October Edition 2014 by Dulaney Griffin

Our mission: to enlighten and to entertain

Dulaney High School Timonium, Maryland

Volume 55, Issue 1 MARCHING

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Visit us at http://dulaneygriffin.org

October 23, 2014

Big changes hit full force

see page 3

TO KNOW

235

the point spread in It’s Academic’s Oct. 18 victory (see our website) WINNING

CHANGES IN PLACE: Clockwise from top left: The master schedule covers a wall of assistant principal Angela Berry’s office. Students jam the breezeway during C lunch in early October. Lanyards await distribution to students Sept. 3. English teacher Kathy Roeder operates a new photocopier in the library workroom Oct. 9.

Block implemented; school adjusts J photos by sarah feustle, hannah milan, kira stiers and lucia tarantino

see page 6

# TO KNOW

the number of Merit Scholarship semi-finalists (see page 2) CHEERING

maya lapinksi, deputy editor unior Marin Langlieb is torn. “The 90-minute class doesn’t bother me, and having two days to do homework is nice, but keeping track of homework and not seeing teachers daily has been a challenge,” she said. She epitomizes the school’s mixed reaction to the schedule change, which appears to be favored by most. A spot survey of students in all lunch periods last month showed roughly 60 percent of students like block scheduling. About 40 percent didn’t. Supporters like it for practical reasons. “You have plenty of time for labs and in-class experiments,” junior Meredith Riley said. While not an avid block supporter, Riley acknowledged the advantages

Schedule design took time, tweaks

S see page12

INDEX 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-12

news opinion sports features

sophie golden, associate editor he started about a year ago and didn’t finish until the first day of school. Building the new block schedule—tiny tile by tiny tile on the wall in her office—was an allconsuming process, assistant principal Angela Berry said. “Everything stopped for me,” Berry said. “I really only thought about this for months.”

of 85-minute classes. “You can actually finish instead of being interrupted.” Others cited more time for homework given two nights to complete it. For science or activity-based classes, the extended classes offer a chance to go in-depth with lessons. Supporters celebrate the ability to take more courses that they’re interested in. “It gives time to go over tests, get one main thing completely done, and then introduce one new thing at the end of class to start off with next time,” social studies teacher Kathleen Skelton said. Supporters celebrate the ability to take more courses that they’re interested in. see SCHOOL ADJUSTS, page 2

No deep breathing. No cravings. But Berry calls the school’s first block schedule her baby, one she’s proud of and one that challenged her. “I always say, doing the schedule, I know will increase my brain power. I’m not worried about Alzheimer’s at all. My brain is challenged at every turn.” She began, she said, by trying to accommodate special education students and two-credit classes like Advanced Placement Biology. Then she moved to “her singletons,” classes that occur only once. Seniors’ schedules were prioritized, she said, since this is seniors’ last chance to take courses they need. Some challenges emerged midway through

the process. For some seniors, she had to accommodate early release time, parallel enrollment and extracurricular participation, she said. And after setting the lunch schedule, she had to identify classes that could not be interrupted by lunch, such as gym, lab-based sciences and chorus. “Something happens to your vocal cords when you drink and eat. see design, page 2

Angela Berry

photo by kira stiers

FYI: Dulanium, a Romanthemed fair

Oct. 25 11 a.m. Amphitheater and Auditorium Lobby

Sequel’s & Art Club’s Food Sculpture Contest Oct. 28 2:30 p.m. Satellite Cafeteria

School closes three hours early Nov. 3

School closed for elections Nov. 4

Visit us at http://dulaneygriffin.org.

Canned food drive begins Nov. 10

Report cards distributed Nov. 13

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news

Design took ID cards disliked: time, tweaks enforcement evolves design, continued from page 1

It’s technical, so you have to honor that,” Berry said. Berry also had to account for classes that require more than one classroom, such as journalism and yearbook, to prevent overlapping room usage. Then there was the discussion over whether to hold homeroom every day, something that was ruled out to limit traffic in the building. “Teachers were very vocal in that they want their instructional time,” Berry said. “That’s reflected in our bell schedule. That’s reflected in how there’s no turn-around time for cafeteria workers in the cafeteria.” But students were priority one, she said. Scheduling AP courses so that they didn’t overlap and so that students could take the ones they selected also had to be considered, Berry said. Similarly, she said she had to make sure that taking band or orchestra didn’t preclude a student from getting into a desired AP course. Berry arrived here last year familiar with this whole process, having worked for seven years at Lansdowne High School, where she directed schedule changes and executed a seven-class schedule. She foresees discussion of potential improvements for next year, but she predicts few changes. Feedback from students has been positive. “They just keep telling me that it goes by fast, which is the exact opposite of what I thought I was going to hear.”

School adjusts school adjusts, continued from page 1 But, the longer class periods pose concerns too. “I could hardly pay attention last year,” junior Jiayang Shi said. “They can’t expect teenagers to focus for 85 minutes at a time.” Teachers have struggled too. They have had to completely rework their lesson plans to suit the new schedule. They have also arranged their classrooms into clusters of desks to accommodate small group discussions, which students generally approve of. Junior Jessica Bishai is candid. “It doesn’t seem like some teachers know how to fill the longer periods,” she said. “If they can’t handle it, then students can’t make the most of it either.” The intermittent meeting schedule challenges students and teachers, chemistry teacher Karl Geckle said. “It’s troublesome to me because my classes come in on a Tuesday and the last time I saw them was on a Friday,” he said. “I can only hope that they’ve gone over what I taught them and that it’s still fresh in their minds.” Other teachers expressed concern over lunch interrupting third-period

sumin woo, associate editor mong other reforms this school year is a countywide safety initiative that has issued BCPSOne identification cards to all students. The cards feature students’ yearbook pictures, graduating class and unique barcodes that will later “facilitate schoolhouse entrance [and] attendance logging,” among other things, according to bcps.org. “All of us [students, faculty and staff] will wear the ID cards at all times while at school,” principal Lyn Whitlock said. But many students have not taken kindly to the change. “I’m not a dog,” sophomore Olivia Sherlock said. “I don’t need a dog tag.” Major concerns include the effectiveness of “swiping in” to take attendance. Initially planned to be installed by the end of the first quarter, the four double-sided scanners cannot be set up until problems with other schools’ scanners are resolved, according to a knowledgeable source in the office.

SENIOR ANNA STEUERMAN displays the rear of her identifaction card in September. Dozens of students have placed the student handbook photo of superintendent Dallas Dance in the ID card’s protective case. photo by audrey stenersen

Should students forget their cards, they must rent temporary replacements for a dollar. If a card is misplaced, a new one costs $5. “I’ve already forgotten my card once,” junior Jules Allbrit-

LIKE BLOCK?

38%

Yes

62%

Students were questioned Sept. 16 in both cafeterias during all lunch shifts.

classes and over adding a class, which they find burdensome and unnecessary.

Block reactions at a glance

Supporters say:

+ Lessons actually finished + More homework time + Lunch relieves boredom.

Critics say: - Difficult to pay attention - Procrastination more likely - Fewer class minutes yearly - Lunch break disrupts focus - Not enough material to fill some classes - Difficult to catch up when absent - More homework to compensate

october 23, 2014

ton-King said. The office told Allbritton-King not to worry about a replacement for that day, which defeats the point of the cards in the first place, he said. Some students have begun to protest the new cards. “They’re putting stickers over their pictures and including the picture of Dr. Dance from the handbook in the ID slot,” junior Arshad Fakhar said. But there are rules against modifying the cards. “Once the scanners are in place, the ID pictures must match what appears on the screen, or students cannot enter the building,” Whitlock said. “They cannot be defaced or permanently altered in any way.” The OneCards, despite popular opinion, are here to stay. “[BCPS] is committed to the IDs,” Whitlock said. “It’s definitely not going to go away.” Associate editors Sophie Golden and Kristin Meek, and staff writers Ariel Williams and Hannah Bauer contributed to this report.

