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The Diller Street Journal Thursday, December 19, 2013
310 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, IL, 60093
Vol. 2 Issue 3
The Best Christmas Movie Ever Made? Rachel York ‘15
The holidays are an interesting time of year. On the one hand, we’re surrounded by songs, movies, media outlets and advertisements which are constantly telling us to “Be Happy!” and to “Have Holiday Cheer!” At the same time, it gets dark at 4:30, the weather has been at a -3 degree windchill all week, and your teachers have decided to give you six hours of homework. Basically, the last thing you want to be is cheerful. Once winter break rolls around, despite any initial joy at the fact that school is over, I often find myself deep in a state of boredom. My friends are out of town, going to the mall around Christmas is a fresh slice of hell, and the weather prevents any activity that isn’t indoors. Thus, I have taken it upon myself to find the Best Christmas Movie Ever Made. This quest is not only a cure for boredom but also, I believe, a noble deed for humankind. Christmas is one of the only holidays that has its own genre of film. Despite pitiful attempts from Valentine’s Day and interesting takes on New Years Eve, Christmas remains the champion of holiday genre films. Christmas movies have been around for over a century; the first one ever made was Santa Claus (1898). However, being only around one minute long, it does not make for great entertainment or plot. Santa Claus is not to be confused with The Santa Clause (1994). Good ol’ father Christmas is portrayed by Tim Allen, workaholic divorcée turned
Photo by Connor Watrous ‘17
Santa Claus after a slight mishap on Christmas Eve. Although this film makes for a few laughs and a creative take on a Christmas story, it isn’t nearly funny or heartwarming enough to make to the number one spot. Still worth a watch, but you’ll have to get over Tim Allen in a Santa suit. Another often watched film is A Christmas Story (1983); however, this Christmas story really doesn’t do it for me. All it boils down to is a kid who desperately tries to get his parents and/or Santa to get him a BB gun for Christmas. The plot isn’t too great and the kid is really annoying. Pass. Annoying kids doesn’t necessarily mean a movie
has no hope; Home Alone (1990) is full of them! Really, though, this movie is great. Aside from the fact that this movie is hilarious, its insanely relatable. Granted, most of us have not been left at home while our family is in France before, but pretty much everyone gets tired of their family over the holidays. In the end though, its all about love, right? Family is a common theme in Christmas movies; It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) is one of the best films ever made in my opinion, Christmas or not. A family man in the 1940s who had had plans to travel the world reflects on his life and asks himself, “What
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Northwestern Settlement House Drive
Interim 2013: Peru
Community Service Club’s annual Northwestern Settlement Drive kicked off on November 25th. The Northwestern University Settlement House was founded in 1891 in Humboldt Park, Chicago, in order to provide assistance during the holidays for those in need. Since then, it has grown to become the longest continually running settlement houses in the United States and the second largest settlement house in Chicago. For over 15 years North Shore has collected new toys, clothing, household items and food for families in need at the Northwestern Settlement house. Each paired advisory is assigned a family and each members of the advisory if they choose will be assigned a gift to get for their families according to each family’s individual
Interim has always been one of North Shore’s greatest traditions. Every year Interim trips go to great places and this year there were many great trips to Spain, England, Italy and Peru. I, along with 18 other students and Ms. Scanlan and Profe. Castilla, went to Peru for Interim week. We left for Peru on Friday November 8th in the morning and flew through Houston as we made our journey to Lima, Peru. When we arrived in Lima we spent the first day (Saturday) touring Lima’s cathedrals, the Presidential Palace and the Gold Museum of Peru. The following morning we flew from Lima to Cusco. Once we arrived in Cusco, a city with an elevation of 11,200 feet we had a small walking tour of Peru and enjoyed Alpaca pizza for dinner. On Monday morning we visited and volunteered at a school for children with special needs. There we read, drew,
Nick David ‘15
needs. These items may be blankets for a bed, a coat, toys for a young child, or food for the family. While it is not required to participate it is highly recommended! While buying a toy or a blanket may seem like a small act, it makes an enormous impact on the lives of these families. Without the help of North Shore and the Settlement drive many of these families would not be able to have any gifts to give to their children or have a coat to stay warm in the cold Chicago winters. The drive ran until December 11th, and the following day was the packing party. During this event, all the gifts brought in were packed in the “V”. The large attendance allowed for an enjoyable process, which brought the commu-
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Nick David ‘15
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News
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Northwestern Settlement House Drive House Drive Nick David ‘15
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nity close together. And while successful, the Community Service Club is still looking to improve their operation and garnish even more support for such an event. “We achieved our goals this year, but we are looking for ways to improve our process” commented Xander Mitchell ‘15. This work ethic and commitment to service is what has made this drive so ingrained in North shore’s Culture. If you have any more questions about the Settlement Drive, please talk to your advisor and Community Service Club. Community Service Club meets on Thursdays in Ms. Gallaga’s room.
