.

“We just want to make it easy on the offense.” said Tullman, “If they don’t score there’s no way we can lose.”

On the defensive side of the ball the Raiders also have Kendrick Hales ‘13, Ilia Labkovsky ‘13 and Andrew Segal ‘13, along with the two other seniors.

Right now the Raiders are 3 and 1, suffering their only loss to Marquette Academy, a new team added to their conference. The Raiders still have some tough games coming up at the end of their schedule, and are looking forward to another postseason appearance and potential state run.

Field hockey’s success at Homecoming Katherine Chandler ‘13 North Shore Country Day School’s varsity girls’ field hockey team went into their Homecoming week with a stellar overall record of 5-1. After a disappointing loss to Glenbrook South High School on September 11, the girls were eager to bounce back and face off against Lakes Community High School for their Homecoming game on September 14.

Spirits were high as the team stepped onto the field and fought to the last minute for a victory over Lakes. In the forward lineup, Reese Formolo ’16, although only a freshman, was able to get North Shore on the scoreboard with the first goal of the game.

Scoring a goal pumped up the North Shore Raiders even more, and they were able to hold off the other team from scoring at all. Excitement and optimism were in the air as the girls battled on the field. All the anxiety and nerves that North Shore felt going into a game against a school more than six times its size were gone once they scored a goal.

The game ended with a final score of 1-0 and the North Shore Raiders celebrated their victory and their overall record of 6-1.

On Saturday afternoon, in the spirit of Homecoming, the field hockey girls took on the alumni. North Shore alumni were eager to play the current students and battle for a victory.

As the players finished warming up, they realized

there was no referee to officiate the game. Luckily, the father of team member Caroline Foster ‘13 is a certified referee and he was willing to help.

The alumni team had a variety of players, from former varsity field hockey coaches to 75-year-old women playing in ballet flats. Despite the wide range of skill on the alumni team, the current Raiders put up a good fight and played hard until the end.

The girls’ field hockey team was excited to play and even more excited to score. With each goal, the girls erupted in celebration, even putting on a show of all the girls laying on the ground and the girl who scored “flipping the bacon.” Watching 10 girls flopping around and sporadically flipping over must have been a strange sight to many, but it was a wonderful celebration for the girls.

The alumni game ended in a victory for the North Shore Raiders with a score of 4-0, but there were smiles on both teams’ faces as the final whistle blew.

The alumni game is without a doubt the most laidback game of the Raiders’ field hockey season, but is always a good time. Watching generations of Raiders come together and play field hockey is incredible and always a highlight of the Homecoming weekend.

It is nice to know that even when you have left North Shore, there is always a place for you here.

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Soccer bounces back Ben Potter ‘16 & Will Lawler ‘16 The Raider boys’ varsity soccer team lost to the always-tough University High School team by a score of 2-1. U-High got off to a great start and scored in the first minute. Despite this, the Raiders were able to stay in the game and compete.

U-High then went on to score late in the game on a questionable no call by the referee. However, the Raiders did not give up. Will Lawler ‘16 put in a goal with less than a minute left off a cross from Gordie Rohrback ‘15. Despite these last minute efforts, the Raiders fell short.

The team won their next game against Lake Forest Academy by a score of 4-0. Ben Potter recorded a hat trick and Rohrback scored a goal.

Goalkeeper Alex Karmin ‘15 also recorded his first shutout of the season. Jamie Swimmer ‘13 was named Man of the Match for his excellent passing and recorded three assists in the game.

The Raiders dominated this game but were unable to capitalize on many of their scoring chances. However, they were still able to come out with a win.

Coming off of their first win, the Raiders headed to St. Edward Central Catholic High School in Elgin. The Raiders were focused from the opening whistle and recorded an early goal by Rohrback. St. Edward was able to tie it up, but then Floris Hondmann ‘13 scored a header off a cross from Potter to make it 2-1.

The Raiders then went on a tear: Maurits Hondmann ‘16, Will Curren ‘15, Potter, Swimmer, Lawler, and Leo Garcia ‘16 all scored. The end result was 9-1.