New machines vex

sarah feustle & maya lapinksi, deputy editors his school year, a new technology system was implemented to ease teachers’ lives. Instead the new printers and copiers have left teachers frustrated. 1 “Many times, they will just not print,” an anonymous 2 said of the new “follow-me” printers, which are teacher supposed to let teachers print emailed documents from any machine. “You have to go back, resend everything out and go find a different printer.” Sometimes the printers shut down entirely. “Rebooting it is the only thing that we’ve found that works,” social studies teacher Kathleen Skelton said. Skelton sometimes sings a few verses of “God Bless America” while holding the unplugged Ethernet and electrical cords before plugging them back in. She says that afterwards, the printer works. And the lack of training on the machines is alarming. When English teacher Kathy Roeder tried to use the machine in the library workroom, it was unresponsive. But social studies teacher Brian Velten says he likes the new copier machines. “They punch holes for you. You can scan old documents you might not have saved and email them to yourself from the copier,” he said. Velten says he learned to use them by trial and error. An anonymous teacher says the new printers are cumbersome. “If a student wants something and I have to print something on the spot, it now takes some time.” Deputy editor Sumin Woo contributed to this report.

Sports Illustrated features senior

NEWS LINE ALUM MOURNED

Hannah Potis, who graduated in May, was killed in a car crash on McCormick Road in Cockeysville Oct. 6. Potis’ boyfriend, Charles Matthews, was driving the car. The pair crashed headon into a dump truck and were pronounced dead at the scene. “It’s never the news you want, and I don’t want to believe it,” alumnus Malik Peacock tweeted. “ RIP to a beautiful soul and the world’s funniest coworker.”

DRIVE NEARS END

The National Honor Society’s No Kid Hungry drive in homerooms—set to end Oct. 31—has raised nearly $192, organizer and junior Whitney Vong said. Students in the homeroom of social studies teacher Phil Bressler have raised most of the money so far, she said, contributing $107.

PHOTOS NEEDED Yearbook is using a new app that enables students to upload photos for use in this year’s copy of Heritage. The app, REPLAY IT, is available for free via the App Store or Google Play, sponsor Chantel Burkhardt said. The group is especially interested in pictures taken outside of school. Shots of concerts, vacations, camps, summer jobs and professional sports games are especially helpful. For more information, email dulaneyyearbook@bcps. org.

SCHOLARS EXCEL Seniors Mandy Bilger, Adolfo Carvalho, Wendy Mo and Helen Sun are National Merit Semifinalists, based on their PSAT scores. Finalists will be announced May 6, according to the program’s website.

TICKET SALE SET Tickets for the fall play, “The Good Times Are Killing Me” by Lynda Barry, go on sale Nov. 12. They will cost $8 and will be sold during all lunch shifts outside the classic cafeteria. The play will run Nov. 20 through Nov. 22. The play is insightful at capturing the innocence of teens during a time of great change, theater teacher Susan Lev said.

SEQUEL WINS Sequel, the literary arts magazine, has received a Columbia Scholastic Press Association gold medal for last year’s publication, themed No Exit. The magazine staff is accepting submissions for this year’s edition, which is un-themed, through Jan 23. For information, contact sponsor Meekah Hopkins at mhopkins@bcps.org.

VEX BOUT COMING

See senior varsity basketball player Isaiah Lamb in the Oct. 20 edition of Sports Illustrated at http://dulaneygriffin.org. Visit us at http://dulaneygriffin.org.

The robotics team will host VEX Battle by the Bay, a statewide competition, Nov. 8. It runs from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the classic cafeteria.

news

october 23, 2014

the griffin

Junior joins movement F sierra prior, associate editor or junior Maddie Cohee, the Sept. 21 People’s Climate March in New York was eye-opening. “Marching made me realize that we can’t keep thinking it’ll be ok if just a few of us try to make a difference. That’s not enough. It’s not going to get fixed until everyone’s on board. And I really didn’t realized that until I went to New York and saw all these people who felt the same and then came back to school and people just rolled their eyes and asked ‘what are you even doing, what difference does marching make?’” Accompanied by her mother and sister, senior Christin Cohee, Maddie Cohee arrived in the city around 10 a.m. and joined the throng of people gathered along 86th Street and Central Park West, all waiting for the march to begin. “The march was so clogged on the streets that by the time the people in the back started walking those who were in the front were already done at the after party,” Maddie Cohee said. Marchers wore costumes and held posters that reflected particular issues within climate change

they felt most strongly about. The issues ranged from the meat industry’s harmful effect on the environment to fracking, a process in which oil or gasoline is extracted from rock using a hy-

Above: Junior Maddie Cohee joins thousands at the Sept. 21 People’s Climate March. Below: Marchers observe a moment of silence. photos from cohee

draulically pressurized liquid. For Maddie Cohee, the most memorable part of the march came at 12:58 p.m., when everyone observed a moment of silence to honor those who have been affected by the climate crisis. “I stood next to my friend, who lives in the Bronx, with our hands raised in the air and she whispered, ‘I’ve lived in the city my entire life, and it’s never been this silent,’” she said. When the silence ended at 1:00 p.m., the entire crowd erupted with shouts, whistles and music. “The marching band started, and everyone was screaming and jumping and you could just hear a grumbling starting from the front of the march and making its way back…it was incredible. Everyone was just cheering for all the hope for change,” Maddie Cohee said. Now that the march is over, Maddie Cohee plans to stay involved with issues like climate change by starting a Young Democrats club, which plans to have its first meeting by next week. “I want it to be fun and educational but also meaningful,” Maddie Cohee said.

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SHARPSCHOOL, launched along with BCPSOne this semester, serves as the school’s home page. The web address is https://dulaneyhs.bcps.org. photo from dulaneyhs.bcps.org

Website debuts, few see

ruthvik gali, technician junior hates it. A senior loves it. And 25 out of 27 people surveyed don’t even know about it. The “it” in question is SharpSchool, a website that serves as the school’s homepage. It’s much like the initial page students reached when they logged into Edline to look at their grades last year. An Oct. 16 check found a welcome blurb, side calendar and a link to BCPSOne. At the top were revolving photos that included December’s dance concert, the football team, new assistant principal Robert Murray and the cheerleaders promoting the Race for Our Kids in September. But unlike Edline, this page is separate from the site students, parents and teachers visit for grades. Some students, such as junior Yiyi Kuang, said they don’t have a reason to visit the website since grades are posted on BCPSOne. Junior Jonah Langlieb takes issue with the SharpSchool content itself. “For a school website, you’d think the people in the school could use it. The teachers and the students don’t have access to changing the information, which makes updating the information really hard, not to mention that a lot of the subsections are left blank,” Langlieb said. “The first step is that people should know about it but I don’t see how people don’t. The links are everywhere: Griffin, Sequel and even on the BCPSOne home page. Keeping the school website and grades is a good idea given that you can go to a website without having the other shoved down your throat,” senior Emma Bartels-Jones said regarding the website. Junior Arshad Fakhar cites the appearance of the SharpSchool site as a major drawback. “It looks really ugly. If you want someone to go on a website, you make it look good. It’s not a hard concept.”

