The Picador: Volume 7, Issue 8

Current Events: Record Set at Australian Open

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What’s Next?

A Photo Essay: The Barton Olympics

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The Picador Volume 7, Issue 8

A PUBLICATION BY HOLDERNESS STUDENTS FOR THE HOLDERNESS SCHOOL COMMUNITY

February 3, 2012

Holderness Moves Into Tenth Place in the Green Cup Challenge

By Charlie Williams ’13

very little about it.

Every winter hundreds of Holderness students are asked to participate in a month-long competition against other schools all over the country. For a few students, the Green Cup Challenge is a time when they make an earnest effort to turn off lights, close windows, and unplug unnecessary electronics; but for many the Green Cup Challenge means very little because they know

So where did the Challenge come from? Phillips Exeter Academy, Northfield Mount Hermon, and the Lawrenceville School began the competition in 2006. In 2008 two

Atlanta day schools also began a challenge for day schools in an attempt to spread environmental awareness even further.

According to the Green Cup Challenge website, the goal

“It's a quiet revolution begun by ordinary people with the stuff of our daily lives.”

- Bill McKibben

of this challenge is to inspire schools to move towards environmentally friendly methods and achieve an aggregated electrical energy reduction of at least 7%. The competition was designed to focus on two main goals: reducing carbon emissions and energy use, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The founders wished to create a new standard in environmental consciousness.

(Continued on page 2)

Above are the two winning snow sculptures from Holderness Winter Carnival. Rathbun created the crocodile, while Sargent created the TV room. For more pictures of the event, turn the page!

The Picador ness has a clear green initiative. Between the new dorms They hope to inform our gen- and events like the Bill eration about global climate McKibben visit, Holderness is change and what we can do to definitely trying to raise help prevent the further emis- awareness. With this awaresion of greenhouse gasses. ness, we as a school should be They run the competition in able to further cut down on the month of February, as it is our carbon footprint and place the peak energy-use month of even higher. the year.

So, here is an appeal to your Holderness joined the chalcompetitive side. Let's face it, lenge a few years ago and has other than a few successful not always achieved the best sports competitions, Holderresults. This year, however, ness does not have many large we are in tenth place. Holder- -scale victories. Our small MLK Day (Continued from page 1)

student body does not quite compare to Andover and Exeter‟s. The Green Cup Challenge offers a unique opportunity to not only make a difference on an international level but also to defeat schools that are larger than ours.

daily lives.” The values and goals of the Green Cup Challenge will only be accomplished through individual involvement. Please help!

There is always more to do, but the Green Cup Challenge is one way you can become involved in the fight for a greener Earth. In the words of Bill McKibben; “It's a quiet revolution begun by ordinary people with the stuff of our

A Photo Essay: The Bartons at the Barton Olympics

By Charlie Williams ’13

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Volume 7, Issue 8

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The Picador Current Events Current events don’t have to be dull and boring or complicated and confusing. In their attempt to break the Holderness bubble and give the Holderness community a glimpse of what is going on outside of our 600-acre campus, Fabian Stocek and Vincent Guo have accepted the challenge of writing current events articles for each issue. We hope you enjoy this new addition to The Picador!

Record Match Played at Australian Open African Rat Toxic Enough to Kill Elephant

By Fabian Stocek ’13

By Vincent Guo ’14

Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal on Monday, outlasting him in the final match of the Australian Open.

What‟s black and white with a skunkish look to its cover, and from bark becomes so toxic, it makes lions fall over?

World number one Djokovic cemented his place at the top of men's tennis by outlasting his Spanish rival 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, (5-7), 7-5 and ending a gripping battle which lasted a record five hours and 53 minutes.

It is a type of African crested rat, or Lophiomys imhausi, a creature so large, flamboyantly furred, and thickly helmeted, it hardly seems a member of the international rat consortium.

However, it is indeed a rat. And its super-specialized pelt is permeated with potent toxins that have been harvested from trees.

Tension was palpable in an 88-minute fourth set as the crowd feasted on the latest thrilling encounter between two greats of the sport.

Neither man showed any vulnerability until game eight, when Nadal faced 0-40 but brilliantly saved all three break points to level at 4-4. He was suddenly buzzing and twice successfully served to stay in the set before overturning a 5-3 deficit to edge the tie-break.

Nadal dropped to his knees with joy, and it was he who made the first move in the decider, going 4-2 in front when Djokovic fired long.

However, Nadal then missed a routine backhand at 30-15 in game seven, throwing the momentum away and helping Djokovic hit back. The right-hander could not take an opportunity in game nine but made no mistakes in game 11 when Nadal netted a backhand.