Maurits Hondmann was awarded Man of the Match for his excellent play all game. This was the Raiders’ best showing of the year thus far.

The Raiders impressed during Homecoming weekend, with a tough game against Elgin Academy. They went down early, but Riley Hall ‘13 picked them up with a powerful header in the box to tie the game up 1-1. It stayed that way until the end of the second half.

However, for conference games, there are two five-minute overtimes.

Floris Hondmann scored in the first overtime off of a corner kick by Potter. The Raiders still had to stay strong and play good defense for the second five-minute overtime. That is exactly what they did, and the final score was 2-1 in a thrilling game.

In their final game of Homecoming weekend, the Raiders took on Lycée Francais. They put on another impressive display and won by a score of 5-0. The goal scorers were: Rorhback, Hall, Lawler, and Potter with two.

North Shore was able to possess the ball and find gaps in the defense from switching the attack.

This was another impressive display by the Raiders, with hopefully more to come.

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NS Photos

Photos courtesy of Brent Rolfes ‘16

9/25/12

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Instagram

Photos courtesy of Annie Morris ‘13 and Floris Hondmann ‘13

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The Acorn

Homecoming? Already?

Cooper Ochsenhirt ‘16 Homecoming? The irony for us freshmen is that we’ve only been here for two weeks. Seems a little early for something about coming home. Don’t get my standpoint here wrong; I think it’s great to have an opportunity to hang out with North Shore friends. Do some dancing or not, doesn’t matter.

As long as it’s in a place where we don’t need to be running back and forth like a panicked person worrying about tests, I think it’s good. Nonetheless, I personally think that it takes a lot of courage to have over 60 people crammed into your home. I can only imagine Mrs. Melio’s reaction the day after the freshman dinner.

Although I have never experienced North Shore’s Homecoming Dance before, I have experienced middle school dances, and they are probably not much different. There are a few token things that you can see at just about any school dance.

First, there are the chaperones who give you dirty looks if you just so happen to look slightly unorganized in your outfit, or if you are wearing something that narrowly breaks the rules. Even worse, you could end up with the type who will give you detention for this minor infraction. I’ll be honest here, it happened to me once, and the look I received was so evil, it legitimately bore into my soul. How adults do that, I do not know. How do they get this power?

And can anyone get it? This seems like a powerful asset.

Second, there’s the awkward dancing in the center of the floor. It’s as if there’s an unwritten, unspoken rule at these dances that you must not dance, and instead have to act sheepish around the opposite gender. I’ve seen exactly how this plays out. The person walks over, after pressure from their friends, and talks to the person they like. Here is where the awkward stage begins, where no one wants to say anything for fear of sounding awkward. News flash: it was already awkward, long before you took to silence. Nothing you can do will fix it, the damage is done. In addition to this, you’re condemned to remembering it. Ha. On the other hand, you have those non-conformists who choose to dance, even when no one else is.

I admire their courage to dance, but let’s face facts; they don’t quite know how to dance. As I watch these people do some spazzy thing with their feet, or swing their arms in some odd way, I think, man, you need to rethink how you dance.

Possible remedies for this dilemma: take dance lessons or go online, doesn’t matter which. It makes a huge difference for everyone... larger than you could possibly imagine.

Homecoming ‘12 Crossword

Across 6. Can also be played on ice 7. In this sport, you receive 6 points for a score 9. Sport at North Shore that involves long-distance running 11. Called fútbol in Mexico 12. Vinny Chase plays this superhero in Entourage 13. This North Shore team won a state title in 2011 Down 1. My real name is Peter Parker 4. My sidekick is Robin 5. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings are icons in this sport 8. Team coached by Nazlie Ghazal 10. My real name is Clark Kent

9/25/12

Getting respect into nocturnal dancing Matt Griffin ‘14 Cont. from 1 and the shield of Captain America. This powerful pop perfectly demonstrated the comic book cause, and was a perfect fit for the theme. Well, it would have been, but Costco wasn’t selling it, so he figured Pepsi was okay too.