Photo by Connor Watrous ‘17
Erica’s Lighthouse
12/19/13
Interim 2013: Peru Nick David ‘15
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talked and played games with children. In the afternoon we visited the Saqsaywaman ruins which once were part of the Incan capital. On Tuesday we took a bus ride over a mountain and visited an alpaca farm. At this alpaca farm we got to see, touch, feed, and take pictures with alpacas and llamas. Some students were even sneezed on by the animals! Following that we descended upon the sacred valley and went to the Pisac market. In the Pisac market many students used their bargaining and spanish skills to purchase items such as Baby Alpaca sweaters, gloves and hats. We learned from our guide, Juanes, on how to tell the difference between “baby alpaca” products and “maybe alpaca” products. Following the trip to the market we visited Ollantaytambo, a main point of the Incan empire. On Wednesday we woke up early to catch a 3 hour train ride to Macchu Picchu, one of the 7 wonders of the world and a UNESCO Historical site. At Macchu Picchu we first received a tour of the historical site by our guide. Following our tour, we were given time to explore Macchu Picchu in groups. I along with two other students hiked up to the Sun Gate. The sun gate is the entrance from the Inka trail which is a 4 day, 3 night hike into Macchu Picchu for those that choose not to take a train or bus. On Thursday we visited an orphanage and delivered the supplies we collected before leaving. At the orphanage we read, danced, and played soccer with the children. In the afternoon we shopped and packed. On Friday we flew from Cusco to Lima. In Lima we took a bus tour, went bowling and finally went to the Magic Water Circuit. There we saw a Water Jet show, which was water fountains spraying water with moving images and colors on it played to music. Late friday night we went to the Lima airport to head back to Cusco. During our trip to Peru, we learned many great topics about the Inca and Peruvian culture. We learned about the historical sites of the Sacred Valley and the Incan Empire. We enjoyed many diverse foods ranging from Inca Cola to Alpaca Pizza and Guinea Pigs. Our skills of speaking in the language of Spanish were helped finely by the great people in Peru that we were able to communicate with in restaurants, public, and at markets. We would like to think Profe. Castilla and Ms. Scanlan for planning an amazing trip!
Maddie Ugarte ‘15
As a previously established and prosperous club at other schools, Erika’s Lighthouse is determined to bring an instrumental tradition from their other club locations to North Shore. This year, the club will be creating a film that tackles the stigma of depression on the North Shore and inspires the community to take action by incorporating the ideas of North Shore’s very own eager students. Senior, and leader of Erika’s Lighthouse, Heather Mabie ‘14 elaborates: “The past couple of years we have started our student panels by showing the Erika’s Lighthouse video from the website. Although it is an awesome video, it is all New Trier students. We decided it would be really special if we made our own. With North Shore being such a small community, we’re hoping to reach out to every grade for the video. We’re planning to make a video not only on depression, but mental health in general and how we can reach out to the North Shore community specifically. We will continue with panel training and traveling to different schools educating students on teen depression. Everyone should also look forward to more stress-ball making activities, smiley face cookies and stick it to stigma week in the future!” With a whole new authenticity to North Shore’s Erika’s Lighthouse, the club is able to reach out to a wide variety of students willing to share their experiences with mental health struggles or triumphs, thus weaving the North Shore community even closer together; as, hopefully, everyone is comfortable sharing their thoughts in the heartening video soon to come.
Photo by Nick David ‘15
Christmas Movies
Rachel York ‘15
Cont. from 1 would the world be like if I wasn’t born?”. An angel named Clarence helps him find the answer; which is, of course, that the world would be a much worse place. Despite the rather depressing subject matter, the film ends on a happy and hopeful note that reminds us all to love and cherish each other this holiday season. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, whether winter break means many movie nights on the couch or a Caribbean vacation, Christmas movies remind us of the important things in life; love, family, and faith. Keeping that in mind, even the end of the semester can’t get you down.
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News
Jordanian Students Maddie Ugarte ‘15
The Kingdom of Jordan is located 6,284 miles away from Chicago, but for this year’s junior class, Jordan is only a few feet away. The class of 2015 has been given the honor, through a program called Global Nomads, to video-chat with Jordanian youth throughout the year. This unique experience is designed to enrich global connections as well as provide new perspectives on controversial topics. Ranging from talent shows to political debates, the video chats will allow the Jordanian students to see life at North Shore and in the United States in comparison with their own lives in Jordan and vice versa. This authentic proposition was brought to the junior class by English teacher Kathy McHugh as well as the Global Nomads initiative. Mrs. McHugh has been, and is, an essential asset to the richness of the junior class’ international experience with Jordan; regarding her choice of the project Mrs. McHugh states, “I’ve chosen to partner with Global Nomads because I believe in their mission of fostering dialogue among the world’s youth. Their programming is especially exciting because its curriculum combines cultural exchange, media literacy and global citizenship. This year, I am really looking forward to working with my students and our partner school in Amman, Jordan, on addressing our driving question, ‘How do we, as youth, engage our communities to create positive social change?’” Although concretely answering the driving question is an arduous task, the juniors have accepted the challenge and plan to construct a final project by the end of the video conferences. This project will showcase the manner in which they have endorsed positive social change in companionship with the Jordanian school and, favorably, provide a model for engagement and social change within our community as well as in the broader world.
Resurrection of Loft
Andrew Case ‘15
Loft is back and should be better than ever. Headed by Cam Chung ‘14 and Danny Young ‘15, Loft has been resurrected from a few years ago when it was started by Max Chung ‘12 and Brandon Wilson ‘12. Loft’s goal is to create more chances for exciting student dances, allowing the student body to relax and have a good time. Danny Young says that Loft is going to be “stress free and great time”. Students are anticipating great things from Loft and are excited for, as Will Case ‘14 “having more dances over the course of the year”. Also, Danny Young believes that Loft will be different from a few years because “this year [they] hope to reach more people. In years past, the get-togethers were smaller, but this time it will be bigger and full of surprises. This dance should be a lot of fun and hopefully a big success”. Moreover, Cam Chung wants everyone to know that “DY and CChung are cooking up something special.” Loft is going to be a great time, and if you want to see what surprises are in store, you had better go to the first dance.