the griffin

opinion

october 23, 2014

Testing won’t work I

andres arbelaez, associate editor n high school sports, there aren’t millions of dollars on the line. We worry about beating Towson, or winning a title, be it county, regional or state. The nature of sports is to compete. To compete fairly. Athletes should only be tested for performance enhancing drugs to maintain the spirit of competition. Using the example of the recent suspension of Orioles’ first baseman Chris Davis, PEDs like amphetamines should op-art: tori vandervest be tested and their use should be punished. Additionally, the suspension of Michael Phelps from competitive swimming following his Sept. 30 DUI shed light on the role model actions we have come to expect from professional athletes. But any type of drug use in the major leagues is different from recreational drug use in high school athletics. Other than the use of PEDs, there is no reason to test student athletes for drugs. Although a poor decision, it is the decision of the individual athlete to use the drug. Opponents of this leniency might say that I am advocating, or at least justifying, the use of recreational drugs. But that is far from true. The distinction between recreational and PEDs lies exclusively in the discussion of drug testing in order to maintain fairness in high school sports. It is the responsibility of the student athlete to decide if this type of drug use affects his or her athletic performance, and gauge whether they should use it. Because

drugs such as marijuana and alcohol have harmful effects to the body, student athletes who choose to do these drugs may see their performance affected. And the coaches will notice if that happens. Recreational drug use can harm performance, but that fact shouldn’t prompt drug tests for every athlete. And so what if student-athletes do drugs (other than PEDs)? I know many athletes who smoke weed and drink on the weekend, and when on the field, they’re as fit as Olympians. Drug tests should be implemented if and only if the drug use gives the student athlete an unfair advantage. A New York Times article reported that it cost the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association $100,000 to drug test 500 students in 2010. According to Athletic Director Richard Reed, there are a total of 1,400 players on sports teams throughout the year. Drug testing all of them would be costly and reap few benefits. Student athletes are put on a pedestal. But they’re still students. It’s never the responsibility of the administrative body to drug test students. If we start drug testing student athletes, we might as well start drug testing the whole student population. WR1, after all! of the administrative body to drug test students. If we start drug testing student- athletes, we might as well start drug testing the whole student population. WR1, after all!

EDITORIAL:

staff editorial: fixes required

hange is beyond our control. But adjustments are possible. We recommend several in hopes of improving the school’s climate and efficacy during this transitional year.

BCPS One Cards

They need to be either enforced or just eliminated completely. They are currently not serving any purpose to the school since there is no technology yet to scan them in.

Block Schedule

Students find it easy to fall behind with classes and harder to stay organized. Teachers still seem overwhelmed and not quite sure how to handle the schedule or the 90 minute classes so far. The inconsistency is confusing and disordered and

more accommodations need to be made to help students and teachers.

BCPSONE/EnGrade

It’s too disorganized and hard for students and teachers to navigate. There are a lot of technological issues and logging in is a constant problem for students and teachers. There should be a guide to how to navigate the website and there should be a file locker included for students to save work, not just final assignments. There also need to be options to directly email teachers instead of messaging them over BCPSONE since it never seems to work

Split Lunch

Lunches break up third period and

interrupt classes. There is too much congestion between the change of lunches and students should be let out earlier to allow more time to get to classes.

New Copy Machines

We are not a paperless school yet and can’t switch to paperless in one summer. There needs to be a gradual decrease in the use of paper and we need to continue to let teachers print paper until a better system to go paperless is formed. There are not enough laptops and network space to accommodate all students in every class having digital copies of handouts. If teachers are not given proper alternatives, then they can’t be expected to deal with the switch this suddenly.

Should we scrap royal tradition?

“A

eunbin choi, staff writer nd the freshman homecoming court title goes to Titan, Mrs. Roller’s Belgian Tervuren!” No, the booming voice at the pep rally didn’t announce such a ridiculous winner for homecoming king or queen. Titan’s a dog, so he doesn’t qualify. But what are the qualifications for homecoming court? Physical attractiveness? Exemplary benevolence? Popularity? I’ve watched the nominating and pageantry of two homecoming pep rallies, and now humbly suggest we scrap homecoming court. Beyond the lack of clarity, consider each class’s large population – 408 freshmen, 476 sophomores, 471 juniors and 454 seniors, according to figures from the guidance department. When your homeroom nominating occurred, did you flash through the hundreds of people in your class or just consider the attractive

the griffin Dulaney High School 255 E. Padonia Rd. Timonium, Maryland (410) 887-7633 managing editors alex goldberg, henry harsel, maya hoke, ben merenbloom, kalie paranzino deputy editors christine condon, sarah feustle, maya lapinksi, sumin woo adviser maria hiaasen

people you know? Junior Jiayang Shi puts it bluntly. “We’re not a hive mind, we’re colonies.” It would be simply impractical to say that any one student has a relationship with every person in their class. With the diversity here, selecting only two nominees per grade level doesn’t seem fair. Participation and fraud are also concerns. Only 916 out some 1,800 votes were cast for homecoming court, according to the Student Government Organization. And, this year’s computerized voting system didn’t prevent students from voting multiple times. Someone could have cast votes for themselves or their friend repeatedly, and we’d never know. Further, the school’s student government’s labors for homecoming court could most certainly be put forth elsewhere. Some will cite tradition to keep the court. May I remind you that patriarchy was also once a tradition?

associate editors andres arbelaez, audrey fanshaw, justin fitzgerald, liz gillum, olivia golden, sophie golden, finn hasson, adam hemmeter, kristin meek, chloe messier, erin miller, katie nanasi, sierra prior, kira stiers, andrew sugarman, danielle zarachowicz photography editors jood ali, lucia tarantino web editor harrison bartlett Visit us at http://dulaneygriffin.org.

Grades website needs tweaking justin fitzgerald, associate editor t wasn’t broken and didn’t need fixing. Edline, the online grading program used for five years, trounces the newly adopted BCPSOne. During homecoming weekend, I did a routine check of my grades on BCPSOne but could not log in after multiple tries. This situation continued for two days. We students aren’t alone in suffering with BCPSOne, which will cost the county $750,000 this year. An Oct. 20 email to staff from S.T.A.T. teacher Kim Culbertson tried to fix a disturbing problem—sudden vanishing of recorded grades. Spotty Wi-Fi is the apparent culprit, and teachers should combat it with Ethernet cables, the BCPSOne Project Team said. This is no small problem.

At the end of this quarter, for the first time, teachers will not manually enter quarter grades into the STARS program. Instead, STARS will pull quarter grades from BCPSOne. This seems risky. The Project Team should have worked out BCPSOne’s problems before launching it. Also worth noting, BCPSOne lacks a basic component, a place like Edline’s file lockers, where students may park work online. I miss that convenience. I also miss Edline’s subscription service, which emailed automatic grade updates, eliminating the need for tedious website visits every day. Only 39 percent of students have used BCPSOne, the school system reports. With shortfalls like these, it’s no wonder.

Rethink agendas

chloe messier, associate editor roblems for math, a graphic organizer, an essay for English and notes for economics. The typical homework load for upperclassmen includes all this, and maybe more. But how in the world is a student whose mind is cluttered with worries about college applications and varsity sports games supposed to remember it all? This year, the school has withheld agendas from upperclassmen due to a survey conducted last year that found only 57 percent of upperclassmen used their agendas. Instead they gave students hallway passes and allowed them to trade in their pass for an agenda. Spares had to be ordered and distribution continues. Right now, there isn’t much that can be done besides speeding delivery. That would be a great idea, but just a little too late. For next year, the school should buy agendas for everyone. It’s not a huge expense and the students who do use them rely on their compact efficiency.

