The Scribe Issue 1 ('14/'15)

THE

Scribe

Evolution of College:

Changing Choices Vol. XVII, Issue 1 Francis Parker School October 2014

table of contents COVER BY GRACE SELLICK 4 EDITOR’S NOTE BY SOREN HANSEN 5 STAFF PAGE 6 THE BREAKDOWN COMPILED BY OLIVIA FIDLER

10 11 12 14 15

asterisk

41 11

INSERT TITLE HERE BY MORGAN SMITH PAVLOV’S PUGS BY SOREN HANSEN CREATURE FEATURE BY SOPHIA SWEDBACK GOSSIP GIRL BY GOSSIP GIRL QUADRANTS COMPILED BY JULIANNA D’AURIA AND MORGAN SMITH

AC a r t s & c u l t u r e 18 20 21 22

D.I.Y. COSTUMES BY SOPHIA SWEDBACK HOPE BY CHARLOTTE DICK-GODFREY HAUNTED SAN DIEGO BY EMMA MOORE 24 HOURS: NEWPORT AVE. BY MYLA ANDREWS

SP s p o r t s 26 28 29

ON THE HUNT BY GABRIEL GROSS-SABLE BEHIND THE NUMBERS BY JASH BABLA LEGION OF BOOM BY ELIJAH GROSS-SABLE

FE f e a t u r e s 32 34 35 36

WE ARE MICHAEL BROWN BY MORGAN SMITH SEEKING THE SEAT BY MADDIE OTTILIE 5-7-5 BY JULIANNA D’AURIA SUNDAY SERIES BY EMMA MOORE

CS c o v e r s e c t i o n 40 41 44 46

CHANGING CHOICES BY CAROLINE MERKIN OUT OF OUR LEAGUE BY CAROLINE WOHL FIND YOUR NICHE BY MYLA ANDREWS CROSSFIRE: GREEK LIFE BY CAROLINE MERKIN AND OLIVIA FIDLER BACK COVER BY SOREN HANSEN

26 29

EDITOR’S NOTE

here comes a time in every senior’s life when they must make a very important decision. We each must pick a yearbook quote. As a person who loves quotes, I would think it would be easy for me to pick a favorite. Yet it has actually been a struggle to find the perfect one. Across my search for that perfect line, I came across one from a favorite philosophers of mine, Aristotle. He said, “There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” Now, this is not my actual senior yearbook quote, but it caught my eye because I believe it applies to all of us here at Parker as we enter a new school year. Personally, I have a hard time taking criticism. I have high standards for myself and I would consider myself a perfectionist concerning most things. But this quote brings up an important issue with this philosophy. If one is scared of criticism and focuses on what others may say, one will never achieve anything. People have told me that I care too much, and that might be true when it comes to some things. I pour my heart and soul into every activity, friendship, or cause that comes my way. I take every piece of criticism I receive to heart. It may seem impossible for a person to work like that. Indeed, it is contradictory to fear criticism to the point of inaction, while attempting to put full effort into every action. I will admit that it often doesn’t work. Criticism is hard to deal with—those red marks all over your English paper, the dirty glances at your new haircut, saying the wrong answer in front of the whole class. Yet there comes a time when you can only do one thing: get over it. I don’t mean that in an accusatory way. Instead, I mean that you should not let criticism stand in your way of doing something important, saying something important, or being someone important. It took me a while to realize that when people said I “cared too much,” I was looking at it the wrong way— caring a lot should be taken as a positive thing. We each could afford to care a little more and listen to the criticism a little less. Caring could be something as simple as cheering for a good

cause (“Hope,” 20) or learning a little bit more about the teachers who help you every day (“Sunday Series,” 36). Get involved and do something for someone else. Care. On the other end, try to ignore the criticism you may receive for your jersey number (“Behind the Numbers,” 28) or where you are applying to college (“Out of Our League,” 41). I would also like to ask the high school a favor that would mean the world to me. When you see someone else putting in the hours and the effort, take what they are doing seriously. Part of that favor also extends to The Scribe We know we aren’t perfect, but we have grown leaps and bounds in the past couple of years. This year, we are proud to unveil to you a whole new design and significant changes in content. We brought back some of the old classics (“Gossip Girl,” 14) and tried out some new angles (“24 Hours: Newport Avenue,” 22). We are working to bring more satirical pieces to the magazine (“Pavlov’s Pugs,” 11) and editorials to all sections (“We Are Michael Brown,” 32). The cover section is new addition, and each issue we hope to explore a different topic that relates to life at Parker (“Changing Choices,” 40) by covering multiple facets of it in the section. You may have noticed that our paper type and dimensions have changed significantly this year. We have decided to switch printing companies this year and have chosen to print on matte paper with a taller, thinner, and sleeker size. We have made significant changes to our website, www.fpsthescribe.org, including weekly sports score updates and video supplements to print articles. We will be publishing articles online consistently to cover news events around campus. Go check it out! Though I am very proud of the work that we have done to improve the magazine for you, we are open to criticism. Our main focuses this year are making our articles more appealing to our readers and using photojournalism and design to make the magazine more readable. I hope you like the changes we have made. The 2014-2015 school year is sure to be filled with wonderful changes and achievements. As you flip through the pages ahead of you, I hope you find something that you like. In addition, I want each of you to put aside the criticism and have the courage to care—find the courage to do something, say something, and be something. Lots of love,

Soren Hansen Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO BY OLIVIA FIDLER

STAFF PAGE Editor-in-Chief SOREN HANSEN Managing Editor OLIVIA FIDLER Creative Director GRACE SELLICK Web Editor MADDIE OTTILIE

Cover Section Editor CAROLINE MERKIN Features Editor CAROLINE WOHL

Arts & Culture Editors MYLA ANDREWS EMMA MOORE Sports Editors JASH BABLA CHARLOTTE DICK-GODFREY Asterisk Editors JULIANNA Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;AURIA MORGAN SMITH Staff Writers ELIJAH GROSS-SABLE GABRIEL GROSS-SABLE LILY GLASSER SOPHIA SWEDBACK

EDITORIAL POLICY Serving as the official news magazine of the Francis Parker Upper School, The Scribe strives to report on the major news stories on campus while providing the student body with a cutting-edge take on campus life and culture. The editorial staff oversees the editing and production aspects of the magazine. Members of the staff also volunteer a great deal of their after-school time to work on the magazine. The editor-in-chief assumes all responsibility for the material published in The Scribe. For this reason, any errors or complaints should be reported to the editor-in-chief and not to the authors of particular articles. Join our Facebook fanpage at www.facebook.com/ fpsthescribe to stay updated on everything Scriberelated. Letters to the editor can be submitted on our website to be printed in the next issue. We would love to have your opinion! We will choose selections of these letters in the next print issue.

Adviser ANDREW HOLBROOK

THE SCRIBE

october 2014

THE BREAKDOWN

COMPILED BY OLIVIA FIDLER

“

I wish I had air conditioning...”

THE GOOD

READ MORE ABOUT OUR NEW ATHLETIC DIRECTOR ON PAGE 26

This seems pretty self-explanatory. Who doesn’t love an extra hour of sleep? Complain about the longer school days all you want, but 8:55 is a godsend.

AT NIGHT, THE CAMPUS IS USING ABOUT

late start wednesdays

THE BAD short lunch period

THE UGLY the librar y setup

I’m sorry, but how is one supposed to wait in the lunch line, eat, clean up, socialize, and head to class in under 30 minutes? Unless seniors have a free period before or after lunch, or flex isn’t chock-full with college counseling and assemblies, then there’s no way to go off campus. It’s just as hard for underclassmen to grab a bite.

Crazy concept: sound rises. Group work and chatter downstairs still disrupt the upstairs, even more so than last year’s setup. And if you’d like to find a peacful place to work elsewhere, you better have your own laptop; no check-outs outside of the library are allowed. Apparently there’s also something called a Design Lab?

DAYS ’TIL SUMMER:

258

353 : 6 october 2014

THE SCRIBE

- Mr. Phil Hunt

KILOWATTS OF ENERGY

11...

THE # OF YEARS PARKER HAS BEEN CONTRIBUTING TO THE AIDS WALK

45...

THE RECORD # OF PEOPLE WHO DONATED BLOOD AT PARKER THIS SEPTEMBER

THE # OF GREEN TO-GO BOXES LOST IN THE 1ST MONTH OF SCHOOL...

“

Not every student who attends an Ivy League school is a genius.” -

Alum Alie Jimenez, Columbia University READ MORE ABOUT THE IVY LEAGUE ON PAGE 41

350+ BOXES OF BOOKS THE PARKER LIBRARY DONATED TO DOWN SYNDROME ASSOCIATION OF SAN DIEGO

QUIRKIEST COLLEGE CLUBS 1) The Squirrel Club—University of Michigan 2) Clown Nose Club—North Carolina State University 3) Students Against Hippies in Trees—UC Berkeley 4) Happiness Club—Northwestern University SEE PAGE 44 FOR MORE CURIOUS COLLEGE FACTOIDS

STAFF PICKS NO DIGGITY BY CHET FAKER

This revamped version of Blackstreet’s 18 year-old classic was made for Chet Faker’s voice. Coupled with keyboard and echoey, rhytmic backtracks, it’s a whole new take on a universally-known track.

HOT CHUBBIES

East Coast boys know what’s up; chubbies are in. Guys can now sport their toned quads and not be socially ex-communicated. Plus, they come in great patterns, including the American flag. Stars and stripes forever.

NOT

ROCKSTAR

BY SMASHMOUTH

Yeah, this is real. The Shrek soundtrack is undoubtedly the anthem of our generation’s childhood, and this song holds a special place in The Scribe’s heart. Can you believe it’s from 1999?

OVER-THE-KNEE BOOTS We now agree with the Parker handbook on at least one thing. Over-the-knee boots are not cute, and far from classy.

TRENDY SHORT HAIR

Snip snip! No more long hair, because we do care. Girls on campus and across the globe have been sporting short do’s, mimicking the trend from supermodel Karlie Kloss, Alexa Chung and even our beloved T-Swift.

BY BEYONCÉ

Suprise! Beyoncé’s self-titled album released last December is a masterpiece, not only lyrically but also visually: Mrs. Carter paired it with avant garde, artistic music videos. “XO” is a raw power ballad about love, and there’s no sensationalism involved. SOURCES: MR. MIKE CAIN, MRS. CAROL BROWN, AWARENESS DIRECTOR ALISON CAREY, THE HUFFINGTON POST, ALBUMART.ORG THE SCRIBE

october 2014

* asterisk

As pumpkins and Halloween decorations begin to pop up around school, it is easy to spot the transition from summer to fall. Another noticeable change is the title and THE placement october 2014 SCRIBE of this section, previously known as Etcetera.

GOSSIP GIRL

CREATURE FEATURE

S V ’S PUG O L V A P

QUADRANTS

INSERT TITLE HERE

THE SCRIBE

october 2014

)

(

Insert Title Here

HOW TO BECOME TWITTER FAMOUS

WRITTEN BY MORGAN SMITH

Cat videos, song lyrics, irrelevant Vines; selfies, (supposedly) true facts, and photos of places you’d rather be. Is this a/an ____________ dream? Perhaps a/an ____________ nightmare? No—this is Twitter. What’s commonly deemed “just another

(adj.)

social media outlet” offers a plethora of ____________. “How may I partake?” you wonder. You become Twitter famous—that’s

(plural noun)

how. Here are three simple steps to becoming the next @LILBTHEBASEDGOD.

Step 1: Acquire a fanbase. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. ____________ yourself using ____________ strategies. Take a tip from

(verb)

(adj.)

@msmorganelease: quench your thirst for followers by promising to do something ____________ upon reaching a certain

(adj.)

number of retweets. Don’t actually follow through, though. Keep your supporters on their toes.

Step 2: Distinguish yourself from the pack. Twitter has over ____________ users, so you’ll need to be extraordinary! Find

(number)

your niche. Maybe you’ve got a great sense of __________. Perhaps you’re a/an ____________ protege. You may just be

(noun)

(activity/hobby)

____________. Find your talent and exploit it mercilessly. Everyone loves a sell-out!

(adj.)

Step 3: Show your followers some love. People appreciate being told how great they are. Favorite their tweets. Retweet their

selfies. Coin a hashtag! For example, # ____________ Loves ____________ Fans! Add a few to heighten your #StreetCred.

(your name)

(your sex)

#Squad and #3Hunna are both obnoxious and overused, but at least they’re annoying and lame. Wait... Where were we

N k v Q i B Z u g rT eaw A s JmpR x dO going with this?