12/19/13
Model UNENO Xander Mitchell ‘15
“You model?!” asks my friend in disbelief. “No. Yeah. I mean, I do Model UN,” I tell her, realizing that I should have capitalized on the opportunity for a clever joke. It’s nearly as glamorous, right? Unless you’re speaking with somebody familiar with Model United Nations (MUN), the term seems as foreign as some of the countries that are represented in conferences. Explaining it usually doesn’t come easily, either. MUNers have all been there: “Yeah, it’s like debate, except you basically speak on behalf of a country. I know it sounds weird, but it’s really fun.” It is weird. For an entire weekend, conference participants (called delegates), pretend they are representatives of countries and simulate a United Nations session. Delegates are assigned to committees, which are specific bodies of or organizations that operate under the United Nations. Debated topics are relevant to their committees, and range from Nuclear Nonproliferation to Globalization and Development. After initial debate, delegates then begin to write working papers. Working papers are early versions of resolutions, which are written solutions to whatever issue the committee is debating. Conferences typically start on Fridays, and committees usually go for an approximate total of eight hours a day, with the lone Sunday session being three hours. Conferences conclude with Sunday with award ceremonies, in which awards are given to the most vocal and thoughtful delegates are granted certificates, and, if they win Best Delegate, the coveted gavel. Before the conference, delegates write position papers, documents that outline their country’s policy on the topic. Dedicated MUNers also prepare country binders: folders full of their country’s stats and histories and profiles of other countries.Students come from all over the world to participate in American Model UNs; I have attended four conferences so far, and I’ve made friends from England, Turkey, China, Singapore, Colombia, Venezuela, and across the US. Conferences are as diverse as the students who attend them. HMUN (Harvard), NHSMUN (IMUNA – New York), NAIMUN (Georgetown) and ILMUNC (UPenn) are four of the oldest and most competitive conferences, attracting over 1500 delegates each every year. Regional conferences – RHSMUN (IMUNA – San Francisco), NUMUN (Northwestern), and DUMUNC (Duke), for example – also attract great amounts of talent from mostly local teams every year. One-day MUNs, like the ones hosted by Carl Sandburg and St. Ignatius, are great conferences for beginners to learn the ropes. Bestdelegate.com publishes resources to help delegates – new and old – prepare for conferences. They also publish annual rankings of the most talented MUN teams and most competitive conferences. Model UN talent is related to level of exposure, so attending smaller conferences and working your way up will give you the best chance of taking home an award at the end of the weekend. Nevertheless, it’s important to rise above “going for the gavel,” and to focus on what’s really important about Model UN: the food the love of the game. Mastering a specific topic – especially one that you connect with on a personal level – is extremely rewarding, and position paper writing is a welcome break from the monotony of school assignments. The feeling of suiting up, going over notes, and finally debating a topic that you know well is euphoric. Traveling to awe-inspiring cities, seeing beautiful schools, and making connections with people who share the same passions as you make the MUN experience that much better.
Photo by Mr. Dachille
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Opinion
Thanksgiving: The Day of Food in Excess and the Rare Rituals
Cooper Oschenhirt ‘16
In September 1620, the Mayflower, a ship full of English people running away from their religious problems, left England. After they traveled for over two months, they reached Massachusetts. Their first winter was pretty bad, as there were many cases of scurvy, and about 50% of them died. However, along came a shining beacon of light for the English: Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe. He taught the weakened English how to harvest food from nature. In addition, he helped them form a bond with the Wampanoag tribe, a bond that endured for over half a century. After the English harvest was successful, Governor William Bradford invited the Indians for a celebratory feast, a day that we now recognize as Thanksgiving. It is clear that the story behind Thanksgiving is a great and noble one. It is a storied tale of success in spite of adversity in a terra nova (Latin for “new Earth”), forging brotherhood that has the power to endure the test of time, and most of all, giving thanks for what you have. Somehow, in a period of 392 years, the holiday has gone from a day of noble celebration to a day of decadent gluttony and several second rate football teams. Now, I’m a fair person, I enjoy Thanksgiving food as much as the next guy. A well cooked butterball turkey, mmm…good. However, I would be willing to make a bet that what we eat in one Thanksgiving celebration would outweigh what we eat during a period of three average days. For example, whenever I go to Thanksgiving dinner, there are several pies, a bevy of cakes, and bountiful cookies, all for approximately four families. That’s not even counting the plentiful butterball turkey. Pop culture has created what we call the Freshman 15. I vote that we form a similar term: the Thanksgiving Gluttony 20. As if the gluttony wasn’t too much, the football often made it worse. Granted, the scheduling isn’t too bad now. The games are frequently gripping and intense. However, it wasn’t always such a strong schedule. It used to be quite weak, and rather cringe worthy. What made it that way, you ask? Two words: Detroit Lions. To put it in the nicest words possible, they were not a very talented team. It was as if the NFL had forgotten that this was a team that lost every single one of their games in the 2008 regular season. The team that managed to win all four of their preseason games, yet have some extraordinary psychological breakdown that made them lose sixteen straight games. However, in spite of their past failures, many terrible teams have stepped up their game. And as a result, the football universe is whole once more. But, one must never forget: at one point in time, it was not whole. Nevertheless, despite the fact that Thanksgiving has become what is effectively “Gluttony Is Okay Day!” and football has had some scheduling issues, the most enduring example of the holiday’s oddities are the strange rituals. When I sat down to write this article, I took the liberty of doing research (first time in a while for one of my articles) for some odd Thanksgiving practices. Thankfully enough, there were not many, which gives me hope for humanity. On the other hand, I still found that the Briggs family (from Illinois #interestingstuffgoesdownhere) plays paintball every Thanksgiving as a tradition: Each year, Mark Briggs and 20-25 of his relatives spend the day after Thanksgiving participating in “multi-generational paintball wars.” “It sure beats sitting around watching yet another football game, eating yet another turkey surprise,” Briggs says. “It’s all completely safe, with full protective gear, but there’s nothing quite like the release of marking that brother-in-law that really bugs you, or that niece who is otherwise the prissy princess, now dressed in camouflage!” ...Says Mark, it’s really “no worse than playing checkers or Monopoly” after Thanksgiving (Mainstreet.com) Well, hey Mark, nothing says family bonding like shooting paintballs at
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12/19/13