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The Griffin welcomes story ideas, commentaries and letters to the editor. These may be brought to room 115, placed in Maria Hiaasen’s mailbox in the office or emailed to dulaneygriffin@ bcps.org. All submissions are subject to editing and must be signed. The Griffin Editorial Board makes all final decisions regarding content. Interested in advertising in The Griffin or purchasing any photos seen in this issue? Use the same contact information.

the griffin

opinion

october 23, 2014

Athletes deserve facts F

bill houghton, staff writer ootball is not healthy. Out of context it could be defined as strong guys with helmets running into other strong guys and hoping not to get concussions. Doesn’t seem like a safe idea by any sense of the word, does it? In football, one team tries to score while maneuvering around another team of human-sized hulks tries to stop them, regardless of the consequences. Hard hits are in no way discouraged. Tackles occur. Helmets hit helmets. Concussions result. The issue here isn’t whether football is dangerous, because it is. No matter what rules are changed, football will always be dangerous. For it not to be would mean eliminating the entire spirit of the game: reckless violence in a controlled environment. It’s a fact that football involves head trauma, and no safety precautions are going to completely fix it. These players are adults. Adults can make their own decisions. If they want to get rocked in their domes day in and day out for a paycheck ten times the size of my parents’, then that’s their prerogative. But adults employed in an organization like the NFL deserve the knowledge in order to make this decision.

A New York Times article reported that Alzheimer’s disease and dementia pose a risk to one third of players post-retirement. But according to an article in Forbes magazine, this information is only open to the public due to a concussion lawsuit presented to the NFL.

sible medical problems that can occur. Common sense might tell us that a sport primarily based on explosive physical contact makes it obvious to all players involved that head trauma is likely. But in many cases, athletes aren’t shown the big picture. According to an article by

op-art: yon su kim

Facts about concussioncaused illnesses and brain degeneration should be made completely transparent and the risks should be clearly explained to all players. Some may argue that playing this sport in itself is an acknowledgement of the pos-

Travis Waldron from thinkprogress.org, executives have avoided sharing safety information that could be key for NFL safety standards, but bad for business. The NFL is a business. Concentrating on a more humane game doesn’t do much for profits or popular-

ity, and although the health risks may seem obvious, the lack of available information until recently is appalling. Business should never come before safety. In high schools in Baltimore County, students of all sports are required to watch an informed consent video about the possibility of concussions and the protocol to be followed after an injury. Something like this should be instated in the NFL, but to a greater extent. The NFL needs to explain to players that injuries are a part of the game. If you like football, then support football. What shouldn’t be supported is the lack of information and lack of research that has gone into the specific risks of playing. There needs to be full disclosure instead of sugarcoating the information to keep everyone happy. Players’ lives are actually at stake. This isn’t something that should be swept under the rug for the profits’ sake. Capitalizing on ignorance that could lead to death is not acceptable. Admit it; everyone who supports football cares more about the entertainment than the players. If they cared for the players’ well-being, there would be no sport at all.

Accepting ID cards for safety

olivia golden, associate editor n the past four years, there have been 68 school shootings in the United States. As the nation works to create a sense of security in educational facilities, our county’s schools are forced to deal with the consequences. As you have probably experienced, BCPSOne Cards are officially required to be visible on every student and teacher at all times. I have no problem with the implementation of having a card. I will gladly scan myself into the building daily to prove myself as a valid student of this school. What I don’t support are the hallway interrogations and the evil eyes I saw teachers giving students when they didn’t immediately see a nametag visible. At least in September. Despite the fact that enforcement is now spotty at best, I fear what could

happen once the scanners are connected and enforcement amps up. Only time will tell if these cards become forgotten bits of plastic or valuable essentials for school attendance.

photo by hannah milan

I still don’t like being forced to wear something. Not all outfits match with light blue. And I don’t like the itchy texture of the lanyard. And I, like many others, have a hard time remembering

to wear my badge every time I step into the hall. According to administration, monetary fines will be issued to anyone who forgets to wear or loses a nametag. Although I haven’t seen this happen yet, I don’t doubt that it will. Which leads me to wonder: can we really be forced to pay as a consequence of forgetfulness? It’s been fun to laugh at photos of the school superintendent in the back of the ID card case. But the reason for these cards is serious. Their goal is to ensure safety amidst the violent tragedies that have occurred nationwide. If this system is able to save a single life, there’s no doubt that its presence is worthwhile. Overall, BCPSOne Cards are fine with me if the enforcement of them is not such an intimidating and irritating ordeal.

op art: hanna bewley

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TRUTHS

stephanie rountree, columnist i. I’m Steph, and I’m a recovering addict. What I craved couldn’t be bought in a shady alley. It wasn’t mistaken for powdered sugar, unruly vegetation or communion wafers. I was hooked on technology. When I came to CITYterm, I was introduced to 29 kids from across the nation who, as I was, were suffering from technology dependency. Rather than getting to know our roommates for the next four months, we scoured Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook for their information and maintain contact with our fellow addicts back home. Such behavior didn’t faze faculty members, as they knew what was in our future—Tech Pause. A more recent CITYterm tradition, Tech Pause unites students with their fellow classmates through collective withdrawal. For the first full week of class, we were forced to hand over all paraphernalia that would inhibit bonding. Smartphones, laptops, tablets and cameras were begrudgingly handed over to the authorities in shifts. “Say goodbye to your electronics,” our program coordinator Lisa Doi said. “You won’t see them until Monday.” I’m not going to lie—it was difficult in the beginning. How could I express my delight with dinner in the city without Instagramming my meal? Would I ever know the time? Could I live with myself after visiting the top of the Empire State Building, and NOT taking a selfie?

“Could I live with myself after visiting the top of the Empire State Building, and NOT taking a selfie?” Withdrawal was rough. We wandered aimlessly for a while but soon were able to bond over our mutual tech loss. Though we were making connections with each other, some were concerned about maintaining communication with people back home. After a few days, the lack of technology was freeing. I realized it was better to focus on ‘the now’ in my life—what was right in front of me—than addictive technology. This was something I had discussed with CITYterm’s founder David Dunbar one day during a Citytrip to Queens. As we walked where Gatsby’s car hit Myrtle in 1922 and where the U.S. Open was taking place, we discussed the benefits of being free from technology. “Being away from such a distraction forces you to search for what is out there, for what you truly desire from the world rather than for what can be feasibly found online,“ he said. I discovered there was so much more to my human experience than what could be Googled, tweeted or even photographed. CITYterm F’14 united with each other and created a tight community as well as memories with more meaning because they weren’t captured by technology. We didn’t have to care about looking cool or what hashtag to use—we just lived in the moment. It started as an average Saturday night in Washington Square Park. With New York University as a backdrop, thirty high school students started a flash mob to the beat of African drums as they were instructed on West African dance. Slowly, as the teenagers attracted more attention, onlookers began to join in, uniting complete strangers in a celebration of life under the stars. In the age of selfies and social media addiction, it seems hard to believe that this mystical moment wouldn’t have been possible with enslaving substances like smartphones and cameras. Stephanie Rountree returns to Maryland in December.

the griffin

6 sports

athletes

Lions battle their way

month

Varsity golf

Work ethic propels andrew sugarman, associate editor and jordan nicolette, staff writer t’s the life.” That’s how senior James Bonner describes golf. Last season he carried the varsity boy’s golf team to the Baltimore County championships and this year he holds the fourth spot in the james Bonner photo by lucia tarantino team’s Padonia Cup standings. Winning has become more than a goal for Bonner; it’s a habit. “Bonner has been a solid low scorer for our team,” teammate and junior Chase Wassel said. But it hasn’t always been this easy. “When I first started playing I could barely hit the ball. It proves you just have to stay with it,” Bonner said. He didn’t play competitively until high school, and has never taken a lesson. Competitive golfers often take years of lessons only to make minor improvements, but Bonner attributes his success to his grandfather, who taught him to be a hard worker. “He wants to help out guys and get them organized, and help them out when we don’t have practice,” varsity golf head coach Ryan Wolfsheimer said. Bonner has also thrived in the new system for rankings, which was implemented this year to foster competition among the team. Players accrue points in practice, practice rounds and matches; these point scores later determine their rankings within the team and their playing time. “I like the point system. It brings a competitive nature to practice, and makes you want to beat the next guy,” Bonner said. “You can look at who’s in front of you and use them as a goal to beat.” And this system has clearly worked - the team won the Baltimore County championship on Oct 16.

Juniors lead teams to county sweep

“I

junior Varsity football

Tight end impresses bennett heitt, staff writer ardworking. Dedicated. Skilled. These are the words former teammates and juniors Alex Wood and Patrick Driscoll use to describe sophomore Casey Drechsler. Drechsler, who plays wide receiver, tight end and linebacker—all crucial positions—has become casey drechsler photo by lucia tarantino an instrumental member of the junior varsity football team. “The improvements he has made have been astounding,” Wood said. Drechsler agrees, and said that he is more confident and less timid than he has been in previous seasons of playing football. A leader on the team, Drechsler said his proudest moment was being nominated captain. “I have to step up and show them what to do,” Drechsler said. He added he enjoys helping teammates who are new to football. However, he attributes much of his success to his teammates and his uncanny ability to catch almost any pass thrown his way. His main weakness, he said, is his speed. To improve upon this, Drechsler plans to run indoor track this winter. He began playing football in the fifth grade, and credits a coach from Cockeysville Recreation Council with teaching him about playing tight end. “One of the things he said was that at tight end, your job isn’t really to catch the ball and run for a touchdown. It’s to catch the ball and hold on to it, even if you get hit afterward.” On the junior varsity team, a tight end must essentially combine this skill with those of a wide receiver. “You’ve got to be able to block and be strong enough to be able to block the lineman, and still be able to go out and catch passes,” Drechsler said, adding that speed and agility are crucial. Along with the athleticism of the game, Drechsler said he enjoys the brotherhood. “There’s just something about putting on the pads and going out to play with your teammates.”

october 23, 2014

Left: Junior Eric Walz wins the Varsity Boys Baltimore County Cross Country Championship in a home meet Oct. 18. Right: Junior Kristin Meek wins the Varsity Girls Baltimore County Cross Country Championship at the same meet. The schools JV runners sophomore Drew Persinger and freshman Dorrie Gaeng also won their county titles. photos by debbi persinger

christine condon, deputy editor and henry harsel, managing editor n unprecedented team and individual sweep by the boys and girls varsity and junior varsity cross country teams in the Baltimore County Cross Country Championship were led by first place finishes by juniors Eric Walz with a time of 15:49 and Kristin Meek with a time of 19:08 Oct. 18. Ranked third in the southeast region of the entire country, the boy’s varsity team expected to win and win big, he said. “We had lots of confidence going into the race and we ran

like it,” Walz said regarding the boy’s victory of 50 points. For the girl’s team, the road was not quite as easy. Meek and cross country head coach Chad Boyle had a plan in place to defeat her two most formidable opponents. “No matter how much prep you do, crazy things can happen in races,” Meek said. Having to rely on a tie breaker, the girls ended up defeating Towson High School by only one runner’s time. After years of near misses, Meek was overjoyed for her team to win the county title. “We aren’t stopping here. My eyes are already set on a Dulaney sweep at regionals,” Meek said.

Overtime goal pushes Lions past rival

henry harsel, managing editor field,” Carter said. For the last four seasons, the Gaespite relinquishing a 1-0 A goal from junior Alberto Alas astors have defeated the Lions in both lead early in the second half, sisted by junior Jack Franz opened the regular season and postseason play, the boys’ varsity soccer team scoring for the team, allowing them to causing some unpleasant memories stormed back with goals from senior take the lead heading into halftime. for the team. captains Andres Arbelaez “When they scored those and Cameron Carter to two goals in a row to take defeat the Perry Hall Gators the lead in the second half, I 3-2 in overtime Oct. 10. saw a lot of our heads start After being fouled just to drop. We had seen this outside the box five minutes story before,” senior captain into overtime, Carter shot a Jake Carder said. free kick that deflected off Fortunately for the Lions, of the bottom left post into history did not repeat itself. the goal, giving the Lions “All year we had this date the win and improving their marked on our calendars record to 10-1 overall and and for us to come through 9-0 in the county. the way we did was some“My initial reaction was thing I will never forget,” a mix of relief and excitesenior Tommy Keaveny ment,” Carter said. “Finally said. beating Perry Hall after all The Lions look to carry these years was just a githeir momentum all the way ant weight off of all of our to the county championship, shoulders.” a feat unaccomplished by SENIOR MIDFIELDER BRIAN KOCHESFAHANI rushes to take a throw-in during Carter attributes the win boys’ soccer since 2001. the first half of the Oct. 10 Perry Hall game as Perry Hall junior to strong senior leadership “We aren’t just out here midfielder Kyle Gosnell regains his position. The Lions won 3-2 and experience that the team and marked their ninth consecutive victory. The boys were undehaving fun anymore. We lacked in years past. want to be remembered and feated as they headed into their last regular season game against “Our young guys were create our own legacy, and I Towson Oct. 21. able to see the example the think this team can do that,” seniors were setting and step photo by kalie paranzino senior Brian Kochesfahani up into bigger roles on the said.

Stadium revamp date difficult to pinpoint

kira stiers, sports liaison aising money for turf is taking a while. Parent organizers have raised 5 percent of the projected cost for phase one of the stadium revamp project, a co-chairman of the fundraising group involved said. Despite an early prediction that turf could be installed as early as the beginning of this school year, it’s impossible to know the exact date, James Pezzulla, co-chairman of the Dulaney High School Foundation, Inc. said. “It will all depend on the progress of our fundraising,” he said. “We cannot move forward with application to the school board or putting shovels in the ground and laying down turf until we have the money in hand.” The group still must obtain school board approval of the project, now estimated to cost $13 million, Pezzulla said. Last spring, athletic director Richard Reed said he hoped to Visit us at http://dulaneygriffin.org

obtain that approval by June. The three phases involved with the construction of the new athletic facility are still in place, but somewhat altered. Phase one now includes the installation of a new track along with turf. Phase two and three are still in place as well, the former including the construction of a stadium complex with game day locker rooms, weight rooms, press boxes and a college-like quad. The latter including the finishing touches, painting and moving equipment. Parent fundraisers continue to contact local businesses and alumni for donations. The Student Athlete Leadership Board helped compile the database for the effort. Despite the uncertainty, Pezzulla remains hopeful. “While we have a long way to go, we are still in the early stages of the process and there has been a tremendous amount of excitement about the foundation,” he said.

the griffin

sports

to post-season play

Forceful play propels volleyball Far left: Junior Olivia Finckel prepares to serve during the Lions’ Think Pink game against Chesapeake Oct. 14. The Lions won 3-0 to continue their undefeated season as of Oct. 21. Left: Junior Becca Rawlinson hits while senior Viktoriya Gostodinova and junior Olivia Finckel cover. Senior Briana Briggs, junior Mallory Svoboda and senior Sydney Cohee watch from the rear at the Oct. 14 Think Pink game. photos by kira stiers

christine condon, deputy editor ins keep coming for last years state champion varsity volleyball team. The team has relied on scrimmages against some tough opponents outside their division to prepare for tournament play, junior and hitter Olivia Finckel said. It appears to be working. The undefeated team had lost only one set all season as of press time. Wise use of practices is key heading into tournament season. “I think during practice we just have to really hit it hard at each other and play our hardest so when we get to games we have something that we are prepared for,” she said. Few would detect that the team has lost key seniors from last season.

“We’re a pretty put together team,” Finckel said. “We have a lot of depth. We have girls who know what they’re doing and have played a lot of years of volleyball.” In a game against Catonsville Sept. 30, when two of the team’s players were unable to play due to injury and illness, Finckel, 6 feet, 2 inches, stepped up and made game-saving hits, including one that struck an opponent in the face. “Everyone told me that I broke her nose. I don’t know, but it was a pretty hard, strong hit,” Finckel said. “That was how it was going the whole game,” she said. As for self-improvements, Finckel channels the words of her former coach when she fixates on a lousy play. “Flush that,” he said. “Flush the old play, and move on to the next one.”

Serving up wins

Varsity badminton captain and junior Will Paranzino prepares to return Towson senior Ben Miller’s serve in his singles match Oct. 16. Paranzino won his game with a score of 15-3, while the Lions defeated the Generals 7-4. The Lions’ were undefeated as of Oct. 21

Victories ignite team

See coverage of more fall sports in Lions Notebook on our website: https:// dulaneygriffin.org

Varsity kicker Alex Wood, a junior, kicks the ball off as junior Quentin Braswell runs to take down the opposing player returning the kick during their game against Loch Raven High School Oct. 11. The Lions won 48-0 behind six touchdowns from senior quarterback Gary Bernardez.

photo by kalie paranzino

NFL, players must clean up their act fielder’s choice

Surprised that your childhood idol was accused of domestic abuse? The sad fact is that athletes, people who are frequently idolized, have an unfortunately scandalous history of crimes involving violence. Too often deemed “untouchable” by the law, they get away with these crimes. But for certain members of the NFL, not all of these crimes are as easily overlooked. We’ve all seen the headlines. The Ravens’ Ray Rice and his wife fought in an elevator, leading to charges of domestic abuse for Rice. The Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson was con-

victed of negligent injury to his own child. Both Peterson and the Carolina Panthers’ Greg Hardy, who was charged with sexually assaulting a woman in July, were placed on an Exempt List by their respective teams but took voluntary leaves of absence. Neither of the teams had forced their players to

Too often deemed “untouchable”... make this decision, and neither Hardy nor Peterson was required to nullify their playing time. The number of domestic abuse cases recently, especially cases involving members of the NFL, is appalling. Even more appalling is the lack of suitable punishment for the players. Many blame the NFL for not cracking down on these types of cases. Rice originally only faced a two- game sus-

pension when the case first occurred, a mere slap on the wrist compared to the average punishment for any of us. But the revival of the Ray Rice case upon the release of the video caused such a massive uproar from the NFL’s audience that they couldn’t possibly ignore the issue. The NFL might not be able to control the lives of their players, but it also shouldn’t allow them to be above the law, no matter how many rushing yards they have this season. While it’s reassuring that the league has launched investigations and reforms that should heighten punishments for various crimes (namely those involving violence and substance abuse), it’s just a small step. People who get paid as much as they do should know the difference between the game and real life. While these sports organizations hold responsibility for these situations, the players hold the ultimate responsibility. No matter race or sport, they’re public figures. They have a duty to maintain their reputation.

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october 23, 2014

athletes

month

Varsity soccer

She sweeps and more chloe messier, associate editor daptability. This is what women’s varsity soccer coach Kristi Korrow cites as starting sophomore Morgan McCamie’s greatest attribute. McCamie’s passion for the sport has only increased since she started playing at age 5. “She can play any position Morgan McCamie on the field with success with photo by lucia tarantino the exception of goalie,” Korrow said. “If we need a forward, she’ll play that. If we need a sweeper, she’ll play that. She adjusts so quickly and that’s pretty rare.” In the team’s game against Hereford Sept. 17, McCamie played sweeper, outside midfield and striker. Standing just over 5 feet tall, McCamie is smaller than most of her teammates and opponents. But her speed, which improved during winter and spring track, and long throw-ins combine to enable her to create opportunities on all sides of the field. To call Morgan a helpful addition to the team would be an understatement. During the team’s Sept. 10 match against Kenwood, McCamie scored the first goal with a header off of a corner kick, leading the squad to a 9-1 victory. In addition to her powerhouse presence on the field, she brings unique personality to the team. “She’s a little bit goofy,” Korrow said. “She’s one of those players that does a good job of staying nice and loose without going too far.” “It’s awesome because she’s always joking,” senior and varsity captain Emma Patron said. “When I’m getting too frustrated in practice or in a game, she’s always there to relieve the tension.” McCamie plans to play soccer in college, and is aiming for a Division 1 school, but would be grateful to any school that wants her. No matter where she decides to play, McCamie will no doubt take the field with unstoppable hustle and a spunky attitude to match.

junior Varsity Cross Country

Novice makes mark

kristin meek, associate editor riven by her ceaseless motivation, freshman Dorrie Gaeng has proven to be an influential member of the women’s junior varsity cross country team. Gaeng decided to try out for cross country after encouragement from sister and alumna Michelle Gaeng. A dorrie gaeng photo by lucia tarantino summer of training plus her work at practice have turned her into a force to be reckoned with. Gaeng easily outran the women’s JV field at the 32nd annual Richard Barnhart Invitational, winning her first 5K by 37 seconds with a time of 21:27. At Hereford’s Bull Run Invitational, notorious for being one of the hardest cross country races in the country, Gaeng earned another victory in the women’s JV race despite a challenge from a Severna Park runner who illegally cut the last 200 meters. “I saw it happen and was shocked, but the only way to teach her a lesson was to beat her,” Gaeng said. “Dorrie’s greatest strength is her work ethic,” cross country coach Chad Boyle said. “She covets personal improvement and applies the success ingredient of purposeful practice to her running.” That inner drive has rubbed off on teammates. “It makes me want to do better when I see how hard she’s working,” freshman teammate Grace Grogan said. She added that Gaeng’s strengths are optimism and handling race day pressure. “She knows what she has to do and gets it done.” But Gaeng continues to push toward perfection. She’s challenged by capricious weather and aims to refine her running form and paces, which she said will improve with time and mileage. Gaeng may be new to the cross country team, but she is already attached to running for life. “Running is an indescribable experience. Pushing yourself every day and pushing your teammates, accomplishing goals, there’s nothing like it,” she said.

features

october 23, 2014

the griffin

Critic goes public

christine condon, deputy editor and alex tuerk, staff writer uiet in voice. Deafening in print. That’s how SAT haters describe junior Marin Langlieb. Inspired by her father, Langlieb turned her complaints about the college admissions test into a logical argument and sent it to the Baltimore Sun, which published it as a letter to the editor in August. “I couldn’t believe it,” she said, describing her emotion when she learned her letter would be published. “I didn’t tell anyone about it, That’s the weirdest thing. I just wrote it.” Her letter began with mild sarcasm. “To the people at the College Board: “Thank you for redesigning the SAT, effective spring 2016. No, seriously. Even though I will be the last class to take the regular SAT, I appreciate your kindness in not making future generations memorize words like ‘execrable’ and ‘lassitude.’

Left: A self-portrait made with acrylic on canvas Nam painted last year in Joanna Waring’s Fine Arts class. Center: Senior Angela Nam sketches a draft of her next project in her Digital Arts class Oct. 16. Right: The first item in Nam’s sketchbook entitled “Breath” is a mixed media piece that incorporates colored pencils and magazine clippings. photos by jackie andrews and chloe messier

among us:

Working emotions into her art

jackie andrews, staff writer t’s Joanna Waring’s Digital Arts class. Senior Angela Nam has an idea, and when pen meets paper her idea materializes—a fried egg machine, which later comes to life in Adobe Illustrator. Nam says that while art has always been her talent, it hasn’t always been her passion. “It was the only thing that people considered that I’m good at, so I used to just show them to get attention,” she said. “Now I want to express my own feelings, rather than pleasing the audience with my drawing.” Nam has previously worked with other mediums but favors painting. She began by imitating other artists’ work and eventually developed her

own style. Today, drip and splatter techniques are commonplace in her illustrations. Experimentation is part of what makes Nam’s work interesting, according to her former fine arts teacher Joanna Waring. “She uses a lot of mixed media techniques inside to make some really cool illustrations,” Waring said. Nam’s favorite piece, a collage depicting a girl with a flower coming out of her mouth, achieves an ethereal appearance that has become her signature. For Nam, inspiration is everywhere. She is fascinated with dreams; they inspire many of her surrealist works. Soundtracks and nature also routinely feed her imagination.

Art is not without challenges, Nam said, admitting that she has been stymied in the past. She’s asked herself questions like “Why can’t I draw better?” when she couldn’t convey what she wanted to. Despite such challenges, she cites her struggles as motivation for improvement. Nam currently works with a private art tutor to get suggestions and develop her college art portfolio. For now, Nam’s art serves as a repository for her emotions. Everyday experiences make their way into much of her work, she said. “It’s not literal, but it’s hidden; you have to figure it out to figure out what I’m trying to express.”

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“Taking an almost four-hour test is mentally exhausting”

Langlieb followed up by arguing that the SAT doesn’t really test students on content; it tests students on test-taking strategies like process of elimination or lucky guessing. “That’s problem No. 1,” Langlieb wrote, adding that problem number 2 is the SAT’s $52-price tag. She also cited the test’s physical toll. “Taking an almost four- hour test is mentally exhausting, and having only two five-minute breaks makes it even worse,” she wrote. On the eve of the PSAT Oct. 15, Langlieb identified her least favorite portion of the practice test and the full SAT. “The long passages in the critical reading section, especially those near the end of the test about scienc-y things,” she said. Among her favorite strategies? Previewing critical reading questions and predicting the right answers.

the griffin

features

october 23, 2014

REVIEWs:

New pizza joint disappoints

matilde cascella, staff writer his past Thursday, my friend and I ventured to a new restaurant, Squisito Pizza and Pasta. Upon our entrance, we were kindly greeted, told to pick up a menu and to sit where ever we pleased. The restaurant had the cliché checkered table cloths, with opera music playing in the background. Although the ambiance was stereotypical, it was clean and well put together. The menu had the usual “Italian” food selection, for fairly reasonable prices ranging from about $15 to $19 for a huge pizza, or about $9 to $12 dollars for an entrée. The selection was broad and overwhelming; we could choose from seafood, pizza, pasta, chicken, veal, soup and salads. After deep contemplation, we chose to go the classic route: calamari and a cheese pizza. Once we ordered, we were assigned a number and told that the food would be right out; to my surprise, it was. The calamari was tender, but unfortunately they were sprinkled with a spice that resembled Old Bay. This prompted the question: in what alternate universe is Old Bay an “Italian” seasoning? In addition, their “famous”

A classic flick still frightens

marinara sauce served with the fried squid was so spicy that it practically burnt my taste buds. Following the revival of my taste buds by drinking an abnormal amount of soda, the pizza arrived. It was so large that it cast a shadow over our plates and seemed impossible to finish. The crust was thin and crisp, which is a great attribute to any pie, but the cheese was unnaturally salty, and quickly hardened. The wait staff was extremely hospitable and kind even as we left. Overall the food wasn’t the best, and after having my taste buds burned with sauce, the overly salty pizza didn’t help. At the end of the day, I would have much preferred a delivery pizza from Pizza Hut. Although the service was lovely and the atmosphere was casual and comfortable, it most definitely didn’t make up for the fatal Left: The red-and-white-checkered table cloths are on display inside the recently opened pizza chain. flaws in the cuisine.

overall rating: Squisito Pizza & Pasta 10540 York Road, Cockeysville Hours of Operation Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-11 p.m. graphic by tori vandervest

sophie golden, associate editor ith Halloween creeping up on us again, fear and horror are the major themes of the season. What better way to partake in the festivities than watching a classic scary movie? Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” is a film adaptation of a novel written by the master of horror, Stephen King. Released in 1980, the movie tells the story of a writer named Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson) who agrees to take a job as an off-season caretaker for a hotel isolated high in the Rocky Mountains. Accompanied by his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd), themes of isolation and psychological illness emerge as the story unfolds. Cue dramatic music. I’m not big on scary movies. Today’s horror films cluster together in a dump of gruesome gore, flat characters and

overstimulation. They tend to focus on a collage of disturbing scenarios aimed to shock. Good scary movies contain a carefully constructed plot involving universal themes, ar-

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Top, right: A cheese pizza with New York crust costs $12.99. Pizzas with a variety of toppings range from $13.99 to $17.99. Bottom, right: The crispy calamari is one of nine appetizers available. They range in price from $2.99 to $8.99. photos from cascella

tistic cinematography and a sense of reality, creating a film that is intriguing. “The Shining” is such a film. In the movie’s most famous (and terrifying) scene, Jack Torrance rampages through the hotel in pursuit of his wife. In a maniacal craze, Torrance chops a hole in the bathroom door, yelling, “Here’s Johnny!” The combination of eerie music and more-than-convincing acting by Jack Nicholson provides for a truly scary production. The setting and cinematography of the film complement the story. Panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains, upclose views of Jack’s demonic grins and shots that trail characters down the hotel’s corridors enhance the eeriness of the movie. Also, contrary to today’s horror films, “The Shining” doesn’t frighten viewers with the usual pop-out ghosts and startling noises. Instead, Kubrick unsettles the audience with bizarre images such as a creepy set of twins and an elevator filled with blood. “The Shining” is not completely out-of-this-world impossible, and you can’t always be sure where insanity ends and the supernatural takes over. This blurring of the lines is key to the fear the movie provokes.

overall rating:

the griffin

10 features

post

DAWN MITCHELL is a Latin teacher of 30 years. Mitchell is the sponsor of

Junior Classical League and the Certamen team. She recently sat down with staff writer Hannah Bauer and answered a few questions.