THE SCRIBE

10 october 2014

PAVLOV’S PUGS *

satire

A BRAVE NEW WORLD OF BELLS ARTICLE AND ARTWORK BY SOREN HANSEN

Strategic Plan. Drawing on his extensive work with the training of creatures similar to Parker students–namely, pugs–a clause was added into the Strategic Plan to introduce Pavlovian tactics into our school days: bell conditioning. “The bells shall ring every hour of every day, sometimes more frequently, sometimes less,” the plan strategized. “The varied tones and complicated scheduling of the bells shall serve to allow students to become conditioned to decrease stress levels at the sound of the bells.” Student Warden Mr. Marc Thiebach lent his musical talents to this higher cause by personally composing and conducting each tone. “I wanted students to be taken to another, stressless place when the tones ring out,” Thiebach says. “It brings me daily pleasure to hear faculty members complaining about class time being cut short by this system. That’s how I know it is working. We are now at the point where we are really putting students’ well-being before their education. It is truly rewarding.” “I would say that the bells have begun to serve their purpose perfectly,” says our Fearless Leader Mr. Barsky. “Instead of being stressed out during passing periods, students are quickly becoming conditioned to the sound of the bells. As they pass my office, I am pleased to see their happy, smiling faces with glazed-over eyes that have replaced the tear-stained, worried faces of previous generations. It is a wonderful system.” Researchers have discussed the theory of applying Pavlov’s research into education for many years, and Parker is one of the first schools in the nation to implement a system like this one. Dr. Mustaf Monde of WASC has been working with both dogs and students for many years. “As many parents know, high

school students and canines share many traits, including the ability to be easily conditioned to sound,” he says. “It’s so great to have a leader like Mr. Barsky at this school who has such experience working with pugs really spearheading this effort. I can’t wait to see Parker’s cuttingedge techniques be applied to other schools in the future.” One of Dr. Monde’s colleagues, who shall remain anonymous due to personal security risks concerning the implications of her opinions, believes that bells will have a completely negative effect on the learning environment. “There is no evidence to support the idea that noises will help mindfulness,” she says. “The bells disrupt teachers mid-sentence and create a learning environment focused solely on how long students have to sit in a class instead of what they are learning during that time.” To arguments such as these Mr. Monde retorts that “those who do not conform to this system are too focused on academic achievement and clearly do not have the best interest of the students at heart. Again, this is all about conditioning minds for the greater good of the students’ wellness.” The conditioning principle now in place will eventually create a school environment without stress. Students will no longer have to shed tears over school work or worry about focusing in class. The bell sounds should snap you back out of the stress of the academic world into a conditioned state of mindfulness. So the next time you sit in the back Mr. Miller-Callihan’s English class discussing Brave New World and you begin to feel the twinges of stress building in your shoulders, just take a deep breath. You must be confident knowing mental release, and the blessed sound of mechanical tones, are minutes away. Ding. Ding. Ding.

–The Controller, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

wo years ago, a group of men and women were welcomed onto campus. They observed from the back of classrooms, walking behind students in the hallways, and studiously took notes on our behavior. They observed, watched, and analyzed. The school had been critiqued by this group of people in hopes that we might improve our performance and please the tuitionpayers. Their data was compiled and given to the Great Administration and our Fearless Leader Mr. Paul Barsky. After many secretive meetings and deliberations that lasted for weeks, we, the student body, were presented with their handiwork on two stone tablets, the Strategic Plan. On the stones, etched by Mr. Barsky himself, was a single word: mindfulness. The horns in the morning and the tones in afternoon, the bells that rule us during school hours are all part of the implementation of this Strategic Plan. A common observation of the Accrediting Commission for Schools, WASC (Wellness and Student Conditioning) concerned student stress levels. These people claimed that, despite efforts to curtail the heavy workload placed on the perfect students at Parker, something must be done to help the poor, struggling overachievers. So what was there to do? Our Fearless Leader Barsky stepped in to solve the problem. Dr. Ivan Pavlov, a Nobel Prizewinning Russian physiologist, developed the theory of conditioning while studying dogs. He found that dogs could be taught to associate food with the sounds of bells by simple repetition. Mr. Barsky has now employed this principle, with immediate success, to reduce stress and increase mindfulness around campus, achieving the ultimate goal of the

*This article is a satire intended for entertainment purposes only. All quotes and statistics are fictitious, and any resemblances to the truth are purely coincidental, except for references to real people, in which case they are still based almost entirely in fiction. THESCRIBE SCRIBE THE

october 2014 2014 october

11 11

CREATURE CATCH UP WITH THE COOLEST KIDS ON CAMPUS ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY SOPHIA SWEDBACK

Borna Nazari

Where does one even begin with freshman Borna Nazari? Nazari is well known for his snarky sense of humor and Persian ancestry. He has a soft-spot for romances; his favorite movies and T.V. shows include My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Bachelor in Paradise. Nazari claims that at one point in time, he had an extensive collection of Bath & Body Works hand sanitizers, though he is over this phase now. Unlike most people, Nazari loves artificial grape flavoring. He is an avid sports fan, and aspires to become a sports commentator when he grows up. If you could teach a class at Parker, which would you choose? Dance, because my leaps are on point. Do you have any lucky objects or traditions? In bowling, I only do well when I don’t put my fingers through the finger slots. What’s your favorite physical thing about yourself? My height. Being short means that I’m more agile than all you tall peeps. Is the grass greener on the other side? It depends on how good your gardeners are. Have you ever had a secret admirer? No, my lovers just tell me how they feel.

When Olia Javidi isn’t hitting the tennis courts or eating boba, you can find her in Poway watching Naked and Afraid. This sophomore describes her general persona as a “perfect balance between athleticism, nerdiness, and swag.” On campus, Javidi spends her free time participating in a cult known as the robotics team. Despite the fact that all her Snapchat best-friends are freshmen, Javidi aspires to be Snapchat famous one day. According to Javidi, the key to her heart is to have an undercut. Her life’s ambition is to reunite Destiny’s Child and join the group. Who’s your biggest inspiration? My 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th grade self. I look at pictures of me from that era of my life and I’m reassured there is nowhere to go but up. Also, Jaden Smith resonates with me. I perceive him as the modern day Confucius. What’s your patronus? A centaur. But the human half is junior Charlotte Thorson, and the horse part is actually a capybara. What’s your favorite thing about living in Poway? I have some distance between me and the ignorant people who think Poway is too far away from everything else. They’re just far from Poway. If you were head of the Upper School, what new rule would you make? Students who are late to class too often will have to participate in a public twerkathon. Whoever can twerk the longest is exempt from weekend detention. If you had to grab one thing from your burning house, what would you choose? My dollar sign necklace. #stayingclassy

12 october 2014

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Olia Javidi

FEATURE Junior Gina Barba is a star athlete, if you consider walking around Disneyland a sport. A well known fact is that her favorite things in life are burritos and Beyoncé. Barba takes pride in her ability to recite every lyric from the Frozen soundtrack, listing it as one of the best movies of all time. As a child, Barba was Nick Jonas’ secret admirer and sent him numerous love letters. The most traumatic event she has ever experienced was when she was stung by a bee and her belly-button swelled to twice its size. To this day, Barba’s tragic downfall is that she can’t wink.

Gina Barba

What’s your motto? “Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.” What’s the best thing about being a junior? I had four tests one morning and it was so much fun. What’s your least favorite phrase? I hate it when people say that they dabble in a certain subject. Have you ever milked a cow? No, but when I was little I tried to milk my dog. My male dog. How do you want people to remember you? I hope everyone remembers how strong my eyeliner game is. Also, my selfies.

Adam Wright

Senior Adam Wright is the perfect balance between class and sass. When he’s not playing soccer, you can find him sporting his favorite clothing line, Land’s End, and jamming out to his all-time favorite band, Nickelback. He claims that his favorite physical feature of himself are his toes. Wright is a lifer at Parker, but only recently became the esteemed president of the school’s Arts and Crafts Club. Other than his car, Wright’s prefered method of transportation are razor scooters. You can find Wright this Halloween dressed as senior Paulo Cruz, though it may be hard to spot who’s the real one. Which Kardashian do you best identify with? I have a body that resembles Kim, but I act more like Khloe. She don’t take nothin’ from nobody. Do you always wear identical socks? Yes, my mom makes sure of that. What’s some advice you have for underclassmen? Walk faster, or get pushed over. Everyone else’s patience is thinning. What has been your worst haircut/style? My seventh and eighth grade “don’t cut it ever or wash it” look. It got me my first girlfriend. What’s the biggest difference about being a senior? COLLEGE IS NOT A MYTH. IT’S VERY REAL.

THE SCRIBE

october 2014

gossip girl

welcome

to Gossip Girl! the source ABOUT Francis Parker, FOR Francis Parker and BY Francis Parker!

WHAT’S UP, LANCERS? I’M BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER. I HOPE YOU MISSED ME. IT’S GOSSIP GIRL HERE, YOUR ONE AND ONLY SOURCE INTO THE SCANDALOUS NEWS ON CAMPUS. SCHOOL MAY HAVE ONLY BEEN IN SESSION FOR BARELY TWO MONTHS, BUT DRAMA RESTS FOR NOTHING! AND WHO AM I? THAT’S ONE SECRET I’LL NEVER TELL.

gossip The latest “411” on campus.

SPOTTED Gaping neck lines and shoulder cut-outs galore! Just a quick glance at the “Homecoming Dress Shotgun” page and you’ll see what I mean. Next time, cover up, ladies. This was a school function. xo xoxo GOSSIP GIRLGIRL xo GOSSIP

SPOTTED

Have you heard? At the first town hall meeting of the year, students learned that one person can save the lives of three when donating blood. But did you know you can also drop one pound? That’s next on my list after the eight-day cleanse.

Football Managers, the articifical turf doesn’t use any of the bottles and bottles of water dumped on it after games. Have fun swimming with the polar bears in San Diego in the coming years, because this drought isn’t getting much better anytime soon. xo xo GOSSIP GIRL

xo xo GOSSIP GIRL

SPOTTED

The Yoga Club advertised their popsicles on posters by the Rose Art Gallery during the sale on October 6th as “Ebola-free.” Really? Namaste? xo xo GOSSIP GIRL

Big news for all those Social J. kids: Outdoor classroom coming fall of 2050. No rush, I’m sure there’ll be some sprouts in that charming little garden by then. xo xo GOSSIP GIRL

...you know you love me october 2014 THE SCRIBE october 2014 THE SCRIBE 1414

* QUADRANTS COMPILED BY JULIANNA D’AURIA AND MORGAN SMITH

WHO IS THE MOST APPEALING CEREAL MASCOT? WHY?

WHAT DO YOUR FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPINGS SAY ABOUT YOU?

WHAT DID YOU DREAM ABOUT LAST NIGHT?

The Lucky Charms leprechaun. Let’s be real... the marshmallows are the only reason people eat the cereal.

It involved Costco and Michael Cera. That’s all I remember.

Pepperoni. I may look spicy, but I’m just delicious.

The Honey Nut Cheerios Bee, because he is a total G with the hiphop outfit he wears on the commercials with Nelly.

I actually dreamt that I was still on summer vacation. I guess I’m having withdrawals.

I like plain pizza, so I guess that just means I’m, like, the chillest person you will ever meet.

The heart-shaped bowl of Cheerios. He doesn’t get any love, but he is great for your cholesterol.

Coach DJ was working at an ice cream parlor and he started yelling at me for not knowing what I wanted to order. He said I didn’t have “a plan.”

YOU’RE APPOINTED HEAD OF SCHOOL FOR A WEEK. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU DO?

Make school start at 8:55 every day, and require a puppy or kitty in every classroom.

WHY IS THE IPHONE 6+ SO BIG?

Because it’s full of secrets.

Jula Harrington

Alex Kenny

Drey Gerger

Froot Loops, because I like Froot Loops.

Cancel school for that week.

I don’t know. Ask Mr. Fickling. He loves any type of Apple product, so he’ll know.

All the better to call you with, my dear.

My jokes are cheesy.

Buy a pug.

Making that money.

I like any meat besides pork. Any meat.

Initiate a class prank war.

For business use.

I last dreamt Derek Jeter did not retire, and thus, my life could go on...

Jalapeños and goat cheese—I guess it means I am cheesy and spicy. Dang, I guess I need to add some new toppings to my pizza; mix it up a little.

Cry.

So selfies can be like real life. Lol.

Arman Sagart

Ms. Nancy Anderson

I love Tony the Tiger, because as a kid getting to have Frosted Flakes (pure sugar cereal) was a treat and it was grrrrrrreeeeaaat!

SEPARATED AT BIRTH ER

NUFF JAKE

JAKE

ALb NHtoA: IM D E L L GY Pho THE SCRIBE

october 2014

ar ts & culture

The tidepools, adjacent to the Ocean Beach Pier, are a popular tourist and family destination throughout the year. Spend lots of time and not much money alongTHE OBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Newport Avenue. See page 22. october 2014 SCRIBE

D.I.Y. C

OST

UME

HOPE

21ED SAN T

UN HA

G DIE

24 HOURS: NEWPORT AVE

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october 2014

D.I.Y. COSTUMES THIS YEAR YOU DON’T HAVE TO WEAR CAT EARS ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY SOPHIA SWEDBACK

ctober 31st is a time of year when people can step out of their element and express their creativity through costumes. However, with Halloween set in the midst of the school year, students often find it difficult to prepare for the holiday. This D.I.Y. photo series demonstrates how basic clothing items can be assembled to create bold but resourceful costumes. And let’s be real, homemade Halloween costumes far outweigh the classic pair of animal ears.