A Real College Application Matt Griffin ‘14 My name is Matt Griffin, and I am interested in applying to Eastman Institute of Technology for the Fall 2014 term. To be honest, I have already written many essays in this process, but I am excited to get to talk about my feelings for this particular university. Ever since the counselors at school told me to apply, I have wanted to go to Eastman my whole life. While looking at your website, I noticed that your application included questions like “What is your spirit animal?” or “If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?” or just “Why?” I think those are quirky and fun and I definitely did not tear my hair out wondering what sort of Jedi mind trick you’re pulling on me. Is this the school I am looking for? The fact that I do not understand these questions and am intimidated by your application makes me want to go to your university. I also want to go to Eastman because of the beautiful campus. I notice that you have water, shelter, and a steady supply of oxygen, all of which are things I need to live. These are some of the many qualities I admire about your school. You’ll notice that my standardized test scores are within your preferred ranges. My parents paid a company to help me study and prepare more than less fortunate students for these tests because scores do not matter and do not define me as a person. I would be a good student for Eastman to have because I am a thoughtful, passionate, and erudite learner. These qualities, of which I am the purest physical manifestation of on the planet, can also be seen in your school motto, which is written in Latin, a dead language. Other large words I looked up while writing this essay include “effervescent,” “delicatessen,” and “alexithymia.” Now, you may be asking yourself, “Matt, is it a good idea to cram in words you don’t totally understand?” Or “Matt, why use fancy words that will change the superficial aspects of the essay without affecting the substance of the paper?” or maybe just “Wassup with that?” (I noticed that last one is also a supplemental question on your application, except without any context). Well, simply put, I want to give you a clearer view of the artificial image of my true self that exists in this essay. Regarding a major, I’m not quite sure what I want to study yet. I think that I would like to try out some different things before I commit. But not because I’m unconfident or anything. It’s just so hard to choose which of my many passions and talents to pursue, because I have accomplished so much in life already. In high school, my interests included theater, music, and English class. Given that, I am sure that in college I will probably want to pursue engineering, medicine, and biology, because my Mom told me to. I know that I will thrive in the outstanding and truly unique science program of Harvard, Princeton, Central Clown College, Eastman. As you can tell, I am a very organized teenager and I know exactly where I want to spend the next four years of my life. I have never thought that this process was scary or stressful. And I definitely haven’t thought “What if becoming an adult isn’t something that clearly happens, but over time people just start referring to you as an adult and then one day you realize that you’re older and have more responsibilities but you still feel like a little kid except now you have to make really big decisions but you still watch SpongeBob and oh God, this is so scary and I didn’t sign up for this.” Nope. I’ve never thought that. I am a responsible student. Thank you for reading my application! I hope you now know me well enough to make the right decision that will impact my life in a way that may profoundly change me. I appreciate you joining me on this scary transition through life for which I could never be fully prepared, so I might as well get it done with now.
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Opinion
12/19/13
Discarding the Competitive Edge in Education James Robinson ‘15
As the United States looks for a solution to bolster its education system, it is ironic that it has fallen back on competition as the key motivating factor. Eyeing the higher rankings of foreign countries, it is our instinct to solve the problem by boosting internal competition. But why, when looking for a winwin situation, choose a system that has winners and losers? The industrial-age model for education in America is out of date. While competition has proven an effective way to reduce prices and make products accessible, in the classroom, it destroys the very creativity needed to spark learning, because it rewards success, not passion. Because education is viewed as a competition, the discussion of education reform has focussed on how students are most effectively taught, not on how students most effectively learn. Success is measured by standardized tests, fostering competition between teachers. As a result, many students’ education is limited to being taught information and then regurgitating it in the form of a written, timed, closed book test. While this may test the effectiveness of a teacher’s ability to teach facts and formulas, the result is that many students have become detached from school’s true purpose: genuine learning. As a result, a student’s ability to become his or her own coach–a phenomenon that is ultimately much more valuable than the ability to repeat information– is being left out of the process. The process of refocussing education will require redefining success. As it stands, academic success in high school is defined by getting the highest scores on standardized tests, maximizing the quantity of AP courses, and ultimately being accepted into top colleges. However, when education is refocussed towards creating passionate learners, learning becomes an organic process, in which the student is just as much a teacher as they are a student. Rather than focussing on beating out the competition, students can use classes and
independent studies as opportunities to experiment and explore. Without the fear of failure, these become important opportunities to discover passion and define direction in their lives. The seeds of education must be planted by a teacher, but as the student develops passion, he will take control of his education, eventually blossoming into a self-motivated thinker, ready for the real world. If the United States looked to Finland, which has consistently scored as one of the highest ranked education systems in the world, ironically, they would not find a system rooted in competition. By shifting their system from a standardized, competitive one to one that gives freedom to teachers to inspire passion in their students in whatever way they see fit, Finland has been able to create one of the most successful systems of education in the world. How have they accomplished this? By requiring teachers to earn a master’s degree, they have elevated their status to attract talented and devoted individuals. By eliminating tracking, teachers are deeply motivated to reach all, not just a portion of their students. Because teachers work in small schools, and often teach the same students for multiple years, their knowledge of their students can help them better teach. As a result, the culture of education has changed, and competition has all but disappeared as educators have grown to value their knowledge of students’ learning processes more than their scores on standardized tests. As one teacher put it, “We have our own motivation to succeed because we love the work. . . Our incentives come from inside.” Free from the stress of outside judgement, competition is replaced by a mutually beneficial relationship. Perhaps the US should take note: In any competitive environment, the focus is on survival, creating winners and losers; however, in an environment that is based on mutual benefit: a) test scores will drop b) costs will increase c) passion will thrive.