Having obtained enough beverages to quench the thirst of a plethora of super heroic teens, I was ready for the dance. However, I had not yet heard talk about the style of dancing.

Now, like much of the student body, I dance the same way I read this newspaper: front to back.

While this seems to be the current trend for dancing, it causes more than one type of friction; it can make people uncomfortable. This is understandable, and I appreciate that we talk about this as a school. Other establishments seem to deal with the problem via yelling and punishments, and I really value that we are treated like human beings here. Not wanting to lose this privilege, I decided I was not going to make anyone feel alienated at the dance.

With this in mind, I tried to make sure other kids respected boundaries, too. You may have seen me on a soapbox with a megaphone outside the Arts Center as you walked into the dance. In case you didn’t, I was shouting helpful reminders at people, such as “Who’s excited to dance respectfully?!”, or “Are you ready for consensual fun?!”, or “Prepare to honor my personal space!” I hope my message was heard.

I carried this message onto the dance floor. Anyone who saw me dancing that night will have seen me asking someone if they would like to “tastefully partake in dancing.” Once it was over, I ended the meeting with a firm handshake and plans for breakfast at a future date.

This power to dance how we want reminds me of the theme of the event. Certainly superheroes would support how we all choose to dance. After all, Superman is supposed to fight for “Truth, Justice, and the America Way,” and what could be more American than choosing how to live your life? And it’s not like no one expected us to behave this way. The superheroes put it right there in the comic books: “With great power comes great responsibility [and the ability to get your freak on.]” I’m pretty sure that’s right.

But hey, I’ve got freedom of the press on my side, give me one good reason I should fact check that.

So I believe this dance was a success, and that the dancing was tastefully tasteless. Just like Uncle Ben would have wanted.

9

9/25/12

The Acorn

B. Webb Reviews: Mass Effect Disappoints Brady Webb ‘13 The Mass Effect series has perhaps been my favorite in this generation of gaming. Its wonderfully rich and fulfilling story, numerous likable characters, and implementation of character choice have raised the bar for interactive storytelling in video games. I had extremely high hopes for the final installment of this epic sci-fi trilogy, and in many respects the game came through. Combat has been improved, the new weapon upgrade system is certainly welcome, and many of the missions are quite enjoyable. And yet, it’s apparent that there’s something missing from the game that the previous two games had. Mass Effect 3 is a good game and certainly improves upon some aspects of the previous game, but ultimately I felt the game didn’t have the immersive potency that the previous two did, thus easily rendering it the worst game of the trilogy and a bitter conclusion to the greatest piece of fiction since Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings.

The game takes place several months after the end of Mass Effect 2. The reaper invasion is an immediate threat, and Commander Shepard has presumably been attempting to warn the galaxy of their arrival.

He and Admiral Anderson attend a meeting in Vancouver just as the Reapers begin their harvest of the planet. Shepard leaves Earth in order to unite the galaxy in hopes of being able to defeat the Reapers.

The rest of the game involves resolving cultural issues between several different species while at the same time fending off Cerberus troops and the Illusive Man. Right off the bat, the introduction felt rushed.

Many of the conversations Shepard has involve auto dialogue, and the player doesn’t get the opportunity to use the dialogue wheel until at least five minutes into the game. In addition, the neutral dialogue and investigation options have been eradicated from nearly all conversations. On the story side of things, much of what happened from the end of Mass Effect 2 to the start of Mass Effect 3 is unclear and left to speculation. Why are nearly all of your former squad members suddenly missing from the Normandy? Who is this James Vega, and how did he become a part of your squad? Glossing over the most important event in the entire series up to this point with a combat introductory sequence seems nonsen-

sical to say the least.

Players familiar with the Mass Effect series should immediately recognize some differences in terms of the combat of the game. The combat is from a third-person perspective and is very similar to something like Gears of War. You take cover behind anything solid, and pop out to take shots at the enemy.