PUGSLEY AND WEDNESDAY ADDAMS These classic characters from The Addams Family work as a great costume for you and a friend. The clothing for this idea is primarily black and white, and many of these articles can be pulled from your favorite Land’s End uniform apparel. What you’ll need: Pugsley: black and white striped t-shirt, shorts, and dark shoes Wednesday: white collared shirt, black dress, white socks, black shoes, and braids

POP ART The concept of the pop art costume can include either a single person or a group. The use of polka dots and cut-out speech bubbles evokes a Roy Lichtenstein vibe. What you’ll need: Pop art girl: polka-dot shirt, primary colored skirt, primary colored shoes, and speech bubbles

18 october 2014

THE SCRIBE

The

The Athlete

The Basketcase

THE BREAKFAST CLUB

The Princess

The Criminal

The Brain

This group costume alludes to the iconic 80â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s film, The Breakfast Club. Thrifting these pieces is a great alternative due to their vintage styles, and all the items can be purchased at a low budget. What youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll need: The Athlete: blue lettermens jacket and shorts The Basketcase: black sweater, black and white skirt, dark parka, and black boots The Criminal: red flannel, denim jacket, and trenchcoat (optional) The Princess: pink blouse, brown skirt, and brown boots The Brain: green sweater, shorts, and sunglasses

THE SCRIBE

october 2014

AC editorial

PROMOTING BREAST CANCER AWARENESS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER ARTICLE BY CHARLOTTE DICK-GODFREY ARTWORK BY ISAAC GRAY

new school year has begun and that means flu season. Nobody likes getting stuck with a sore throat or a cough, but imagine if this sickness could be potentially fatal. Imagine some days feeling better and other days feeling incredibly lousy. People diagnosed with breast cancer are living this nightmare. Breast cancer has been around since ancient times, and a cure has yet to be found. For most, breast cancer is simply a disease labeled with pink ribbons. For others, breast cancer is life or death. Breast cancer awareness has gotten many criticisms for becoming too commercialized. These critics believe the famous pink ribbons now represent some kind of celebration rather than actualizing the fatality of the disease. Perhaps breast cancer awareness has lost its external meaning to some, but there are still many people involved in the disease’s internal and emotional affects. Breast cancer affects so many people in the world that it is important for everyone, whether they are directly affected or not, to take a stand against this disease. Although October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, fighting for a cure to breast cancer should happen every month of the year. Many people have heard about or witnessed the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk that has been taking place in San Diego for the past ten years, helping to raise money for breast cancer. We usually show our sup-

20 october 2014

THE SCRIBE

port by honking our car horns or a quick cheer of encouragement as the walkers trail through the city, but most of us don’t actually give thought to these people and the stories behind their 60 mile journey. Fortunately for the Parker community, there are some of these wonderful participants in our classrooms, each with their own unique stories and motives for taking part in the event. Senior Annika Meurer is one of these students, having participated in the 3-Day in 2013. Several members of Meurer’s family have struggled against breast cancer for as long as she can remember, which inspired her to register for her first 3-Day Walk last year. She says she still remembers the impact all of the different people she met had on her. “It’s crazy, but each and every person has been affected by breast cancer in some way,” Meurer says. “Whether it is a family member or a friend or even a friend of a friend, people are usually walking for someone. I walked for my great grandmother, my grandma, my aunt, and my mom.” Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for breast cancer to be passed down through generations of a family, such as in Meurer’s case. The statistics behind breast cancer are often astounding and terrifying. According to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk Association, more than 200,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women and nearly 2,000 cases are diagnosed in men, in the U.S. each year. Both men and women

all across the nation are impacted by this disease every day. Although many walkers are participating to support loved ones and feel they need to stay strong for them, there are moments of weakness in everyone. Walking 20 miles one day is challenging, but what about tripling that distance? The walk is a test of physical duration to be sure, but it is the idea of a possible cure to breast cancer that keeps the participants walking. “Parts of your body that you thought would never hurt from walking, are throbbing,” Meurer says. “But everyone is in an extraordinary amount of pain or discomfort, and we are walking for a bigger cause.” By experiencing so much physical pain and mental endurance collectively, the walk not only helps change the lives of those diagnosed, but the lives of walkers as well. Sharing a passion to help find a cure for those they love brings people together. “At the end of the walk, all of the people that didn’t actually have breast cancer took off their shoes and raised them up for the survivors,” Meurer says. “That was a moment that I will never forget.” Those who don’t think they are ready to join such a strenuous event but still want to help fight against breast cancer have many other options to benefit the cause. For example, there are several charity groups around San Diego, such as National Charity League and Mothers and Daughters Club Assisting Philanthropies (MADCAPS) that come together to cheer on the walkers.

Junior Nicole Keeney, a member of MADCAPS, has participated in cheering for many years. “MADCAPS supports the Breast Cancer walk for a lot of different reasons,” Keeney says. “One being because the girls see how much it means to the walkers to be cheered on and encouraged. Another reason is that all the volunteers realize how important it is to support the ‘Race for the Cure’. A lot of the MADCAPS girls know people who have suffered from breast cancer.” Keeney’s participation in fighting against breast cancer wasn’t limited to MADCAPS, however. She was also a part of the Youth Corps, an organization of teens helping women through the 3-Day Walk. The teens in this group do everything they can to make things comfortable during the 60-mile journey. Adding on to the teens help during the walk, each teen must raise at least $500. Although Keeney did a lot of physical help like keeping the campsites clean and serving food to the participants, she also witnessed emotional events while in Youth Corps. “I remember watching a lot of the participants crowd around these white tents, wondering what was going on,” Keeney says. “I realized they were writing notes to their loved ones that they had lost to breast cancer. It was very emotional.” Although Meurer’s and Keeney’s efforts against breast cancer are impressive, there are less physically demanding, yet still meaningful, ways to join the fight against breast cancer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is the perfect time to get informed and involved in fighting for a cure. However, it is important to avoid the aesthetic part of this cause. Wearing a pink ribbon may put the idea of breast cancer into people’s minds, but that is not enough. It is important to get informed and understand the effects that this disease has on people all over the world, including the people at your school.

HAUNTED SAN DIEGO

f you’re looking for an especially eerie way to spend this Halloween, leave behind “ScreamZone” and “Haunted Trails,” and grab some friends to visit some of San Diego’s own authentic haunted spots. San Diego boasts many renowned paranormal attractions, from infamous houses to popular tourists destinations. With ancient mysterious histories and haunting tales of resident ghosts, these local haunts are sure to leave you terrified.

EXPLORING THE CITY’S SUPERNATURAL SITES ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY EMMA MOORE

Although the Hotel Del doesn’t offer haunted tours, visitors can still explore this popular tourist destination.

THE HOTEL DEL CORONADO Kate Morgan is the Hotel Del’s resident ghost, haunting and scaring guests since 1892, according to historian Christine Donovan’s book The Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and the Hotel del Coronado. Depressed over a lover who never met her at the hotel, Morgan shot herself in grief and was found the following day on the exterior staircase, according to the hotel’s website. Morgan has been reportedly sighted in the Del’s historic gift shop, where it is said that she once trashed all of the Marilyn Monroe Some Like it Hot merchandise, in a fit of jealousy. The most daring of visitors must reserve Morgan’s supposedly haunted suite, Room 3327, months in advance, and those that have stayed in the room have reported cold spots and other mysterious happenings during their stay.

THE WILLIAM HEATH DAVIS HOUSE

The William Heath Davis House offers in-depth two-hour investigations six times a year, from 10pm to 12am, for daring visitors.

Built in Maine, disassembled, transported to San Diego, and then re-assembled again in the Gaslamp District, the William Heath Davis House has a long and eerie history. First inhabited by Davis, a merchant who helped establish downtown San Diego, this home was later converted into a hospital to treat tuberculosis patients, and according to the website San Diego Ghost Hunters, the ghosts of those who perished from the disease still haunt the property today. The other resident ghost of the Davis House is said to be Lily Anne Davis, William’s young daughter, who has allegedly been heard calling for her mother, Maria de Jesus.

THE WHALEY HOUSE

The Whaley House offers both self-guided and docent-lead tours of the property, and offers guests an inside look into the haunted past of the home.

Named “America’s Most Haunted House” in 2005 by LIFE magazine, and repeatedly appearing on other various top haunted house charts, the Whaley House is world renowned. Built on the site of an old hanging yard in Old Town, the Whaley House is reportedly haunted by many ghosts, but the most well known spirit is James “Yankee Jim” Robinson, according to San Diego Haunted. His footsteps have been heard throughout the home following his hanging on the gallows in 1853, and even the Whaleys complained of his presence. Many tourists and visitors of the Whaley property claim to have seen his apparition still roaming desolately through the property today. Others have supposedly sighted the ghost of Violet Whaley, who committed suicide after her messy divorce, as well as the spirit of her widowed mother, Anna Whaley. THE SCRIBE

october 2014

24 HOURS: NEWPORT AVE. ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY MYLA ANDREWS

f you ever find yourself with extra time on your hands, it won’t break the bank to invest in a miniature San Diego staycation. Newport Avenue, located in Ocean Beach, has long been considered one of the most eclectic parts of the city, filled to the brim with unique stores, local food joints, and a laid-back surfer vibe. Scribe took the challenge to plan a day jam-packed with activities in this iconic San Diego location—all for under $42, so your perfect, budget-friendly day remains well within your reach. A seagull prepares to take flight on the longest concrete pier on the west coast.

The porch of the OB International Youth Hostel is often filled with young backpackers relaxing, chatting, or even strumming on guitars.

7:45-9:00AM: FISHING ON THE PIER

TOTAL SPENT: $8

While at any time of day you’re likely to find people fishing off of the OB pier, all the locals know that the early morning high tide is ideal. The bait shop, about halfway down this San Diego landmark, offers hour-long pole rentals for only $8, with bait, tackle, a bucket, a knife, and a towel included. Whether you catch and release, or choose to keep your fish, an early morning cast of the rod is a relaxing and rewarding experience. Allow yourself 15 minutes beforehand to find parking and walk over, although arriving early in the morning will give you a shot at the best parking (the left side of Newport Avenue’s beach-end).

9 : 0 0 - 9 : 4 5 A M: A Ç A I B R E A K FA S T 5001 NEWPORT AVE HOURS: 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM

OB Smoothies makes amazing smoothies if you want something so large.

also açai don’t quite

Watch for crabs here, as they are expecially abundant in these tidepools

TOTAL SPENT: $15.50

After you finish up on the pier, make your way down the stairs, make a left onto Newport avenue, and walk up the right side of the street for about a block until you see OB Smoothie Bar & Subs. Despite it’s small size and hidden location, this little shop arguably makes the best acai bowl in San Diego. With an acai base made with your choice of either soy milk or apple juice, granola, and a heaping portion of fresh fruit drizzled with honey, sharing is practically a crime! It’s $7.50 for a bowl, but the portion size is enormous and will keep you full for hours. To fully embrace the Newport Avenue experience, take your acai and walk down to the boardwalk, where you can sit on the wall and watch the morning surfers skillfully catch the first sets of the day. If you’re lucky, you may even spot some dolphins.

9:45AM-12:15PM: MORNING AT THE BEACH Depending on which day of the week you’re visiting, the amount of people on the main beach can fluctuate drastically. But don’t let these crowds discourage you- if you walk towards the base of the pier, you’ll see a pathway that extends beyond the visible beach and onto the rocky cliffs. If you keep walking along these rocks for a few minutes, you’ll find a little sand cove that is much more secluded. From here, you have a peaceful and quiet area to lie out, along with access to a popular (though illegal) cliff jumping spot called the Punchbowl and excellent tide pools teeming with sea life. There are even small niches in some of the cliffs where you can set up a chair and read with the sea at your feet.

22 october 2014

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AC 1 2 : 1 5 - 1 : 1 5 P M : L U N C H A T P O M A’ S

All Poma’s sandwiches come with pepperoncini’s, so if you aren’t a fan be sure to specifiy.

1846 BACON ST 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM WEEKDAYS 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM WEEKENDS

TOTAL SPENT: $23.50

For lunch, return to the base of Newport Avenue and walk until you hit Bacon Street, where you can make a left and keep walking until you see Poma’s Italian deli. This humble, little-known sandwich deli has been a staple of Ocean Beach for almost 50 years. The decades of experience and the multitude of fresh ingredients are what makes Poma’s sandwiches so delicious, especially the hot roast beef sandwich. If you aren’t a roast beef person, they have several other main course (or sandwich) options for only $7. The portions are huge,, so there’s no need for chips or sides unless you have an enormous appetite, but a beverage from the fridge is only $1. Take your meal outside to the tiled picnic tables for a more scenic environment, or even walk to the beach if you haven’t already had enough sun.

1:15-2:15PM: BIKE RIDE To save $20 on rentals, bring your own bike from home! Start your route by making a right onto Bacon Street, continuing along until you hit the end of the street before following the bike routes all the way up coast. This path will lead you all the way to Sunset Cliffs. Feel free to turn back at any point, but this scenic route offers spectacular views and a wonderful workout. Newport Avenue hosts the Ocean Beach Farmer’s Market every Wednesday from 4-8pm as well.

2:15-3:30PM: SNACK AT AZUCAR 4820 NEWPORT AVE 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM MONDAY-SATURDAY 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM SUNDAY

TOTAL SPENT: $26.75

After your biking excursion, head up the left side of Newport beach about two blocks until you hit Azucar. This adorable local café is actually a Cuban patisserie, decorated with lime green and white accents. The numerous glass displays encase sinful fresh pastries and decadent desserts, and there is an extensive coffee menu boasting highquality local brews. Pick up a Café con Leche for $1.50, and a Pastel de Guayaba y Queso (a guava and cream cheese pastry) for $1.75. Find a spot towards the back on the barstools for a place out of the direct sunlight, which is also the perfect place read a book, or even to whip out some of that homework you’ve been procrastinating on all day. Exclusively on the weekends, Azucar offers a deacdent donut-muffin baked treat (pictured here).

3:30-5:30PM: WINDOW SHOPPING the Black Bead: 5003 NEWPORT AVE Cow Records: 5029 NEWPORT AVE

Vignettes: 4828 NEWPORT AVE Corner Shop: 4873 NEWPORT AVE

Vintage Revivals: 4847 NEWPORT AVE

Newport Avenue is a treasure trove full of eclectic stores, whether you’re searching for antiques, thrift shops, or the quintessential OB surf shop. The Black Bead: Even if you aren’t into jewelry, the vast collection of beads and other jewelry materials will amaze and tantalize even the most unstylish of patrons. Cow Records: An old-school record store tucked between two bars, the walls of this blast-from-the- past shop are lined with both resale and new vinyls, as well as CDs and cassette tapes. Even if just for a quick glimpse, it’s definitely worth a visit. Antiquing: Newport Avenue is well known for thousands of unique antique salvages. Hours could be spent perusing the several little stores, but a few honorable mentions include Vignettes, the Corner Shop, and Vintage Revivals where you’re sure to get your home and garden decor fix.

Despite being a record store, Cow also sells new and used DVDs.

5:30-7:00PM: DINNER AT NATI ’S 1852 BACON ST 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM SUNDAY-THURSDAY 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM FRIDAY + SATURDAY

Keep an eye on the time at Nati’s, as they close earlier than your average food joint.

7:00-7:30PM: AFTER-DINNER WALK ON THE PIER

Ob Pier attracts around 500,000 visitors yearly.

TOTAL SPENT: $38.10 Head back to Bacon Street for dinner at Nati’s Mexican Restaurant, right across the intersection from Poma’s. This authentic, family friendly restaurant has been in Ocean Beach for over 53 years, and offers large portions for a reasonable price. Since Nati’s is known for their ground beef tacos, opt for the #4 special plate, which comes with 2 beef tacos, a cheese enchilada, beans, and rice for only $11.45. (Don’t forget the free chips and salsa beforehand!)