Getting Schooled on the Electoral College Annie Kroll ‘15 According to Texas congressman Gene Green, “Every citizen’s vote should count in America, not just the votes of partisan insiders in the Electoral College. The Electoral College was necessary when communications were poor, literacy was low and voters lacked information about out-of-state figures, which is clearly no longer the case.” Because the Electoral College system is still in place, presidential candidates have to opportunity to become president without getting the majority of the country on their side. The problem stems from the constitution of the United States, written in 1787, which instead of electing the president based on direct popular vote, took a different approach. Each state would elect a number of electors based on the number of representatives in the House and the number of senators. These electors would then cast their vote for the president and a popular vote would be taken from the election of the electors. Today, the system works a little bit differently, but it is based on the same principles. Instead of choosing electors, the votes go directly towards “electoral votes” for each state, and, in all states except Maine and Nebraska, which run on a different system, whichever candidate gets the most votes in that state receives all electoral votes. The first issue with the Electoral College lies within the amount of electoral votes given to each presidential candidate. Because all electoral votes of one state are given to one candidate, a candidate can win the race without winning the national popular vote. According to Digital History, this happened in the 2000 election between Republican candidate, George W. Bush and Democratic candidate Al Gore. The race was close and in the end all depended on the state of Florida. After multiple recounts and a judicial decision, Bush won the state by 900 votes and received the 25 electoral votes to push him to victory. Although Bush received 271 electoral votes in comparison to Gore’s 266, Gore received 500,000 more popular votes than Bush. Because our presidential elections are not based on popular vote, Gore didn’t win even though the majority of the country wanted him to win. With such a winner-take-all system, especially in a
close race, the preferred candidate sometimes comes out as a loser. Because of the winner-take-all system, some people choose to not vote at all because they think their vote wouldn’t even matter. For example, the state of California has voted democratically by more than 58% in all elections since 1988. This raises the question: why even vote if the outcome is already certain? According to FairVote, the winner-take-all rule leads to lower voter turnout in states where one party is dominant, because each individual vote will be overwhelmed by the majority and will not, in effect, “count” if the winner takes all the electoral votes for that state. Many Americans feel underrepresented because of the Electoral College. The winner-take-all system of the Electoral College also leads to an unequal distribution of campaign resources. Since all but two states allocate their votes to a winner-take-all method, there is no reason for a candidate to campaign in a state that clearly favors one candidate. For example, Democratic candidates have little incentive to spend large amounts of time and resources campaigning in solidly republican states such as Texas or Alabama, and Republican candidates have little incentive to campaign in solidly democratic states like California or Illinois. Therefore, a stronger campaign is targeted at swing states like Ohio and Florida. Because of the Electoral College system, some states are completely ignored, while others get dozens of visits by each candidate. If our elections were based on popular vote, each candidate would have to visit many more states in order to sway people’s votes because they would actually “count”. Because of the impractical, ill-thought-out Electoral College system, United States presidential elections are unfair to all parties involved. They are unfair to voters and to candidates alike. If our country’s elections were based on popular vote, it would benefit the citizens, the candidates and our entire country as a whole.
Sports
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12/19/13
Hustle, Heart, and Family: North Shore Girls Basketball Rachel York ‘15
A picture of the girls basketball team four years ago and today would prove to be two very different photos; the older one would be of a tiny team, one where only “four people showed up to the first day of practice”, according to senior and captain Becca Slotkin ‘14. This year, however, the team boasts more than four times the number of people who showed up that first day four years ago. An often overlooked team at North Shore, the girls basketball team’s slow but steady growth has lead to historic success and unprecedented improvement. The 2013-2014 seasons have been described as “rebuilding” years for many of North Shore’s previously successful teams; this is certainly not the case for girls basketball. Last season’s regional title was only the beginning. The girls are already in a winning season, with a tournament championship under their belts after the annual Thanksgiving Tournament. The team is already improving on a historic season from last year, according to Safia Vohra ‘15, stating that this season will be “a lot better than last year.” Vohra attributes this to the vast amount of new players with experience playing basketball. The new players are overwhelmingly freshmen, who seem to dominate the court and the bench. Freshman Lauren Kaplinsky ‘17 led the tournament championship game in points, while Lexy Cook ‘17 played an equally stellar, aggressive game. A young but experienced team has been vital to their success; as Slotkin ‘14 noted, “as time goes on, you see improvement skill wise, hustle wise, and confidence wise.”
Chicago Bulls Update Alex Nickel ‘16
Coming into the 2013-2014 season, the Chicago Bulls, along with their returning MVP Derrick Rose, were expected to be one of the top contenders for a NBA Championship. However, in light of Rose’s recent meniscus tear in his right knee, their season has been turned upside down by injuries for the third straight season. While he is expected to make a full recovery, a second season-ending knee surgery is a devastating blow to the team. The Bulls must look towards the future and commit to a major overhaul of their current roster. Without a healthy Rose, the Bulls are nothing more than a low playoff seed with a first or second round exit. Led by Coach Tom Thibodeau, they have always been primarily a defensive team. However, in Rose’s absence the offense will be taking a major hit. Even with him in the lineup this year, the Bulls were the 6th least efficient team in the NBA on offense, and with Kirk Hinrich and Marquis Teague taking the reins at point guard, there is not much room for improvement. Because this season’s championships aspirations over, management needs to look for a long-term solution in Chicago. The worst place in the NBA to be is in the middle of the pack, because these teams are not good enough to compete for championships, but are also not bad enough to make major improvements to their rosters. The hopes of testing the healthy core of Rose, Butler, Deng, Boozer and Noah this year are over. With $72.8 million dollars on the books this season, this team was built to contend, not to be stuck in mediocrity. Even before this injury, it was widely believed that Rose needed to be paired with another star. Coupled with fears he may never return to his former self, that is truer now more than ever. The Bulls primary focus should be to put themselves in the best possible position in the upcoming NBA draft. The 2014 draft class is stacked from top to bottom, with potential superstars at the top, along with many NBA ready players in the middle to late rounds. Unfortunately, because the current team is too tough, experienced and talented to tank the season, they need to break up the team first. The first step in this process is to actively shop veteran Luol Deng on the trade market. Although the All-Star has been a major contributor to the Bulls in the past few years, he is an upcoming free agent and the team has already passed on signing him to a long term extension.