He finally brought proceedings to a close by wrong-footing Nadal - but only after saving the 26th break point of the match.

“Rafa is one of best players ever and one of the most respected guys on tour,” said Djokovic, who will hold all four Grand Slam trophies if he wins the French Open in June.

Nadal applauded his opponent as well.

“Congratulations to Novak and his team. They deserve it; they are doing something fantastic,” stated Nadal.

Source: BBC.UK/Sport/Tennis

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According to a recent report in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society, the crested rat shows one of the most extreme cases of a survival strategy rare among mammals: deterring predators with a unique chemical weapons.

Venoms and repellents are hardly rare in nature: many insects, frogs, snakes, jellyfish and other phyletic characters use them with abandon. But mammals generally rely, for defense or offense, on teeth, claws, muscles, keen senses, and/or quick wits.

This type of rat, however, is special. The rat spends many hours gnawing on the bark and roots of the Acokanthera tree to extract the same curare-type heart toxins that African hunters have traditionally used to kill elephants. The rat then slavers the toxic masticate onto tracts of hairs running along its flank.

Those hairs, when observed under a scanning electron microscope, look very different from ordinary fur, Dr. Vollrath said.

“Each outer shaft is stiff and full of holes — like a dead cactus,” he said. “Inside are a series of long, fluffy microfibers.

The researchers showed that the applied toxin seeps through the outer holes of the hairs and is wicked up and stored by the fibers, lending the rat twinned flank strips of doom.” One little nip would sicken or even kill a predator, and the crested rat is well-equipped to endure exploratory bits.

Dr. Vollrath said: “Its hide is unusually thick, and its head is helmeted like a turtle‟s.

Whether through trial and error or by following an enlightened elder‟s example, Africa‟s many carnivores give the rat a wide berth.” Scientist are still trying to figure out why the rat is itself immune to the toxin, or how its fate came to be bound up with the Acokanthera tree.

Volume 7, Issue 8 So What Do We Do Now? Thoughts on McKibben’s Call to Action is that we‟re building a „New Planet.‟”

By Jake Barton ’13 Bill McKibben‟s talk last Thursday was every bit as hair-raising as a Hollywood horror film, minus the axe murderers and chainsaw massacres. From an environmental perspective, however, the terrors of climate change are every bit as gory. If McKibben‟s words didn‟t scare you, or at least convince you of the pressing need for change, consult NASA scientist Jim Hansen: “If we‟re hoping to maintain a planet that looks like the one that humanity has known, we‟re out of time right now.”

Without firm, continued action, he says, the damage that humans have inflicted on the planet could easily become irreversible. CH4 (methane) emissions, released in the melting of permafrost, have combined with water vapor and other warming agents (namely C02) to raise the Earth‟s average temperature one degree Fahrenheit in the past 40 years. Whether or not you believe in global warming, global surface warming is undeniable; if this warming trend continues to the point where we‟ve warmed three, four, or even five degrees Fahrenheit, the damage is essentially incalculable.

Unfortunately, as environmentalists like McKibben point out, “Sheer logic [just isn‟t] getting the job done.”

Any progress made on the ecologic front is soon eclipsed by bottom-line

driven corporations, who, in their blatant disregard for all things naturally green, pay homage to the almighty economic green. The pleas of environmentalists, NASA scientists, and tree-huggers alike go unheeded by these knights of the greenback; in their efforts to “make it rain Benjamins,” they “make it rain acid.”

This notion of awareness, or lack thereof, is a critical piece of the environmental puzzle. Those people (or corporations) who have the most power to halt the warming process, seem to be the least aware, or most ignorant, of the dangers that their actions pose.

For Holderness students, being at least knowledgeable on the subject is important and a good place to begin. However, McKibben‟s “call to duty” requires more of us; recycling is a nice start for the passive environmentalist,

but for the difference maker, more is required.

One springboard to environmental reform is politics, and this flurry of environmental action at Holderness falls square in the middle of the Presidential race, with direct ecological consequences.

“None of [the Presidential candidates] are proposing anywhere near enough,” says McKibben. “The GOP candidates have been particularly distressing. They're insisting that global warming is not a real danger. Mitt Romney said recently it might be 50 years before scientists delivered a solid answer. This is nonsense, scientifically, but a big help to the big oil companies who pay their way."