Reading? I always read the New York Times, particularly— believe it or not—the science section, the food section and the art section. [I] Love to read the New York Times. I just finished reading “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tart. I really enjoyed it. It was really hard to put down, which is sort of unfortunate for a 700-page book. Watching? My kids and my husband and I watch “Bones” now. We sort of binge watch all of these different series and we are almost finished with “Parks and Rec.” We’re really early on in the series in “Bones,” so don’t tell me anything, but it’s awesome. It’s got all these different Latin derivatives with the parts of the body because it’s a crime detective show so all of the bones and stuff are in Latin so that’s really neat. And we watch “Dr. Who.” We watch TV together. It’s how we bond. “Warehouse 13” is pretty good, too. Listening? I listen to hymns. I love old hymns. Old Baptist hymns, some classical, but I mostly listen to what my daughter tells me to listen to. I really like edgy lyrics which, if you really listen to old hymns, the lyrics are pretty edgy. Following? I don’t know how to do Twitter yet, and I probably shouldn’t learn, but I do Facebook too much, probably. I wish I didn’t do Facebook actually, but sometimes, especially for this generation, it’s the only way you can find things out. We found out that one of my friend’s dad died, and I wouldn’t have known if I didn’t get on Facebook. I also follow a

teaching blog about telling stories while teaching and I check it every day. It’s about teaching foreign language through storytelling.

october 23, 2014

Juxtaposition,

a conversation between differing individuals

Eating? For lunch I had a tomato tart, which I made with tomatoes from my garden. One of my hobbies is growing tomatoes, which is kind of a cosmic curse that I have because they ripen when school starts, so I have tons of tomatoes to sauce, and I have tons of things to do for school all of a sudden. It’s not fair at all but I adore tomatoes, and I will not stop growing them even though I have to throw away about half of them. It’s awful, and I hate throwing them away. I usually make my husband throw them away for me because it hurts my heart to throw my sweet tomatoes away. I also always have various forms of coffee. Chocolate covered coffee beans, coffee candy from Italy, coffee in general. I have a friend who makes frappuccinos for me. Lots and lots and lots and lots of coffee. I try to balance it out with water. Changing? Right now I’m having my first go-around with a child going to college. My daughter is applying to colleges this year, she’s a senior, so that’s been interesting and I’ve really enjoyed going to visit colleges with her. I’m threatening to let her father finish raising our son and get an apartment nearby so that I can just hang out with her. So that’s what’s new at home. Nothing else, really. All the changes at school are OK. It’s slow and everyone seems to be understanding. photo by lucia tarantino

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What happened when senior Mark Benzinger and freshman George Durmowicz met and were asked to discuss the new block schedule? Benzinger noted problems with teachers who don’t plan enough to fill a class period (“When they say, ‘You can start your homework,’ I’m like, ‘No,’ and I pull out a book.”) Then the chat shifted to new ID cards (“pointless,” according to Durmowicz, because they’re not used). For more photos and highlights, including talk of Ray Rice, mandatory test reviews and Netflix, see our website: http://dulaneygriffin.org photo by jood ali

11 features

the griffin

october 23, 2014

Black belt, priest and more join staff 5

6 4 2

11 15

photos by jood ali, chloe messier, kalie paranzino and lucia tarantino

Quirky Facts

1. Thea Thomas 2. Elyse Fiorito 3. Daron Reid 4. Kaysi Ward 5. Tom Maranville 6. Richard Patchak 7. Rachel Goisovich 8. Eric Benjamin

9. Robert Murray 10. Yu Lee 11. Rob Bushman 12. Britta Schaffmeyer 13. Angela Sofinowski 14. Christina Senita 15. George Mathew 16. Sasha Guevara

Answers below staff names

a. Broke his left femur while running. b. Has a black belt in three types of karate. c. Used to make videogames. d. Is an official for the Democratic Party. e. Has run four marathons. f. Can Irish step dance. g. Ordained Orthodox priest. h. Attended Super Bowl XLIII.

Answer Key: 1. i 2. o 3. p 4. f 5. h 6. c 7. n 8. a 9. d 10. k 11. b 12. m 13. j 14. l 15. g 16. e

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i. Taught herself how to cook. j. Played the mellophone. k. Trained as an art and statistics teacher. l. Is originally from San Francisco. m. Plays on an ultimate frisbee team. n. Can recite the presidents in order on command. o. Is a boxer. p. Played football at Western Connecticut University.

Pep Rally the griffin

12 features

october 23, 2014

ignites spirit

spirit gallery: top left: Varsity cheerleaders perform their spirit cheer during the first half of the Oct. 11 homecoming game. The varsity football team earned their fourth consecutive win, defeating Loch Raven 48-0.

and the selfie winner is...

top right: Senior Steven Zhang carries junior Yiyi Kuang as the badminton team runs out to “Twilight Zone” by the band 2 Unlimited at the Oct. 10 pep rally. bottom left: Senior dance team captain and staff writer Taylor Wenzl dances to “Flawless” by Beyonce, the opening song of the dance team’s half time show. “Preparing was more of a challenge this year because we only had five rehersals,” Wenzl said, adding that with 16 members the team is the biggest in years. bottom right: Junior Rachel Clark takes a selfie with sophomore Sami Sunday, junior Edwina Agandi and sophomores Julia Clark and Jessica Meek before the Oct. 10 pep rally. The girls won October’s Griffin Spirit Selfie Week Contest. The next selfie week, Nov. 10-14, will be food themed. Instagram, tweet and facebook your best “foodfies” (food selfies) with #grifself. For more spirit selfies including those from marching band, boy’s junior varsity soccer and senior Laura Hillard and principal Lyn Whitlock check out http://dulaneygriffin.org. photos by jood ali, rachel clark and kalie paranzino

scene

dulaney

Left to right: freshman Carl Bauer, sophomore Brett Sproul and senior co-head section leader Harrison Bartlett perform the finale of their half-time show medley “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light ‘em Up)” by Fall Out Boy. photo by kalie paranzino

Alternative hits debut, wow

hannah bauer, staff writer and sumin woo, deputy editor ot quite a trip to Merriweather Post Pavilion, “Rock Art,” the Lion’s Roar Marching Band homecoming field show, featured alternative hits to pump the crowd. The popular music made sense this year, band director Barry Chesky said. “We wanted to get more excitement. We wanted to contribute to the increasing excitement at football games.” As is tradition, the band filed onto the field from the side opposite the stands, assembling into traditional grid formation. But upon the commands and whistle from the drum majors, the troupe launched an innovative performance. It began with a medley of tunes from Daft Punk, famous for “Get Lucky” in the summer of 2013 and continued with Bastille’s “Pom-

peii.” Trombones blared that song’s rhythmic refrain as woodwinds carried the melody. Fall Out Boy’s 2013 release “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light ‘em Up)” ended the show, which observers called much different than the generic contemporary music the band usually plays. The energy of the tunes infected band members, color guard section leader and junior Meredith Riley said. She called this year’s tunes awesome and an improvement over nondescript music from years past. “No one has fun with it if you don’t know what it is that you’re playing,” Riley said. Assistant drum major and junior Lisa McCullough agreed. “I think conducting to pop music adds a new element of connection to the music,” she said. The feedback from crowds has been very positive, Chesky said.

Senior Emma Bartels-Jones is among the show’s fans. She recalled actually dancing to the half-time show. “Daft Punk was the beginning of it,” she said. “ I just remember completely jamming out to that.” For this chorus member and music fan, the whole idea for the half-time show was genius. “Daft Punk is really cool. Band music is really cool. Putting them together was super awesome to me.”

view the Field show

HISTORY TEACHER John Wagner jams out at Senior Breakfast Oct. 15 in the classic cafeteria. Among the songs played were The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout,” Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall.” Wagner, who has played at the breakfast for 13 years, said that this year was his favorite. As seniors danced and dined, underclassmen took the PSAT. For a gallery of photos from the senior breakfast, featuring principal Lyn Whitlock’s senior class selfie, see our website http://dulaneygriffin.org. photo by kalie paranzino

Visit us at http://dulaneygriffin.org.