As dusk starts to set in, direct yourself back to the pier where you started out and enjoy a casual stroll down the ⅓ mile stretch. There’s a café right next to the bait shop where you can purchase a hot chocolate for $3.25 (if you still have room) and sit down, while you watch the ever-present fishermen finish up their evening catches. The crisp evening air coupled with the sound of the waves splashing against the pier make for the perfect environment to reflect on and finish your ideal Ocean Beach adventure.

TOTAL SPENT: $41.35

the

+/- $10 Find more ways to go easy on the wallet at fpsthescribe.org.

THE SCRIBE

october 2014

spor ts

Varsity football makes a big tackle on the field at a friday night home game against Santana High School (Legion of Boom, pg 29).

24 october 2014

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THE

HUN

BEHIND THE NUMBERS

29 LEGION OF BOO M

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october 2014

SP SP

ON THE HUNT

THE STORY OF THE MAN RUNNING OUR ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT ARTICLE BY GABRIEL GROSS-SABLE PHOTOGRAPH BY GRACE SELLICK

october 2014 SCRIBE october 2014THETHE SCRIBE 26 26

t’s a scorching hot Wednesday afternoon, and the varisty girls’ volleyball team is preparing to make the long journey to Las Vegas for their annual Durango tournament. Before taking off for Sin City, the new athletic director, Mr. Phil Hunt, thinks they might need some words of inspiration. He heads up to Coach Glassey’s classroom to speak to the team. Hunt starts off his motivational speech by asking the players their opinions on the definition of success. Some players say happiness, some say pride, and some say money. “Draw what success looks like on the board,” he says. Smiley faces, dollar signs, and trophies appear on the board. After examining the drawings, Hunt shows the players his favorite acronym, “W.I.N.” The acronym stands for “What’s Important Now,” and it’s his guide for success. Communicating with students and imparting lessons is what makes Hunt’s job meaningful, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Growing up, Hunt says he was a quiet kid, but most certainly did not lack an ego. He first learned to trust his gut when he and some friends got lost on a hike in middle school. His friends kept insisting that they were going the right way, but Hunt knew something was wrong. “I said to them, ‘Ok. You guys can continue to follow him [the boy leading them the wrong way], or you can follow me,’” Hunt says. “I didn’t see who was following me, but I just started walking. People started to follow, and we made it back just in time to catch the bus.” From that point on, Hunt knew that following his instincts was key to being successful. After this event, he found himself in leadership roles for the rest of his high school career. As a freshman in college, he joined the football team. His mission was to start as a freshman, and he knew that being the hardest worker on the field was a big part of doing that.

“I came into camp prepared and in shape, and when we did the conditioning tests I made a lot of the older guys look bad,” he says. Some of the older players told him to slow down because he was making them look bad. When they told him this, he asked them, “What good does it do me or the future of the program if I slow down?” Hunt was the first player at the facility in the morning and the last guy out in the evening. There wasn’t a doubt in Hunt’s mind that he would eventually play in the National Football League. Despite a nagging knee injury, he was confident that he would play in the league one day. Hunt got himself an agent and began the preparation for draft day. He held some private workouts for a few teams and could not have been more excited to be drafted. But there was a little twist to the story. “Draft day came and went and no one wanted me,” Hunt says. His agent told him that there were a number of Canadian Football League teams reaching out to him, but Hunt wasn’t interested in playing in the CFL. Instead of attempting to continue with his football career, he decided to go back to school. Education is extremely important, Hunt says. His mother was the first member of his family to attend college, so declining the opportunity to get a good education was not an option for him. When it finally sank in that professional football was not practical, Hunt already knew what he was going to do next. He always wanted to become an athletic director someday, and when the job opened up at Parker it was a no-brainer for him to apply for the position. “I knew that Parker was nationally known, so it wasn’t really a tough decision,” he says. Now that he’s finally settled in at Parker he only has one request: “I wish I had an air conditioner.” Being the athletic director is a busy job, especially at a school like Parker. The staff is smaller than most schools, so Hunt does a

lot of the work himself. It doesn’t just include scheduling practices and games and making sure everyone has their physicals handed in. The athletic director oversees just about everything that is associated with sports at the school. “You have to hire and train coaches,” Hunt says. “You’ve got to make sure, from a risk management and liability standpoint, that everything is the way it’s supposed to be.” Hunt has a huge book in his office that contains every CIF rule. As the athletic director, he is obligated to know every single one of those rules. Hunt is also responsible for how the athletic facilities look and function. He compares it to running a business, except the ultimate goal is not revenue, it’s about the student athletes. “That’s the big difference between high school and college,” he says. “In college they say it’s about the student athletes, but it’s ultimately about generating money and winning championships.” But Hunt doesn’t want to be known as the athletic director no one really knows. His favorite part of the job, he says, is communicating with the students, so he’s trying to use any chance to get to know anyone at the school, athlete or not. It didn’t take long for him to gain respect from his co-workers on the athletic staff either. “He’s very impressive to me,” says football Coach John Morrison. “He’s well educated, he’s got a law degree.” Morrison likes that Hunt is taking it slow and observing before making too many changes. He’s also appreciative of Hunt’s outgoing and enthusiastic personality. Morrison knows that Hunt has made a very positive impression on the student athletes and that they respect him, especially given his background both educationally and athletically. “He’s extremely supportive,” says Morrison. “He’s consistently at practices to see if he can do anything to help the kids or the coaches.”

STUDENT VIEWS “He’s a good addition to the Parker community because he is very invested in what he does. He’s very supportive when it comes to sports, which is awesome, He’s also just a cool cat in general.” -Junior Nicole Mabanua, varsity volleyball “He is extremely personable and supportive. He’s at every game leading cheers and works for the success of all of the teams.” -Junior Emily Purdon, varsity volleyball “Mr. Hunt is an extraordinary man. Not only is he highly educated, nicely dressed, and well spoken, but he is relateable. He literally is one of us! He also gives really good advice for everything.” -Senior Daven Horne, varsityfootball “Mr. Hunt is a pretty cool dude. It’s cool seeing him always cheering and pumping the crowd up. He’s definitely a breath of fresh air to Parker Athletics.” -Senior Daniel Du, varsity football “I think he’s trying to bring our athletics program to the next level. It’s really great to see him interacting with athletes every day. He’s always dropping in on practices and checking in to see how we’re doing both in school and in our sport. He’s very approachable and creates a really supportive environment for all of the athletes at Parker.” -Senior Madeleine Casey, varsity volleyball

THE SCRIBE

october 2014

BEHIND THE NUMBERS J

WHAT JERSEYS MEAN TO PARKER’S ATHLETES

ARTICLE BY JASH BABLA PHOTOGRAPHS BY EMMA MOORE, JONAS MUSON, AND OLIVIA FIDLER

erseys in sports have one specific purpose. To differentiate each player from his teammates. On the jersey is the team name, sometimes the player’s name, and the most important part, the number. Numbers can be symbolic, from their professional idol to their parent’s old number. Many Parker athletes have numbers that are special to them, from volleyball players, to baseball players, to soccer players. Numbers make an athlete who they are, and separate them from the rest.

SIEN GALLOP

SASHA STEPHENS

VOLLEYBALL

SOCCER

“I picked this number because my sister was number 2 when she was at Parker,” says junior Sien Gallop. This varsity player picked her volleyball number to follow in the footsteps of her sister Saige Gallop ‘12, who played volleyball at Parker all four years of her upper school career. Multiple professional athletes have picked their numbers due to their parents or siblings who played the same sport, most notably Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (#18) and his father, former New Orleans Saints Quarterback Archie Manning. Heading into October, Gallop, who plays outside hitter, lead the team in kills for the 2014-2015 season.

“I picked number 25 because it represents the amount of goals I need to score to break the single-season record,” says senior Sasha Stephens. As captain of the varsity girls’ soccer team, Stephens has wanted to break the record since her freshman year. Many athletes wear a number as their goal, such as hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, who picked #99 for the amount of goals he wanted to score in one season. Stephens, who also runs track and participates in powderpuff, will play soccer at the University of Pennsylvania next year.

HANNAH SCHAUER

MICHAEL LAUMAKIS

SOFTBALL

BASEBALL

Senior Hannah Schauer wears #18 number when she plays Parker softball, as she reserves #14 for her out of school softball team. “I usually wear the number 14 outside of school, and it has been my number ever since I can remember,” says Schauer, who follows the tradition of a family sharing a number through generations. “My mom and I decided to always have 14 because growing up, my [uncles] and my grandpa always had 14 as their hockey or baseball jerseys. My cousins all have 14 as their favorite number too.” The Schauer family is similar to the Matthews family in the NFL, who share the number 52, including two active players, Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews, and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Casey Matthews.

“My number is 32 and I like Josh Hamilton,” says sophomore Michael Laumakis, referring to Anaheim Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton who wears the same number. Cleveland Cavaliers basketball star LeBron James is the most famous example of a pro who chose his number for this reason, as he picked the number 23 because his idol, basketball legend Michael Jordan, wore the same. Laumakis also plays soccer at Parker, where he wears #8.

28 october 2014

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LEGION OF BOOM

A SPIRITED EFFORT TO REPLACE RALLYCOMM ARTICLE BY ELIJAH GROSS-SABLE PHOTOGRAPH BY GRACE SELLICK

t’s a familiar sight under the Friday night lights. As the crowd trickles into the stands at Lauer Field, a dedicated group of Parker students clusters in the right side of the home team’s bleachers. Formerly known as Rallycomm, this year the student spirit club has a new name: Lancer Legion. With the new name comes a new identity and newfound enthusiasm. “When I took over as Lancerman I appreciated what the previous Lancermen had done for it, but I wanted to sort of make my own mark,” says senior Grant Shives. “So I changed [the group’s name] to Lancer Legion and we really made it a much more interactive group.” Presiding over this new version of the Lancers’ cheering section is sophomore Lauren Washington. Before suffering an injury to her knee, Washington had been an avid soccer player, and she remembers exactly how it felt to have a crowd cheering her name. Shives and Washington say they hope to share that feeling with all athletes, planning to support all of the school’s sports teams in their various efforts. “[As president of Lancer Legion], I promote sporting events and come up with themes with ASB,” Washington says. “We pro-

mote school spirit and try to get as many people at the games and participating as possible.” This particular night’s theme was jersey night. The Parker cheering section looked like a sea of brown and gold, with students wearing everything from volleyball to lacrosse to baseball apparel. Sporting his varsity soccer jersey, senior Kian Bagheri was overjoyed about how the game was panning out. “We have a great program here,” Bagheri says. “I think if everybody makes the individual effort then the student section can go really far.” Few athletes know the value of a good cheering section better than junior Jenn Wineholt, who’s in her third year as a member of the varsity girls’ volleyball team. She believes the fans helped propel the team to the state championship two years ago. “Honestly, it’s one of the greatest things as an athlete, regardless of what sport you’re playing, to have a crowd,” she says. Still, Wineholt knows that the Parker spirit could be vastly improved, especially when it comes to sports with less popular appeal. “I think that as a community and as a family at Parker we can increase our school spirit not just with volleyball or with football or

Fans look on during the halftime huddle as the Parker varsity ball team gets ready to finish off their opposition from Santana School. The game ended in victorious fashion, as Parker went o win 28-14.

with basketball,”Wineholt says. Lauren Washington agrees. She says one of her top priorities this year is bringing more Parker fans to a bigger variety of games. The challenge is figuring out how to better publicize events and encourage students who are already inundated with their own extracurricular activities to devote some of their precious free time to being enthusiastic spectators. “I want to get as many people out there as possible,” she says. “I don’t want it to be an excuse for people to say ‘I didn’t know about it’.” Back at the football game, the fans are in a frenzy as they watch the Lancers overpower their opponents from Santana High School. “[It] looks like the guys are running a lot harder, playing harder, working harder, really sweating for the crowd,” says Alan Tom, who represents the sophomore class on ASB and works the snack station at sporting events of all types. And after a decisive 28-14 win, it’s mission accomplished for Lancer Legion. Thrilled with the game’s outcome and their role in the team’s success, the fans stream out of the stands. The goal for the Lancer Legion is to go beyond becoming a more active spirit club. They want

to become a team, not only cheering, but giving Parker’s side the edge in a game that could otherwise go either way. In the wake of recent changes, seniors Jonah Davis and James Foster took over as of September 15, and have been subbing in as Lancermen at various athletic events, organizing themed activities for each game. Regardless of how these changes play out in future, Lancer Legion seems to be a step in the right direction for the student spirit section at Parker. There’s no doubt that having a solid cheering section can make a difference in how the players perform. That’s why professional sports teams tend to play better at home, and why high schools and colleges around the country take pride in how many fans they can turn out at the games. Coach Jamaal Howard, who is in his eighth year coaching defensive backs and safeties for the varsity football team at Parker, has experienced first hand the effect that a strong crowd has on the game. “The crowd makes you play inspired,” he says. “Getting the momentum is a big part of playing and when things are going well [players] can feed off the crowd.”

THE SCRIBE

october 2014

features

Mr. Kiernan Aiston and his daughter scope out the activities at Liberty Station. Read more about them in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sunday Seriesâ&#x20AC;? on page 36.