Despite having a team dominated by underclassmen, Assistant Coach and alumni Bruce Blair ‘69 noted the importance of the leadership of returning players. A solid group of juniors and seniors, Blair noted the “guards who are pretty smart” and who “ know what to do with the ball”, as well as the overall strong leadership coming from the upperclassmen. After all is said and done, the season has only just begun. Despite the team’s “good hustle, good spirit, good energy...aggression, and depth”, as noted by Coach Blair, these players still have things to work on. Shooting seemed to be buzzword; despite a strong win, the girls only had a 33% shooting percentage in the championship game, which Blair described as “not good enough yet.” Captain Safia Vohra ‘15 noted that “[they] need to work on fouls”, and “finding a rhythm of people who work well and play well together.” At the end of the day, despite whatever weaknesses or strengths this team might have, their greatest asset is their heart. At the heart of this team, they are “one big happy family” as noted by Lauren Kaplinsky ‘17. Even over interim week, while many players were out of the country and missing from practice, these continued to girls. Off the court, they can always be seen socializing and bonding. The connection is evident; most teams disperse once the big game is finished, but these girls stuck around to hang out and shoot around. With one arm wrapped around their teammates, and the other holding up a number one sign, it is clear that this team is destined for success; both on and off the court.
On the Right Track Nick David ‘15
Even though it is only December, Winter track has already begun and is in full swing and According to Veb Anand ‘15, “[There is] a higher than normal number of people doing winter track this year.” Last year Winter Track had an excellent season, and are looking to build off their success this year. While practices and conditioning officially began just three weeks ago, the first preseason meet is fast approaching and will be on Saturday December 14th. When asked about their thoughts about the upcoming track season, commitment and dedication were common themes. As Tonya Piergies ‘15 said, “So far, the season is going great! We have a lot of committed people on the team, which is very promising. We will have preseason meets starting this month and high school meets in January, so we are looking forward to that.” Ian Talty ‘15 also commented that, “There are a lot of dedicated athletes this year putting in hard work and improving.” Additionally he stressed that “The Juniors this year have some really great stand out runners that have been working extra hard and will be definitely something to look out for come Spring time.” Many athletes are looking forward to the upcoming track season. Ian Talty ‘15 said that he is looking forward to “the meets as well as the occasional Culvers stops.” Overall, Winter track has gotten off to a great start in their practices, and have a very promising season ahead of them! Next the Bulls should look to shell as much of their team salary as possible, in order to avoid the luxury tax and maximize their cap space. The main way to achieve this would be to exercise the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer. While he is having one of the best years of his career, his age, lack of defense and enormous contract make this a clear decision for management, and would give the team more money to use towards a second star. While there is no clear path to success for this historic franchise, the Bulls simply can not wait any longer to make major moves. However, while the city of the Chicago may love to root for team, it is clear that this current core of players is not the the solution to to hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy once again. Big changes are coming, and injuries are just the beginning.
Arts
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12/19/13
Electricity: Tess Considine’s Debut Album Emma Flannery ‘17 On November 9th, Tess released her first album, Electricity and her release party, held at the Rock House in Wilmette, was a hit. At her release Tess played the four songs on her album, Blank and Hallow, When Lightening Strikes, Street of Unknown, and Electricity , all originals and each more shocking than the next. In addition, Tess played four newer originals and a few covers. Afterwards, Tess joined her friends at a wooden table selling signed autographs. From watching Tess’s flawless performance it seemed that the recording process must have been a piece of cake. But in reality, Tess had to overcome many obstacles in the process of creating the perfect debut album. Though the Rock House Café is filled with practice rooms, amplifiers, microphones, and instruments, there are not recording equipment or studios. Luckily for Tess, her instructor Erin managed to bring in some recording equipment, but this did not solve the puzzle of where to record. At first, Tess attempted recording in a regular band room, but the powerful microphones picked up every sound imaginable, from the lights and generator buzzing, to the air conditioning, and occasional noises from downstairs. But with the right attitude, Tess was able to work around the obstacles and create fantastic recordings, which she then edited to perfection. Tess not only wrote her songs and made the recordings she also edited them herself. “If you don’t advocate and do every step, the final product won’t be yours and might not even be what you planned.” Tess said. Though Tess was not starting completely from scratch with her album. She started wanting to write songs when she was 8 years old. When walking around the house, Tess thought up catchy melodies and a few years later, started writing down lyrics. “I didn’t like writing too much until I began to write my songs.” Not until Grade 8 however, did Tess write an entire song. Tess began working on one of her songs, later used for her album, Electricity. She loved both the process and was pleased with her final product. She began to play it for friends and family because she liked its catchy melody. Surprised and excited by plenty of positive feedback and support, Tess began performing Electricity and started writing more songs that would later be featured in her album. “I am so lucky to have such great supportive parents. Their support and positive feedback from friends was what gave me the ability to make this album.” After she finished writing her four favorite songs, Blank and Hollow, Elec-
What’s Happening at The Almquist Gallery Connor Watrous ‘17
Currently, The Almquist Gallery is showcasing a collection called “Little Mirrors: collages and visual narratives”, featuring works by an artist named Julie Nauman-Mikulski. Nauman-Mikulski has been teaching people of all ages about all facets of art for over 20 years. She began teaching 5-12-year-olds about photography in the summer of 1993. Nauman-Mikulski recently earned her Masters in Fine Arts in 1998, and also is a bachelor of art and fine arts. In the past couple years, Nauman-Mikulski has worked as a professor at Columbia College of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Art. Nauman-Mikulski has been showcased all over the United States since 1987, but she has been showcased most in her home town of Chicago. Her most recent opening is the one at North Shore. Nauman-Mikulski creates all kinds of wonderful art, including collages, drawings, paintings, photography, and more. The current exhibition at North Shore is composed of her collages. NaumanMikulski feels very passionate about her work. She describes her collages as “rooted in a fascination with memory, how it gradually disintegrates leaving traces that rise to the conscious surface unpredictably. These traces interrupt the present with the past, be it absurd, sublime, horrific, or banal. Sometimes shocking, they transport us to somewhere else in a momentary shift; they may invoke a sense of fear, a smell, a place, or a feeling left over from a dream. In the tradition of Surrealism I am also interested in the unconscious and the hallucinatory nature of dreams, the mind’s ability to free associate, to ‘daydream,’ to create meaning out of minimal or disparate, contradictory things.”