The player now has the ability to perform evasive dive-rolls in all four directions, including diagonally.

The player can choose from several different classes at the start of the game, and this definitely adds variety to the combat itself. Many of the differences between these classes pertain to the balance between weapons and biotic abilities. These essentially act as the player’s “magic” in the game, and can cause enemies to be levitated in the air or allow the player to teleport several feet to warp an enemy. Speaking of enemies, you fight mostly Cerberus operatives and Reaper-based ground forces.

The main story missions are a bit of a mixed bag.

On the positive side of the spectrum, the Tuchanka and Rannoch missions are prime examples of what Mass Effect is truly about. This arises mainly from the fact that many decisions from the previous two games have a high level of impact on the outcome of these missions. Most of the missions I didn’t care for featured Cerberus in some form or another. I found these missions too combat-orientated and generic in general. Many of them feature a new antagonist named Kai Leng, who, like James Vega, has virtually no development at all. More importantly, the choices you made in the previous games have next to no impact on any of these missions.

The game includes war assets, which essentially build up progressively upon completion of side missions and story missions, yet they ultimately have no genuine effect on the game itself. Nearly all of the rewards of side missions correlate directly into more war assets for the player. But what exactly are they implemented for? In theory, they grant the player more options during the incomplete, broken mess known as the Mass Effect 3 ending. I won’t bore you with specifics, but these war assets in reality have no effect on the outcome of the game at all. It makes me question why so much of the completion of the game

involves something so shallow and underdeveloped.

In terms of the audiovisual presentation, the game generally looks excellent. Models and environments are highly detailed, and the frame rate is pretty smooth. However, I didn’t notice any major improvements over Mass Effect 2. The color palette is drab, and the animations of characters during conversations occasionally appear jerky, and in one instance the character that I was talking to disappeared from frame altogether. The audio department is fantastic. All of the voice acting of the primary characters is flawless, and the music oftentimes supplements the plot. Everything else in the game, such as combat and weapon sounds, are fine.

There is a new multi-player mode in this game, as well. I can’t really say this is a welcome addition to the series, as Mass Effect has always prided itself on being a single-player story driven experience.

It’s essentially a wave-based combat survival mode that supports up to four players in total. All of the enemies you face during single-player are featured here. You can actually play as members of different species in this mode, which is fairly exciting.

Even so, most of your upgrades come from different “packs” you purchase through multi-player experience points, and the rewards are completely randomized to the point where it feels cheap.

I firmly believe that Mass Effect 3 is easily the weakest game of the trilogy. Does that mean it’s a bad game? No. In fact, aside from the ending and few minor annoyances, Mass Effect 3 as a game is excellent in general. But as a Mass Effect game, it’s a definite disappointment. I’m not really good with number ratings, but I’d give this game around an 8/10, and that’s being generous. The price of this game has most likely been lowered significantly since its release date, and I’d strongly recommend purchasing it only if you’ve played the previous two games. It’s a fun game that should satisfy any casual fan of third-person shooters. But for any of the longtime fans of this series like myself, the conclusion of this excellent series and the large controversy surrounding it have tainted the series, and it remains in my mind the most disappointing ending of all-time.

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DSJ Editorial Board Ilia Labkovsky ‘13, Editor-in-Chief Annie Murnighan ‘13, Senior Editor, Andrew Bedford ‘13, Senior Editor, David Blechman ‘13, Senior Editor Cooper Ochsenhirt ‘16, Editor, Justin Savin ‘15, Editor Photographers Brent Rolfes ‘16, Annie Morris ‘13, Floris Hondmann ‘13 Staff Writers Andrew Bedford ‘13, David Blechman ‘13, Katherine Chandler ‘13, Nick David ‘15, Jackson Gray ‘16 Cooper Ochsenhirt ‘16, Ben Potter ‘16, Justin Savin ‘15, Brady Webb ‘13 Contributors Michael Jaharis ‘13, Ilhana Redzovic ‘13, David Wilson ‘13 Sponsor Ms. Kat Clark