30 october 2014

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ARE M BRO ICHA EL WN

SEEKING THE SEAT

35 5 7-

SUNDAY SERIES THE SCRIBE

october 2014

editorial

WHY INNOCENT BLACK MALES CONTINUE TO BE KILLED BY POLICE FORCES ARTICLE AND ARTWORK BY MORGAN SMITH

32 october 2014

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“M die.”

om, I’m going to college.” “You shot me. You shot me!” “Please don’t let me

These seemingly unrelated quotes are connected by one primary factor: they were all uttered with sheer terror by Amadou Diallo, Oscar Grant, and Kimani Gray: three innocent, black men slaughtered by police officers or special force operatives. Just over two months ago, 17-year-old Michael Brown became another name on the endless list of individuals killed without just cause. Why do people like Brown, Diallo, Grant, and Gray continue to be targeted and hurt by officials of force? Michael Brown is not the only individual of his kind—a black, typically middle or lower class male—to be killed by a law enforcement officer without just cause. Some may remember the tragic murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012 by neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman. His story chronicles tales of countless others like him whose adversity goes unnoticed by mass media outlets. Within American society, there is inherent systematic social privilege: an unequal social hierarchy which enables the oppression of minorities (people of color, homosexual people, women, members of the lowermiddle/lower class, people with lacking mental or physical ability) and continues the development of the structure of institutionalized advantages which favor majority groups (white people, heterosexual people, men, members of the upper-middle/upper class, people with healthy mental and physical abilities).

THE SHOOTING

On August 9th, in Ferguson, a suburb just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, 17-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed a mere two days before he was to begin attending Vatterott College. Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson were walking in the

“

street when they were ordered to move onto the sidewalk by passing police officer, Darren Wilson. Brown and Wilson became involved in an altercation through the window of the police car. Wilson fired the first shot, and Brown and Johnson ran in opposite directions. Wilson pursued Brown and shot him six times in his upper body, right arm, neck, and head. Autopsy records not only show Wilson’s intent to kill, but suggest that Brown had his hands up when shot. He was unarmed.

THE RIOTS

On the afternoon of the 9th, Ferguson erupted in uproarious outrage. The citizens, the majority of whom are black, felt neglected and poorly represented by the city’s councilmen, most of whom are white; when Brown was murdered, many felt their concerns had been validated, and took to the streets to protest during the evening. Police and SWAT team forces attempted to curb crowds with dogs and weaponry, and destroyed the memorial Ferguson citizens erected where Brown fell to the ground when shot. “The entire infrastructure of that city… There’s so much discrepancy. It’s the [city’s racial] minority ruling over the [city’s racial] majority,” says junior Nadia Carrillo, who considers herself well-informed in regard to Ferguson’s controversy. “There aren’t good relations in the community,” says Robert Greene of Jones & Associates Consulting, the firm that works closely with Francis Parker to oversee the school’s recent inclusion initiative. “There is a majority black population with very little representation and understanding politically and in the police force. There is a lack of understanding around cultural differences.” Michael Brown’s autopsy shows he was not in a threatening position when killed, and he was dealt with using excessive force. “When you have a group of people who are not viewed with

the same kind of respect and the same kind of value as others, it’s easier for people and police in some areas to not give them the same kind of care,” Greene continues. “Familiar elements of controversy are bothersome to me. There are some things here that are familiar with recent and not-so-recent events, particularly with African-American males and with law enforcement and equal treatment and protection.”

WHY IT MATTERS

From January until March 2012, 17 cases were recorded of unarmed black males killed by police, special force operatives, or security forces. “Because of how many white policemen there were in the unit and for the city to have a history of racism, it was bound to happen sometime,” sophomore and Umoja (African-American Culture club) secretary Lauren Washington says of the shooting. But, why do events like this continue to occur in the United States, nearly 50 years after the end of the African-American Civil Rights Movement? We have a president of African descent. We live in a world that grows increasingly connected, increasingly technological, and increasingly educated. “People keep treating [shootings] as though they’re isolated events, but when you’re in the minus one [minority] group, you see the relation between things and how they keep repeating themselves. But when you’re in the plus one group, the privileged group, you see them as isolated incidents and as people being dramatic,” says Upper School social studies teacher Dr. Rai Wilson. In short, privilege is difficult to acknowledge or identify, but continues to promote members of majority groups with systematic advantage. Black Americans are over four times more likely to go to prison in their lifetimes. 88% of prisoners in the United States are African-American. Most homicides are intraracial, yet popular

news outlets focus primarily on interracial homicides. This perpetuates the common belief that black people continue to mercilessly slaughter primarily white people, when statistically, the reality is drastically different. Privilege is from where these radical statistics come. Americans, therefore, are not being outwardly bigoted or intentionally racist; our social system favors the majority (e.g., whites), and impresses unconscious biases upon those exposed to it. “[Improving societal privilege] is a group effort, and it’s not something that happens quickly. It’s a communal effort. We all have to work together to address it, because a lot of people with privilege don’t realize they have it, because it’s something that comes naturally to them. So, we have to bring awareness to it; say, ‘not everybody has it the way that you do,’” Carillo says. “It’s kind of what we teach in school,” Wilson adds. “As far as what makes you a good citizen and what helps you navigate the world, you would think conversations about how you treat other people and how you see other people would be at the forefront, but it’s totally optional. People who control curriculum are privileged.” Another critical step must be taken in mandating education for police officers and other law enforcement officials. “The first thing we have to do is make sure people in power are educated and trained. A key to good police work is for the citizens to believe police are exercising consideration,” Greene says. Privileged members of society have a responsibility to understand institutionalized discrimination. According to Greene, as a whole, we must strive to “live successfully in the midst of more diversity and with differences. In turn, this diversity makes us more successful.”

Please don’t let me die.” -Kimani

Gray, aged 16 THE SCRIBE

october 2014

SEEKING THE SEAT A LOOK INSIDE ONE OF THE MOST HOTLY CONTESTED CONGRESSIONAL RACES IN THE COUNTRY

ARTICLE BY MADELINE OTTILIE ARTWORK BY SOREN HANSEN

his election season, Francis Parker sits just one city block outside the Linda Vista boundary of one of the most hotly contested congressional races in the country: the 52nd Congressional District. U.S. Representative Scott Peters, a Democrat running for re-election after serving his freshman term, faces Republican and former City Councilman Carl DeMaio in the general election for the coveted seat. The district is nearly evenly divided between the two major political parties, with 32.1% registered as Democrats to 33.6% as Republicans as of September 5, according to the California Secretary of State. A SurveyUSA poll conducted in September showed the race in a statistical dead heat. “The campaign is a toss up at this point,” says senior Myles Kenny, President of the Parker Young Republicans Club. “While Carl DeMaio and

Scott Peters both champion and stand for pretty similar things, it really comes down to voter turnout.” The race is meaningful not only nationally, but to Parker and its families. The district sprawls from Poway to Coronado, and includes many neighborhoods that Parker families call home. Both candidates once served on the San Diego City Council and know the school and its communities well. Peters was also a Parker parent. For those Parker students who may feel indifferent to this race, senior Alec Morgan, who works for Peters, explains why they should care: “This is your district representative. He is your voice [in national affairs], so it is important that we elect somebody that is a great advocate for issues that you care about.”

MEET THE CANDIDATES SCOTT PETERS Democrat Scott Peters, an attorney, served on the San Diego City Council and was Council President. He won his seat in Congress in 2012. In an interview, Peters said he wanted to “make sure that college is accessible for the middle class, that student loan rates are fair and that we are supporting STEM education so everyone has a chance to get the education that they need to compete in a global green-powered economy.” He talked about the importance of job creation “so that when the middle class gets out of school they have the opportunity to get a job.” Peters has campaigned about the need for Congress to limit wasteful spending. Peters introduced the Pay Down the Debt Act of 2013, introduced to amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to change the budget target. He also introduced the Protect Amer-

CARL DEMAIO ica’s Credit Act of 2013, which aimed to apply the debt limit only to debt held by the public. In a roundtable interview with student media, Peters identified cyber-security issues and climate change as critical concerns. Asked about the recent wildfires, he discussed increasing resources for fire prevention. “Every dollar we invest in prevention saves us $4 in response,” he said. Peters stresses that he is “the fourth most independent Democrat in Congress,” at times voting against his party. He is one of five Democrats in Congress endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which routinely endorses Republicans. Peters also spoke about his ability to gain bipartisan support. Referring to his law career, when he would settle cases, he said, “What was best for the client was when we sat down and tried to work it out.

Republican Carl DeMaio is a businessman and former member of the San Diego City Council best known for championing a ballot measure which changed the city’s pension system. He is an openly gay Republican who has expressed support for marriage equality. DeMaio contests opponents’ ads that label him a “Tea Party extremist.” In an interview with The Scribe, he said, “This whole notion that I am an extremist is just laughable.” He said a majority of voters supported his efforts to defeat a sales tax measure and reform city pensions. DeMaio described himself as “an orphan who put myself through college” and who needed student loans. Contrary to political ads, he said he wants to strengthen the student loan system. DeMaio said his focus is fiscal responsibility and economic reform. He said it is also “uncon-

scionable” that veterans cannot get health care appointments, borders cannot be secured, and K-12 education is not what it should be. At a recent event in Coronado, DeMaio also criticized his party. “I think the Republican Party needs to get a lot more positive and solutions-oriented in how it articulates issues,” he said. “I think we ought to get off divisive social issues. Let people live their lives according to their own beliefs.” He said the party must be more inclusive to all groups, including “Latinos, young women, African-Americans, [and] college students.” Asked about taking positions that differ from those of his party, DeMaio said, “I will not be bullied, I will not be pushed. You’re talking to a gay Republican. You don’t think I can stand up to people once in a while?”

H O W A R E PA R K E R S T U D E N T S R E A C T I N G TO T H E S E C A M PA I G N S ? Although the majority of Parker students cannot vote in the upcoming election, some believe the race is important to follow. Junior Ted Gehring said he would support members of Congress who address the increasing cost of a college education. “Right now, college is ridiculously overpriced, for the most part,” he said. Senior Serena Romaya said she would support a candidate who addressed health care and

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“unequal pay. It is ridiculous that women still do not have fair pay,” she said. Kenny, a DeMaio supporter, said, “I believe Carl DeMaio is the better candidate because I identify more with his socially liberal and fiscally conservative platform.” Morgan, who is working for Peters, said his endorsement by the Chambers of Commerce “shows that [Peters] is very pro-business.” He noted Peters’ commitment to

the biotech industry and to creating green energy. “I really like his bipartisan approach,” Morgan said. He praised Peters as a champion of women’s rights and for speaking out against the Hobby Lobby decision of the U.S. Supreme Court because “bosses should not be in charge of or dictate women’s medical decisions.” Sophomore Drew Schmid saw the importance of the race: “A lot of people have this misconcep-

tion that ‘If I don’t vote, it doesn’t matter...” he said. “But at the end of the day, [members of Congress] are doing their job to try and make this country a better place.”

the

Find more student opinions on the congressional race at fpsthescribe.com

5/7/5 PARKER CLASSROOMS GO ONLINE WITH HAIKU ARTICLE BY JULIANNA D’AURIA ARTWORK BY MEGAN PAI

t’s Friday morning. The new long table at the front of the library is filled with students from end to end. The cement surface is crowded with bright screens: phones, iPads, and laptops. A single website is open on almost every single one, Haiku. Continuing on Parker’s path of innovative advancements, Haiku is another way to implement technology in education. However, it has made Parker more reliant on technology, which may cause problems. Haiku is a LMS (Learning Management System) designed to be a unified place that everyone–including teachers, students, faculty, administrators, and parents–can access. On the path to becoming more technologically advanced with iPads and Smart Boards, Parker has taken the classroom experience virtual with Haiku. Haiku offers students links to success, allowing classroom learning to extend on a technological level. Haiku enables students to access their assignments wherever they are. If students are absent from school or forget to write their homework down, they can easily find it online. Haiku allows students to stay on track with their work and is a way for absentee students to learn what was taught in class so they they won’t get behind. Haiku also has a Dropbox function that enables students to turn in their assignments online. A student is able to turn in the assignment as soon as they complete it. This decreases the chance of losing or forgetting the assignment at home. Other functions on Haiku include turning in assignments, hosting discussion boards, generating reports, and recording grades. Teachers are also able to provide feedback on students’ work. Additionally, Haiku provides privacy for its users.

“There were some privacy issues [in previous years]. Nothing was behind a username or password,” says Mr. Quoc Vo, Director of Technology. “For me, who is in charge of protecting data and data security and privacy, having your information, whether it is classwork or things that you do at school, out there for anybody to be able to access...is a little scary.” Last year was the first time Parker started implementing Haiku. It was not mandatory, but allowed teachers and students to try it out, and teachers were able to test Haiku out and learn how to operate it. According Mr. Vo, almost 95% of the Middle School teachers used Haiku. “[The Middle School] had their iPad program so that became a compelling important application for them to have a single place for the students using iPads to access information,” Vo says. “[Haiku] integrates directly with Google Apps so the students, the parents, and the faculty don’t need a separate account. We can also add Google Drive storage on Haiku.” When comparing how Haiku worked in Middle School to Upper School, freshman Ally Scanlan says, “[In the middle school], for each teacher, their page was set up differently and so it made it more complicated to find the

homework. For each class you had to go to different places and now it is formatted the same. So it’s a lot easier because now it’s the same for [every teacher].” But new implementation of Haiku in the classroom has made Parker even more reliant on technology, which could cause problems. “[Haiku’s] system has been having issues,” says math teacher Mrs. Erin Feldman, who uses Haiku in her classes. “That’s hard because if you put materials online to use when you teach, and then Haiku isn’t working, then you have to come up with Plan B or C.” “[Haiku] quits a lot and takes so long [to log in] because so many people are on the server,” says junior Uthara Vengrai. “Some teachers don’t use Haiku as much, and that’s kind of an issue if you are trying to plan out your schedule, which is the purpose of Haiku.” According to history teacher Mr. Eric Taylor, “Some [teachers] are slow on getting to it because some had other websites or databases that [they] relied on other than Haiku, so I think that’s some of the frustrations that some may have because [they] had a good thing going and now have to alter to Haiku.” But for some teachers, like Feldman, the transition to Haiku went smoothly.