tricity, Street of Unknown, and When Lightning Strikes, she wanted to do something more with them. Tess considered producing demos, which would have probably been recordings of her music by herself. However, when her guitar teacher, Erin, encouraged her to create an album, she decided to take the challenge. Tess didn’t know much about the recording process and had to improvise often. She put together a small band with instructors and students from the Rock House in Wilmette for recording, and performing her songs. The dedication to make this album was a life changing decision that took time, effort, and patience. According to Tess’s instructors, she put in lots of dedication to this project and her ability to advocate was her greatest strength in overcoming the many difficulties she faced during the process. And the final product was defiantly worth the work put into it. In the future, Tess’s ultimate goal is to write, perform, and record her songs. Also to get a record deal in the more near future. However, as of now she is taking a short break from recording. According to Tess, it was a great experience but also very time consuming and exhausting. For now, she wants to work on selling her current album and gaining more publicity by performing her songs. She is still writing songs, and is also working on a website to spread the word about her gigs. Tess is hoping to perform all over the North Shore and maybe even in Chicago if she gets the chance to, this way she will gain more publicity and experience to improve her performance. According to Tess, this is such a large portion of the music industry today, and in order to become a well-known artist, she needs to narrow down her audience and her image. She wants people to know that she is not an amatuer and is trying to create her own style. Tess also is attempting to appeal to different audiences, “I want each song to have a new feel and each song to reflect different peoples tastes.” Family, friends, and the North Shore community are very proud of Tess and are excited to see where her talent and music takes her in the future.
Winter Play 2013 Anand Shankar ‘16 January’s winter plays are not to be missed! This year, they will be shown in the Atrium in the Science Center because the theater is under construction until February. Julia Macholl says that adapting to the new space has been a challenge for the cast. Not having the theater throws in several curveballs, including figuring out audience seating and dealing with the crowd. Furthermore, Macholl said that it was a challenge to fit the cast members into a small space. This year, the stage is a 20 by 8 foot platform, in contrast to the much larger stage in the theater that the cast and crew are accustomed to. She said that this production calls for a great deal of flexibility from the cast as they deal with various challenges. Although it presents many challenges, Macholl said that the new space presented an interesting opportunity. This year, the winter play will be in a reader’s theatre style, meaning that the audience will surround the stage on three sides, giving a new perspective. Macholl said that this new concept will take some getting used to. The plays this year are The Legends of Lightning Larry and Miss Electricity. Macholl says The Legends of Lightning Larry is about “cowboy who smiles all the time and likes to drink lemonade.” There’s a stereotypical western standoff with a bunch of evil villains in the town. The reader’s theatre style will present almost a choral version of the play. The second play, Miss Electricity, is more of a traditional play with a bullying theme. Typically, this play is toured to schools, and the winter play is the first time that Miss Electricity will be performed at North Shore. It was chosen for the alternate space of the Atrium. It’s a story about a girl who gets struck by lightning twice and has the power to control electricity wherever she goes. She struggles with “the hardships of fifth grade everyday life,” as Macholl puts it. The 2014 winter plays are on January 17 at 7:30 pm and on January 18 at 4:30 pm. Do not miss what is sure to be a phenomenal production!
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Features
8
12/19/13
Ask Piper An Anonymous Student Answering Other Anonymous Students’ Questions PIPER YOU’RE THE COOLEST PERSON EVER False; that would be James Franco. How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie center of a tootsie pop? The world may never know.
orthopedics? Interestingly, there is not a single word in the English language with which this rhymes.
How much Tabasco sauce do you think one could put in a locker? If a tree falls in the woods and there’s no one around to hear it, then how The standard high-school locker has a volume of roughly 2,500 sq. do we know it actually fell and wasn’t placed on the ground by aliens and in., and a standard bottle of Tabasco sauce is roughly 19.5 in. cubed, so a rough their levitating powers? estimate is about 125 bottles of Tobasco sauce. We don’t. What does the fox say? Define political ideology. Identify one political party that participated in The fox refused to comment, but official inside sources speculate that the 2006 presidential elections in Mexico and describe one central element he says “stop listening to that song”. of its political ideology. Having fun in AP Comparative Government? Sometimes, I forget where I leave my toes, can you help me find them? Right next to your hallucinogens.
Mixtape
Pin Contest!
Kirsty Hunter‘15 Many people that know me are aware of my biased view of the music industry; I am a tiny bit obsessed with Scottish alternative rock bands. However, most people don’t know the whole truth about my trusty little yellow iPod. I have to think that the other person has a good taste in music before I would listen to any songs they like. My brother, however, did get me into some good American bands like the Black Keys. A good friend of mine got me into the Arctic Monkeys. I don’t usually like English bands, but during the summer, I re-discovered the brilliance of Arctic Monkeys and spent a lot of my time listening to them. Said friend also got me into The View who are an incredible band that everyone should be listening too. But yes, if you ask me who my main influences are, I will say Biffy Clyro and all the bands they influenced to make brilliant music. I knew as soon as I heard a song of theirs on the radio that I would love them, and alas! It was to be! Take a wee listen to some of these and hopefully you will come to the dark, wonderful place that is the Scottish music industry. 1. Many of Horror- Biffy Clyro 2. December’s Traditions- Frightened Rabbit 3. Nitrous Gas- Frightened Rabbit 4. Accident Without Emergency- Biffy Clyro 5. All the Way Down- Biffy Clyro 6. Gold on the ceiling- The Black Keys 7. 505- Arctic Monkeys 8. Yes, I was Drunk- Twin Atlantic 9. Starlight- Muse 10. Born on a Horse- Biffy Clyro 11. Scrubs-Superman- Michigan Music Works 12. Boxing Day- Blink- 182 13. As Dust Dances (live)- Biffy Clyro 14. New Shoes- Paolo Nutini 15. Distant Dubloon- The View 16. 57 (live)- Biffy Clyro 17. Je Suis un Funky Homme- Marmaduke Duke 18. What is Light? Where is Laughter?- Twin Atlantic
The Communications Department is asking students to vote on which of these designs they would like to see made into pins. Pins reveiving the most votes will be turned into buttons by the Communications Department. Please cast your vote at http://tinyurl.com/DSJPins
Thanksgiving Cooper Occenshirt ‘16
Cont. from 4
your family! You got Grandma Sally using guerrilla paintball tactics on your daughter, or 10 year old Jared going after Grandpa Jack. It’s all safe! Thing is though, I’m lying. Paintball is pretty dangerous. Clearly you didn’t know the danger of paintball, or much anything else really, as you basically equated paintball with checkers in safety. For shame Mark, for shame. In conclusion of my extra long Thanksgiving rant, I’d like to close the book on a few things. Even though it’s been overrun by extreme gluttony, the love and fellowship is still there, so the spirit lives on, as does the holiday that our forefathers created (in some misinformed way). And, as my final words, since this article is way longer than it probably should be, have a tremendous time throughout Thanksgiving.
Features
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12/19/13
Featured Recipe: S’mores Bundt Cake Pudding
Xander Mitchell ‘15
If you’re like me, you’re having trouble transitioning from those laid-back, jazzy summer nights to the depressing slushpool that is mid-November in Chicago. (You’re also spending too much time on your hair in the morning, but that’s neither here nor there.) I’ve found that there is no better way to get back into that pre-Labor Day zone than to put together some succulent summertime sweets. I made this amazing S’mores Bundt Cake Pudding for the first time last summer, and it’s been my go-to treat since. There’s a funny story behind it, actually. I – my close friend, I mean – accidently under-baked this bundt cake recipe, so in order to make sure my his dinner guests were satisfied, I – HE, pardon me – mashed the mostly-cooked batter together with the toppings, thus creating the most delicious, gooey and consequently unbelievably messy dessert that could be made. Remarkably, it tastes exactly like s’mores. Enjoy – this is a good one!
Ingredients For the Cake 1 c. flour 2 c. graham cracker crumbs 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 c. butter, softened 1 1/3 c. sugar 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 3/4 c. milk 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips 7 oz marshmallow fluff 6 oz cream cheese (about 1/2 cup), softened 1/2 c. powdered sugar
For the ganache 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips 8 oz heavy cream
For the marshmallow frosting 3 egg whites, room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions, adapted from Foodie Magazine 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Set aside 3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes 4. Add eggs to butter mixture, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Mix in vanilla. 5. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk to butter mixture in 3 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
6. Fold in chocolate chips. 7. In a separate bowl, beat marshmallow fluff, cream cheese and powdered sugar until well combined. 8. Pour 1/3 graham cracker batter into a greased and floured bundt pan. Top with 1/2 marshmallow mixture. Using a knife, swirl the batters together. Add more graham cracker batter, then marshmallow mix, alternating and swirling until both batters are used up. 9. Bake 55-65 minutes until golden brown. Cake should spring back when touched. 10. Cool in bundt pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto a plate and cool completely. At this point, if you choose to turn the bundt into a pudding, simply mash up the cake into a serving bowl.
Meanwhile, prepare ganache. 11. Heat heavy cream over medium high heat until almost boiling. Pour over chocolate chips and whisk until smooth. Let sit for 5 minutes to thicken. 12. Pour ganache over cooled bundt cake (or pudding). Allow to cool completely, at least one hour
To prepare the frosting 13. Combine egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a medium bowl set over a pot filled with a couple of inches of barely simmering water. 14. Whisk constantly with an electric mixer until the mixture reaches 160 degrees. 15. Remove the bowl from the heat and continue whisking the mixture on high until stiff peaks form, about 7 to 8 minutes. 16. Gently stir in vanilla extract. 17. Top cooled ganache layer with marshmallow frosting (you might have extra frosting; there is quite a bit) 18. Using a kitchen torch, lightly toast the top until browned (I skipped this step; please proceed with caution)
Logic Problem Nick David ‘15
Thank you to everyone that submitted answers to last issue’s logic problem. We had 4 correct answers and the randomly selected winner was Valerie Jaharis ’15. She correctly identified that the order was Runner 1, then 3, then 2. Congratulations to her and everyone that answered correctly! This issues logic problem involves golf balls. Two friends are given 12 golf balls and know that one is slightly heavier than the other 11, but do not know which one it is and it is not distingablishable simply holding them. If they are given a scale and only 3 attempts, how do they determine which golf ball is the heavier one? If you think you know the answer email me (ndavid15@nscds.org) by January 15th, 2013 at 9:00pm Alaska Time with the correct answer. All winners will be entered in a lottery, and one will be chosen as the winner of an iTunes gift card. Previous winners from this year, and current DSJ editors, writers, and contributors are not eligible to win.
DSJ Editorial Board Justin Savin ‘15, Editor-in-Chief Nick David ‘15, Editor-in-Chief Rachel York ‘15, Execuitive Editor Cooper Ochsenhirt ‘16, Managing Editor Matt Griffin ‘14, Head Copy Editor James Robinson ‘15, Editor Photographers Connor Watrous ‘17, Chief Photographer Mr. Art Jessen Nick David ‘15 Contributing Photographer Staff Writers Andrew Case ‘15 Nick David ‘15 Emma Flannery ‘17 Emily George ‘17 Matt Griffin ‘14 Alexander Mitchell ‘15 Zak Nelson ‘15 Alex Nickel ‘16 Cooper Ochsenhirt ‘16 Tonya Piergies ‘15 James Robinson ‘15 Justin Savin ‘15 Anand Shankar ‘16 Madeline Ugarte ‘15 Connor Watrous ‘17 Rachel York ‘15 Contributing Writers Annie Kroll ‘15 Kirsty Hunter ‘15 Sponsors Ms. Irene Kearney Ms. Lou Kinder