Mitt musta‟ missed McKibben‟s memo. While it‟s possible, McKibben explains, that global warming “couldn‟t [have] happen[ed] on the „Old Planet,' the point

The outright renunciation of climate change by many influential politicians and business people is a major issue, and one that needs to be addressed in to order to enable environmental policy to improve. The greatest stalwart to positive environmental change is not population growth, not disposable water bottles, and not even oil consumption; the real issue lies with influential politicians and corporations whose outright dismissal of climatic change prevents any substantial progress from being made.

While it is one thing to simply garner an awareness and understanding of these problems, taking the initiative to help solve them is another thing entirely. Being environmentally conscious is far easier in thought than in deed.

However, taking action (like writing a letter to a congressman) is a logical second step once the issues are known. “[Move forward] by getting involved with others who are working on the same problem,” McKibben suggests.

“Organizing a rally, say, needn't take vast amounts of money or time, just initiative and intelligence which are clearly available in your community! Connect up with a group like 350.org that can help you figure out what steps to take in coordination (Continued on page 7)

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The Picador New England Sports

By Keith Bohlin ’12 The New England Patriots: It‟s finally here: Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, Indiana between the New York Giants and your New England Patriots! Columnists like me have been writing articles for the past two weeks, hoping for this one titanic rematch between two cities that have the biggest, most historic rivalry in the world. In case you have been frozen next to Walt Disney since 2007, the Giants beat the Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII, preventing the Patriots from making history with the first 19-0 season of all time. At that time, they were knocking on Mercury Morris‟s front door with party poppers in hand. Luckily for Mercury, he‟s been popping champagne ever since, and Patriots fans have been cursing David Tyree 19 times a day.

Back to this season; the Giants defeated the Patriots in their week-nine tilt in Foxborough, 24-20. The Pats were up in the fourth, but the cover two defense, as always, lost the game. It was, however, the most recent loss for the Patriots, as they were winners for nine straight. The Giants are also on their annual playoff hot streak, having beaten the number five seeded Falcons 24-2, the number one seeded Packers 37-20, and the number two seeded 49ers 20-17.

Neither team is very strong on defense this season, especially against the pass. The Giants rank 29th in opponents passing yards per game, while the Patriots are up one spot from their normal position, ranking 31st in the league. These stats are accompanied by the fifth best ranked passing attack of the Giants and their quarterback Eli Manning. Still, they are topped by the Patriots who have the second ranked passing yards per game.

All of this considered, the biggest questions heading into the game focus on two players that were virtually unknown at the start of last season: Victor Cruz and Rob Gronkowski. Cruz barely made the team after training camp and after two games had only two catches for 27 yards; however, he finished the season in third overall in yards only behind Calvin Johnson and Wes Welker. On the other side of the field, Gronkowski is listed as questionable with a high ankle sprain suffered during the AFC Championship game. Speaking of which, Billy Cundiff does still have his job after his debacle at the end of the Ravens season. But still, what a mess…Anyway, watch the Super Bowl on FOX this Sunday at 6:29 PM EST. And if you think like I do, yes, this does mean we have to listen to Joe Buck announce. Oh well… Go Pats!

The Boston Bruins: For all of you hockey fans, sorry it has been a while since the last Bruins update, and sorry again because you are going to have to wait another week. If for some reason you really want to know what‟s up but still don‟t have a clue from any other source, they lead the Northeast division with 66 points, 6 more than the Ottawa Senators, and trail only the New York Rangers by a point in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins hope to keep the team stats up in the second half of the year, leading the league in goals per game, fourth in goals against, and seventh in both power play percentage and penalty kill percentage. Be sure to read next week for more on the Bs, especially if the Pats lose, in which case the entire section will be on hockey. Thanks for reading.

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Volume 7, Issue 8 Outrageous it truly is. Should we sit idly by while these injustices are committed at While it‟s surely difficult to the common man‟s expense? engage in this struggle, it‟s In the words of Yehuda one that is worth fighting.

Bauer, “Thou shalt not be a This talk of protesting is well victim, thou shalt not be a and good, but what exactly perpetrator, but, above all, should “we” protest? Once thou shalt not be a bycommitted, where should we stander.” focus our efforts? McKibben This is certainly part of gave this advice: McKibben‟s message, and “We want to fight in the next something that we should all few months to remove the observe. Falling victim to taxpayer subsidies for the environmental bigotry is bad, fossil fuel industry. Worldand perpetrating these injuswide, it's estimated that we tices is worse still, but simply could cut carbon pollution in sitting idly by while the carhalf if we removed all the bon parts-per-million in our government subsidies, and atmosphere approaches 400 is the US is clearly a good place unacceptable. Direct action is to start. It's outrageous to needed, more desperately send these guys money when than we might think. with others.”

Sargent

Points

Connell

House…

Lewis

New …

Pfenni…

Day …

Winter Carnival Points (Girls) 600 400 200 0

Day… Day Men Rathbun Van… The Hill Webster Hoit Niles Wood…

By Mackenzie Mahar ’13

to untidy dorm rooms.

When all is said and done, sit down dinner, athletic practices, chapel, and study hall leave the typical Holderness student an average of 16 hours of free time each week. Then, take into account the wonderful new addition of tri-weekly, mandatory room checks.

Holderness School of Excellency has always strived to produce the most brilliant, athletic, and caring citizens.

Recently however, the school has shifted their focus to breeding a new, elite squadron of house cleaners.

Yep, that‟s correct folks, it‟s now your teacher's job to tell you when you should clean the one place, on the entire campus, that you can call your own.

But wait, it gets even more fun!! According to Holderness, scaling the library during study hall deserves the same punishment as finding a dirty sock, or God forbid, an unmade bed!

You got it kids; the school has recently developed the nerve to enforce obligatory labor on Sunday mornings in response

Senior Editors Nate Lamson Haley Mahar James Robbins Junior Editors Jake Barton Jeff Hauser Charlie Williams

Winter Carnival Points (Boys) 600 400 200 0

Student Opinion

they're making world record profits.”

McKibben (Continued from page 5)

Faculty Advisors Ms. Magnus Mr. Solberg Mr. Carey

Points

Yes, living on top of piles of dirty towels and empty Doritos bags is in no way healthy, but there is definitely some sort of happy medium between living in a slum and a hospital. Three nights a week? Really? Prisons don‟t even do that.

Hannah Halsted Steph Symecko Contact Information Holderness School Chapel Lane P.O. Box 1789 Plymouth, NH 03245 Phone Number: 603.536.1257 Fax: 603.536.1267 Email: info@holderness.org

Contributing Writers Keith Bohlin Vincent Guo Fabian Stocek Mackenzie Mahar Maggie Caputi

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The Picador

A Letter From the Editors Dear School, When Bill McKibben graced Holderness school with his presence last Thursday, he shocked many students with facts that demonstrated that in our lifetime, we will start to see some of the serious effects of climate change; it can even be said that we are witnessing slight changes in our environment today. One fact that stuck out, was that if we cut all carbon emissions today, the world will still be affected for the next hundred years. From this perspective, the damage has been done, and it is too late to protect our future. There is no way to deny that these facts are scary.

However, you may disagree with some of McKibben's theories and points. If you are one of the people who found yourself objecting to his arguments, we encourage you to talk. If enough students are legitimately interested in hearing the other side to this argument, there may be a chance to invite an industrialist to come and talk about his/her perspective on climate change.

In the meantime, from the members of the Green Team, we ask you to be aware of your actions and do the little things, like turning off your lights and recycling.

- Jeff Hauser ’13

In and Outs: The Winter Carnival Edition "You're in then you're out." - Katy Perry In

Out

 Snow crocodiles

 Snowmen

 Lizzy Duffy

 Regina George‟s Mom

 Ben Coleman‟s Actual Birthday

 Ben Colman‟s Fake Birthdays

 Sargent Dorm

 Bailey Walsh‟s Dance Moves

 Perry‟s Prom Ask

 Nico‟s Prom Ask

-- Maggie Caputi ’13, Hannah Halsted ’12, Steph Symecko ’12

Be a Part of the Green Cup Challenge

Shout Outs

Turn off your Lights

The past two weeks have been filled with as little love as snow, but Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Order your carnations and find that Valentine, because we will be spotting!

Drink Tap Water Instead of Bottled Water Turn Off the Water While You Brush Your Teeth Share The Picador With a Friend

- Kristina Micalizzi ’13 and Shawn Watson ’12

Overheards

By Justin Simpkins ’12 and Brandon Marcus ’12 You know those moments when you are walking down the path past Niles and Webster or walking through the Dining Hall, and you overhear a snippet of conversation? Sometimes, without knowing the context of the conversation, what you overhear is just plain funny. Below are a collection of quotes overheard throughout campus and compiled by the Picador editors. Enjoy!  Cheese shouldn‟t do that.

 Don‟t give him a bath; the crust makes him better.

 She got hair in my pie.



 We need a horse.

 That was the best apple I have ever eaten.

 Yo, I think you‟re bleeding.

 Why is there iced tea all over my computer?

She‟s like the anti-chill.