“I had a website before I started using Haiku last year and I was worried about having to implement a new system and move everything over but I found Haiku to be really user-friendly,” says Feldman. “Now that it is up there, it is something concrete for me to keep so I can keep adding to it and building to it, or change things, and each year I already have the materials I need to have up there online.” Some students say they are confused with the new system and believe that it is affecting homework. “Some teachers rely on their Haiku page to inform us about assignments or upcoming tests and they don’t say anything in class,” says junior Olivia Lawrence. “Sometimes their Haiku isn’t updated or we assume there’s no homework and don’t bother checking because they didn’t say anything in class. It’s like they are trying to trap you.” Haiku allows education to extend into the technologically. This advancement comes with adjustments in the classroom, changing projects, assignments, and discussions. With any new change, it will take time to get used to. According to Taylor, “it’s just a bumpy beginning.”

THE SCRIBE

october 2014

FE FE

SUNDAY SERIES CATCHING UP WIITH THE AISTON FAMILY

ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY EMMA MOORE

“T

oday is Annie’s first haircut,” Mr. Kiernan Aiston said, on the steps of Pigtails and Crewcuts in Liberty Station. “We’ll see how this goes.” On September 28, Mr. and Mrs. Aiston and their two daughters, Lily and Annie, spent the day in Point Loma, visiting Pigtails and Crewcuts, grabbing a bite to eat at Con Pane, and playing at the park as a family. The family entered the local children’s hair salon, where

they were welcomed by the sounds of hairdryers and young children crying. Lily, three, and Annie, one, walked alongside their parents through the doors of the salon. “The first time we took Lily to get her haircut, she thought it was going to hurt, so she cried the whole time,” Mr. Aiston said as the family sat down at a coloring table, awaiting Annie’s appointment. “But afterwards she looked at [Mrs. Aiston] and said ‘It didn’t even hurt mommy!’”

Lily Aiston, three, holds her father’s hand in Liberty Station Park Won Sunday, September 28th.

PIGTAILS AND CREWCUTS

Mr. Aiston and his youngest daughter, Annie, share a laugh as they play at the park in Liberty Station. Annie Aiston, one, is distracted by Frozen during her first haircut.

Mr. Aiston and his youngest daughter, Annie, one, share a laugh in the park after her first haircut.

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After a few minutes of sketching and small talk, Annie’s name was called, and Mrs. Aiston carried her into the next room, for her first-ever hair cut. “Hold on, I’m not done [drawing] Kevin yet!” Mr. Aiston said, referring to his unfinished drawing of the bird from Up, “Alright, fine, I’ll finish it later.” The Aistons proceeded into the styling room with baited breath, unsure of what to expect from Annie as she sat in the yellow truck chair, her mom and the hairstylist hovering over her. Yet the tantrum never came, as both Lily and Annie were perfectly content watching Frozen, playing on the television monitors. After the haircut, the family left Pigtails and Crewcuts, each girl now clutching a new stuffed animal: a puppy for Annie, and a cat, Tabitha, for Lily. “We have a history with cats,”

Mrs. Aiston said as they walked to Con Pane for a light morning snack. “We had this one that attacked me once. It was the first pet we had together...it scratched me like, what, 40 times? There was so much blood, I had to go to the hospital.” After purchasing two coffees, bread, and a cinnamon roll from Con Pane, the Aistons made their way through Liberty Station, stopping to watch a dog agility show that captivated both girls for several minutes. “Lily’s super smart and she’s got a disturbing memory, so I always have to watch what I say,” Mr. Aiston said of his oldest daughter. “She remembers everything.” Annie, the Aiston’s youngest, is more wild and daring than her older sister, according to Mr. Aiston. “We try not to label [our kids],” he said. “But Lily’s a pretty emotional kid, caring and bright. Annie’s a bit more of a bulldozer. But we try not to tell them that be-

FE Lake Forest, yet she remained in Illinois for college, where she attended Northern Illinois University. “We met in Hawaii, long after both high school and college,” Mrs. Aiston said. “When we first met, we were working for a family, and they were difficult. He thought that my family was friends with this family, which wasn’t really the case, so he just pretended I didn’t exist for a while, and I thought he was a total jerk,” she laughed, watching Annie and Lily on the playground. “And then we realized that wasn’t the case, and then we became really good friends and then we started dating.” “We bonded over a copy of Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck,” added Mr. Aiston. At this point, Annie, who had been climbing on the playground, stepped out of one of her her pink rainboots. “That’s actually how we ended up with those boots,” said Mrs. Aiston, laughing as she watched another girl try to take Annie’s boot. “They belonged to a friend of mine, and we were at their house and Annie sort of just took them. My friend was like ‘That’s fine.’ They’re the magical sparkly pink rainboots that every baby wants.”

WORK AT PARKER

cause we want them to be [themselves].”

LIFE BEFORE PARKER

Finally pulling Annie and Lily away from the dog show, they wandered into the Liberty Station park, where both girls took off, climbing onto the slides and monkey bars, as their parents sat on a bench to talk about their life growing up, and how they met. Despite growing up in the same town of Lake Forest, Illinois, Mr. and Mrs. Aiston were raised in very different lifestyles. “I grew up dirty and in the woods,” Mr. Aiston said. “Raised by hippies, I guess.” “I was born in New York, and then my dad got transferred to Chicago when I was five,” Mrs. Aiston said. “In sixth grade we moved up to Lake Forest, which was a big culture change.” Having lived in a large Jewish community, it was more difficult for Mrs. Aiston to adjust to life in

The couple came to work at Parker only a year apart, with Mr. Aiston being hired as a football coach in 2003 and Mrs. Aiston entering the admissions office in 2004. They said they find working at the same school enjoyable, and said that it makes balancing life with kids much easier. “It’s awesome,” Mrs. Aiston said. “Generally speaking, everyday we drive in together,” said Mr. Aiston. “And then we go home together, and it’s 40 or so minutes in the car that we get to spend before we have to go back to the kids, which is nice.” Although they work together, having both parents work during the week means that Lily and Annie are left at home with their nanny, Josie. “We’re still with them a lot more than most of our friends,” Mrs. Aiston said. “Working at a school provides you with the flexibility that you don’t find in most of the for-profit world. We get a ton of time off.” Having the holiday breaks off allows the Aistons to spend lots

of quality time with both Lily and Annie, but the demands of being working parents are still high. “I strongly believe that it’s hard being working parents,” Mrs. Aiston said. “The demands for working are much greater than in most countries. But compared to the rest of our social group, we do get to see them a lot.”

LESSONS IN PARENTING

The Aistons said that being parents has also greatly impacted the way they view their jobs, making them more compassionate to students and more understanding of the struggles parents go through. “I had no idea what I was doing,” Mr. Aiston said of being a parent. “I thought I was busy before [having kids], I thought I was stressed before, I thought I knew love before. But all of that grows exponentially when you become a parent.” Mr. Aiston also believes that his teaching style has changed slightly since becoming a father. “It’s softened me a little bit,” he said. “It’s changed the way I view all of [the students’] parents, I’m a little bit in awe of them since they raised a whole bunch of pretty impressive young people. Now I have a better idea of what goes into it, and I think I’ve become more compassionate and empathetic as a result.” As the Aistons’ day began winding down, both Lily and Annie had grown noticeably tired, no longer jumping and running around as they had been when they arrived. They gathered up their things, Mrs. Aiston hoisting Annie onto her shoulders, as Mr. Aiston grabbed ahold of Lily’s hand. Making their way back to the parking lot, the family of four was as close as ever, sharing laughs as Lily’s water spilled from her cup onto Mr. Aiston’s shirt, perfectly summing up a day in the life of the Aistons. As Mr. Aiston said, “There’s never a dull moment.”

Mrs. Erin Aiston bonds with her children before Annie’s first haircut.

GETTING TO K N O W L I LY AISTON Q: What’s your favorite thing to do? A: To go hiking. Q: Where do you like to go hiking? A: To Elsa’s Castle [Which is what she calls a satellite dish near Cowles Mountain]. Q: What are your pets names? A: Uh, I don’t know. Q: What’s your dog’s name? A: I don’t know! Q: (Shown a picture of her dog) Who’s that? A: Griffin! Q: What’s your favorite animal. A: A zebra! Q: Where do zebras live? A: The zoo!

Lily and Annie Aiston relax while waiting for their food at Con Pane.

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THETHE SCRIBE 2014 SCRIBE october october 2014

cover section: the evolution of college

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CHANGING CHOICES

section overview

BY CAROLINE MERKIN ARTWORK BY SOREN HANSEN

pplying and being able to attend college has been a fascination and goal for many years now. The thought of being accepted into an “elite” group of people and brainiacs has affected the way youth have lived their naive, inexperienced lives. Becoming up-to-par with a university’s GPA and test score standards seems to be the primaryconcern for today’s teenagers. For decades it’s been about the numbers, the statistics, the rankings. However, this past year institutions across the country have altered the way they advertize their worthy, intriguing facets. Schools such as Miami University of Ohio and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) sent out brochures trying to attract students in the most idiosyncratic ways. MIT, for example, sent out a pamphlet wrapped in ridiculously shiny plastic with quotes from celebrities raving about the school’s prestige. Miami of Ohio, on the other hand, pointed out the fact that they’re one of the few universities that allows their students to have pets in their dorms. However, it is limited to owning only small fish with a tank size that does not exceed five gallons. This issue’s Cover Section stresses this transformation. Colleges are evolving, not only because of their increasing exclusivity but specifically transforming how their educations will benefit their students. An emphasis on campus attractions, student quirks, and how many exotic animals are present at school events are now what splatter the college’s “lookbooks” and websites. Making sure students choose the best “fit” for them, based on their personalities and ingenuity is now the college’s biggest target. It’s a

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modification towards legitimate, rewarding education, and most importantly, student happiness. However, no matter how much we stress, or how much we cry, we’ll always end up receiving the education that has “best fit” for us. And if that means transferring, taking a gap year, attending an online school, or not participating in an institution at all, so be it. A 2010 study done by the University of Michigan confirmed that college rankings have immensely affected the application and admissions process. “There are more than 2,000 four-year colleges and universities in this country, and many of them offer an excellent education and admit the majority of students who apply. But as interest increases at selective institutions, it may help disappointed applicants to know that thousands of smart, talented, qualified students had to be turned away. There are various reasons for this: Colleges concerned about their rankings are appearing more selective (and appealing) than ever. Admission officers often select students who are likely to enroll. And, of course, the huge volume of applications dictates that there just isn’t enough room for every good student who applies,” stated The New York Times for a article written in spring of 2013 and study on college acceptance rates. Basing your school choice on the amount of Ivy League Cum Laude professors, or how your friends parent’s will perceive you, isn’t going to get you anywhere. Taking schoolspirit, leadership opportunities, students’ personalities,

and even that tempting dessert counter at the cafeteria into consideration, will increase your likelihood of ending up somewhere where you will be happy. I mean, who knew that Duke had the largest and most diverse lemur center outside of Madagascar (“College Flowchart” page 44)? With that being said, colleges have even changed their admission priorities. With more than 5.7% of the world’s students partaking in higher education, they’re leaning more towards accepting those with a killer personal statement and an involvement in extracurriculars, than a student with outstanding test scores and a mediocre GPA. It’s now all about what makes you stand out from other applicants, than being able to complete a thirty-minute physics problem. The admissions process has developed more of a holistic review, instead of a simple glance at your class ranking. Colleges and Universities are encouraging the unique and the quirky applicants, while emphasizing their institutions idiosyn-

cratic attributes to the public. Education standards are evolving; it’s not all about attending the most prestigious schools anymore (“Out of Our League” page 41), it’s about developing connections with real world people and industries and being well-suited for global leadership and innovation. People attaining such abilities will be the ones running the up-and-coming world. Having situational awareness and flat out social skills (“Crossfire: Greek Life” page 46), is what gets you places in life. Flourishing at a college of your individual choice, is what ultimately makes your college experience enjoyable and rewarding.

OUT OF OUR LEAGUE UNDERSTANDING AMERICA’S OBSESSION WITH ELITE COLLEGES ARTICLE BY CAROLINE WOHL PHOTOGRAPHS BY OLIVIA FIDLER

n a warm Thursday morning, English teacher Mr. Phil Fickling paces back and forth at the front of his classroom. His students await anxiously his next question, fingers tapping on the brightly watercolored cover of The Norton Reader. Upon the mention of the essay they will discuss, William Zinsser’s “College Pressures” about the stresses of college in the 1970s, a spark ignites in the students’ eyes. Hands shoot straight up in the air, and one by one, the students, half awake, buzzed by morning coffee after a late night doing homework, pour out their opinions on Francis Parker: the competitive nature, the value of grades and success and the stress. Some talk of the extracurriculars they have to take to “look good” for colleges while others talk about their grades’ reflection on them. “What I wish for all students is some release from the clammy grip of the future,” Zinsser wrote. “I wish them a chance to savor each segment of their education as an experience in itself and not as a grim preparation for the next step.” Preparing for college was not always like this. “It’s infinitely more competitive than it was ten years ago and certainly a generation ago,” says Head of Upper School Mr. Paul Barsky. “When I was at Yale in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, the main library was closed on Saturday night,” Fickling says. “Now, it is packed, I mean it is open and it is

absolutely packed. I think people do study harder now.” People start to look at college at an early age. Freshmen at Parker sit down at the beginning of the year with their grade level dean to have a four-year plan meeting, which maps out classes, extracurriculars, and a rough schedule for the rest of high school. And the first college fair of the year was on October 20, where students from 9th to 12th grade attended discussions and talked with college representatives to learn more about potential schools to apply to. This fall, some college representative visits have been split evenly between juniors and seniors, and in some sessions, juniors even outnumbered seniors. But is this a bad thing? Has introducing college at an earlier age affected how we treat it? The competitive nature of college and the value of elite schools has been a hot topic recently. Major news sources, including 60 Minutes on CBS, have discussed this in various news segments. Books, including William Deresiewicz’s Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life about elite colleges in America, have topped multiple bestsellers lists. With higher standards and elevated competition, some American high schoolers have developed an obsession with gaining admission to elite colleges. They associate success with the college one attends and its ranking in college reference guides. Is this emphasis misplaced? Should stu-

dents pay more attention to what college is best for them outside of the country’s top-ranked institutions?

THE ADMISSIONS GAME

Maggie McGregor ’13 is a sophomore at University of California, Berkeley. She says she used to judge people based on which college they attended because that was so commonly done among students in the Parker community. But now that she is in college, she says she realizes that it really does not matter, and attending an elite school actually has its disadvantages. McGregor says what actually matters is where you as a person would fit best and will succeed the most academically. She recommends not to focus on getting into the most selective school regardless of how that college might suit the needs of that particular student. “If you get into a very prestigious school, you have to come to terms that it’s likely going to be really hard and you might struggle academically,” McGregor says. “You are making this college your new home for the next four years.” Increasing selectivity across the map, a global competition, and an unprecedented access to information about colleges students are applying to have changed the college process. Admissions has become much more heated and competitive, especially to elite colleges. Over the past few decades, applications to elite institutions

have boomed, significantly outpacing the number of seats available, thereby forcing the schools to be much more selective. “It is unfortunate that it has become that much more demanding to get into college,” says Director of College Counselor Mr. Bob Hurley. “It’s become almost an industry.” Hurley says that there is more strategy involved in the college process and people are more obsessed with admission to the right schools than ever before. “I think the meaning behind the degree is still the same,” he says, “but how my generation would have approached it seems to be different on how your generation approaches it.” In the previous generation, it was unusual for even the most competitive colleges to admit less than 20% of their applicants. Consequently, many applicants who gained admission a generation ago would have difficulty in today’s competitive environment. “In the late 1950’s, all you needed was a 3.5 grade point average to get into Stanford, and barely a pulse to get into USC” says Joseph O. Oltmans II, a Los Angeles general construction executive who entered Stanford University in 1957. “There just wasn’t the same emphasis on going to a good school as there is today.” In the completed admissions season of 2014, Stanford accepted only 5% of its applicants, which is a new low among the country’s top schools. It received 42,167 applications and sent 2,138 acceptance letters, with roughly 1,700 students enrolling as part of the THE SCRIBE

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freshmen class this year. The numbers among other elite schools are similarly low. Harvard and Yale accepted just 6% of applicants, Columbia and Princeton approximately 7%, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and University of Chicago around 8%. Several universities, including Stanford, Cornell, Duke and Northwestern, had admission rates less than half of those just ten years ago. Globalization is another factor in the competitive admissions landscape. “Colleges and universities often go after international students because many of them pay full tuition sticker price, and above,” says Christopher Frost, a professor of psychology and religious studies at St. Joseph’s College in New York and former associate dean of undergraduate studies at San Diego State University (SDSU). With more and more international students applying to colleges in the United States, the pressure is more intense than ever before, when previous generations largely competed with American students. It’s not just colleges looking more widely; students are, too. More access to information contributes to the heavier demand, as today’s technologicallysavvy students can easily search the rankings of a college, view images of their campus, and get student opinions about their experiences through social media and forums. With more information, today’s students are more inclined to focus on schools across the country with a national reputation, as opposed to smaller selection of schools close to home. “I think sometimes it was a little more regional back then,” says Hurley, who personally remembers his resources being limited to researching colleges through books, meeting with representatives, and visiting campuses in person.

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T H E PA R K E R PRESSURE

When students feel the pressure to gain admission to the nation’s top schools, that pressure comes at a price. “I think the drive for success at Parker can be overwhelming at times, and I think people do put too much worth into a grade rather than the learning process as a whole,” says junior Mary Tobin. Some Parker students feel that the college process and say they preparing a resumé is introduced early on and creates an unnecessary amount of stress on both students and their parents. “Most students view college as an exciting time to get away from home and become more of an individual,” says junior Ruby Ross. “But the process of applying to college and the stress over what colleges will accept whom is a big stress point for most of us.” These students also recognize social expectations to attend the most elite school possible. “I definitely think people at Parker judge where you go to college and try to calculate why certain people get in where they do,” Ross says. However, she thinks that it is not an estimate of the worth of a person. She says that sometimes, the college process can help those who do not get straight As, but excel in other areas including athletics, arts, leadership, and community service. “Still, overall who gets into college can be very subjective and based on ‘politics,’ so there is no reason to judge someone who doesn’t get into a reputable school,” Ross says. Additional pressure comes from parents, who want the best for their children but in doing so cause additional stress. “Parents are so much more involved in the college process than they were in the past,” Barsky says. Though most parents want

to encourage the best choices for their child, boundaries can be overstepped. “Sometimes they can be too involved,” Barsky says. “That can provide additional stresses and strains to the student involved.” In a July 2014 article on The Huffington Post, author Michelle Rose Gilman, head of a high school in California and a parent, examined this phenomenon more closely. “Slowly, without our being aware of it, we are competing with our neighbors, our friends, our families,” Gilman wrote. “What started out as just wanting the best for our children, suddenly morphs into my child needs to be the best.” While healthy competition can bring out the best in a student, undue emphasis on excellence can be harmful, especially when the focus is solely gaining admission to a specific school instead of the student’s particular educational needs. “We do too much! And, we expect our kids to do too much,” Gilman continued. “We lose our focus on our children and what’s best for them and instead start seeing them as a reflection of us as parents. They must get into a great college or we have failed miserably at parenthood.”

DEFINING SUCCESS

While the Ivy League and other elite schools are in greater demand than ever, the extreme demand to attend has come under criticism recently. In an interview with 60 Minutes last fall, journalist and bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell told CBS’s Anderson Cooper he finds America’s obsession with Ivy League colleges problematic. “If you go to an elite school where the other students in your class are all really brilliant,” Gladwell said, “then you run the

risk of mistakenly believing yourself to not be a good student. Even if you are!” Gladwell attended the University of Toronto in his native Canada. He said that though the state school might have not been among the most prestigious colleges, he received an excellent education that prepared him for success in life. “It’s not smart for everyone to want to go to a great school,” Gladwell said. When asked whether he would want his children to go to Harvard, Gladwell replied, “No, I would want them to go to a state school in Canada where the tuition would be $4000 a year.” The comparative value does not exist at the elite schools. “If Harvard is $60,000 and University of Toronto is maybe $6000, you’re really telling me that the education is 10 times better at Harvard than it is at the University of Toronto? That seems ridiculous to me.” Some observers believe that students at less prestigious schools actually may be more creative and have more to offer because they may not have the “all straight-As” mentality. William Deresiewicz explores this idea in his book Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life. “Students determine the level of classroom discussion; they shape your values and expectations, for good and ill. It’s partly because of the students that I’d warn kids away from the Ivies and their ilk,” Deresiewicz writes. “Kids at less prestigious schools are apt to be more interesting, more curious, more open, and far less entitled and competitive.” He says that the kids who attend these elite schools have never experienced anything but success: “The prospect of not being successful terrifies them, disorients them. The cost of falling short, even temporarily, becomes

CS not merely practical, but existential.” He says that this system of elite education producers gives us people who are “smart and talented and driven, yes, but also anxious, timid, and lost, with little intellectual curiosity and a stunted sense of purpose: trapped in a bubble of privilege, heading meekly in the same direction, great at what they’re doing but with no idea why they’re doing it.” This makes the environment for other student unenjoyable and tense, he says, which is not the ideal picture of college.

THE IVY LABEL: D O E S I T R E A L LY MATTER?

Alie Jimenez entered Columbia University after graduating from Parker in 2009. She says she thinks it’s unfortunate that kids have to make such major decisions at such a young age. “I spent one year in the engineering school before having a complete panic attack and existential crisis,” she says in an email. She then switched into the liberal arts school at Columbia. “It was the best decision I ever made. I finished out the last two years of college as a much happier student and am on a career path that I am passionate about.” This raises the question of academic diversity—to what extent does a college benefit by only accepting students with a perfect grade point averages and standardized test scores? “We need people who ‘don’t do school very well’ here,” Fickling says. “I mean there needs to be a part of the community that doesn’t have the 5.96 GPA.” “When people get out of their years of college and get out into the community,” he says, “their job or their personal life is not going to be a BC Calculus class. It is going to be different.” Frost, the former SDSU dean, believes students should look at the quality of the curriculum and rigor of the student’s academic program instead of the name of the college on your diploma. “‘Prestige of degree’ may help in the job market,” he says, “but a real liberal arts education should ultimately hinge on what happens in your college years: How much value was ‘added’ between you were upon entry, and who are you upon graduation.” Several former Parker students who went on to attend highly competitive colleges say

they feel the demand for gaining admission to these schools is misplaced. Jenny Brewster ’09 attended Northwestern University. At Parker, she recognized the appeal of these schools among her fellow students: “It was definitely something I noticed when I was a student at Parker but not something I pay attention to quite as much anymore.” But Jimenez says she did not see too many differences between the Ivy League and non-Ivy League schools she visited during the admissions process. “I’m not really sure the Ivy League is all it’s cracked up to be,” she says. “I think what sets these schools apart are the sizes of the student population and the sizes of the school’s endowment,” which provides the schools with better resources to hire the best faculty. However, the distinctions end there. “Not every student who attends an Ivy League school is a genius,” Jimenez adds. She says the Ivy League schools themselves do not have much in common besides being “small, very old, private institutions.” The Ivy League label is not as meaningful as she once thought. “Once you get to college, none of that matters anymore. Any lingering sense of superiority falls away,” she recalls. She says that even though a student might have been the valedictorian of their school, there are plenty of others at their colleges who were at the top of their classes and the playing field is essentially leveled. This is especially true afterward, when Jimenez says the only ones who seem to care about where you went to college are the people who are interviewing you for a job. “A well-known school name does look nice and shiny on a resumé,” she says. “But if you don’t have the communication skills and aptitude to back it up, the Ivy League institution won’t be able to help you out much.”

YOUR BEST FIT

College is a monumental next step in our educational journey. It is where we reinforce and build upon what we have learned while exploring countless new academic, social and professional opportunities. A popular thought of college counselors and students today is that students should not lose sight of the fact that what is most im-

portant is how one’s college is best suited for the individual’s abilities, goals and aspirations. “If you look at some of our greatest creative thinkers over the last ten years, several of them didn’t go to universities or several of them went to smaller colleges then went onto very prestigious universities to excel,” Barsky says. Some dropped out of college to pursue their interests, which they felt that at those specific institutions, could not help them. Here’s the thing: there is not one perfect college. A certain college will not fit everybody’s needs. “I say this to parents: we could care less about where your child goes to school,” Barsky says. “What we are looking for is the right fit. We want to make sure it’s the right fit versus the name attached to that school.” From a college counselor’s point of view, Hurley echoes Barsky’s thoughts. “Certain schools might fit you better, yet may not be someone else’s ranking,” he says. “So while we’re going to [look at] outside ranking[s], I want you to come up with your own ranking. That’s the one I am concerned with. The one with you and your family, that’s how we’re going to proceed.”

DOES GOING TO A CERTAIN COLLEGE DETERMINE ONE’S SUCCESS AFTER COLLEGE? “No. A lot of successful people come from all different schools and some don’t even complete college. I think it is about what you do at the school and how hard you work while you are there that proves how successful one will be.” -Senior Hannah Schauer “Nope! It is all about how hard you work, but certain colleges can make you journey easier.” -Junior Drey Gerger “Unfortunately data shows that the college one goes to proves to be even more important than the major someone chooses. Certain colleges simply seem more prestigious and appealing to society than others.” -Sophomore Bryce Kelety “Kinda. The odds of the Harvard graduate getting a wellpaying job after graduation are much higher than Mesa College. Sure anyone has potential to do anything at any college, but if you can even get into Harvard, Stanford, Yale, etc., you’re probably an insane person that would have been successful anywhere.” -Senior Arman Sagart “Not at all. It is more the post-graduate school that matters. Going to community college could probably get you just as far as an Ivy League in my opinion. It’s how much effort and hard work you put in that matters.” -Junior Alison Carey “Yes many well known colleges have successful people. While colleges typically unheard of have people you never heard about.” -Freshman Bryanna Shaw “I’m going to say it is a significant factor, but it isn’t going to be the defining one. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs never went to college, and yet they were incredibly successful. Success is determined by your skill and how it suits what you apply it to.” -Junior Jasmine Perket

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Findyour niche YOUR GO-TO GUIDE TO THE QUIRKY SIDE OF COLLEGE ARTICLE BY MYLA ANDREWS

P I C K Y O U R L O C A T I O N A N D I N T E R E S T. . . CALIFORNIA 77% of students are minorities panoramic views of Los Angeles highly-ranked and health conscious dining halls many bikes, park-like campus, farmers’ market as integral part of community

CAL POLY POMONA Especially significant for a small liberal arts college, Cal Poly Pomona has one of the highest student minority populations in the country. The learning environment is geared to promote acceptance and address social justice.

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY Located close to the heart of Los Angeles, LMU is still a quiet environment due to its location on a hill, where the school boasts stunning views of the city as well as the ocean. UCLA Not only has UCLA won several awards for its health-conscious cuisine (like the PETA award for most vegan friendly in 2012), but it has four all-you-can-eat dining halls with complete nutritional values listed. They’ve also added healthy snack options to their more than 100 vending machines located throughout campus. UC DAVIS Bicyclists are so common around UC Davis’s woodland-esque campus that they’ve established extensive bike lanes, circles, and traffic lights throughout. Also, students have easy access to farm-fresh produce at the charming Davis Farmers Market, which is a charming and prevalent facet of campus life.

SOURCES: UNIGO.COM, COLLEGES.NICHE.COM

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NORTHWEST maraschino cherries

SOUTH CENTRAL UNITED STATES

close proximity and easy transportation to tons of college towns

an academically rigorous environment with a unique night life

extreme school spirit

chocolate festivals the Kardashians

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON At UW, students bleed purple and gold, and the fight song becomes something like a personal mantra. Not only do they claim to have invented “the Wave,” but passionate Husky fans broke the record for loudest football game in 1992, reaching a level of 130 decibels.

LEWIS AND CLARK COLLEGE There is a free shuttle for students and faculty every day not only to the heart of Portland but to surrounding towns as well. This offers extremely easy access to the vibrant life of the city as well as all other surrounding attractions, while still maintaining a quiet small-school feel on campus.

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY Past OSU professor Ernest Wiegand is credited with altering the European recipe of maraschino cherries so it could be legally sold in the United States. OSU is the birthplace of the modern maraschino cherry— bring on the ice cream sundaes.

TRINITY UNIVERSITY Every February, Trinity’s Student Programming Board puts on a largescale Chocolate Festival where free chocolates are distributed to students and faculty and students can mingle and bond with each other through organized competitions.

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA The only one of the Kardashian sisters to get a degree (Kourtney) received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona. She was recently seen partying at the local bar with husband Scott Disick, and the campus even appeared on Keeping Up with the Kardashians during her visit.

TULANE UNIVERSITY In addition to a strong academic reputation, Tulane is located in Uptown New Orleans and is surrounded by upbeat bars and restaurants with an astounding selection of food. There is also easy access to streetcars for transportation to the French Quarter or downtown, which offer vibrant night life in one of the world’s most interesting cities.

ollege—the word evokes a series of responses: anxiety, excitement, stress, and, perhaps among the most prevalent, uncertainty. Though Francis Parker is a school geared toward college preparation, some of us don’t have a clue what we want to do or where we want to be. Universities and colleges are often advertised to us as “well-rounded” and “diverse,” offering “valuable opportunities,” but how are we expected to choose when everything sounds the same? Sometimes we forget to ignore the prestige of a name and look at the quirky and eclectic facets of an individual college campus. Those are what make all the difference in our post-high school careers. That’s where this flowchart comes in: just pick your location and follow what grabs your interest, and maybe you’ll find yourself one step closer to your dream school.

NORTH CENTRAL UNITED STATES hipster college town, tubing on a creek, and access to beautiful hiking trails school pride that runs deep and a football stadium that seats more than 100,000

SOUTHEAST

NORTHEAST

studying abroad

becoming a certifiable pirate

having United States politicians as professors lemurs

a campus in skyrises cricket

finding your soulmate

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, BOULDER Boulder is famous for being one of the coolest college towns in the country, and deservingly so. Surrounding the area are tons of hiking trails, a creek students can tube down, and eclectic shops and restaurants. In the winter, Boulder is within two hours away from a variety of the country’s best-known ski resorts.

MIAMI UNIVERSITY A longstanding myth at Miami University is that if you kiss your boyfriend or girlfriend at Upham Hall on campus, you will eventually marry. While it is not completely accurate, approximately 16.5% of these college couples actually do end up married— more than double the rate of other universities.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Michigan’s football stadium, “the Big House,” is the largest football stadium in the United States and third largest in the world, with a whopping capacity of 109,901. What’s more is that this stadium is often packed with Wolverine fans and sometimes capacity is even exceeded. Talk about school spirit!

DUKE UNIVERSITY If you’re a fan of lemurs, look no further— the Duke Lemur Center is the largest and most diverse lemur center outside of Madagascar. This 85-acre research facility is the only one of its kind in any university, and is located a mere 3 miles away from main campus.

WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY Though it has a small student population (under 5,000), more than 60% of undergraduate students study abroad. Wake Forest offers study abroad programs yearround, to all grade levels, and in over 200 cities in 70 different countries.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY Located about eight minutes from the White House, active and retired politicians both speak and teach at Georgetown University. Former Prime Minister of Spain José María Aznar and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright are two examples of the type of professor you might come across here.

MIT Though MIT is famous for its engineering program, it is little known that you can receive a pirate certificate as a part of Physical Education. If a student completes fencing, sailing, pistol or rifle shooting, and archery, they receive an official certificate recognizing them as “no longer a lily-livered landlubber.”

HAVERFORD UNIVERSITY Though cricket is a wildly popular sport around the world, the U.S. hasn’t completely embraced it. Regardless, Haverford has the only official varsity cricket team in the entire country and competes with various club teams from other colleges.

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY The founding principle of NYU was “in and of the city”, and this certainly rings true today. Located in the heart of Washington Square Park, students live and take classes in New York City high rises, perfectly integrated into city vibe.

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DON’T RUSH TO CONCLUSIONS ON GREEK LIFE ARTICLE BY CAROLINE MERKIN (PRO) AND OLIVIA FIDLER (CON)

Fall is a season full of decisions for the class of 2015. But whether or not to partake in Greek life is becoming more and more relevant and important; it poses a much bigger question.

PRO

reek life has existed for over two-hundred years, yet parents still widen their eyes and gasp at the thought of it, high school students find it to be a joke, and most college counselors never even bring up the fact that certain schools have them. Ironically, the majority of people with such reactions have never been involved in the associations, nor have even had any first-hand experience at what these sororities and fraternities are capable of. The National Panhellenic Conference, which is the guiding force and administrator for all sororities in America, states “[Greeklife] is a social experience based on the fundamental right of a free people to form voluntary associations. It is one of the enrichments of college life.” Contrary to popular belief, Greek life is a valuable and rewarding aspect of the college experience–it’s not just sundresses and provocatively-themed frat parties. In such organizations young men and women are exposed to philanthropy, lifelong friendships, and social skills; such themes that are heavily stressed in Parker’s educational values.

PHILANTHROPY

One of the main focuses of Greek life is bettering the community. In fact, almost every sorority and fraternity is tailored towards sponsoring, volunteering, and fundraising for service-based centers. “We have philanthropic events almost every month,” Kara Jones, Class of 2012, of her soror-

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ity, Kappa Alpha Theta at Southern Methodist University, says through email. “Last semester we raised around $30,000 for C.A.S.A. (Court Appointed Special Advocates) an organization that mentors kids who are victims of domestic violence.” Learning how to give back to the community is an admirable trait not only to future employers, but also to the people you meet. A primary goal of sororities and fraternities is to develop the individual’s potential through leadership opportunities and group effort, such as charity. “[People] need to look beyond the stereotypical party reputation that frats are given; [it’s important to] actually meet the guys in them and find out their true intentions,” Brad Tauber, Parker Class of 2013, of his Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity at the University of Michigan, says through email. “We operate a school-wide breast cancer nonprofit and are all asked to donate to an Alzheimers foundation with whom we have a partnership. We host events and fundraisers benefiting both.” Greek life provides an opportunity for students to still be involved philanthropic activities even though they’re not required to complete a certain amount of hours. Community service builds character and creates more empathetic, selfless citizens – something that most college students are not.

MATURE, LONG-LASTING RELATIONSHIPS

Breaking out of the “Parker bubble” can be a dauting task once you’re enrolled in college. “You’re in a completely new

At Parker, philanthropy is important, as well as a sheltered group setting of friends. Does that shelter or enrich us? And are these groups in colleges and universities a positive or negative force? place with new and different people,” Jones states. “I knew that by joining a sorority I would meet amazing people that would help my transition into college life... There is an overall bond that really does feel like sisterhood.” Eva Scarano, Parker Class of 2013 and member of the Alpha Phi sorority at University of Michigan, agrees: “Through rush... I found myself in a supportive group of women. I soon became close with my pledge class... and was able reach out to wiser upperclassmen who would become mentors and role models. I had a welcoming, accepting home and... family, to help me face the trials and tribulations of freshman year.” Finding where you belong in a foreign environment can be really stressful; Greek life provides a great opportunity to discover that common bond. It’s a ready-made social life. “My sorority is filled with girls who are involved all over campus, whether its academically, athletically, or socially. [It] makes me feel like I had a community just like Parker did for high school,” says Spencer Cheng, Parker Class of 2012, of her Delta Gamma sorority at UC Davis, through email. The sisterhood and brotherhood that comes with these organizations lasts a lifetime. The members you participate with truly do become your family, one that isn’t left behind. Often, certain chapters and houses continue to reunite for the rest of their lives. “Networking is a huge thing in college. Girls are always speaking about jobs at their work or internships on campus or are looking to hand off their position, says Cheng. “Likewise, alumni are al-

ways talking about open positions in their company, more than willing to write you a recommendation or even read and edit your personal statement.” Former members immerse themselves in alumni programs associated with their sororities and fraternities in order to improve and provide guidance to current and future Greek life members. “At the end of the day, brotherhood is the reason 99% of us rushed in the first place, and what is truly going to matter in the long run,” says Tauber. Raphie Cantor, Parker Class of 2013 and an Alpha Epsilon Pi member at University of Southern California, agrees. “While it may not seem like it now, even by your sophomore year of college, to a degree, you will lose touch with the majority of your high school friends. There is such a thing as brotherhood [in fraternities] and it is legitimate. The rush process essentially picks kids that are supposed to mesh well together to be in the fraternity. When you spend a majority of your time with these people, you become close with one another.” These young men and women will most likely grow up to be your business connections, bridesmaids/groomsmen, and fellow soccer moms.

ETIQUETTE

Knowing how to socialize is a key life skill. Being involved in the formal recruitment process of rushing a sorority or fraternity helps young men and women to ask relevant, significant questions and respond adequately. Immature behavior and informal language are

GRΣΣK LIFΣ taken into account when selecting individuals for the houses. Members interact with keynote speakers, businessmen and women, college officials, and other students involved in Greek life at other schools on weekly bases, so being conscience of how to properly address someone and carry meaningful conversation is essential. “As a returning sophomore, I’ve gained on campus job opportunities as well as event planning skills that will continue to benefit me long-term, in the form of networking and career connections,” Scarano says. This adroitness in these fields will benefit the members in the long-run; social skills such as these will reappear and be necessary in future occupations and lifestyles.

CON

f you visit greekrank.com you’ll find a list of the highest rated fraternities and sororities in universities across the nation. With a click on each one’s name, scroll down to find the motto. Tau Kappa Epsilon, the largest fraternity (excluding cultural and honors fraternities): “Love, charity, and esteem; not for wealth, rank, or honor, but for personal worth and character.” The largest sorority, Alpha Omicron Phi: “One Motto, One Badge, One Bond, and Singleness of Heart.” Are these telling of what several Greek life organizations have revealed behind closed doors? Greek life philanthropy can be helpful to those outside a school’s community while its own members are subject to the demands of social conformity, binge drinking and objectification. These experiences often end

up entailing the very things you want to avoid when finding the school that is just the right fit.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

“A lot of people go into these groups thinking they’re just social groups,” Alexandra Robbins, the author of the best-seller, Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities, explains in her book. “They don’t realize until it’s too late that sororities and fraternities often try to control your life and identity– much more than just your social calendar.” Spending 12 months at an undisclosed university, Robbins documented the life of a pledge, hearing a good share of positive change they were part of. But more so, she observed the effects of hazing, binge drinking, and forced conformity.

PARKER’S PERSPECTIVE

In a recent survey put out by The Scribe, students were asked to explain their feelings toward Greek life. Out of 57 responses, 15 thought positively toward Greek life, 5 negatively and a whopping 28 were “indifferent.” Many explained their position was based on funny renditions of sorority or fraternity life in film and TV, like Legally Blonde, Animal House, Greek, etc. But some had concrete concerns. “I believe these are the epitomes of all that is wrong with the US college system,” junior Dan Leibowitz wrote in the survey. “I love the basic idea of having a group of people you will always belong to and who you know will have your back, but to me, frats and sororities seem to have become all about parties and drinking and less about being a closeknit group of people using their

time at college well.” “I think that they provide good bonding opportunities for college students, but at the same time, I don’t find them to be particularly beneficial when it comes to going to college,” junior Jasmine Perket wrote. “A sorority or fraternity is not going to help you stay in school, but it also is unlikely to be the reason you drop out.” The quintessential college experience in itself is supposed to offer the same social opportunities the these organizations do, and graduates attest to that. “Having no Greek life is one of the predominant reasons I chose Skidmore College to begin with,” Alumni Cecilia Smith ‘14, wrote through email. “With each fraternity and sorority comes many stereotypes about who you are, and without the Greek system, I feel like people know me for me. You can get the same sense of closeness in clubs you join. There are no hierarchies involved, no hazing, and because there is no Greek life I have gotten to meet people from all backgrounds.”

THE STATS

The organization StopHazing says that three in five college students are subject to some form of hazing during their years at an institution. According to the same source in a study showing the “percentage of students that experienced at least one hazing behavior,” the highest percentage (74%) were students afflicted in varsity athletics. Only 1% behind, a whopping 73% occured in a social frat or sorority, and 50% experienced hazing in a service frat or sorority. Unfortunately, students are forced into denial after such activity. The same organization found that nine out of ten students that have experienced hazing behav-

iors don’t consider themselves to have been hazed. How are we supposed to make change if people are afraid to stand out against Greek life?

GLORIFICATION

We are surrounded by negative revelations about Greek systems in the news and online. On September 22, The Washington Post reported that pageant officials discovered this year’s Miss New York, Kira Kazantsev, was kicked out of Alpha Phi at Hofstra University. Why would the sorority’s Recruitment Committee president be terminated? “Under Kira’s supervision, according to the source, pledges in the incoming class were called names, berated for their perceived physical flaws and imperfections, and made to perform physical tasks to the point of bruising and exhaustion—standard sorority pledge stuff paid forward by a person who our source says was herself brutally hazed upon entry into Alpha Phi.” As the Post reflects, “This is the new Miss America whose social cause is protecting women against domestic violence.” We shouldn’t be celebrating these organizations and the people endorsing the heinous actions they take. The spokesperson for the pageant continues to regard her as a candidate worthy of the crown, and there has been no talk about removing it from her possession. Knowledge and correct understanding is integral to moving forward and accepting the problems. It’s all too common for students to succumb to incorrect conclusions and depictions made from pop culture, and the photos shared of events, studded by poses and smiles. Think before you rush. THE SCRIBE

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COST INCLUDES TUITION AND FEES (NOT ROOM AND BOARD) SOURCE: U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT