C HRONICLE the harvard-westlake
Los Angeles • Volume 23 • Issue 3 • Oct. 15, 2013 • hwchronicle.com
Coldwater building may begin next year By Lizzy Thomas
JACK GOLDFISHER/CHRONICLE
Adding injury to insult
KICK IN THE TEETH: Safety Chase Aldridge ’15 (#19) brings down Serra quarterback Jalen Greene (#3) as he attempts to hurdle over Aldridge in the varsity football team’s 63-7 loss Oct. 11. The defeat was the second consecutive loss after a four-game winning streak.
Extended mid-semester break provides opportunity for college visits, brief vacation By Sarah Novicoff
Students plan to visit colleges, work on college applications and relax during this week’s changed mid-semester break. Seniors will have Wednesday off while juniors and sophomores take the PSAT. The whole Upper School has Thursday and Friday off. Middle school students have spent the week on retreat. “We feel it is almost the
only thing in recent memory that is universally appealing,” Dean Sharon Cuseo said. “I think faculty need it and students need it; seniors especially are taking advantage of it as a chance to visit colleges. I think, especially since we started earlier this year, it is just the right time when people are starting to feel a little overwhelmed, and they need a chance to catch up and take a breath. I feel like it was a very positive step.”
In previous years, midsemester break meant the Monday after the PSAT off for all three grades at the Upper School. However, by moving that day-off to Thursday and adding an additional day of break on Friday, the school hoped to give students a chance to visit schools and teachers a chance to write recommendations for early applications. “Last year we decided that, especially since we were starting school early, we had a few
more school days to play with essentially,” Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. “We thought about when those days would be best, when would a couple days off best be utilized, and we came up with the October break. It’s really seen as a way to reduce stress around here. Seniors need it for colleges, juniors need it because they’ve been working really hard, sophomores need it be• Continued on page A10
Homecoming Formal likely to be annual tradition
By Lizzy Thomas
Last month’s Homecoming Formal was likely the first of many, prefect Sarah Winshel ’15 said. “It was absolutely as successful if not much more so than we expected it to be,” Winshel said. “I can’t say with 100 percent certainty that it will, but I can say that there is no reason it wouldn’t become a long-standing tradition.” High attendance at the Sept. 28 dance has gone a
INSIDE
TALK THE TALK: Peter Bouckaert, a Human Rights Watch activist, spoke to students about slain photojournalist Tim Hetherington.
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long way toward instituting Homecoming Formal as a permanent tradition, Director of Student Affairs Jordan Church said. A total of 635 students attended the dance, well above expected numbers. “Our number that was kind of a mark of if it was successful was 500,” Church said. By comparison, attendance was significantly higher than at last year’s Whiteout dance and, taking into account that only grades 10 through 12 were permitted at the event,
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MORE THAN A COMMUTE: Bus driver Johnny Salazar worked in data entry in Ecuador and at a factory before his current job as a the Westchester 1 driver for Atlantic Express.
similar to the typical turnout at Semiformal. “There were hundreds of more people at this event than there were last year, which is super exciting because it was the equivalent number to Semiformal,” Winshel said. “That was our goal because we want to have something that can be as fun.” In stark contrast to formal events of the past, the administration received no official complaints about misbehavior at Homecoming
COURT CONTROL: Despite several players’ injuries, the girls’ varsity tennis team extended their win streak to move to a 6-0 season record.
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Formal after parties or in limos on the way to the event. “The 10-hour period post Homecoming Formal was blissfully uneventful,” Head of School Audrius Barzdukas said. “I didn’t get any phone calls, texts or emails.” “I wish that all the students could know how much the prefects appreciated that and how much all their classmates appreciate that,” Winshel said. “Because that is what is going • Continued on page A10
Construction on a parking garage on the west side of Coldwater Canyon and a pedestrian bridge to the main entrance could begin by the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year, Vice President John Amato said. In a letter to parents last week, Amato, who is the construction project spokesman, said the Upper School Parking Improvement Project has reached a “key milestone.” The school published a Draft Environmental Impact Report last Thursday, a city document which describes the projected environmental effects of the proposed construction. The Draft EIR also answers comments made by attendees at a late summer scoping meeting where the school presented the project to the public for the first time. Following a 45-day period where members of the public and city agencies can comment on the document, the school will release a final EIR with all of the comments and the school’s responses to them. Though the city could take issue with the final version of the EIR, the school is hopeful it will be approved. “Anything is possible. Yes, the city could not approve it, but this is really what the city uses as a document to determine the correctness, the rightness, the properness of the project,” Amato said. “And I think, when all is said and done, we are conservatively confident that we will be able to be successful.” The EIRs are part of the entitlement stage of the project, which involves the school getting entitled to apply for building permits and which began with the scoping meeting during the summer. The entitlement process should be completed by mid to • Continued on page A9
ONtheWEB COMEDY CENTRAL: Director Jason Reitman ’95 interviews director and comedian David Wain. Watch the video at hwchronicle.com/ reitman
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FORCE OF GRAVITY: Physics teachers Karen Hutchison, far left, and Jesse Reiner, far right, float in a reduced gravity aircraft Sept. 28.
The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 3700 Coldwater Canyon Ave. Studio City, Calif. 91604
Preview
BELOW DECKS: The bomb shelter, now used for performing arts storage, is one of the lesser-known places on campus.
News A4
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ZERO-G CORPORATION
LAUREN ROTHMAN/ CHRONICLE
Features B7 A&E B9
GRANT NUSSBAUM/CHRONICLE PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF AMITA PENTAKOTA
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Amita Pentakota ’14 dances with her company at the Ford Amphitheatre Sept. 21.
Sports C1
offbeat
PUSH, SLAP, DRIVE: Alex Kano ’14 prepares to sweep the ball away from a Newport High School defender in the varsity field hockey team’s game Sept. 19.
Teachers hike Hollywood By Cole Feldman and Claire Goldsmith
More than 25 teachers from both the Middle and Upper School toured celebrity homes and hotspots on a hike in the Hollywood Hills Saturday, Oct. 12. Upper school math teacher Bill Thill led the trip, accompanied by his friend William Miltenberger, a guide from Bikes and Hikes LA. “Last year, we ran a smaller hike with about 12 teachers and [Miltenberger] did a great job,” Thill said. “He has a vast knowledge of movies and celebrities, and is able to tell you what movie and what scene many places are from.” The hike was followed by a barbeque at a home in the Hollywood Hills formerly owned
by actor Patrick Dempsey. The house, rented out by the tour company, featured a pool, paddle tennis and tennis courts for the faculty to use. “I think it is really important for faculty to get to know each other outside of the work we do [at Harvard-Westlake],” Thill said. “We get to appreciate what other teachers do in different departments when we actually sit down and get a chance to know them.” Even though the faculty live in the Los Angeles area, Thill said they still learned new things about hidden features of the city. “[Miltenberger] does a great job at showing people that live in Los Angeles things who they never would have seen,” he said.
PRINTD WITH PERMISSION OF WILLIAM THILL
TOURIST TRAP: Middle and upper school teachers pause at Runyon Canyon on a hike touring celebrity homes in the Hollywood Hills led by upper school math teacher Bill Thill Oct. 12. The teachers and administrators on the hike photographed celebrity homes and cars and took pictures of the vistas from Runyon Canyon.
The Chronicle, the student newspaper of Harvard-Westlake School, is published nine times per year and distributed free on both the upper and middle school campuses. There are 727 students at the Middle School and 870 students at the Upper School. Subscriptions may be purchased for $20 a year for delivery by mail. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the seniors on the Editorial
Thill believes trips like these help the faculty bond more than they do during school hours. “It’s hard [for us] to do a
lot of social gatherings during the week, because we are having focused conversations on work rather than getting to know each other,” he said.
Board. Letters to the editor may be submitted to chronicle@hw.com or mailed to 3700 Coldwater Canyon Ave., Studio City, CA 91604. Letters must be signed and may be edited for space and to conform to Chronicle style and format. Advertising questions may be directed to Tara Stone at 310-430-8537. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or the school.
Oct. 15, 2013
hwchronicle.com/news
News A3
College president to discuss Civil War
By Henry Vogel
SCOTT NUSSBAUM/CHRONICLE
Civitalks groups create ‘time capsule’ posters
PICTURE THIS: Posters created at the second Civitalks meeting of the year hang in the Emery Room. Each Civitalks group split up into smaller groups to create posters depicting their idea of the school’s community as if they would be placed in a time capsule.
Middle School relocates retreat sites due to federal government shutdown
By Lauren Sonnenberg
Due to the federal government shutdown, there is only one retreat option for the eighth and ninth grade classes, rather than each grade dividing into two groups. This is the first time in 22 years that each class has attended retreat as one group. Ninth grade retreat is usually split between wthe Upper River and the Lower River on the Colorado River. Eighth graders can usually opt to attend retreat at Joshua Tree National Park instead of at Alpine Meadows, located in the San Bernardino Mountains, with the majority of their class. However, Joshua Tree National Park and part of the
Colorado River were closed Tree instead joined the rest along with the rest of the of the eighth grade at Alpine National Parks in the United Meadows. States when Bec ause the federal the upper go v e r n part of the ment shut Colorado When I found out down Oct. River is 1. Due to that retreat was moved, I run by the the governof was really disappointed.” Bureau ment shutLand Mandown, only ent, —Elly Choi ’18 aa g e m “essential” governworkers ment agency continued to within the receive pay. US Department of the InteJoshua Tree was shut down rior that administers public by the budget impasse in the lands, ninth grade retreat has government because it is run been changed so that all ninth by the National Park Service, grade students will camp at a United States federal agency Walter’s Camp and Martinez that manages national parks. Lake, both on the Lower River. The 60 students who signed Since the government shutup to attend retreat at Joshua down 15 days ago, the admin-
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Online Common Application submission technology faces glitches By Sarah Novicoff
check marks that indicate the completion of a section and Technological problems print preview errors. Addiwith the new Common Ap- tionally, students are unable plication, released online Aug. to change the status of their 1, are beginning to affect stu- Family Education and Privacy dents and deans as Act rights, the right early application for a student to read deadlines approach. teacher recommenda“We are pretty tions, and must crefrustrated with its ate a new account if functionality,” Dean they fail to waive such Beth Slattery said. rights as deans advise. “We are quite con“There’s a steep cerned about these learning curve because problems, especially we are still figuring it nathanson’s the technological all out,” Dean Sharon Beth Slattery ones. We are, howCuseo said. “Hopeever, confident that, fully that process will with our connections to col- be fine, but I think that, ultileges, we could fix all problems mately, decisions won’t be difthat arose and are cautiously ferent. It will just add a layer optimistic that no serious of stress and inconvenience, problems will be produced.” hopefully not to the applicants Out of 139 seniors polled because the process is stresson a Chronicle survey, 64 per- ful enough. I think that there cent indicated that they have will be a more understanding experienced problems with the and a more patience on the Common Application. Such part of the college on completproblems include the dele- ing applications so that’s nice.” tion of descriptions in the AcThe New York Times retivities section, missing green ported Sunday that colleges,
such as Cornell University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, have encountered problems processing applications and are worried about functionality. Other such problems include the creation of accounts and inaccurate word counts. “I could not sign in to the Common App because the site kept telling me that I was too young to make an account,” Bakari Bolden ’14 said. “I had to use my dean’s computer in order to create my account.” Dean Pete Silberman recommends that students experiencing problems check the Common Application “Knowledgebase” to see if solutions are known. The Common Application has received and resolved more than 10 problems and is working on 14 more, such as issues with recommendation forms. The list of solutions is available at https:// appsupport.commonapp.org/ link/portal/33011/33013/Article/931/Known-Issues-andProgress-Updates.
istration has been aware of the possibility that students would not be able to attend retreat at either location, but “we waited until [Oct. 9] at noon to make the decision , hoping that our elected officials could compromise,” middle school dean Paul Mastin said. Parents were notified of the change Oct. 9. Though Mastin sees the change as a chance to provide a bonding experience for the class, some students do not share this sentiment. “I chose to attend Joshua Tree retreat because I wanted to go backpacking with my friends, and have bonding time without any electronics,” Elly Choi ’18 said. “When I found out that retreat was moved, I was really disappointed.”
The president of the University of Richmond will speak on the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War and emancipation of slaves at an upper school assembly Oct. 30 in Taper Gymnasium. The speech is part of University of Richmond President and professor Edward Ayers’s national tour on the subject. Before becoming president of the University of Richmond, Ayers taught history and wrote 10 books on American history. Some of his titles include “America’s War: Talking about the Civil War and Emancipation on their 150th Anniversaries” and “The Oxford Book of the American South.” In addition, Ayers created a digital archive project about the Civil War and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for his Civil War history books. Ayers also co-hosts a radio show titled “BackStory” that relates history to modern current events and political issues. Upper school dean Tamar Adegbile said she heard Ayers speak twice, and when Harvard-Westlake was approached by the Assistant Vice President and Dean of Admission at Richmond about the opportunity to be a stop on Ayers’ tour, she pushed for him to come. The new assembly committee, created by Director of Student Affairs Jordan Church and Head of Upper School Audrius Barzdukas, reviewed and accepted the proposal to have Ayers visit and speak.
Have you experienced problems with the Common Application? Out of 139 seniors polled, 64 faced complications while using the Common Application website. Seniors checked all issues that they encountered.
Yes 46% No 54% Problems that have been encountered: Activities descriptions being deleted
37%
Green check marks missing after completion of a section
74%
Problems waiving FERPA rights
13%
Print review errors
36%
Other
10% SOURCE: CHRONICLE POLL GRAPHIC BY SCOTT NUSSBAUM
A4 News
The Chronicle
Oct. 15, 2013
Stanford honors 3 teachers By Nikta Mansouri
Three teachers were honored by Stanford University as part of the Teacher Tribute Initiative this past month. Latin teacher Paul Chenier, English teacher Jocelyn Medawar and history teacher Dror Yaron were nominated by former students who are now freshmen at Stanford. During the summer, incoming freshmen were given the opportunity to write about a teacher who played a significant role in their lives. The university then chose a few to honor. Conor Cuse ’13 said Medawar changed the way he felt about English and made him enjoy it. “It was kind of an accepting yet rigorous and demanding [class],” Cuse wrote in his nomination. “It was fun, but it was interesting. For the first time it felt important. Medawar created this atmosphere.” Medawar, a Stanford alumna, was touched by what Cuse said and that he spent time writing about her. “It’s incredibly gratifying that a student who is in the middle of his freshman year would take the time to sit back and write something so thoughtful about me,” Medawar said. “That’s what makes it so valuable.” Josh Lappen ’13 nominated Chenier, and Carla Sneider ’13 nominated Yaron. “I am deeply honored to have been nominated by such an extraordinarily talented, inspiring and humble student,” Yaron said. “She came to class always eager to actively engage with her peers, posed provocative questions and not once complained about the rigorous challenges of the course.” The Teacher Tribute Initiative program, which Stanford sponsors, was created to honor influential and inspiring teachers.
NIKTA MANSOURI/CHRONICLE
MOVIE MAGIC: Director and comedian David Wain, right, performs a magic trick during his interview with director and writer Jason Reitman ’95. Wain spoke about how before he got into film, he wanted to be the world’s greatest magician up until he was 12 years old.
Reitman ’95 interviews comedian, director about films in ‘Speaking of Movies’ series By Jacob Goodman
cian in the world,’” Wain said. Wain said that he moved Writer, actor and director away from magic when he was David Wain said he validated around 12 or 13. his comedic voice while work“The magic went out the ing with the sketch comedy window when I realized it group The wasn’t interState when esting to girls,” he spoke to Wain joked. Jason ReWain dis I’m doing itman ’95 cussed his bemy thing whether it’s Oct. 9 in ginnings in the the sixth industry as a nothing or big or small, installment member of the I’m doing my thing. of Reitsketch comman’s inter—David Wain edy group The view series State, which “Speaking he and other of Movies.” students started at the Tisch Wain has written and di- School of Arts at New York rected movies such as “Wan- University. derlust,” “Role Models” and “As soon as I met and saw “Wet Hot American Summer” all of those guys I thought and television shows like “The ‘Wow, this is incredible,’ Wain State” and “Children’s Hospi- said. tal.” The State was eventually He spoke about his original turned into series that ran for aspirations and how his career two seasons on MTV. Wain as a comedian developed. and the other cast were al“When people said ‘What lowed to run their show how are you going to be when you they liked. grow up?’ I said ‘the best magi“We got into a situation
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Students with ‘growth mindsets’ make better grades, study shows By Noa Yadidi
Students with a “growth mindset,” who are more concerned with learning than with getting good grades and appearing “smart,” wind up actually doing better in school and learning more, a Stanford psychology professor told faculty and parents last week. Carol Dweck, who wrote the book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” spoke to faculty at 3:30 p.m. and parents at 7 p.m. at the Middle School. “Some kids have a fixed mindset,” she said. “They believe their talents and abilities are fixed traits. You have a certain amount and that’s that. This is the mindset that turns children into non-learners because they are so worried about how much they have and whether they’ll look smart that learning takes a back seat.”
Those with growth mindsets, Dweck continued, believe “their basic abilities and talents can be developed through hard work, perseverance, good strategies, good instruction and help from others.” Dweck said that though you can hold a different mindset in different areas, mindsets can be changed. She said that in a fixed mindset, rule number one is to “look smart at all times and at all costs. But even more so, big rule number one is never look dumb.” “The kids who care about learning and study from learning are going to be the kids who do better, rather than the kids who are just going for the grades,” Dweck said. Dweck provided data correlating students categorized in “growth” and “fixed” mindsets to test scores, with those in the “growth” category not
only doing better, but applying more effort and better dealing with setbacks. “In a fixed mindset, effort is a bad thing,” she said. “They hate it. They believe that if you have ability, things should come naturally to you and if you have to work at something it means you’re not good at it. Those with a growth mindset think effort is a great thing, it activates your ability, allows you to use it to the fullest and it increases your ability over time.” Dweck said that language is one of the ways teachers and parents got their values across to their students and that praise at times can have a negative effect. “By telling them how smart they are, we are making them ashamed to be imperfect, ashamed to be learners,” she said. She advised the parents and faculty to try setting up a
where no one was telling us what to do,” Wain said. “We didn’t come from Groundlings, UCB or Second City. We were teaching each other.” Wain also spoke about “Wet Hot American Summer,” which he co-wrote with “The State” member Michael Showalter. The movie was originally a group of 10 story lines that were outlined with the intention of being filmed during the summer with a bunch of friends. However, as they kept writing, the kept story developing into more, and they began to think of it as a feature film, Wain said. “We started to realize it was more of a full screenplay, and then as we started to go out and try to get people to invest money in it,” he said. It took three years to finally get the movie together, he said. “Wet Hot American Summer,” which stars Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Bradley Cooper, and Amy Poehler premiered at the Sundance Film
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Festival in January 2001 and was released later that year. “The goal for us was to finish it and have its day in court, which meant open in one theater,” Wain said. “So when it opened in two theaters that was amazing, truly.” Wain went on to write and direct “Role Models,” “Wanderlust” and “Children’s Hospital.” Through it all, he has been influenced by that original group of comedians from The State, he said. “My dream was always to be on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ By the time I was a sophomore in college I didn’t have that dream anymore,” Wain said. “Because I was like ‘We’re doing “The State.” That’s what we’re doing. That’s our thing, and I want to do my thing.’ And I’ve always done that for better or worse. I would probably be a much richer man if I did something else, but I just said ‘I said I’m doing my thing whether it’s nothing or big or small, I’m doing my thing.’”
What stood out for me in this presentation was just the irrefutable evidence that a change in thinking can have such a profound change in outcomes.” —Jeanne Huybrechts Head of School
new value system for kids relating the message that “easy is boring; easy is a waste of time. Hard? Now that’s interesting; that’s worthwhile.” “What stood out for me in this presentation was just the irrefutable evidence that a change in thinking can have such a profound change in outcomes,” Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. As a result of Dweck’s presentation, the Human Development and Choices and Challenges teams will develop lessons about mindsets, Huybrechts said. “The value of a growth mindset is going to be a discussion topic in faculty meetings and now that we’ve all heard the evidence from her and
nathanson’s
many of us have read the book, I’m sure we’ll be incorporating it into our own teaching,” Huybrechts said. One such incorporation will be in the workload survey that will be sent to all students in November, as part of a survey sent every six years. “We are asking [Dweck] for some of the research questions she has used with students to discern whether they were of a fixed mindset or of a growth mindset and we’re actually going to incorporate those,” Huybrechts said. The survey, which will be 100 percent anonymous, will attempt to collect data to see if there are correlations between fixed mindsets and other attributes, Huybrechts said.
Oct. 15, 2013
hwchronicle.com/news
News A5
Science teacher takes leave of absence By Leily Arzy
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF JEANNE HUYBRECHTS
UP IN THE AIR: Physics teachers Karen Hutchison, left, and Jesse Reiner float weightlessly in a reduced gravity environment on a modified Boeing 727. The aircraft is nicknamed the ‘Vomit Comet’ due to its parabolic flight pattern, which results in zero gravity.
Physics teachers take flight on ‘Vomit Comet’ modified aircraft, experience weightlessness By Sophie Kupiec-Weglinski
Physics teachers Karen Hutchison and Jesse Reiner experienced weightlessness aboard a Boeing 727 aircraft, which was modified to have reduced gravity. Hutchison and Reiner flew to San Jose Sept. 28 where the specialized aircraft, owned by ZERO-G Corporation, was set to take off. “We talk a lot about weightlessness in physics class, and we came across this opportunity to experience it,” Hutchison said. “I thought it would be a good addition to our teaching.” Reiner and Hutchison worked together in organiz-
ing the trip and getting finan- son and Reiner ate a special cial assistance from Harvard- breakfast that was low in acid Westlake. and protein so it would be “It was an easy to digest. amazing exSince nauperience and sea is comI’m extremely mon when We talk a lot grateful for experiencing about weightlessness having been weightlessgranted the ness, these in physics class, and opportunity,” aircrafts are we came across Reiner said. nicknamed Reiner “Vomit Coman opportunity to and Hutchiets.” experience it. son had been O n c e talking about aboard, the —Karen Hutchison taking the plane reaches Physics teacher normal cruisflight and decided on ing altitude, doing it last then dives spring. To prepare for the one and completes 15 parabolas, and a half hour flight, Hutchi- each one giving passengers
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about 30 seconds of complete weightlessness. In addition, Hutchison and Reiner were able to experience the gravity levels similar to those on Mars and on the moon. Along with Hutchison and Reiner there were many foreign tourists and a research group from Motorola aboard. On the aircraft, Hutchison and Reiner were able to play with water droplets, see how objects slowly drop to the floor in lunar and Martian gravity and fly though the air. “I wanted to experience for myself what it feels like and to observe the physical behavior of bodies and other objects in a weightless environment,” Reiner said.
Upper school science teacher Walt Werner has taken a medical leave after being diagnosed this past June with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph tissue. Doctors are confident that he will be in the hospital for a stem cell transplant within a month. The school has been very supportive and Werner hopes to be back by the beginning of second semester, his wife, history teacher Francine Werner, said. Upper school science department head Larry Axelrod and science teacher Dietrich Schuhl are covering Werner’s AP Biology classes during his absence. Substitute teacher William Peet will cover Werner’s Human Anatomy and Physiology classes for the remainder of the semester. Axelrod asked Peet to substitute because he used to teach those same courses when he was a member of the faculty from 19792003. “Harvard-Westlake is a great place to teach, great students, great faculty and staff and great facilities,” Peet said. Peet mainly taught regular, honors and AP Biology. “I love biology and I hope to engender the same love for it in my students,” Peet said. Although he is currently substituting for Werner, Peet has been spending his retirement “keeping busy with a wide variety of projects.”
Teachers attend Florida Round Square conference By Patrick Ryan
Upper school history teacher Nini Halkett and middle school Spanish teacher Melissa Strong attended the Round Square School Association Conference in Boca Raton, Florida from Oct. 6-10, hosted by Saint Andrew’s School. Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts invited the two teachers to observe the conference to see whether Harvard-Westlake would join the association as it seeks to “develop global education,” Huybrechts said. The organization “promotes in young people a commitment, beyond academic merit, to personal growth, and responsibility through service to others and through practical, experiential learning,” according to its website. Although Harvard-Westlake is already a part of the World Leading Schools Association, it is looking to possibly join the 142 other member schools in Round Square. Round Square was founded in 1967 and includes a much broader range of schools, spanning over five continents. “You come together as students from all over the world to do service, outreach and community engagement,” Huybrechts said. “[Round Square
and World Leading Schools Association] all have their mission of bringing students and teachers together from all over the world. There’s more diversity of the type of school in Round Square.” When approached by Huybrechts, Halkett accepted because of her interest in world politics. ““I have always been interested in global outreach and education,” Halkett said. “I have always been interested in how we can connect different cultures and promote international understanding as a way of reducing conflict.” There is an application process and fee to join the organization. “My only concern about it is that it is all independent schools,” Halkett said. “I would have liked to have seen an effort to reach out to state supported schools. My impression was that there was more racial and cultural diversity than there was socioeconomic diversity.” The organization provides some valuable experiences for students, but the school would have make a financial committment so that only a handful of students could participate in conferences, service projects or foreign exchange programs, Halkett said.
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF SARAH MCALLISTER
SMILE FOR THE CAMERA: In Sarah McAllister ’15 and Marcella Park’s ’15 documentary, the students visit the Luang Probang Preschool, where Laotian children play the game “London Bridge.”
Students to screen Laos documentaries By Jessica Spitz
Six documentaries made by students who traveled to Laos last spring break will be screened in Ahmanson Lecture Hall Oct. 24. The documentaries focus on the victims of unexploded ordinance left in Laos after the Vietnam War. The Say No to UXO Club is organizing the event, including the silent auction that will take place before the films are shown. Framed photos taken during the trip will be sold to raise money to donate to the
people the students met while in Laos. “We want people to be aware of the atrocities that happened in Laos,” said Danielle Stolz ’15, one of the students who went on the trip. “I didn’t even know about the Secret War until I talked to the people there.” The Secret War refers to the illegal bombing of Laos by the United States in the 1970s. Many of the unexploded bombs that were dropped remain in Laos’ soil today, posing a constant threat to civilians. Upper school visual arts department head Cheri Gaul-
ke was one of the leaders of the trip and is helping students create their videos and find ways to spread their message. In addition to screening the documentaries, Gaulke plans to enter them in film festivals and put them on multiple websites. “We want the students to be responsible, active citizens in creating change about the issues that they learned about,” Gaulke said. “We’re trying to empower students to not just have an experience, but to tell people about the experience in an artful manner.”
A6 News
The Chronicle
Oct. 15, 2013
inbrief South African Middle School hosts Rest and Recharge day
The second annual middle school Rest and Recharge Day was Oct. 4. No homework was assigned for the weekend. R&R Day will happen once each quarter and is run by the Middle School Student Council. After each R&R Day, there will be no homework, This first R&R Day coincided with Homecoming, Oct. 5. “I think R&R has been really effective in accomplishing its original purpose: to relieve Harvard Westlake students’ stress,” Senator Matt Thomas ’17 said. —Jonathan Seymour
Club assists special education students The Helping Hands club has begun attending group meetings at Kids Like Me, an eight-week program that teaches specialty skills to children and adolescents with developmental challenges. “It’s a really fun way to interact with the kids while helping them at the same time,” club leader Irene Kao ’14 said. “The program is unique because the kids are doing things that they actually really enjoy, and they’re able to interact with kids like us.” Club members are able to fulfill their community service requirements by assisting the children Mondays and Wednesdays at the Culver City or Sherman Oaks locations. —Kristen Gourrier
Debater wins ‘Voices’ tournament
Debater Connor Engel ’17 won the novice division while Annie Kors ’14 was voted top participant in the round robin during the Voices Round Robin and Tournament this weekend in San Jose. At the Long Beach tournament Sept. 28 and 29, Noah Simon ’17 won the JV division while Kevin Wesel ’17 reached semifinals. In the novice division, Kami Cooper ’17 and Dario Madyoon ’17 were cochampions. Three freshmen also received speaker awards. “So far we are off to a great season, we have a bigger team than we’ve ever had and a lot of really talented debaters,” coach Nate Zerbib-Berda said. —Sacha Lin
Administration approves Spain trip Students will have the opportunity to go on a two-week tour of Spain during spring break. The trip, chaperoned by Spanish teacher Javier Zaragoza, will be from March 21 to April 6. Students are scheduled to spend five days in Toledo and Valencia each. In these cities, students will participate in homestays and take Spanish classes during the day. Students will spend 40 hours in classes at the Aula Institute in Toledo and the Españolé Institute in Valencia, equivalent to one semester of Spanish class. Weekends are scheduled to be spent in the cities of Madrid, Zaragoza and Barcelona. —Morganne Ramsey
students, director visit Upper School By Scott Nussbaum
lake.” The students’ and school Two juniors and the school director Mark Boobbyer’s itindirector from the Tiger Kloof erary was designed to give School in South Africa visited them a complete look at the classes and spoke with faculty different departments and exOct. 8. tracurricular activities offered The Children Overseas at Harvard-Westlake. Club, led by co-presidents “The class difference Kelsey Ogomori ’14 and Di- is nothing like our school,” vya Siddarth ’14, organized Thabang Mohumapele said. the visit as part of its efforts “At our school, when you are to form a connection between studying science, you only the two schools. take science classes. “It was incredible When you study to talk to them bemath, you only take cause they offer such a math classes. The deep perspective,” Sidclass diversity was darth said. “Our lives the one of the most are just so different, shocking things.” and sometimes living The three in Los Angeles can put visitors will also blinders on your world travel to high schools view.” in Connecticut, nathanson’s The visitors obWashington D.C. Kelsey served Psychology, and Oregon. While Ogomori ’14 AP Latin and Studies there, they will also in Scientific Research visit local colleges. classes and met with deans to “The idea is to establish a discuss their visit. connection with these schools “The connection between which may lead to exchange students and teachers is so and study abroad opportunidifferent,” Matshidiso Le- ties for our students,” Boobgalamitlwa said. “The interac- byer said. “Tiger Kloof is such tion and relationship is clearly a different school it is almost very deep at Harvard-West- impossible to compare, but you
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF DIVYA SIDDARTH
LONG DISTANCE: Thabang Mohumapele, left, from the Tiger Kloof School in South Africa poses with Divya Siddarth ’14. can always see what works in a school environment and what does not. It is not all about the facilities but the people who attend the school.” In the past year, the club has sent students to visit Tiger Kloof in Vryburg, South Africa, set up a pen pal program and held numerous fundraisers to raise funds that
were donated to Tiger Kloof. The club is currently working to set up a video chat network between the two schools. “It was very interesting to see the level of independent study expected from students at Harvard-Westlake,” Boobbyer said. “That is definitely something we can take back from this visit.”
Student drive collects used sports equipment
By Su Jin Nam
The Community Council sponsored the first HarvardWestlake Sports Drive, collecting used sports equipment to donate to the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club. Community Council
planned to incorporate community service into the Homecoming Dance, but ran into logistical issues, and decided to hold a drive on Homecoming day and the week of Oct. 7. The goal of the drive was not only to collect donations, but also to inform parents of
community service opportunities that are available on campus. Due to the success of the drive, Community Council is considering the idea of making the drive an annual occurrence. “It was incredibly success-
ful — we got so many donations and we were able to involve parents in a community service endeavor,” Community Council head Tatiana Ettensberger ’14, said. “I certainly think we will keep it as a tradition since we did achieve such success with the drive.”
CBS interviews teacher who was attacked By Jacob Goodman
“It was better for me to put myself up as an unarmed One evening last Janu- potential victim than anything ary around dinnertime, upper else, and still try to do something,” Tobias school visual said. arts teacher Later, as Arthur ToTobias lay on bias and his ambulance wife noticed a Stay in the safety an gurney, a pogroup of local of your home, and you liceman who gang meminterbers spraygive your neighborhood was viewing him painting a over to the bad people suggested wall near his that he apply West Adams if you have bad people for the Calihome. willing to come into fornia Victim W h e n CompensaTobias conyour neighborhood, tion Program. fronted them, which we do.” The proone hit him gram proin the head —Arthur Tobias vides crime with a bottle, Visual Arts Teacher victims with another drew monetary aid a knife and to help with a third shot him in the shoulder with a gun. medical bills and other conseThe taggers fled when Tobias quences of certain crimes. The letter from the Calif. started shouting for police. Two weeks ago, Tobias was VCP refused to provide servicnotified that his application es based on claims that he was for victims compensation from negligent when he confronted the California state govern- the taggers. “Our verification process ment had been denied based on the grounds that he had revealed that your conduct brought the attack on himself. was negligent and you had Tobias was originally hesi- placed yourself in the position tant to approach the taggers, to be victimized when you left the safety of your home and he said. “I was standing there confronted the multiple susthinking, ‘Should I take a gun? pects,” the notice said. Tobias was outraged. Should I go at all?’” Tobias “[When I was lying on the said. He decided to walk up to gurney] No one said we’re gothe taggers unarmed. He said ing to make a judgment about it was ultimately better for what you did, but that’s what they did but I think based on him to go without a weapon.
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insufficient information,” To- which we do. There’s a lot of bias said. ‘training’ in place that tells “Yes, I did know what I was you to stay in doors. But buldoing, but I didn’t asked to lets go through walls.” be shot,” Tobias added. “They Tobias decided to appeal didn’t have to shoot me. I went the claim and contact local up to them and asked them to news stations in the hopes of stop what they were doing and getting back at the VCP. A day they attacked me.” after he received the letter, ToTobias, along with other bias was interviewed by CBS members of his community, 2 reporter Amy Johnson. He has been trying to improve was featured on the 5 o’clock his neighborhood for years news later that evening. through public service projects Tobias was hesitant to tell and the fostering of relation- people not directly related to ships with city officials. the incident about what hap“Through my efforts and pened, but the letter was the other people’s: painting, clean- last straw, Tobias said. ing, picking up gar“I felt like I bage, contacting the was being victimpolice…we’ve made ized all over again significant improvelast Thursday,” Toments in the neighbias said. “The gang borhood,” Tobias said. shot me, and now This is partially [they’re] trying to what angered him, he shaft me. I don’t like said. being called a victim, “Given the history but somebody vioof our neighborhood lated my integrity in nathanson’s and what we’ve tried a way that had never Arthur Tobias to do to improve the happened before, area, what I did was and it wasn’t anya little bit of an outlier but it thing that I wanted to talk to wasn’t really that unusual,” people about.” Tobias said. Even after being shot, ToIt promotes the wrong bias has not considered movidea when the VCA says that ing out of his neighborhood. he should have stayed in his “A cop who was interviewhome, Tobias said. ing me on the phone finally “This is what made me mad went, ‘Why do you live here?’ about this,” Tobias said. “Stay and I was sort of flummoxed,” in the safety of your home, Tobias said. “It’s my neighborand you give your neighbor- hood, I live here.” hood over to the bad people if Police are still trying to loyou have bad people willing to cate the three taggers who atcome into your neighborhood, tacked Tobias.
Oct. 15, 2013
hwchronicle.com/news
News A7
inbrief
Activist speaks at movie screening
Middle school bus schedule to change
By David Woldenberg
Human Rights Watch Emergencies Director Peter Bouckaert engaged in a Q&A with viewers who attended a documentary screening where he explained his relationship with the documentary’s subject, photojournalist Tim Hetherington. Performing arts teacher Ted Walch hosted the screening of “Which Way is the Front Line,” which chronicles Hetherington’s career covering wars in Africa and Afghanistan, Oct. 1. Bouckaert described how he was on Skype with filmmakers in Libya when he learned Hetherington had died and how he arranged to have his body sent to England for burial. Bouckaert was also the one who told Hetherington’s girlfriend and family about his death. He gave Hetherington’s camera to his mother. “[I gave her] the camera he’d been carrying through
HENRY HAHN/CHRONICLE
TED TALKS: Performing arts teacher Ted Walch and Human Rights Watch activist Peter Bouckaert, a friend of deceased journalist Tim Hetherington, speak in a Q&A after the movie screening. which he saw the world,” Bouckaert said. Bouckaert also talked about how Hetherington constantly found himself in harm’s way, on the front line, but how he knew that it was one aspect of being a good photojournalist. He cared less about the “bang-bang” of war than about the people affected, Bouckaert said. Bouckaert also spoke about when he first joined Human Rights Watch and the changes within the organization since then, including ones that make an effort to get information to people as quickly as possible , while still making each report
unique and motivating. “We reinvented the methodology of the Human Rights Watch; we kept the same standard of excellence,” Bouckaert said. Bouckaert said he wanted to not just depict what was happening but also attempt to fix it as an organization. “Our job was to save lives and not just to document the killings afterward,” Bouckaert said. Walch taught Bouckaert at the Branson School in Northern California in 1988, and have remained in close friends since. When Walch heard Bouckaert’s was hosting movie
screenings for Human Rights Watch, he convinced him to show it at the upper school. The film starts with Hetherington’s early life and his first assignment in Liberia. Hetherington would not just highlight the blood and gore of war but also the humane and unreported aspects of war. The documentary featured a series Hetherington shot about American soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. He depicted the untold story of the soldiers as boys, like any other young Americans, and captured them saying quotes like, “It’s not a murder; it’s war. There’s a difference.”
Journal publishes teacher’s research By Jack Goldfisher
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF SHANNON ACEDO
PAGE TURNER: The book club poses with chosen novels. Victoria Keating ’16, back and second from the left, started the club.
Student clubs take own yearbook photos By Lauren Rothman
when last year the Minecraft club sent us their own The yearbook is asking picture,” Bladen said. “They clubs to submit their own pho- made themselves into little tographs for the yearbook this Minecraft animated characyear. ters. We found this so cute Photos are due Nov. 1, and and fun, and we wanted to do club leaders can post their something like it.” photos, taken W h e n with a phone Bladen anor camnounced the It’s a way for era, on the idea to the iPhone app Ye a r b o o k clubs to have complete Instagram staff, it was control over how they and tag the supported. Vox account “I really want to creatively or hashtag liked the idea represent themselves.” the yearbecause it’s a book with —Jen Bladen way for clubs #HWVOX. to have comYearbook Adviser plete control T h e s e photos will be over how in Vox Populi XXIII. The pho- they want to creatively repretos, all squares, will be used sent themselves through a piccreatively in a unique design. ture,” Clubs Editor Christina The idea behind this way of Tribull said. representing clubs is to bring Club heads are asked to out their personality, yearbook submit the names and years adviser Jen Bladen said. of graduation of people in the “The idea was inspired pictures for the yearbook staff.
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what Nassar describes as the “Copenhagen orthodox” school Though science teacher of thought. Nassar’s own work Antonio Nassar has had 56 falls under an oppositional research papers published in category called “Bohmian mephysics journals during his chanics.” However, up until career at Harvard-Westlake now, the only split between the and the University of Califor- two groups has been the methnia Los Angeles, he considers od of discovery, not the concluhis latest to be his crowning sions they reach, Nassar said. achievement. Nassar’s discovery, he said, “There was always one is revolutionary as it could journal, the most prestigious not have been found with the one, that never published me orthodox method of physical before,” Nassar said. “But now thought. that journal has.” “In a sense, it is the first The journal is true Bohmian discovPhysical Review Letery,” Nassar said. “It’s ters, the first publishsomething that really ers of famous papers changes the game.” like Peter Higgs’s Nassar adapted discovery of the “God ideas in this paper Particle.” from a paper he preNassar’s paper, viously published, co-authored with which was his first Spanish physics attempt to find the nathanson’s professor Salvador value of the BohmMiret-Artés, upsets Antonio Nassar ian time constant he a common belief in found in his research physical science: that at the for this paper. exact moment a particle is While his study was pubobserved it loses its quantum lished this week, it could be a properties and becomes a clas- long time before its main thesical physics particle. Nassar’s sis is experimentally proven. research led him to conclude “I feel like I’ve found somethat this does not happen in- thing big, but many theories stantaneously but occurs over are beautiful and unproven,” a timespan of 10-26 seconds, one he said. “I’m not even sure sextillionth of the time it takes I’ll be alive to see this proven. for lightning to flash once. Technology has to progress An example of this prin- more before that can happen.” ciple is the “Schrödinger’s While Nassar said this disCat” thesis: one does not know covery may not affect people’s whether a cat inside a closed daily lives, he believes it will box with a vial of poison equal- spur innovative thinking and ly liable to kill the cat or leave pave the way for future changit unharmed, is dead or alive. es. By opening the box and “mea“I hope that my work insuring” the cat’s life state, the spires people to go into the observer instantly changes the discovery process and not just state and invalidates his or her seek financial success,” Nassar own measurement. said. “There’s immense potenThis belief agrees with tial for discovery out there.”
All Middle School late bus departure times will be changed to 5:45 p.m. Monday to Friday, effective Oct. 21. Along with the late bus time change, the late shuttle bus from the Upper to the Middle School will depart at 5:10 p.m. Early buses and shuttle times will not change. Departure times are permanently pushed back due to the traffic on Coldwater Canyon. “The buses are being held [in traffic] with kids who have to go back to the Middle School, and they all arrive after the buses pull out,” Director of Student Financial Affairs Patti Snodgrass said. —Sharon Chow
Commons to speak to alumni, parents President Rick Commons will address alumni and their parents Oct. 16 at the middle school at an event titled “Meet the President.” The event already has 300 RSVPs from families and alumni. Commons said he still does not know what he will say to the attendees but said he hopes to figure it out soon. “It’s like I have a paper with an approaching deadline, and I know I’ve got to get it done,” Commons said. —Jack Goldfisher
Spanish teachers attend AP seminar Teachers attended a seminar last Friday titled “Vertical Teaming and Scaffolding of Instruction” given by Laura Zanke, the College Board’s cochair of AP Spanish Language and Culture development. Due to the visitor, Spanish classes were cancelled for the day. The seminar’s purpose was to teach instructors activities that better students’ communication in real-world situations, a skill evaluated on the exam. “If you go to Spain, no one’s going to ask you to conjugate a verb,” World Languages department head Margot Riemer said, “They’re going to try to talk to you and hope you can respond.” —Morganne Ramsey
Alumni to mentor through networking HW Works and the Harvard-Westlake African-American Alumni Network will hold a speed networking night Oct. 24. Alumni representing various industries, including finance, journalism and entertainment, will mentor recent graduates and current students through the job market and career opportunities. The event will feature nine “speed networking” sessions, during which attendees can seek advice regarding the mundane, including proper resume format, to extremely important matters, such as career choices, alumni administrator Janiece Richard said. —Kenneth Schrupp
A8 News
The Chronicle
Performing arts teacher hires aide
Oct. 15, 2013
By Enya Huang
Performing arts teacher Shawn Costantino hired new assistant Matt Yeakley to teach his sixth period Jazz Rhythm Section class this year. After performing arts teacher Mark Hilt created a second music theory section, he turned his Wind Ensemble class over to Costantino. Costantino said he wanted to streamline all the classes involving wind, brass, and percussion. “I didn’t feel like teaching all five of my classes myself was realistic,” Costantino said. Costantino chose Yeakley as his assistant out of a handful of musicians with whom he works with regularly. “He plays guitar, and the Jazz Rhythm section has a lot of guitar players, so I wanted a good guitar-playing teacher,” Costantino said. Both of Yeakley’s parents were musicians always had instruments lying around. He remembers when he first picked up a guitar in 2000. “On a summer break when I was in high school, I was like, oh, well, I should probably pick that [guitar] up, learn how to play it,” Yeakley said. After studying classical music theory at a community college in San Diego, Yeakley transferred to the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. “It was a natural transition for me to continue that study,” Yeakley said. Yeakley welcomed Costantino’s offer as a venue of exploring his love for jazz. “What was interesting about the Harvard-Westlake gig was that it was an opportunity for me to talk about jazz stuff to people who were beyond the basics,” Yeakley said.
MARCELLA PARK/CHRONICLE
RWANDA BOUND: Friendship Tours World Traveler founder Alethea Tyner Paradis speaks to the students and parents who attended the Rwanda meeting Oct. 3. Attendees learned about the upcoming trip to Rwanda, where students will interview survivors of the genocide and produce projects depicting their visit. Visual arts department head Cheri Gaulke and an award-winning producer also spoke.
Students, parents attend Rwanda trip information session, learn about genocide By Marcella Park
A meeting in Ahmanson Lecture Hall Oct. 3 presented students and parents with information on a trip to Rwanda to investigate the Rwandan genocide and its effects. Award-winning producer Jeff MacIntyre, Friendship Tours World Travel founder Alethea Tyner Paradis and upper school visual arts department head Cheri Gaulke talked about the goals and itinerary of the trip. Students will interview people with different views on the genocide, including Gabo Wilson, the former Head of Security in Rwanda who worked with now-President Paul Kagame to establish control after the 1994 genocide; western investors in the mineral industry there and representatives of both the Hutu
and Tutsi ethnic groups that clashed during the genocide. Each student will produce a media project in the form of a documentary or slideshow depicting their trip. MacIntyre, Paradis and Gaulke will coach students throughout the trip and help channel these projects toward organizations that might use them, including ABC, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and non-profit organizations Creative Visions and Witness. The trip costs $1350 for airfare and an $800 deposit to the tour company is due by Oct. 30, and another $3575 is due by Nov. 21. Applications for financial aid are due Oct. 15. The trip will run from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2, requiring students to miss the last day of midterms and the first three
Cycling club rides in first CicLAvia
tions to investigate will be how Rwanda has become the safest country in Africa since the genocide, in which “800,000 people were butchered in 100 days at three times the rate of the Holocaust,” Paradis said. The same three instructors took students to Laos last spring break to make documentaries about the unexploded ordinance problem left there by the Vietnam War.
soundbyte
“They did a really good job of painting a picture of what the trip was actually going to be like. It’s not entirely service, but it’s not entirely a vacation.” —Tatiana Ettensberger ’14
nathanson’s
Freshmen midterm exam format to change By Lauren Sonnenberg
By Angela Chon
The cycling club joined thousands of other cyclists to participate in their first CicLAvia event as a group. Held Oct. 6, the eighth CicLAvia event since its start in downtown Los Angeles in 2010, welcomed cyclists as well as pedestrians to ride or walk down typically car-heavy streets. “A number of people have gone to the event before, but as a school organized event, this was the first time,” science teacher and club adviser Dietrich Schuhl said. However, few students participated as it was held the day after Homecoming. It was also early in the year and many senior members were working on college applications. “It’s hard to expect a lot of people to come,” Schuhl said. “It’s a really laid back kind of thing.” President Rick Commons and his family, Senior Alumni
days of the second semester, allowing for students projects to be part of the news cycle on the genocide’s 20th anniversary. Students can enroll in the Directed Studies course in the Interdisciplinary Studies and Independent Research department to set aside time during the school day to work on them. One of the main ques-
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF AMIYA BROWN
HOT WHEELS: Members of the cycling club, including students and teachers, parents of members, and President Rick Commons’ and his children, pose for a photo together after the CicLAvia event. Officer Harry Salamandra, Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts and her husband, Assistant Director of Admissions Melanie Leon, English teacher Chris Rutherford, Alumni Administrator Janiece Richard and her husband and parents joined Schuhl and members at 9:30 a.m. They crossed a bridge over the Los Angeles River into Boyle Heights and then biked to the downtown Los Angeles arts district.
There, they ate lunch and hung out after the event was over. “Our club met at a great bistro called Bottega Louie for breakfast and then headed out down 7th St. on our trip around downtown,” cycling club head Amiya Brown ’14 said. “We circled down to 14th and Central, the produce and industrial section of the city before doubling back and taking Spring St. into the heart of the downtown Civic Center.”
The ninth grade class will no longer take midterm exams, effective this year. In the past, ninth graders were separated from the rest of the middle school student body in mid-January to take semester exams in their core academic classes. Ninth graders will still take final exams at the end of the school year. This change in policy comes with a hope that “going off for Winter Break with cumulative exams out of the way will mean [students] can use that time more fully to recharge and to start second semester off on a good foot,” middle school English teacher and Faculty Academic Committee chair Julia Grody said. The decision to change midterm testing was prompted by the earlier school year start date, Grody said. Though there are no official midterms, teachers can still give their students semester exams, but any potential exams will be administered in classrooms. Students used to
take tests in the same subject at the same time in Marshall Center. Additionally, any tests or projects administered in the first semester must be completed before winter break. Due to the testing change, Marshall can remain open for athletic events in January. In addition, students will not take back-to-back two-hour midterms, as they have in the past. The decision to halt midterms at the Middle School may benefit students in the short-term, but some students are concerned about how this will affect their transition to the Upper School, where semester exams occur in January and in June. “This could be a bad idea because it would be nice to experience what midterms are like before getting thrown into them at the Upper School,” Casey Crosson ’18 said. It is up to each teacher’s discretion whether they will give midterm exams, unit tests, or something more specific to their class.
Oct. 15, 2013
hwchronicle.com/news
News A9
Peer Support draws students
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ANDREA TORRE
SING-ALONG: Chamber Singers play volleyball at Camp Wrightwood in Wrightwood, Calif., left. Male singers discuss new pieces with choral director Rodger Guerrero, top right. Seniors in Chamber Singers pose with their new sweatshirts in front of the camp, bottom right.
Chamber Singers practice new songs, participate in group activities on retreat By Zoe Dutton
Chamber Singers gathered at Camp Wrightwood in the San Gabriel Mountains for their annual retreat Sept. 2728. Students rehearsed new songs and played volleyball as a group activity. At the end of the retreat, students gathered in a full circle to share their feelings and experiences during the retreat and discuss their expectations for the year. The retreat was chaperoned by choral teacher Rodger Guerrero and piano accompanist Sara Shakliyan.
“We had just a fantastic time,” Guerrero said. “Choirs really have their own, unique personalities, and it’s important to self-discover who they are early on in order to progress as a musical unit. The singers come from such diverse Harvard-Westlake areas because Chamber Singers is one of the few specific activities that includes sophomores, juniors and seniors.” Even though the students are very different, Guerrero said that the retreat brought the group together. 39 of the 41 Chamber Singers attended the retreat.
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“The retreat was a great choir closer together. bonding experience,“ Delilah “My favorite part always Napier ’15 is the final said. “We got d i s c u s s i o n ,” so much work Guerrero It’s important to done and it said. “The was so great singers sit in self-discover who they to work toa huge circle are early on in order to gether in a in our reprogress as a musical non-school hearsal room. environment. Each member unit.” I feel like I then speaks learned so —Rodger Guerrero to their remuch more experichoral teacher treat about my ence, what peers.” C h a m b e r The tradition of the Cham- Singers and music in general ber Singers retreat began in mean to them and their hopes 2002 in an effort to bring the and dreams for the year.”
School presents project to public, submits draft of environmental report
• Continued from page A1
late June 2014, Amato said. The project will then progress to the permit stage, which will likely take the summer, putting construction on track to start in August or September, Amato said. Construction is projected to take a comparable amount of time to the middle school modernization project, Amato said. “From start to finish, we plan to have construction completed in two years,” Amato said. “By comparison, the middle school project took
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about two years.” immediate goal of stopping The school has received no the Harvard-Westlake plan negative comin its tracks,” ments since formed on the draft EIR the heels of was made the scoping It’s a concern. public though meeting. Anytime your neighbors the project “It’s a has not been concern. Any are unhappy with you, completely time your you can’t ignore them.” immune to neighbors opposition. —John Amato are unhappy Save Coldwawith you, you Vice President can’t ignore ter Canyon! Inc., whose them,” Amato website desaid. “We’ll scribes its goal as “to preserve be calm and try to meet with the beauty and tranquility of them and mitigate the conColdwater Canyon, with the cerns they have.”
By Carly Berger A total of 417 students, nearly half of the upper school student body, signed up for Peer Support at Activities Fair this year, making it the largest club on campus. Peer support coordinators also created groups without any adult involvement for the first time. Although many students signed up, only about 300 students attended the first meeting held Oct. 7. This attendance is fairly common for the first couple of meetings, Peer Support supervisor Luba Bek said. After the first couple of meetings, the attendance tends to drop, Bek said. “What is predictable every year is the attendance,” Bek said. “The first couple of meetings are quite big, and then things quiet down. Some people are too busy. Some people decide they can’t commit to Peer Support. Some people are just not the ‘Peer Support’ type.” Bek attributes the amount of students signed up to the activeness of the Peer Support trainees and leaders at Activities Fair. While the numbers are encouraging for the popularity of Peer Support, they also made it very difficult for the coordinators to split the large crowd of students into the usual amount of 14 groups. “Choosing groups was definitely really hard because we wanted to make the best groups possible but at the same time meet everyone’s needs,” Peer Support coordinator Sophie Sunkin said.
Estimated Parking Structure Timeline The parking structure has begun the entitlement process, in which the city will review and approve construction plans. Next, it must move to the permit approval process and begin construction.
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Enviromental Impact Report draft submitted Oct. 10 The plan projects the environmental impact of construction and questions can be raised by public and city agencies on the estimated impact.
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Final Enviromental Impact Report to be released Nov. 24 Proposed questions will be addressed and the city will decide whether to approve the final plan.
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Permit process begins next summer
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Construction begins during the 2014-2015 school year SOURCE: JOHN AMATO GRAPHIC BY SCOTT NUSSBAUM
A10 News
The Chronicle
Oct. 15, 2013
Students to spend break visiting colleges, unwinding at home
• Continued from page A1
SCOTT NUSSBAUM/CHRONICLE
DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION: Upper school students dance with their peers as a hired DJ plays music in front of a screen displaying music videos that went along with the song playing at the moment.
Prefects, administration consider Homecoming Formal successful • Continued from page A1
to make it a tradition in the future, that everyone could come together and be so awesome about that.” Attendees also seemed to enjoy the dance held in Taper Gym, Barzdukas and Winshel said. “The vibe during the event was of kids having fun. I think people had fun. It was a real high school homecoming dance in the gym that came off really well,” Barzdukas said. “It was more like your classic dance and it was more Harvard-Westlake spirited [than in years past], obviously in perfect timing since it was
the week before Homecoming,” Winshel said. “I think people more enjoyed the feel of it, since it had almost a clubby vibe.” To achieve that ambience and transform Taper Gym into a place nearly unrecognizable from the site of basketball games, Prefect Council consulted WOW! Special Events. The school had the idea of completely carpeting the gym’s hardwood floor with black turf. “That was a great idea because if you can see the basketball court, then it’s one thing but if that’s all covered with the dance floor
in the middle it adds so much,” Winshel said. Another likely tradition was inaugurated during the weeklong Homecoming celebration. The annual Homecoming pep rally showcased a relay race on an inflatable obstacle course between faculty and their children who also attend the Upper School. The faculty parentstudent race will probably be continued in coming years as well, Church said. “There are enough faculty kids that will still be at the school to continue it,” Church said. “Plus the faculty need a chance to redeem themselves.”
students will now make more thoughtful and well-informed cause they’ve been working re- decisions as a result of the ally hard too. Faculty, who are break. writing up to 30 recommenda“I’m hoping that maybe tion letters, need it to write better decisions will be made,” those letters.” Cuseo said. “I 81 perdon’t think it cent of 142 will change seniors polled the percent I can’t really call age [of stureported that they will dents who it a break from work, spend part apply early] but it’s a break from the because that of the break working on teaching day I need.” is going to be collgee applihigh no mat—Jocelyn Medawar ter what, but cations while 36.6 percent English Teacher maybe if they reported that are going to they will do Early Devisit colleges over the break. cision where they are really Sam Weintraub ’14 will use committing, it will be more the break for the second pur- thoughtful.” pose: visiting colleges that he 75.2 percent of 139 juniors wouldn’t have otherwise seen polled reported that they will before the early deadlines. use the break to unwind and “I’m visiting UT Austin, relax in Los Angeles. Tulane, Indiana and Michi“I’m so excited to go to gan,” Weintraub said. “Missing Six Flags over mid-semester one day of school on its own break with my friends,” Shanis so overwhelming. Missing nyn Schack ’15 said. “I am rea whole week would be really ally looking forward to riding stressful. I’m really happy that all the new rides, especially we get this week off not only Superman. It’s going to be so because it will allow me to re- much fun.” lax, but also because I believe 83.6% of 148 sophomores it will really influence where I polled reported they will end up. Seeing a school first- spend the break relaxing and hand I believe is the best way unwinding in Los Angeles, like to determine whether a school the juniors. is truly right for you.” “This is the first year, and I Cuseo echoed that state- can honestly say that I believe ment, saying she hopes that we will do it again,” Cuseo said.
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C HRONICLE the harvard-westlake
Los Angeles • Volume XXIII • Issue III • Oct. 15, 2013 • hwchronicle.com
Editors in Chief: Jack Goldfisher, Noa Yadidi Managing Editors: Claire Goldsmith, Sarah Novicoff, Jensen Pak, Patrick Ryan Executive Editors: Julia Aizuss, Lizzy Thomas
Opinion The Chronicle • Oct. 15, 2013
editorial
Presentations Editors: Mazelle Etessami, Sydney Foreman, Emily Segal Sports Editor: Grant Nussbaum News Managing Editors: Elizabeth Madden, Lauren Sonnenberg News Section Heads: Sophie Kupiec-Weglinski, Nikta Mansouri, Jake Saferstein, Jessica Spitz News Assistants: Justine Chen, Cole Feldman, Kristen Gourrier, Eugenia Ko, Jonah Ullendorff Opinion Managing Editors: Beatrice Fingerhut, Kyla Rhynes Opinion Section Heads: Haley Finkelstein, Kenneth Schrupp Opinion Assistants: Alexa Bowers, Kelly Riopelle Features Managing Editors: Eojin Choi, Morganne Ramsey, Lauren Siegel Features Section Heads: Carly Berger, Marcella Park, David Woldenberg Features Assistants: Angela Chon, Sacha Lin, Benjamin Most, Su Jin Nam, Lauren Rothman A&E Managing Editors: James Hur, Alexander McNab A&E Section Heads: Leily Arzy, Zoe Dutton A&E Assistants: Sharon Chow, Siddharth Kucheria, Kelly Loeb, Pim Otero Sports Managing Editors: Lucy Putnam, Sam Sachs Sports Section Heads: Elijah Akhtarzad, Mila Barzdukas, Jordan Garfinkel, Tyler Graham Sports Assistants: Bennett Gross, Caitlin Neapole, Jonathan Seymour, Henry Vogel, Audrey Wilson Chief Copy Editors: Jivani Gengatharan, Enya Huang, Jessica Lee Managing Editors of Chronicle Multimedia: Henry Hahn, Eric Loeb Art Director: Jacob Goodman Chief Photographer: Scott Nussbaum Ads
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The Chronicle is the student newspaper of Harvard-Westlake School. It is published nine times per year. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the seniors on the Editorial Board. Letters to the editor may be submitted to chronicle@hw.com or mailed to 3700 Coldwater Canyon, Studio City, CA 91604. Letters must be signed and may be edited for space and to conform to Chronicle style and format. Harvard-Westlake has an enrollment of 870 10th through 12th grade students. The Chronicle is also distributed at the Middle School, which has 727 7th through 9th grade students. Stories go through a rigorous editing process and are rewritten by the writers listed on the byline or with additional reporting credits.
Jacob Goodman/chronicle
Stand behind our team
Homecoming embodies the best of our school — the drive, the enthusiasm and the community. While this shined through for most of the lead-up to Homecoming, some of these aspects were lost day-of, when those emotions should have been amplified most. Homecoming week kicked off with a strong turnout at the first-ever Homecoming Formal. This time around, it seemed like the warning bells were finally heard, and the night went off without a hitch. For one night, we were normal highschoolers — our school gym was transformed into a dance floor, our suits were adorned with boutonnieres and our wrists with corsages and our nights ended in a backyard, cozied up next to our dates. Coming off of the excitement of the dance, throughout the weeklong Fanatic Fest, we ate crepes, dressed up like cowboys and tourists and cheered on our teachers as they challenged their children to an obstacle course they were doomed to lose. Fanatic Fest got our blood pumping as we witnessed the Wolverine mascot tackle Jackson Beavers ’15 dressed as the Palisades Charter High School mascot, but the Homecoming fervor was tempered by discomfort as the Head Fanatics and cheerleaders tried to energize the school with borderline inappropriate dancing at the pep rally. While we appreciated the effort, it seemed the line between appropriate cheering and provocative dancing was blurred. Although the intention was to raise school spirit, ultimately teachers and students felt uncomfortable,
bringing the otherwise effective pep rally to a somewhat disappointing end. When the big day came Saturday, boys’ water polo brought the only win, over Long Beach Wilson, with girls’ volleyball falling short against Lakewood High School and the previously undefeated football team losing to Palisades Charter High School. The previous week (and four straight football wins) had raised our expectations, only to have them crushed by a heartbreaking loss to a team we were favored to beat. To add insult to injury, the bleachers lacked a student section, and we lost our home-field advantage. The Fanatics and the Administration failed to communicate, and the lack of a place to sit together led to students milling around on the track. Given the absence of a dedicated section, students and Fanatics should have organized themselves and roused the team, even without seats. We look to the Head Fanatics as examples, and knowing this, they failed to deliver and some went as far as to go home early. We followed their lead and let our team down. The football team kept playing as the score got worse and worse, and we should have stood behind our classmates as they represented our school. As the clock ticked down and the score became more demoralizing, the thud of opposing pads was amplified by the silence as we made a beeline for our cars. We left the football players alone to shoulder the burden, when we should have walked off the field as one — one school and one team.
A12 Opinion
The Chronicle
Oct. 15, 2013
Un-Pak your ideas By Jensen Pak
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ou’d think that with a name like Pak, it would be easy to think of a pun, and yet I still haven’t figured out what my Facebook name should be. Every year, seniors embrace the tradition of changing their names on Facebook. Originally intended to hide profiles from colleges or companies, these new names range from various inside jokes and pop culture references to rhymes or wordplay. So far the senior class has produced some entertaining names on Facebook. Some names that I particularly appreciate this year include Alex See Ya Later (Alexia Le ’14), Juanton Soup (Juan Acevedo ’14) and of course Large (Sam Sachs ’14). On the other hand, I still scratch my head when Mook Hurt (Oliver GoodmanWaters ’14) and KickedAnd TamperedWith (Alex Thal ’14) appear on my newsfeed. I’ve never changed my name before, but I’ve thought about doing it for a couple of years. Seeing the previous senior classes produce creative new names excited me, and I resolved that, with such an easy last name, I would come up with a great alias. I couldn’t wait until I was a senior, except now it’s actually happened and I don’t have a name. Right off the bat, I strayed away from being that Asian kid who decides to write his name in Chinese or Korean. No offense, but that’s hardly creative, and it just makes it hard to find on Facebook. I couldn’t find a name that took advantage of my monosyllabically rhymable last name while also appealing to a wide audience. For a while in my head, I would even go through the alphabet thinking of words rhyming with Pak — back,
hack, lack, etc. However, none produced any results. A few names that have shown promise include Pak Man, Tupak and even Paks Romana, a reference to ancient Rome that I particularly enjoy. I’ve tried to solicit ideas from all of my friends, but none of their ideas seemed very plausible. As I fielded ideas, a couple people would agree, but one or two would shut it down. I soon realized that there is no way to come up with the perfect name. There are great aspects to every name, but it is a habit to find what people wouldn’t like about it. Of course, as a first quarter high school senior in struggling to finish college applications, Facebook should probably be the least of my worries. I feel like deciding on a name would provide some sort of comfort and distraction from my daily stress, except I can’t tell if this is actually contributing to it. Perhaps the struggle to find a name provides more distraction then settling on the name itself. I would rather not use the saying that satisfaction comes from the journey rather than the destination, but I’ve already said it. However, I can’t help thinking that maybe part of the reason I haven’t decided on a name is that I’ve enjoyed the act of searching for one. I’ve probably overthought the whole situation, and the name I finally choose will merit more disapproval than I would like, but at least I am confident that it will accurately represent my creativity and pride in being a senior. If you think you have a good idea, let me know. I’m still looking.
JACOB GOODMAN/CHRONICLE
A few of my secrets By Lauren Sonnenberg
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e all have secrets. Some secrets are the result of things we keep private from others for fear that we might be judged harshly. Some secrets just happen, not because of anything we do or say, but just because life moves fast and people don’t have the time or interest to learn these secrets. My secret? I have a twin. Many of my friends don’t even know he exists. Sure, everyone knows my older brother, Jake ’11. He made quite a splash here. He is as opinionated as I am, we have had many of the same teachers and we share some of the same friends. But people do not know my secret twin, Brad. We were born a minute apart and we live just feet away from each other, yet we live in different worlds. Sure, I see him all the time. Sometimes I don’t see him but just feel his presence or the effects of his presence. He confettis my room. He steals cookies I make for friends’ birthdays. When friends come over, they
are surprised to meet my secret twin. Physically, we are different. He towers over me, he sings and acts, he reads obscure existential novels and contemplates string theory. But he isn’t just physically different. He attends high school in a different place — a different world. His high school isn’t the academic powerhouse of Harvard Westlake, but it has attributes that make it special in a different way. Brad’s high school more closely resembles the sort of place my parents speak about when they reminisce about their youth — dress up days, less competition, unabashed school spirit, a shared value system. At my brother’s school, everyone knows he has a twin sister. It’s indicative of a sharing community — it has traditions and a persona that I am envious of. In some ways, I think of our Homecoming Formal, with its “retro” venue of our own Taper Gym, as a step toward being more like a “typical” high school. I had a sense, being at the gym all
decked for a dance, that this high school has a soul, something that hasn’t always been clear. In some sense, the dance made our school seem a little bit more like my secret twin’s school. Perhaps we should try to get in touch with that feeling more often. This got me thinking. Perhaps we should step a bit out of our comfort zone and get to know more about each other and each other’s secrets. Harvard-Westlake doesn’t have a corner on the market on high school experience. There is much we can gain from emulating the best in others. I’m going to start by sharing a secret or two. One, I liked our simple homecoming dance. We should be open to more events like this. Two, I have a secret twin. We should be a little less self-absorbed and focused only on what affects us day to day. We should want to know more about each other and our secrets. It’s time for us to meet each other’s secret twins.
Your shutdown rundown: what you need to know By Claire Goldsmith
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ou’ve probably heard a lot about the debt ceiling and the shutdown in recent weeks, but it’s admittedly pretty hard to understand the complex fiscal policies and decisions of the United States. So, I’ve assembled a handy FAQ for all your shutdown information needs. Why is there a government shutdown? Basically, Congress didn’t pass a budget for the 2014 fiscal year, and without money allotted for various government departments, they can’t function. In the last few days of September, the government tried in various ways to avert the shutdown. The Senate passed a bill that would have funded the government through December; Republicans in the House passed a similar bill that also defunded the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s heath care reform bill. The two chambers went back and forth several times, with Republicans refusing to compromise or pass a “clean” bill (one without
provisions changing or delaying the ACA). Because of the shutdown, 800,000 “non-essential” federal workers have been furloughed, meaning they can’t go to work or even check their work email while the government has shut down — and they’re unpaid. Congressional salaries, however, are unaffected. On Oct. 5, Congress passed a bill that authorizes back pay for all these workers after the shutdown is over. Okay, so what does it mean? Because of the furloughs and lack of funding, many branches of government can no longer perform their normal duties. The Food and Drug Administration has stopped routine food inspections and laboratory research, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has stopped all workplace safety inspections except in cases of immediate danger or death and the Environmental Protection Agency has stopped cleaning up hazardous chemical sites. National parks and
monuments all over the country have been shut down, including Joshua Tree, where some eighth graders typically go on retreat, and the Upper Colorado River, where some ninth graders go. Only 600 of NASA’s 18,000 employees are still working, and they’ve postponed all projects except communicating with the International Space Station. Wait. This sounds a little familiar. Didn’t something like this happen just a few months ago? You’re pretty close. For the past couple years, we’ve been lurching from fiscal crisis to fiscal crisis because both sides are putting together short-term or stopgap measures that don’t address their larger differences. Obama has called for a “grand bargain,” which could include entitlement and tax reform, and some Republicans are now proposing their own version, but the main issue at the moment is the shutdown. We almost went over the “fiscal cliff ” at the beginning of the
year, the sequester (which cut spending across the board and forced the closure of some government programs) went into effect in early March, and underlying the shutdown is a fight about the debt ceiling. What’s the debt ceiling? It’s all in the name — the debt ceiling establishes an upper limit for how much money the United States can borrow for debts it’s already promised to pay. If Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling, the Treasury Secretary has warned that the United States could default on its debts and thus wouldn’t be able to pay government expenses. There’s some debate over whether the President could prioritize some expenditures over others, but the government could potentially be unable to pay for anything — and there’s $43 million in Social Security and Medicare checks that need to go out to beneficiaries on Nov. 1. According to Treasury Department estimates, we’ll run out of money Oct. 17 (that’s two days away).
That’s all very well, but why have you written this many words about it? You’re a senior in high school, not a furloughed federal worker. Excellent point, perceptive reader! Okay, here’s the thing. A bunch of Republican lawmakers are denying that the shutdown is a problem — and many of them don’t think the debt ceiling is an issue either. Some have said it would be good for the country to default, even after economists and researchers have said that a default could plunge the country into a decline as bad as or even worse than the 2008 recession. A Republican pollster showed that the last debate about the debt ceiling hurt consumer confidence (and in turn the stock market and the economy in general) by more than 9/11, the Lehman Brothers collapse or the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The debt ceiling is bad. The shutdown is bad. Get involved, call your Congressman — and please, don’t grow up to be like them.
Oct. 15, 2013
hwchronicle.com/opinion
Opinion A13
Avoid stressing over stress By Jessica Spitz
I
started my junior year with the same questions and anxieties that I’m sure many of my classmates also had: is it really as bad as they say? How will I deal with the workload? Will I sleep? Will I have a social life? Will I even make it to June? I could think of only one upside to embarking on the infamous journey of junior year, which was that no one could tell me to stop complaining about how stressed Jacob Goodman/chronicle I was because junior year is widely accepted as the worst. Seniors were quick to inform me that I was sorely mistaken. I learned that not only is first semester senior year just as challenging as junior year, but, in addition to the usual workload, seniors are also working on college still live at home, abide by my applications. parents’ rules and have not When I initially considnoticed a significant increase ered this, I thought that it in freedom from last year. was completely fair to say Then again, I have never that the beginning of senior treasured my childlike beyear is harder than junior havior more. To celebrate my year. But then why had I 18th birthday, I went with two been hearing about the stress of my closest friends to the of 11th grade since I came Orange County fair. There, I to Harvard-Westlake as a won a giant stuffed toy, a two seventh grader? And why, foot-tall minion from the ani- every year, am I told that my mated movie “Despicable Me,” workload is nothing compared and saw that as the highlight to that of the year above me? of the day. It all boils down to the Like most, I might have fact that Harvard-Westlake rushed to grow up. Now I’ve students can be a bit selfrealized that probably the centered. As 10th graders, best thing to do is to rememweren’t most of us terrified ber that I am still kind of at the prospect of our first a kid. I like to make stupid in-class essay for English, or jokes or go to a county fair our first upper school history and bring back a couple of test? stuffed animals, and in my In the moment, when you opinion, that is a lot nicer are staying up until the early than speeding towards adulthours of the morning to study hood. for a test or finish a project,
Embrace your childhood By Beatrice Fingerhut
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here’s always that one adult in your life telling you to not rush growing up, that there will always be a time and place for everything, and, well, that you’ll get there eventually. While that little tidbit of knowledge does carry meaning, for us teenagers it rarely resonates. My mom would always chide me for not remembering what she said; the words went in one ear and out the other. While this exchange may have occurred in Russian, the sentiment was the same. Looking back on my time at Harvard-Westlake, it all seems like a blur. It feels like an eternity ago when we arrived fresh-eyed and bushytailed at the middle school campus. There it all started. We looked up at the students in the grades above us and believed we deserved the same
privileges. Each year we waited for that landmark event: the chance to refer to ourselves as high school students, the experience of going to the DMV to get our driver’s permits, and the arrival of the first sweet 16 party. It carries on every year, and now a little more than a month into my senior year, I’ve visited a couple of college campuses, talked to more than a few college students about their experiences so far and have concluded that I cannot wait to start the next chapter of my life. So far, I’ve noticed that as we’ve gotten older, the younger kids seem to rush more towards becoming an adult. I turned 18 in mid-August, and I can easily say that becoming a legal adult has not changed my life at all. I
no year at Harvard-Westlake seems effortless. It is much easier to say that you had no trouble at all in hindsight and that the work you are doing now is significantly harder. I realized that I am completely guilty of this behavior myself. My younger sister is in eighth grade at HarvardWestlake, and my younger brother is in sixth grade at Curtis School. It is incredibly difficult not to roll my eyes when my sister (who is not a whiner) occasionally mentions the Algebra I test she has coming up or my brother talks about studying his ISEE vocabulary. Instead of brushing off younger students’ complaints about their workload, I suggest that we offer support and sympathy. All that people want to hear about their concerns is that they are valid, not that they are unfounded. As frustrating as it may be to listen to issues that seem less pressing than your own, try to see the situation from someone else’s perspective. Everyone handles stress differently, some much worse than others. We go to a school that, along with all of its incredible benefits and opportunities, has a reputation for stress. Maybe if we extend helping hands rather than act in a condescending manner, we can ease some of that stress. So the next time my sister vents her problems to me, I will not snap and tell her that she should just wait until she’s a junior, or ignore her entirely. Instead, I will take a deep breath, force a smile on my face and ask how I can help.
Choosing between my education and my education By Julia Aizuss
I
ditched a class a few weeks ago. I simply did not attend third period, my directed study in Ancient Greek. I didn’t forget about class, I wasn’t cramming for a test, I wasn’t even at home “sick.” No, I was in Chalmers 313 along with a couple dozen other seniors, listening to the University of Chicago’s assistant director of admission, Mitch Salm, host an information session. I like my Greek class, I really do; its mix of language and interdisciplinary teaching of myth is one of the highlights of my week. I was reluctant to miss it. But I’m not applying to UChicago early, so even though I’ve already visited the campus, I thought I had to show the college more “demonstrated interest,” to use a popular piece of college admissions jargon. Before third period began, Salm happened to stumble upon me during activities period and ask for directions to the dean coordinators, so af-
ter my dean encouraged me to introduce myself, I informed him of my dilemma. “You’re making me choose between my education and my education,” I told him. It sounds like a win-win situation. Either way, I’m doing something for my education, right? But in class, I really am (hopefully) learning, acquiring an education. Attending an info session, meanwhile, means I’m trying to boost my chances of getting into a desirable college that may give me a good education in the future. There’s no guarantee. Salm acknowledged I was right, encouraged me to go to Greek and gave me his business card. I ended up at the info session anyway, which was so crowded I had to sit on the floor. But I signed my name on the clipboard he passed around, and that was all that mattered. I had officially Demonstrated Interest. So far, that’s the only time I’ve missed class for an info session. I passed up Kenyon
because I didn’t want to miss the second day we would spend in AP Lit on “Hamlet,” and I decided understanding the newest integrals we were learning in AP Calc BC was more important than hearing about Vassar. Columbia, meanwhile, could not compete with the class dedicated to making this new issue of the newspaper. I’m not interested in NYU, but if I were, I would not have thought twice about choosing to stay in AP Art History for a class that Ms. HolmesChuba called “actually really important.” I haven’t visited Kenyon and Vassar, so these schools still don’t think I’ve demonstrated interest, whatever that means. (On the other hand, I admit I have attended an info session and a tour on the Columbia campus.) Apparently, the only way you can demonstrate interest in a college is by visiting a campus or listening to an info session that just contains the most relevant parts of
the website. And if you’re not lucky enough to have the means to fly out to nowhere, Ohio (sorry, Gambier) or upstate New York, then you’re down to one option: skipping class. It bothers me if I have to miss two minutes of class to go to the bathroom; how could I ever be comfortable with missing all 45? Sure, attending an info session is more educational than attending to my bodily functions, but at least one of these activities is literally necessary, while the other one, however much it tries to advertise itself otherwise, is not. It’s a racket, and all the deans, students and sometimes even the admissions officers themselves are willing to admit it. I already knew everything Salm talked about in his UChicago presentation, and I still feel guilty about the discussion of ancient myth I missed out on in Greek. Admittedly, my sister attends UChicago, which explains my
knowledge; my experience at an info session for Vassar or Kenyon or any other college I’ve ditched for class would probably have been different and more beneficial. But my regret for missing those sessions is nowhere near as great as the regret I would have felt if I missed class. I’m not sure how to schedule these info sessions in such a way that they don’t interfere with class—after all, if they were all just held concurrently before and after school, many of the info sessions would probably be held at the same time. Students would have to pick between colleges to learn about, and they would interfere with any extracurricular commitments after school. The way they’re scheduled right now really is the best method possible. However, I do know for sure that I care, first and foremost, about the education I’m getting right now. Hopefully, the colleges I apply to will see the value in that.
A14 Opinion
The Chronicle
Oct. 15, 2013
Don’t miss out By Noa Yadidi
I
’ve been really busy these past couple of weeks. In the past week alone, every single one of my classes has either tested or assigned a project or essay. Now, the logical thing to do would be to pack up all my stuff as soon as eighth period ends, send my sister a couple of nasty texts telling her to hurry up, hop in my car that’s long overdue for a wash (I’m telling you, I’ve been busy!) and book it over Coldwater Canyon, maybe grab a grande Starbucks coffee on the way and get to work. So why have I found myself shivering as I walk to my car after dark almost every night in the past two weeks, just leaving school then? Sure, half of that was for this issue of the Chronicle you’re currently holding in your hands (or surfing through on hwchronicle.com), but the other was fulfilling a regret. Two weeks ago, I attended a screening of a documentary following a photojournalist’s career in war zones that ultimately ended in his death in Libya (read more about it on A6), followed by a Q&A with the photojournalist’s friend, Human Rights Watch Emergencies Director and performing arts teacher Ted Walch’s former student Peter Bouckaert. The documentary was one of the most amazing films I have ever seen in my life: it was inspiring, well-done and relevant, but it was also instructive. The
Q&A further complemented everything that I learned in the documentary, teaching me more with every question. I will never forget what I learned that day, but I promise you I’ve already forgotten what the Middle East Studies reading that night was about (sorry, Mr. Yaron). My parents, teachers and friends have often advised me to “live life without regrets,” and I told myself when I embarked on my Harvard-Westlake experience that I couldn’t let it come to an end with regrets. If I could, I would try to emerge with none at all. Well, I’ve stumbled upon a regret and have only less than eight months to remedy it. This regret might not be earth-shattering — it’s not like I finally decided that science is my passion after immersing myself in four histories and no science, or that deep down I’ve always wanted to be the lead in the musical and missed my final shot. But it’s a regret nonetheless. What’s unique about Harvard-Westlake is that we are part of a community full of incredible, interesting and selfless people. The teachers, students, parents and alums who make up this community have an impressive collective resume. The network of people they know beyond that only further expands the list of incredible people this community has access to. In one case, this results in the amazing speakers we
JACOB GOODMAN/CHRONICLE
get every year to talk to the whole student body. Just last year, we had actor Samuel L. Jackson, one of the most recognized actors in the world. Then we had Olympian swimmer Dara Torres ’85, first openly gay former NBA athlete John Amaechi, and conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel – all in one year! We’re lucky that beyond these mandatory assemblies, teachers and former alums often bring in their former students who are doing great things to talk to us. However, students aren’t required to attend these discussions and screenings. They usually occur late after school, when, as I mentioned, students are swamped with work. Because of this, sometimes students — myself included — who want to go to these presentations cannot do so due to their workload.
If you haven’t yet caught my drift, I regret choosing to do my schoolwork. Let me clarify. Homework is important and has a purpose, or else we wouldn’t be forced to do it (right?), but sometimes it’s okay to forgo one night of history reading or one night of problem sets to attend one of these events. We’re so lucky to have them, as many schools don’t have access to such people, and sometimes the value of learning is higher at these events than in that one night of history reading. Too often, we students blame our immense workload for our absences from these events, and I regret not having taken advantage of these speakers in my time at the Upper School. I’m not denying that homework is important, but the things these speakers have to say, whether it’s Bouckaert, Jason Reitman ’95 or Benedict Cumberba—I
mean, “Julian Assange”—, are the real learning experiences, the immediately applicable ones that complete what we learn in the classroom. It’s not just what’s in the textbooks but also about what the outside world is like now, and these are the ways we can learn about that. So, yes, however trivial this may seem, my regret is having not taken complete advantage of the amazing opportunities our school provides. Upon speaking with some of my friends and classmates, they echo that same idea. We have to set our priorities and pick what is most important, and sometimes the big math test the next day might be that, but with a little time management and a little risk, there is a major reward. Suffice it to say, I will be taking advantage of all the speakers this year. I have some catching up to do.
guest column
Remove yourself from the everpresent competition By Angela Knight ’14
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he first graded essay that I ever handed in at Harvard-Westlake got a B-. My short, awkward seventh-grade self quietly stared at what I thought was a definite sign of my failure as I began to lose any shred of hope that I had for surviving at a school with a larger than life reputation. All was lost until I looked around. Everyone else had received a B- or a B and the teacher told us that, over time, our grades would improve. Prior to that moment, I had never
compared myself directly to other kids, holding close the idea that everyone was different and excelled at different things. Now, I had suddenly and unknowingly been tossed into the infamous HarvardWestlake competition. It’s impossible to not be at least a little competitive in this kind of environment. It’s not something the administration induces directly, but it’s partly due to its actions (or lack thereof) towards particular policies or situations like the unfair
disparity between the levels of difficulty of different teachers teaching the same subject. Some students are propelled by this competition as they feed off of it, happy to grind away on a pile of coursework. Some of us may pretend that the competition creates some kind of feeling of community, but I can’t count the amount of times I’ve asked someone for a study guide and have simply received a small, pointed “no.” Witnessing people pull continuous all-nighters and
show up to school with eyes glazed over and a shaky hand holding a cup of coffee, the realization that I couldn’t keep comparing myself to others hit me. Slowly, I began to stop asking people what they got on the test, and instead I started to meet with my teachers one-on-one and talk through grades I received. I became an individual, but my grades were still not ideal. Why would I keep getting a B+ on most of my essays? Did this mean I was simply a B+
student? The key, I found, was a balance between the two. Realizing I was not alone in my unsatisfactory essay grades was helpful, but I made sure not to ask for the GPA of someone applying to the same college I was. We have to realize that we go to an extremely difficult school where we will not always get A’s, but we can’t compare ourselves to someone who has led a different life and has different struggles. In a sense, we’re getting what we asked for.
guest column
Save the written word in this new digital age By Shannon Acedo, Head Upper School Librarian
One question I often get these days with regard to books is, “Isn’t it all online?” I’ll usually respond with, “Well, we’re not quite at that stage yet.” When someone asks “Isn’t everything online?”, “everything” includes: 1. The newest copyright protected titles to older public domain titles and everything in between. 2. Popular titles and obscure titles: If it’s very popular, publishers get protective about selling to libraries. Up to 30 percent of new titles are not available to libraries in digital form. However, if it’s not popular and still pro-
tected by copyright there isn’t much push to digitize it, and often it’s not legal to digitize. 3. Many books that are published digitally are available for sale only to individuals. Some new titles are only available to libraries for purchase at three to four times the amount charged to individuals. One recent title, “Unbroken,” cost $84 a copy for library purchase, compared to $12.99 for individual purchase. 4. Digitized and not yet digitized: new books have publishers to make them available digitally — for sale. Old books in public domain
have Google/HathiTrust able to digitize them for entities like Project Gutenberg. Books that are not new but are still copyright-protected are often unavailable. While Google might digitize them and want to provide them for free, the copyright holders are not eager for that to happen, and have been bringing lawsuits. However, perhaps the most important questions to ask about digital books are: 1. Are all ebooks free to everyone, or are they available to people who can afford to buy them? 2. Are all titles — including less popular titles — even
available in digital format? If those entities currently interested in digitizing books become more interested in selling ebooks than in the public service of digitizing “everything,” will less popular, perhaps controversial titles be passed over and end up unavailable digitally? In a June 2013 survey of upper school students, when asked about school projects, 52 percent preferred to read from paper texts, while only eight percent preferred digital sources. When asked about recreational reading, 73 percent said they preferred to read on
paper, while only two percent would rather read digitally. Often these preferences shift with the circumstance. Travelling? Your Kindle or Nook lightens your load. Catching up on classroom reading? Grab your paperback edition of “The Great Gatsby” and get ready to highlight away. As long as you have the option for either, you still have a choice. While it is exciting to think of the expanded availability that digitization brings to many books, it is important to look more deeply to see the hidden impact.
Oct. 15, 2013
hwchronicle.com/opinion
Opinion A15
quadtalk
The Chronicle asked:
“Did the events prior to homcoming, like spirit week and the pep rally, boost your school spirit?” “I thought the pep rally was great, I had a lot of fun. As for the different dress up days, I thought they were a really great way to be with the community and be silly.” —Zachary Birnholz ‘14
“Which of the following would you blame for the lack of a student section during Homecoming?”
Fanatics 142
“Absolutely, the spirit week events are a very fun way to get everyone together. Who doesn’t like dressing up?” —Julie Engel ’14
Parents 111
359 students weighed in on the Chronicle poll
Administration
106
“Do you think it affected the student athletes during the Homecoming game?” 412 students weighed in on the Chronicle poll Yes
2 2 2
No
“There was a lack of school spirit at the game. Not many people watched the game so I think the Fanatics would have been helpful in making everyone more cheerful and excited.” —Neda Mazdisnian ’16
1 9 0
“I feel that not having a Fanatics section didn’t affect the athletes. I usually see the Fanatics having more of an effect on the audience as opposed to the players.” —David Goldberg ’15
“What are you planning to do over the extended mid-semester break?” “I don’t have any plans at all. I will be hanging out at home and working on my college applications.”
—Mike Sheng ‘14
“Even though I will be pretty busy, hopefully I’ll be able to relax a little and hang out with my friends since this break is coming at a very nice time amid junior year.” —Sloane Chmara ’15
“I’m going to celebrate my birthday over the break. I’m also planning to visit a few colleges.”
—David Manahan ‘14
“I want to catch up on my sleep and just spend time with my friends who are in town. I also have some studying to do because I have an AP Biology test when I get back to school.”
—Morgan Choi ’15 Kyla rhynes/chronicle
reportcard
A
Extended mid-semester break for all Upper School Students
A-
Two movie screenings were offered to students in the past month
B
Only two weeks remain until the end of the first quarter
C
Two of the three sports teams playing at Homecoming lost
F
No student section during the Homecoming football game
A16
Hustle & Heart
exposure
Oct. 15, 2013
In preparation for Homecoming Oct. 5, students participated in a range of activities to show school spirit during Fanatic Fest week. Upper School students attended the first Homecoming Formal dance in recent years Sept. 28 in Taper Gym. The following week, students dressed up in various costumes with different themes every day to celebrate Fanatic Fest. The week culminated with a pep rally in Taper Oct. 4, featuring a relay race through an obstacle course between students and their faculty parents.
CAITLIN NEAPOLE/CHRONICLE
ARMS WIDE: Varsity water polo goalie Anthony Ridgley ’15 dives for the ball in the game against Long Beach Wilson Oct. 5.
NIKTA MANSOURI/CHRONICLE
WE’VE GOT SPIRIT: The Wolverine dances to pump up the crowd at the Fanatic Fest pep rally in Taper Gym Oct. 4.
SCOTT NUSSBAUM/CHRONICLE
FIRST DANCE: Students dressed in semiformal attire dance in Taper Gymnasium, which was decorated for the first Homecoming Formal.
NIKTA MANSOURI/CHRONICLE
FOOTLOOSE: Prefects Jackson Beavers ’15, left, and Albert Choi ’15 dance on the quad Sept. 30 with a group of students during break on ‘80s day.
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF MCKYNZIE DICKMAN
SAY CHEESE: Mckynzie Dickman ’14 and Brianna Gazmarian ’15 dress up in floral shirts for Tacky Tourist Thursday Oct. 3.
JACK GOLDFISHER/CHRONICLE
HELD BACK: Palisades High School defenders attempt to tackle quarterback Marshal Cohen ’16 in the varsity team’s 45-18 loss.
B12 Features
DAY
The Chronicle
Oct. 15, 2013
of the
DEAD By Zoe Dutton
Zaragoza compared Day of the Dead’s social role to that of Nick Ramirez ’14 stands Thanksgiving. beside his great-grandmoth“A lot of people find it as an er’s grave, surrounded by a opportunity for family to get sea of marigolds. The occa- together,” Zaragoza said. “Peosion is Día de los Muertos, the ple travel to their hometown Mexican holiday when families and visit, like Thanksgiving. gather to celebrate the lives of It has the very same effect as dead loved ones. While most Día de los Muertos. It’s not a students at Harvard-Westlake sad day; it’s a day of rememare busy planning their Hal- brance.” loween costumes, a few are Orozco’s family is from preparing for Day of the Dead Guadalajara, too far south for Nov. 1 and 2. them to easily visit their rela“Since we can’t visit our tives’ graves during Day of the family members’ graves [in Dead. Ramirez, on the other Mexico], we try to find other hand, has been driving down ways to honor them here,” Ja- to Tijuana to celebrate with vier Orozco ’15 said. “We set family since he was a little boy. up our own shrine in the living “When we go to TJ, we go room, and on the two nights of to church and read the rosary, Día de los Muertos we sit in and we go to the cemetery,” front of it as a family and pay Ramirez said. “If you’ve ever our respects and just hang out seen a Mexican cemetery, together.” you’ll know they’re never Day of the Dead origi- green; they’re always so colornated in Mexico as a fusion ful. They just carpet the graves of Catholic and indigenous in red and yellow and pink. beliefs. Mourning was not al- Also, since it is a feast holiday, lowed because it was believed we usually have menudo [a tears would make the spirit’s traditional Mexican soup].” path slippery and treacherOrozco said the most imous, the cultural arts curator portant part of Day of the for the Smithsonian’s National Dead is the opportunity to reMuseum of the American In- member his family. dian Hayes Lavis said in an “Every year, the person I interview with NPR. The holi- honor the most is my grandday has retained this sense of mother,” Orozco said. “She light-heartedplayed a ness and is a very importime of mertant role People travel to riment rather in my life, than grief. though she their hometown and O r o z c o died five visit, like Thanksgiving. lives in the years ago. It has the very same predominantI don’t ly Hispanic have that effect as Día de los neighbormany things Muertos. It’s not a hood of Boyle that my Heights and grandma sad day; it’s a day of looks forward o w n e d , remembrance.” all year to the apart from nearby Day of a —Javier Zaragoza maybe the Dead festiscarf or two, Spanish teacher so instead val in Mariachi Plaza. of putting “There are up things displays of shrines to the dead left from her I usually put but also food stands and activ- up something I’ve made. Last ities like mask making, paper year I made bracelets and cutting, and candy skull mak- wrote a poem, and I put that ing,” Orozco said. “I’m usually on the altar. Everyone in the just an observer, but we have family puts something up; my different dances too, usually sister made this traditional Aztec-style. You’re celebrating Mexican candy.” the dead as a whole so it just Karenina Juarez ’16 also makes the holiday seem that commemorates her grandmuch more special.” mother during Day of the Spanish teacher Javier Dead, and said she enjoys con-
“
necting with her heritage. “It’s important to celebrate your ancestors and learn about the past, to keep the traditions alive,” Juarez said. Juarez intends to continue celebrating Day of the Dead as an adult and anticipates even one day honoring her parents with her own children. “Sometimes you lose someone very important, and you want to remember them,” Zaragoza said. “In my case I lost four brothers. Now that I’m 58, I should have a little ceremony for my dad. I’ve lost all four of my grandparents, I’ve lost many friends. For many people, the holiday helps with that.” Though Zaragoza stopped celebrating Day of the Dead in his early 20s, he said he still sporadically attends festivals. “I’m still very connected to Día de los Muertos,” Zaragoza said. “I’m always very happy to see others celebrating. It brings back memories.” Although few students at Harvard-Westlake celebrate Day of the Dead or even know what it is, Orozco said it doesn’t bother him. “I don’t feel sad about it,” Orozco said. “Maybe it’s just because of where I live, but I do feel like people still continue to [celebrate Day of the Dead] and celebrate Mexican culture, and that makes me happy.” Ramirez disagrees over Day of the Dead’s continuity. “A lot of the celebration has died down,” Ramirez said. “I think it’s because Mexico has gotten much more Americanized. Even when I was a kid, there were a lot more traditional things you could buy during Día de los Muertos. I want Mexico to still keep its own culture. I see so much getting Americanized, mostly towards the border, but it’s creeping down towards the rest of the country.” Ramirez said that as much as the loss of his heritage troubles him, he knows he will always be connected to Mexico in one form or another. “When I die, they’ll probably put me in a box and send me back across the border to be buried in my family plot,” he said, laughing.
ILLUSTRATION BY SYDNEY FOREMAN
B2 Features
The Chronicle
Oct. 15, 2013
How do you say hello? English is not the first language of all students at Harvard-Westlake. Some grew up in bilingual households, where English was coupled with other languages or non-existent.
Guten Tag
nathanson’s
Anton Beer ’14
Bonjour
nathanson’s
Alex Arreola ’15
By Noa Yadidi
W
Hola
hen Eugenie Lund-Simon ’14 asks friends to “pardon my French,” she’s not apologizing for her profanity. A native French speaker, Lund-Simon frequently finds herself unconsciously slipping into her mother tongue. Lund-Simon was born in Paris, France to an American father and French mother, moved to Los Angeles a age 8 — a move her family had not anticipated. “We didn’t know we were going to move to Los Angeles, so I just never learned English,” she said. Lund-Simon, who began attending the Lycée Francais de Los Angeles did not even being to learn English right away once she moved. “I pretty much only spoke French,” Lund-Simon said. “I had one hour of English a week, but the first two years I was very young and lazy and didn’t really make an effort, especially because there is a large French community in Los Angeles, and it wasn’t really necessary to learn English right away.” After Lund-Simon’s sister, Eléonore ’12, began attending Harvard-Westlake, her parents had similar aspirations for her, causing them to begin pushing Lund-Simon to learn English fluently. She began to force herself to speak English, while her dad began speaking only English to her. Lund-Simon is now fluent in both languages but still finds herself more comfortable with French. At home, her family continues to speak French to each other. “I’m fine with both, [but] in terms of vocabulary, sometimes in class I have no idea what I’m saying,” she said. Lund-Simon has had some difficulty, especially in deciphering idioms that do not
nathanson’s
Koji Everard ’15
nathanson’s
Eugenie Lund-Simon ’14
translate into French, such as her first language was exas “it’s raining cats and dogs.” pected from her. Lund-Simon has found that “Everyone in their family this problem goes both ways as speaks Spanish, it’s kind of a well, citing the French idiom passed down thing, so my mom that translates to “I’m peeing wanted to make sure every in a violin,” which, in French, one of her kids spoke Spanish, means that no one is listening wrote in Spanish and can read to you. Spanish,” she said. “When “In English class, some- [your parents] are talking to times I try to say an expres- you they’ll speak Spanish to sion, and everyone gets con- you and you’re expected to fused,” she said. “It makes answer back in Spanish, not sense in French, but appar- English.” ently not in Arreola English.” was born in L u n d North CaroliSimon finds na, but moved I think my mom herself acto Mexico at wanted me to be cidently slipage 2 in order ping into to be closer to bilingual because that French often, family. can open up a lot of which earns Less than options in the future her confused a year later, looks from her famin terms of college and classmates, ily moved to work.” especially in California as English classparents —Koji Everard ’15 her es. decided there “It’s very were more embarrassing, but I tend to do opportunities for them back in that a lot,” she said. the United States. Anton Beer ’14, who was Arreola began learning born in Germany, grew up English while attending a bispeaking both English and lingual head-start preschool German simultaneously and and doesn’t think she’s pardoesn’t remember learning ticularly special or out of the one first. ordinary for having learned a “My mom grew up [in the different language first. United States], so she spoke “People get surprised when English at home because she I tell them I learned English had just moved to Germany and it wasn’t my first lansix years before I was born,” guage,” she said. Beer said. “[Since] she spoke Arreola sees only advanEnglish at home, I spoke Eng- tages to learning Spanish first lish as well.” and believs speaking it has not Beer has found that there affected her English-speaking are benefits to speaking multi- ability. Especially living in Calple languages, as it has helped ifornia, she has encountered him succeed in his foreign lan- many people who only speak guage classes at school. Spanish and has been able to “[I’ve taken] two languages communicate with them behere, and I’m really good at cause of her bilingualism. them, but they’re not relatAlthough Alisa Tsenter ’14 ed to German and English,” was born in the United States, he said. “Maybe it makes me her first language still wasn’t more language-adept.” English. While most chilFor Alexandra Arreola ’15, dren were calling their parbeing born to two “very proud ents mom and dad, Tsenter’s Mexican parents,” speaking first words were “mama” and Spanish from a young age and “papa,” mom and dad’s Rus-
“
nathanson’s
Alisa Tsenter ’14
sian equivalents. As Russian is the primary language spoken in her home, she began to learn English in preschool. “I was really quiet the first couple of months, but then I started talking [more] because I started hearing more, and my parents started using English more often so I could learn it,” she said. Now, although Tsenter continues to understand Russian fluently, she finds herself now answering her parents in English. Although Koji Everard ’15 learned both Japanese and English from a young age, his first language was not one his English-speaking father actually spoke. “I think my mom wanted me to be bilingual because that can open up a lot of options in the future in terms of college and work, and it allows me to connect with Japanese culture,” he said. Everard was born in London and, before moving to Los Angeles, lived in Hong Kong and Japan. Since moving away from Japan, he has found it difficult to retain Japanese because he isn’t using it on a daily basis like he was in Japan. “The hard part is when you live so completely in one of your languages, like I am now in Los Angeles,” Everard said. “I barely even write it so I have to try and work hard to maintain it and even then it slips away.” “Being able to speak and interact with more people, even if you’re travelling, it’s really useful,” he said. “Culturally, if you know the language, it allows you to connect to the people. For example, Japanese people, they’re kind of differential but also distant from foreigners so when they speak English to me, but I reply to them in Japanese and eventually they catch on that I speak Japanese, and then they talk to me a little more like themselves.”
Oct. 15, 2013
hwchronicle.com/features
Features B3
Security guard Mark Geiger was patrolling campus one night about three and a half years ago when he discovered two thieves stealing sound and light equipment from Rugby Theatre. Geiger, who doesn’t leave campus between Sunday evening and Friday night, chased them until he lost them, and they got away with only some of the equipment they attempted to steal, too scared to try anything more. “Maybe they thought I was going to shoot them,” Geiger said, laughing.
T
he thieves wouldn’t have been too far off. At the time, Geiger had a handgun concealed on his person, as he always does, just like the rest of the security team. Like all the other members of the school security team, Geiger has a background in law enforcement (in his case, as a Los “ReAngeles County ally, the ulia izuss deputy sheriff) decision and is licensed was to outto carry a consource our cealed weapsecurity seron. The only vices to a commember who pany that was does not carprofessional, ry a concealed much like you weapon and is would decide not licensed to do that rather than develop so is security officer Sanders your website in-house, you Jackson, who is an employee were going to contract it out,” of the school and not of CJL, Huybrechts said. the company which Director Hudnut also said the focus of Security Jim Crawford owns was on the benefits people like and to which the school out- retired policemen and sheriffs sources its security. would bring, in general, not Since most law enforce- specifically connected to arms. ment officers carry either 9 “Having fully equipped, millimeter or 45-caliber hand- highly experienced law officers guns, those are what the secu- with good judgment is very rity carries as well, and their preferable to the ‘rent-a-cops’ ammunition is standard law that many schools and busienforcement issue, Crawford nesses hire,” he said. said. Aside from that, Craw“I do not think anyone ford said the team has “a vari- should be armed at any school ety of tools available to us that other than licensed law offiare secure,” declining to delve cers,” he added. “Suggestions any further into the specifics that teachers and other school of their preparation. employees be armed strike me “We’ve always carried as farcical.” guns, from the beginning,” “We need professionals doCrawford, who’s worked for ing that work,” Huybrechts the school since the 1980s as agreed. “And whether they Harvard School for Boys’ first are armed or not is somewhat part-time security guard, said. beside the point. The most “That was something that important piece is they are [former President] Tom Hud- trained security officers and nut wanted. He wanted the all that that entails. So they guards up here to be armed.” have experience, they have Hudnut decided to hire training, they have expertise, armed guards for a variety they have knowledge that of reasons, he and Head of teachers and school adminisSchool Jeanne Huybrechts trators do not.” said. Huybrechts said it was Although Harvard-Westpart of the package when the lake was one of the first priadministration decided to ful- vate schools in Los Angeles ly cease using school employ- to hire armed security, it’s no ees as security. In 2008, the outlier. school completely transitioned CJL caters primarily to to CJL on the recommenda- private schools, and compation of the school’s insurance rable schools that also have carrier and with the Board of armed guards range from Trustees’ endorsement. Brentwood to the Center for
out that we are armed.” A f t e r the security team began to let people know, “It gets around,” he said. “They know the Early Eduguards here are going to be cation. Hud- armed and they’re going to be nut thinks they less apt to want to confront a followed Har- guard at night, breaking into v a r d - We s t - something, if it’s a retired polake’s lead, as liceman or an off-duty policedoes Crawford. man.” “We did it years before The team regularly trains anyone even thought about on campus during vacations it,” Crawford said. “We are the and on the campus shooting norm now. I think everybody’s range and practices respondkind of going in that direction ing to classrooms in the event because of the recent shoot- of a shooter to avoid collateral ings.” damage. Recent school shootings “Practicing and practicwere also what impelled the ing and practicing,” Crawford security team to be more said. “We spend a lot of time open about its armed status. and a lot of money practicing.” Between about five years ago But so far, no security and the shooting at Columbine guard has ever had reason to High School in 1999, Crawford open fire on someone on camannounced in the all-faculty pus. meeting at the beginning of It’s a last resort, Crawford the school year that the guards said, and not to be done unless were all armed. someone’s life is in danger. “I don’t think we That’s why Geigot any negative feedger didn’t use his back,” he said. gun during the Rug“I’ve never heard by theft a few years a complaint,” Huyago. No lives were in brechts said. “None. danger, just propEver.” erty. However, she Huybrechts wasn’t sure if it’s comcompared it to the mon knowledge that preparations in the security team is place for a lockdown nathanson’s armed. situation. James “I’m not sure I Although the Crawford know what common possibility that the knowledge means,” she school would need said. to provide food and While some people, supplies to everyshe said, have always one on campus for known, and more are a week is “practialways finding out, cally slim to none,” the school does not the school wants to advertise the details be prepared for any of its security plan, so event, so those supnathanson’s families newer to the plies are indeed on Mark Geiger school might not know. campus. Even if parents and “We want to be students might not prepared for that necessarily know, the people slim chance,” Huybrechts said. who matter to the security do: Nor, Geiger said, has anypossible burglars. one had reason to even draw “We haven’t had a burglary a gun. in years up here,” Crawford “Come on,” he said, as said, although he acknowledged he watched cars drive out of they did have thefts “here and school one afternoon, from his there,” like the thieves Geiger usual spot near the security caught in Rugby. “I think it’s kiosk. “This is Harvard-Westpartially because the word’s lake.”
Concealed Weapons J
By A
Stick to your guns Approximately
1 in 3 students don’t know that school guards are armed
The Chronicle polled 407 students on their views about the school having armed guards.
Approximately
Approximately
8 in 10
1 in 5
students think having armed guards is a good idea
students is not comfortable with having armed guards SOURCE: SURVEYMONKEY POLL GRAPHIC BY MORGANNE RAMSEY
B4 Features
The Chronicle
Oct. 15, 2013
GRAPHIC BY JACOB GOODMAN AND JACK GOLDFISHER
By Leily Arzy
insomnia, but they have determined that the fear of having a here was a blackout flashback is definitely a trigger in the house, so they that keeps her awake at night. went to the dusty Thomas Yadegar, a private basement to get a practitioner who specializes lamp. That’s when he fell, in sleep medicine, said that down the old wooden staircase many patients who have inwith the moss green carpet somnia, whether it is due to that looked like grass. some event or illness, develop The little girl watched her anxiety after a certain amount grandfather break nearly ev- of time because they get little ery bone in his body in what to no sleep. would ultimately be a fatal fall. Yadegar said many adolesBy the time he reached the cents have a specific disorder, bottom of the stairs, she was delayed sleep phase syndrome, already screaming with her that can be confused with inhands over her ears. The lit- somnia. tle girl ran to the living room, “As kids go through puberty with the same and into their moss green early adultc a r p e t hood, their ing that her body’s circaI will literally go grandmother dian rhythm, four days and get three picked, to tell one of the her family hours of sleep and then, c o n t r o l l i n g what had just factors of a because I am so tired, I happened. person’s sleep will sleep on Saturday Naomi*’15 and wake cywas just six cle, changes,” for 15 hours.” years old Yadegar said. when she As a re—Naomi* ’15 witnessed her sult, he said it grandfather’s is not unusual accident. To this day, she is for teenagers to have trouble haunted by flashbacks of her falling asleep. If a teenager is grandfather’s death and is un- given enough time to sleep, able to fall asleep. When she he or she will eventually fall was 12, Naomi was diagnosed asleep. Regardless of the time with insomnia. insomniacs go to bed, they “I still have flashbacks cannot fall asleep. about that,” Naomi said. “So, “Even though I don’t have whether or not I have flash- insomnia, this whole week I backs lying in bed, even if I have gone to bed at 10:30 p.m., am not thinking about it, the but I have not been able to fall stress of thinking that I am asleep until 11:30 p.m.,” Claire going to have a flashback will Nordstrom ’15 said. “I just lie literally keep me up for hours, there with the lights off trying even if I am just lying there to fall asleep.” and doing nothing.” Naomi, on the other hand, The Mayo Clinic, a medical is in bed by 11 p.m. and lies research group in Minnesota, there until 3 a.m. when she defines insomnia as a disorder eventually falls into a light in which people are incapable three hour nap. of falling asleep, staying asleep During the hours when or both. she is awake, she turns off all Insomnia can exhaust en- technology and sits with pen ergy levels and affect moods in and paper in hand. She tries addition to one’s health, work to draw or write music to pass performance and quality of the time. life. In the past, Naomi has The clinic says some symp- tried to go to bed earlier than toms of insomnia include dif- 11 p.m. to see what happens, ficulty falling asleep at night, but she said that it did not help awakening during the night, and actually made her stay up awakening too early, daytime even later. However, she said fatigue, sleepiness and irri- she gets better nights of sleep tability. The disorder can be when she is not stressed. caused by stress, anxiety, and “It really depends,” Naomi depression as well as other said. “I will literally go four factors. days and get three hours of “[Insomnia] is very dif- sleep and then, because I am ficult to get used to,” Naomi so tired, I will sleep on Satursaid. “I always say that I get day for 15 hours.” used to it, but I am really not. Naomi said that seeing a It’s difficult.” therapist has helped her inNaomi said her doctors somnia, but not dramatically don’t know if this traumatic so, so she plans to see a sleep experience alone caused her specialist in the near future. At
T
“
the specialist’s office, she will also be tested for narcolepsy. On average, Naomi said she will momentarily fall asleep 13 times in any given day because she is so exhausted. “Right now the most difficult thing is staying awake in class,” Naomi said. “It’s hard to try and convince teachers that I am actually trying to stay awake and that it is not my fault. Just being tired during school is the difficult part of it. I sometimes put my hands over my head or just tap my fingers on the desk to stay awake.” The Insomnia Severity Index, a series of seven questions, is used to determine if a patient has mild, moderate or severe insomnia. After answering the questions, a patient adds up their score to understand the severity of their condition. Naomi scored a 22 out of 28, placing her in the severe clinical insomnia category. Felix* ’15 scored a 23, placing him in the same category as Naomi. He was diagnosed with insomnia last April after his 16th birthday. Felix is unable to sleep without heavy doses of medication. Even then, his medication sometimes has little to no effect on him, and he will go up to two days with no sleep. Yadegar said some risk factors of insomnia in young adults include the intake of over the counter and prescribed medications as well as caffeinated products such as tea, coffee, sodas, alcohol and nicotine. “I need to take my medication and be in bed by 9:30 p.m., otherwise I won’t be able to get up in time for school,” Felix said. “Because the medication knocks me out for about nine to 10 hours, I really need to stick to my bedtime. If I don’t, well there goes first and second period.” Felix takes his medication 40 minutes before going to bed, and during that time, he is incapable of working. An additional downside to his medication is that he wakes up feeling groggy. Felix said there is no chance of him falling asleep without taking his medication. However, with the medication, he is typically able to fall asleep in 15 to 20 minutes after getting into bed. Because Felix must abide by a strict sleeping schedule, he is unable to study or stay out late if he wants to function normally the next day. Yadegar said that if anyone
Insomnia Severity Index: The quiz below is often used by psychiatrists and sleep specialists to diagnose insomnia. none - 0, mild - 1, moderate - 2, severe - 3, very severe - 4
Difficulty falling asleep Difficulty staying asleep Problems waking up too early
01234 01234 01234
very satisfied - 0, satisfied - 1, moderately satisfied - 2, dissatisfied - 3, very dissatisfied - 4
How satisfied are you with your current sleep pattern?
01234
not noticeable - 0, a little - 1, somewhat - 2, much - 3, very noticeable - 4
How noticeable to others do 01234 you think your sleep pattern is? not worried - 0, a little - 1, somewhat - 2, much - 3, very much - 4
How worried are you about your 0 1 2 3 4 current sleep problem? not at all - 0, a little - 1, somewhat - 2, much - 3, very much - 4
To what extent do you consider your sleep problem to interfere 0 1 2 3 4 with your daily functioning? Guidelines for scoring: Add the scores for all seven questions = ___ 0 - 7 = Not clinically significant insomnia 8 - 14 = Subthreshold insomnia 15 - 21 = Clinical insomnia (moderate severity) 22 - 28 = Clinical insomnia (severe) SOURCE: MYHEALTH.VA.GOV GRAPHIC BY LEILY ARZY, SARAH NOVICOFF AND EMILY SEGAL
is having trouble sleeping, not just insomniacs, they should set a specific sleep and wakeup time and vary it as little as possible. In terms of treatment, Yadegar said that behavioral therapies are the most efficient methods of treatment for insomniacs. According to the Mayo Clinic, examples of behavioral therapies are relaxation techniques such as breathing to reduce anxiety at bedtime and sleep restriction, which is a treatment that decreases the time you spend in bed. This process causes partial sleep deprivation which makes pa-
tients more tired the next night. But, by the end of the treatment, sleep patterns are adjusted to normal times. Behavioral therapies also include education about good sleeping habits, like using the bed solely for sleeping and not for eating or watching TV. “Though I have tried various things to remedy my case of insomnia, I have yet to find a suitable method with which to establish a normal sleep cycle without a need for medication,” Felix said. “I plan to cope with my situation to the best of my rather limited ability.” *Names have been changed
Oct. 15, 2013
hwchronicle.com/features
Behind the wheel By Alex McNab
I
t was the 1990s, and the economy in Ecuador was failing. People had to carry bills worth millions in their wallets as monetary values in the country quickly decreased. Entering data in a very old, very large, very nineties computer at a credit union in his hometown of Quito, Ecuador, Johnny Salazar, now bus driver for We s t c h e s ter 1 Upper School, knew he had to get out of the country. He wanted to go to America, where one EOJIN CHOI/CHRONICLE dollar equaled 25,000 sucre, DRIVER’S SEAT: Bus driver so he applied Johnny Salazar sits with his for the Visa hand on the steering wheel. Lottery, a United States government program where each year 50,000 randomly selected people are awarded a visa to the United States.
Salazar hit the jackpot and won a visa, and so, with his wife Ingrid, his son John and some money from his parents, he left his old life in Quito, the City of the Heavens, to start a new one in Los Angeles, the City of the Angels. Upon arriving in America in 1996, Salazar spoke no English and had no significant job experience outside of his data entry job, so he started to work at a factory, an environment where everyone spoke Spanish. After working at the factory, Salazar began to drive a laundry van for a movie production company, taking the actors’ clothes to and from the laundromat. He applied for the job because he knew it would not require much language skill. Salazar later switched to operating semi-trucks. However, he quickly tired of the constant physical strain that came with loading and unloading the truck’s cargo, so, in 2000, he quit his job as a truck driver and decided to drive school buses for Atlantic Express instead. He started his career at The Archer School for Girls and Crossroads School before being assigned to drive for Harvard-Westlake at the beginning of last year. He has also driven for a few public schools,
Features B5
Bus driver Johnny Salazar worked at a credit union in Ecuador and at a factory before driving school buses. but didn’t like it because, he said, the kids were not very respectful of the driver. From the day that he began work at Atlantic Express, Salazar has gotten up at 4:30 a.m. every day to get downtown to the bus depot from his house in Norwalk for his 5:20 a.m. check-in time. “It is just part of the job,” he said, “I pick up a cup of coffee and go to work.” Between drop-off and pick-up from school, Salazar, unless he is assigned to drive for a school field trip, has the middle of the day off, a time which he uses to cook, plant and watch TV. Salazar has since learned to speak English from the bits and pieces that he has picked up on the street and from watching television. He has also had two more children since in America: Melissa, a 15-year-old student at John Glenn High School in Norwalk, and Kevin, his 12-year-old son who attends Corvallis Middle School in Norwalk. Two more additions found their way into the family as well: Choo-Choo, a Maltese, and J-Lo, a schnauzer, the family dogs. The kids named them, Salazar said. Last year, Salazar stopped driving buses for school field trips on weekends because
“those days are for my family,” he said. Salazar’s real passion is computers, a love that was cultivated at his data entry job at the credit union he used to work at in Ecuador. Salazar misses his old job. “It is nice to work in an office,” Salazar said of his previous job at the credit union, but he still has a few computers, which he fixes in his spare time. “At some point in your life, it is not important what you wish you want,” he said. “Sometimes you have to choose between what you want and how to feed your family. I am not rich, but I can live without stress.” “I like it here,” Salazar said about his job driving for Harvard-Westlake. He said that he plans on staying in Los Angeles and on the Westchester 1 Upper School bus route for a long time, sitting quietly as is his way, while he expertly maneuvers through the traffic first on Sepulveda then on Beverly Glen, speaking only when he arrives at 3700 Coldwater Canyon, where he utters a soft, accented “Goodbye” to each of his passengers, students exiting through the bus’ double doors to begin their day at school.
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PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY EOJIN CHOI
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B6 Features
Oct. 1
Big names
By Sophie Kupiec-Weglinski
ogy to find a cure for cancer. A dozen of Mudd’s relatives, including chilames like Seaver, Chalmers, Rugby dren and grandchildren, attended Harvard, and Mudd are all used daily to de- with the first student graduating in 1913. scribe where classes are taught, Mudd has also donated to Stanford Univerwhere a test will take place or where sity, Columbia University and a variety of other to meet up with a friend. Before the names institutions. were signs on buildings, they were the names of Any student who has taken a science class people who taught at, donated to or studied on is familiar with Munger, named after this campus, or emblems of the type of educa- lawyer Charles Munger, vice-chairtion that the Harvard School for Boys wanted man of Berkshire Hathaway, who to offer. donated the funds for the science The oldest building on the upper school building in 1995. campus, St. Saviour’s Chapel, was dedicated in A long-time trustee, his 1914, making this school year the chapel’s 100- three sons, Charles Munger year anniversary. It first dwelled in the original ’74, Barry Munger ’80, Phillip campus of Harvard School on Western Avenue Munger ’86, and two stepin Venice, so when Harvard moved to Coldwater sons, David Borthwick ’66, Canyon, the chapel was cut into 16 pieces and David Borthwick ’70, gradumoved to the new campus, where it was then ated from Harvard school reassembled, according to “Harvard-Westlake: along with a grandson, Wil100 Years,” a commemorative book on the his- liam Borthwick ’09, who attory of the school by Susan Wels. tended Harvard-Westlake. Modeled after a chapel at the Rugby School Taper Gymnasium, dediin England, St. Saviour’s takes its name from cated in 1980, was named afthe Saint Saviour’s Cathedral in Southwark, ter Mark and Amelia Taper, England, where John Harvard, founder of Har- grandparents of Andrew Taper vard University, was baptized. ’78. Mark Taper, born in Poland in The chapel’s name is another example of 1902, was a real estate investor and Harvard’s debt to the university, along with founded Biltmore Homes, which prothe name of the school itself. Harvard School duced suburban housing for returning solfounder Grenville C. Emery wanted to give diers from World War II. his new school a good name, so, with permisIn 1952, the Tapers created the S. Mark sion from then Harvard University president Taper Foundation, which continues to doCharles W. Eliot, he named it after the college. nate to various institutions. The chapel is now a cultural and historical Home to the publications and mainmonument of the city of Los Angeles. tenance departments, Weiler Hall has a Rugby Hall is named after the same school more obscure moniker. whose chapel inspired St. Saviour’s. However, Ralph J. Weiler has no personal conthe present day Rugby, which dates back to nection to the school, but his nephew Bart 1962, is not the original. The building where Burnap ’50 is a Harvard alumnus. BurRugby now stands was a Turkish bath house, nap was named the director of Weia remnant of the Coldwater campus’ former ler Foundation in Weiler’s will. owner. Harvard School replaced the Hollywood “I presume the building is Country Club, which sold the land after strug- named in Mr. Weiler’s memory gling during the Great Depression. by his nephew,” school archivist When Harvard moved in, it painted the Allan Sasaki said. walls and replaced the lockers with desks and Feldman-Horn Center for chairs, while a study hall replaced the baths. the Arts bears the names of Chalmers Hall, dedicated Nov. 24, 1968, is former trustee Janis Horn named after Father William Scott Chalmers, (Jennifer ’91, Jason ’91, Hali an Episcopalian priest who headed Harvard ’97) as well as Horn’s father, School from 1949 to 1969. Leonard Feldman. Feldman’s During his tenure, he introduced the pre- granddaughter Lindsay Feldfect system and the foreign exchange program man ‘96 also attended Harvardand raised $3.5 million to construct the build- Westlake. One of the newer building that bears his name. ings on campus, it was completed Chalmers was born in Scotland in 1907, at- by Michael Maltzan Architecture in tended Howe Military Academy in Indiana 1998 and cost $5.5 million. The bronze and graduated from Princeton in 1925. In 1938, cougar statue that sits in the FeldmanChalmers joined Kent School Horn plaza also came from in Connecticut. When Kent’s the Feldman-Horn family. headmaster had a stroke a When the gallery was dediyear later, Chalmers took his cated, the family displayed its I presume the place. personal art collection inside, building is named in Mr. and some faculty members After 10 years at Kent, Harvard offered Chalmers liked the cougar so much that Weiler’s memory by his the job as headmaster. they donated a recast copy nephew.” Dedicated in October 1969, to the school. The Blanche and Frank R. Kutler Center —Allan Sasaki for TheInterdisciplinSeaver Academic Center was School Archivist ary Studies, which named after Frank Seaver and his wife Blanche. debuted Sept. 28 A total of 10 members of 2012, is dedicated the Seaver family attended Harvard School, to Brendan Kutler ’10, who died beginning in 1964. Seaver’s grandchildren Carl- in his sleep during his senior year. ton Seaver ’64, Patrick Seaver ’64, Christopher He cultivated interests in Seaver ’65, Hannah Seaver ’07. Jennie Dean ’02, many different fields, rangKyle Dean ’04, Nathan Dean ’06, Ann Seaver ing from astronomy to Japanese ’06, Claire Seaver ’07, and Nicholas Seaver ’03 culture to music, which he often all attended Harvard or Harvard-Westlake. wished to combine in interdisciThe Seaver Foundation was donated to the plinary fashions. school in Frank and Blanche’s names. Seaver’s The Kutler Center was financed son, Richard, was a trustee of Harvard School. by Kutler’s parents, Jon and Sara Not too long after Seaver came Mudd Li- Kutler, and donations from the Harbrary, built in the early 1970s. The library vard-Westlake community. owes its name to Seeley G. Mudd, a physician who practiced cardiology in Los Angeles while working at the California Institute of Technol- **Additional reporting by Julia Aizuss
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FATHER FIGURE: Father William Scott Chalmers served as headmaster of Harvard School from 1949 to 1969, instituted the current prefect system and raised $3.5 million to fund the construction of the math building now known as Chalmers Hall, top. READING ROOM: Mudd library is named after Seeley G. Mudd and is dedicated to long-time librarian Naomi Javitz, middle. POWER COUPLE: Seaver Academic Center is named for Frank Seaver and his wife Blanche, dedicated in 1969, bottom. HOLY GROUND: St. Saviour’s chapel, which has served as a place of worship for students and faculty for 100 years, center.
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Features B7
s on campus
Though most students are familiar with the more popular sites on campus, few know about the hidden gems scattered around school. By James Hur
throughout the campus. The shale used to create the waterfall ost students probably know the opposite of second floor Seaver was originally school’s campus like the backs of from stone pathways in the country club. their hands. They know the shorter Frank Hedge, the previous head of maintealternative routes to get to class as nance, built the waterfall in the late 1980s to well as which stairs are less arduous to climb. increase the aesthetic appeal of the hillside. Yet, there are still some nooks and crannies of Behind the waterfall, situated on top of the campus that remain less known.While hillside, is the Business Office. many faculty members regularly To get to the Business Office from the secclimb the stairs connecting ond floor Seaver, faculty members must travel Rugby and the faculty lot, very multiple flights of stairs. few ever use the dirt path “We’re all in good shape because we climb adjacent to the stairs. The so many stairs,” Business Manager David Weil path leads to a modest, ’93 said. forest-green building Since the Business Office is on the hillside, with a locked door. Until some faculty members feel removed from the 1969, this rest of the campus. building was “The joy of being in a shooting a school is being in the I think the rifle range. hubbub,” Chief FinanStudents cial Officer Rob Levin range is very cool who attended said. “The view out of because it shows the the Harvard the mountains is great, School for Boys it’s removed.” history of Harvard.” when it was a Originally, the Busi—Katie Ehrlich ’14 ness Office was the resimilitary academy from 1900 to 1969 dence of Headmaster used the facility to Christopher Berrisford, practice using rifles. who was at Harvard It was converted into a School from 1969 to 1987. Berrisford’s daughter storage room for maintenance Sarah accidentally got her head stuck between immediately after the merging the rails, and the maintenance crew had to reof Harvard and the Westlake move the rail and have not replaced it since. School for Girls. After Berrisford’s residence was converted “I think the rifle range is very into office space, the building was dedicated to cool because it shows the history Frank Alvarez, senior controller from 1961 to of Harvard,” Katie Ehrlich ’14, 1997. who has been to the range for Another part of campus students may not her photography class, said. be familiar with is the darkroom on the secHowever, students are ond floor of Seaver, which is primarily used by advised to be cautious when Sasaki. approaching the shooting In 1984, Sasaki noticed that the room, origirange. nally used by the custodians, appeared to be a Near the shooting suitable location for a darkroom because it had range is a bomb shelter a sink with running water. under Rugby, which was After receiving permission from maintebuilt in 1962 amid Cold nance, Sasaki converted the room to print War era fears. black and white pictures that were used for “People were afraid yearbooks, the Harvard News and other pubof nuclear war, but I lications. don’t know how this “It seems that Harvard never had a photogwould have protected raphy program,” Sasaki said. “Starting in the people from nuclear early 80s, I would have students come and ask weapons,” archivist Allan me for photo lessons.” Sasaki said. Some students, such as Conor Cook ’13, The bomb shelter is now have used Sasaki’s darkroom to learn different used to store items belonging to methods of photo printing. the Performing Arts department Behind Ahmanson Theatre is a small office and the cafeteria. Sarah McAllister space surrounded by black metal barricades. ‘15 occasionally goes inside the bomb Originally built to protect expensive telescopes, shelter when she is preparing for Jazz the space was converted two years ago to house concert rehearsals. performing arts teacher Ted Walch’s DVDs for “The bomb shelter is like a hipster Cinema Studies. A sign with the name “Vault café because it’s this old place that now of Dreams” hangs prominently over the door. has misfit cool props and things,” McAlOver the years, the Vault of Dreams became lister said. more crowded with memorabilia, ranging from Above the bomb shelter is Rugby lamps to gnomes, donated by former students. Tower, which has a deep history of “Being a natural packrat, I brought my own its own. books and rugs from home,” Walch said, referThe tower was used to con- ring to his intricately patterned rugs covering nect the 18th hole of the Hol- the floor. lywood Country Club and the A Keuring machine is available to his Cinclubhouse before the school ema Studies students to make coffee and hot bought the golf course in 1937. chocolate. They can also rent DVDs. Before 1960, the tower had “Each year I lose eight to nine DVDs, but an elevator, and the landings I think that’s a very little cost,” Walch said. were once used as tempo- “Sometimes I get DVDs in the mail from alumrary dormitories for Harvard ni.” School. A few decades ago, the The name “Vault of Dreams” was suggesttower was called the “senior ed by Austin Park ’10. Park was in the same tower” since only seniors were Directed Studies in Cinema class as Brendan allowed to use it. Kutler ’10. “When alumni from the 1950s When Kutler died, Park took over Kutler’s come to visit the school, one of the project on filmmaker Akira Kurosawa and preonly things they recognize about the sented his project at the end of the year to a campus is Rugby Tower,” Sasaki said. group of students and parents. While Rugby Tower is an almost “It was one of the best experiences I had as intact structure from the Hollywood Country a teacher,” Walch said. “Whenever I come here, Club, remnants of the golf course can be seen I think of Austin Park and Brendan Kutler.”
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STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN: Plaques commemorating winners of the Club Championship athletic competition from the 1940s and 1950s line the walls of Rugby Tower, connecting Rugby Auditorium to Feldman Horn, Mudd Library, and the Kutler center, top. GUNS N’ ROSES: Students practiced riflery here until 1969, when the Board of Trustees voted to end military instruction, middle. CHAMBER OF SECRETS: Cinema studies students are granted exclusive access to Ted Walch’s Vault of Dreams, a closet converted to a hidden room holding Walch’s movie and book collection and housed in a back room of Ahmanson Lecture Hall, bottom.
B8 Features
highstakes
Melvin*, the brain
Thelonius*, the artist
Finalizing early schools By Sydney Foreman Melvin*, The Brain Still very undecided about his college plans, Melvin will be applying Early Action to the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan and MIT. “I’d be happy to go to any of them,” he said. Melvin has yet to finish any of his applications, but he has started all of them. He is putting most of his effort into his UChicago supplemental essays because they are the most abstract. As UCLA is still the only campus that Melvin has stepped foot on, he thinks that visiting schools might impact his opinion of them. “That’s a lot of time to
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take off and pretty expensive if you don’t plan well,” he said, “Going to college meetings here [at school] and finding out more about campus life online is working for me right now.” Thelonius*, The Artist Although Thelonius is still set on applying Early Decision to NYU, he will visit Kenyon College during mid-semester break. Thelonius thinks of this trip to Ohio as a “last chance” to make sure he belongs at NYU. “NYU is my first choice,” Thelonius said. “If anything were to beat it, it would have to really impress me.” He doubts Kenyon will replace NYU as his first choice. Thelonius is also skeptical
Oct. 15, 2013
Daisy*, the all around
Florence*, the athlete
ILLUSTRATIONS BY JACOB GOODMAN
The four seniors visit college campuses and attend information sessions to finalize their decisions about applying early to schools. of a significant change in his preference since his art teacher told him Kenyon’s art program is not particularly strong. Thelonius notes that he has not personally researched the art program yet. In the past, Thelonius had “cold feet” about NYU, but at the moment, he is very excited. He believes he has a similar chance of acceptance at both NYU and Kenyon, but Thelonius would like to apply somewhere early. He likes the idea of being done with the college process. Daisy*, The All-around Daisy has decided to apply Early Decision to Columbia University and Early Action to the University of Chicago. “I am a little nervous
because the competition among Harvard-Westlake, let alone all of the country, will be pretty stiff,” she said. Although Columbia remains at the top of her list, Daisy also considers the UChicago one of her top choices. After talking with her coach and researching UChicago’s significantly higher acceptance rate for early applicants, Daisy believes she has a 50-50 chance of acceptance there. Despite having found two schools she enjoys, Daisy does not feel optimistic about the college process. “Even if I’m doing alright, I’m still a few steps behind,” she said. Daisy has not finished
her early supplements to her schools yet, but she plans to finish these over the midsemester break. Florence*, The Athlete After visiting Oberlin College, Florence is reconsidering Div. III schools. “Visiting Oberlin has affected my college list because the track coach there made me realize that Div. III schools have a lot of value too,” Florence said. “I wasn’t considering Div. III at all before Oberlin, but now I am weighing the pros and cons of both Div. III and Div. I.” She is not applying early to a school. Georgetown is still her first choice, but she will not apply Early Action because she believes it will not affect her chances of acceptance.
Arts&Entertainment The Chronicle • Oct. 15, 2013
Bharata natyam: a story through dance
Amita Pentakota ’14, who has been dancing for 14 years, pursued her passion for classical Indian dance at a professional level, as she recently co-starred in a performance at the Ford Ampitheatre in Hollywood.
By Morganne Ramsey
In “MARA,” Pentakota performed with 24 other members of the Shakti Dance Company. fter six months of lengthy rehearsals, Most of the girls in Shakti are in high school Amita Pentakota ’14 stepped on stage or college and have been with the company for to perform in “MARA” at the Ford years. Amphitheatre in Hollywood Sept. 21. “These girls are basically my sisters,” PentaIn preparation for the show, a classical In- kota said. “I have grown up with them and we dian dance performance, Pentakota rehearsed have watched each other grow as dancers.” daily for about two hours on weekdays and for In addition to dancing at the Shakti Dance about six to eight hours on weekends. Company, Pentakota began learning modern During rehearsals, the dancers learned rou- dance by participating in the dance program at tines and posted videos on YouTube, so that Harvard-Westlake in eighth grade. they could review them later. Although she is no longer enrolled in During longer rehearsals, they alternated dance class at school, she is still inbetween running the whole show and “nitpick- volved with the dance program, ing” certain moments. participating in the school’s “The weeks before a show it gets really in- dance shows. tense and my weekends are taken up,” Penta“I am more confident kota said. in what I do in bharata Despite all of the preparation and practice, natyam, but with modlittle things still went wrong during the show. ern dance I am not as Pentakota laughed, remembering how her sure,” Pentakota said. “I davani, a part of her costume that was draped still feel as though I am over her shoulder, fell off during one of the discovering new things shows. every day.” “It was kind of Although having to just hanging there, dance both inside and and nobody really outside of school is a very noticed,” Pentakota significant time commitment, I am more said. “I just perPentakota does not find it a confident in what I do severed and kept difficult task to balance the two in bharata natyam, but schedules. dancing like nothing happened.” Pentakota said that she will with modern dance I am The story of prioritize her dancing at school not as sure. I still feel as “MARA” is based if it is necessary, but the reon Buddhist folkthough I am discovering hearsals at Shakti often do lore, where Mara, a not start until later than the new things every day.” demon, tries to disones at school because many tract the Buddha —Amita Pentakota ’14 of the other dancers also from reaching enhave school commitments. lightenment. Pentakota said that The story follows the life of Jeeva, one of the dance rehearsals at Harvardthe characters Pentakota played in part of the Westlake and the dance rehearsshow. als at the Shakti Dance Com“In my section we find out that Mara has pany are very different because this control over Jeeva, and Mara can control she has to change her mindset Jeeva’s emotions,” Pentakota said. depending on which rehearsal Pentakota was also one of two dancers who she’s in. played Mara. Pentakota described the Mara, she said, represents “the mind and the dance program at Shakti as “ordistractions the mind creates.” ganized chaos,” but the dance “In the third section, we can see how Mara program at school as far more is really a part of all of [Jeeva’s] relationships: structured. Mara is [Jeeva’s] mother, [and] is her friend,” “At school it is like we are Pentakota said. “Basically everything in Jeeva’s going to work for an hour and life is created by Mara.” then have a show,” Pentakota The type of dance performed in “MARA” is said. “But at Shakti Dance called bharata natyam, a style of classical In- Company, sometimes we will dian dance that originated in Tamul-Nadu, an get work done, and sometimes area of southern India. it is just there to help us get Bharata natyam started out as a religious closer [to each other].” dance in the seventeenth century, but, in modPentakota believes that doern times, has become more of an art form. ing both styles of dance has However, many of the dances are still done helped her to grow and develop in praise of certain gods. as a dancer because she is able “You don’t have to be religious to do it,” Pen- to learn different techniques from takota said. “Hinduism and Indian culture are each of the genres. She describes her very intertwined, so the fact is these stories are own dance style as being a fusion of part of Indian culture.” the two different genres, with aspects Pentakota has been learning bharata naty- of bharata natyam dance choreography am since she was four at the Shakti School of mixed in with some modern dance choreBharata Natyam. ography. In 2009, she had her arangetram, a solo Regardless of the inherent differences bedance debut. tween the two dance styles, Pentakota said that She is now a member of the Shakti Dance bharata natyam dance and modern dance are Company, the Shakti School’s troupe. more similar than they are different. She performs in multiple shows every year, “You are trying to tell a story, no matter and she has performed all over the country, what style you are doing,” Pentakota said. “You dancing in places as far as Philadelphia. are trying to convey a message.”
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Oct. 15, 2013
From Stadium to Stage Daniel Dávila ’14 took time off from the baseball team and turned down a blind audition for “The Voice” to be Link Larkin in the fall musical “Hairspray.”
By Sarah Novicoff “So let go, go, go of the past now. Say hello to the light in your eyes. Yes, I know that the world’s spinning fast now, but you gotta run the race to win the prize.” Daniel Dávila ’14 sang those bars from the song “Welcome to the ’60s” in “Hairspray,” before sitting down at a table and beginning to talk. “I always thought this [interview] would be for sports, but now it’s for my singing,” Dávila said. Dávila will play Link Larkin in the fall musical “Hairspray,” to be performed Nov. 8-10. Dávila has never been in an upper school musical nor an upper school choral group. He has spent his entire school career playing baseball as a center-fielder for a team that last year won the national championship. He came to the school to play baseball, attracted by the program and having played on a club team with Wolverine coaches for years. “Last year, winning a national championship, it didn’t matter to me that I only got six at-bats, just because for me it was an awesome, awesome time,” Dávila said. “The team was also really cool. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a team that was so close.” This year he was accepted into the Chamber Singers and got the lead in the show. He doesn’t know whether he will continue to play baseball and has been given time off to be in the musical. He is, however, still on the roster despite not attending practice since the start of the year.
“I’m not 100 percent sure; it just kind of depends on how everything plays out, whether I go back to baseball,” Dávila said. “Ideally I would like to go back to baseball because, when you’ve been playing since you were 2, you really want to finish that last year. Committing all that time to my team, to my coach, to my friends, I just kind of feel like I owe it to them and to myself. Even if I don’t end up playing because I haven’t been there, I just kind of feel like I should finish it off.” Dávila does not plan to play baseball in college. Rather, he intends to pursue singi n g a s a
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career and worked towards that goal this summer. At Grammy Camp, a music industry summer camp where he studied singing and music management, Dávila was offered the chance to pursue that career when he was invited to audition with the producers of “The Voice.” “I didn’t necessarily think anything of it, just because I had only decided that I wanted to be a singer months before,” Dávila said. “I had just my first
voice lesson maybe three or four months before. It was so new to me that I just wanted to familiarize myself with the audition process within the industry.” After singing three songs, Dávila moved on to an interview process and then went home, convinced that the experience was over. He then received a call that he had made it into the final round, which only accepts 180 out of the original 65,000. “I was lucky because I got to be with my mom the whole time so I wasn’t a l o n e ,” D á v i la said. “When you’re in a room with so many incredibly talented singers you know there’s something more than just your voice. I don’t get nervous in those situations just because you know who you’re up against, and worse comes to worst, you don’t make it.” Four days before his “Hairspray” audition, Dávila got a call that he had moved on to the Blind Auditions, which are televised. In order to perform on “The Voice,” he would have had to miss a month for school and three more if he moved on from the initial round. “Given that I would have had to miss so much school and that I was given the opportunity to be one of the leads in one of my favorite musicals, it was kind of a no-brainer for me,” Dávila said. “I don’t regret it at all. It was pretty reassuring to me just because I’m so new to singing, espe-
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cially going out for auditions. So just the fact that I made it there wasn’t really daunting but rather just really, really exciting.” Dávila hopes that this audition was only the first in a long career as a musician, a singer and a guitar player. He started playing guitar when he was 7 before quitting because he didn’t like his music teacher. He picked it up again five years ago when his younger brother wanted to learn how to play the guitar. He now plays electric and acoustic guitar and sees it as connected to his musical career. “It’s always important that you be a musician and not just a singer,” Dávila said. “I want to be able to do other stuff. It really ties into my style of singing.” Dávila said he has decided to apply to a few music colleges as well as regular schools, and his decision will depend on many factors. “If I learned anything at camp and through the past couple months, it’s that everyone has a different story of how they made it in the industry,” Dávila said. “You just have to look for opportunities and not worry about where they are going to take you but just hope they take you in a good direction.” As for the rest of this year, Dávila is still uncertain. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with baseball, I don’t know what’s going to happen with music,” Dávila said. “All I know now is that I have the lead in the musical.” **Additional reporting by Mazelle Etessami
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A CHANGE OF PACE: Daniel Dávila ‘14, left, takes the field as center-fielder in a baseball game. Dávila and his teammates, center, celebrate their CIF national championship title in June 2013. Dávila, right, bonds with Chamber Singer members Hudson Ling ’15 and Angus O’Brien ’14 during their retreat at Camp Wrightwood in September.
Oct. 15, 2013
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Jazz band performs at Vibrato By Jake Saferstein
DAVID WOLDENBERG/CHRONICLE
Scene Monkeys hosts improv workshops before auditions
ON THE SPOT: Daniel Palumbo ’14 shares a moment with Teddy Sokoloff ’15 while Ethan Weinstein ’15 and Katherine Calvert ’15 look on during the Scene Monkeys’ open workshop. Michelle Spears, the faculty advisor to the improv troupe, hosted two workshops Friday Oct. 4 and Friday Oct. 11 in the drama lab. These workshops consisted of a variety of improv games designed to help familiarize students with improv techniques. Auditions for The Scene Monkeys will take place on Friday Oct. 25 and Friday Nov. 1.
‘Hairspray’ tickets available in bookstore By Pim Otero
The bookstore began to sell tickets Monday for the upper school fall musical “Hairspray,” which will run from Nov. 8-10. Actors, cast, and crew have been able to preorder tickets since Oct. 8, with a total of 236 tickets already sold. The $15 tickets are for reserved seating. “The musicals sell out al-
most every time, [but] there always are a few people who don’t use all their tickets,” box office coordinator Melissa Ouellet said. With 55 actors and a pit orchestra, “Hairspray” will be one of the biggest productions in Harvard-Westlake history. “We knew the cast would be large but the number of enormous group dances and the amount of choreography
that’s involved is more than we imagined,” upper school performing arts department head and director Rees Pugh said. The production of the show has necessitated cast rehearsals five times a week and pit orchestra rehearsals twice a week. The students have been working since Sept. 10, when they did their first read through with the complete cast.
Alumna acts in comedy play By Carly Berger
It’s the second act of “The Sunshine Boys,” and advancement assistant Annie Abrams ’99 is on stage with Danny DeVito, dressed in a tight white nurse’s costume with padded sleeves and making the crowd burst into laughter. Abrams has been performing in the show at the Ahmanson Theater eight times a week since Sept. 24, and the show will continue to run through Nov. 3. “I’ve always wanted to perform at the Ahmanson, and
Annie Abrams ’99 stars as a nurse in ‘The Sunshine Boys’ with Danny DeVito and Judd Hirsch at the Ahmanson Theatre.
I’ve been attending shows rehearsal, and every show, is there since I was a little girl,” a lesson in comedy, and acting Abrams said. “It’s in general. I’m espebeen a thrill to percially lucky because form in a comedy on my scene in the play that stage with such is with Danny, and a remarkable cast.” we have a blast each The show stars night.” Judd Hirsch and DeAbrams loves perVito, who previously forming comedy since worked together on she feels that every the television series show is different de“Taxi” and have repending on the aunathanson’s united on stage for dience’s reaction. In Annie the first time since. the show, set in 1972, Abrams ’99 “Danny and Judd Abrams plays a sexy are both comedic genurse. For inspiration niuses,” Abrams said. “Every for her vaudeville character,
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“It’s always chaotic,” performing arts teacher and codirector Michele Spears said. “Things are being done so much quicker, and we have a much bigger ensemble than would normally be done.” The directors and students believe that they are heading in the right direction. “I’m really excited about opening night,” cast member Nina Juarez ’16 said.
Jazz students performed at Vibrato Grill Jazz for four hours Sunday night. Vibrato Grill Jazz was founded by seven time Grammy winner Herb Alpert and hosts daily jazz performances during its dinner service. “We like Vibrato because of the beautiful location and amazing venue,” upper school performing arts teacher Shawn Costantino, who organizes the performance annually to showcase the jazz students, said. Advanced Jazz Combo and the Jazz Explorers, the two highest-level jazz bands at the school, performed at the grill. “I organize it to give the students extra opportunities to perform because they work so hard in class and I feel they deserve to be heard,” Costantino said. It was Advanced Jazz Combo’s first performance of the year, while the Jazz Explorers performed at Back to School day and the allschool convocation. Alex Lange ’14, Ben Greene ’14, Harrison Banner ’15, Jeremy Tepper ’15, Sinclair Cook ’14 and Vincent Huang ’14 performed in Advanced Jazz Combo. Andy Arditi ’15, Bridget Hartman ’15, Jason Oberman ’15, Matt Leichinger ’14, Miles Van Tongeren ’16 and Robert Lee ’14 performed in Jazz Explorers.
Abrams looked to some of her favorite comedic actresses, including Lucille Ball and Marilyn Monroe. Abrams now works parttime at Harvard-Westlake as an advancement assistant, but she is currently off work due to the show. Many faculty members plan on seeing the show. “Annie was the best part of the show,” advancement administrator Leah Smith said. “She was incredible, a modern day Betty Boop.” As a student at HarvardWestlake, Abrams was in mu-
sicals and plays and performed with Chamber Singers and Dance Production. Abrams’ favorite role at Harvard-Westlake was Fiona in the musical “Brigadoons” during her senior year. Walch recalls Abrams as one of the “very best, smartest, and most disciplined” actors that he has ever worked with at Harvard-Westlake. “She had dazzling professional promise from the beginning with a work ethic to match,” Walch said, “Furthermore, she has always been a pleasure to work with.”
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Features The Chronicle • Oct. 15, 2013
Sugar skulls, fragrant marigolds, photographs of loved ones illuminated by candelight — all are displayed during Día de los Muertos festivities. • See page B12
Sports The Chronicle • Oct. 15, 2013
RESILIENCE: Despite injuries to several key players, the girls’ tennis team has maintained a perfect record in league play, winning all six league matches so far.
C7
Field Hockey
Defense lifts team to single loss record By Jordan Garfinkel
As the postseason approaches, the varsity field hockey team continues to excel in regular season play, winning seven of its last nine games and allowing only goal in those games combined. Goalie Daniela Grande ’15 is arguably on the hottest streak of her high school career, as she has left the team’s opponents scoreless in eight of the 11 games this season, including the last three games. “Really it’s been how aggressive we are together as a team, with everyone communicating, goalie to forward,” stopper Hana Chop ’14 said. “We’ve been able to possess the ball and have great coverage behind every play and counterattack.” The team recently gained vengeance with its beat-down against Glendora High School, the team who handed the Wolverines their only loss this season. The team tallied four goals in its shutout win. “It was a really tough loss and especially frustrating since we knew we could have won,” Brooke Bagnall ‘14 said. “We wanted revenge. Losing to them at first helped motivate us to come out strong and play hard.” Along with a stout defense, the Wolverines’ production on offense has been nothing short of impressive. The team averages nearly four goals a game and has won its last four games by a differential of 15 goals. “We are playing as a unit,” Chop said. “From defense to offense everyone is working hard, moving off-ball to create plays, setting up for passes and shots and blocking up on free hits.” The Wolverines have two remaining games until playoffs begin. The next match is at Chaminade High School on Oct. 22. The season finale is at home on Oct. 24 against Louisville.
Boys’ Water Polo
Kingfish
The number 2 ranked boys’ water polo team will vie for the top spot in the CIF Southern Section, as the Wolverines will clash today with the current number 1 team, long-standing rival Mater Dei.
CAITLIN NEAPOLE/CHRONICLE
OUR HOUSE: Duncan Froomer ’16, top, takes a shot at Homecoming. Luke Henriksson ’17 and Anthony Ridgley ’15, left and right, block shot incoming shots.
Wolverines trump Crespi 20-3, aim to avenge sole loss to Mater Dei By Mila Barzdukas
Coming off a dominating performance at Homecoming, a 1-0 start in league, and a tournament win at the S&R Sport Water Polo Invite, the varsity squad has solidified itself as a top team. Despite these wins, the squad is stuck being ranked second by CIF Southern Section Division I. That all could change today, when the Wolverines face their old foe Mater Dei in a battle to be the best team in Southern California.
The team’s record is 13-1. Their blemish on an otherwise perfect season came from a 9-6 loss to Mater Dei in the Santa Barbara Tournament finals Sept. 21. The Wolverines are seeking redemption for their previous loss. The Monarchs reign as number one in CIF, but Raede says the team is working hard to capitalize on Mater Dei’s weaknesses. “When we played against Mater Dei last time we didn’t score in any of our 6 on 5
plays and so right now we are working on power plays,” Raede said. “They also like to come into really far drops and block shots, leaving shooters on the outside open. We’re working on overcoming that because we had a lot of trouble scoring against their defense last game.” The squad took care of business at the S&R tournament last Friday and Saturday by winning four games in a row to secure the tournament title. Wins over Clovis West, Los Alamitos,
and Long Beach Wilson earned them a spot in the finals against Sacred Heart. The Wolverines trounced Sacred Heart 15-7 in the finals, led by Johnny Hooper’s ’15 dominant offensive performance. Hooper scored six goals, Warren Snyder ’14 scored four, and Morio Saito ’15 and Ben Hallock ’16 scored two apiece. They beat every team they played by at least five goals. “It was a very big win for • Continued on page C3
Girls’ Volleyball
Team beats Marymount for second time By Elijah Akhtarzad
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF BERNARD DILLARD
HAMMER TIME: Four teammates watch as middle blocker Arielle Strom ’14 spikes the ball in its home loss to Santa Barbara High School.
After defeating Mission League rival Notre Dame on Oct. 3, the Wolverines’ Homecoming match featured a nonconference matchup against Lakewood High School, a team the Wolverines sought revenge against after losing to in preseason play. The tough hitting Lakewood Lancers jumped out to an early lead over the Wolverines. The squad lost the match 1-3, but continued to compete af-
ter being down 0-2. The team came out with energy in the third set, blocking hit after hit and playing its best defense of the night. Led by the hitting of team captain and opposite hitter Josephine Kremer ’14, the Wolverines were able to secure the third set 25-23. “Our mindset going into the Lakewood game was that we were just going to put everything out there, knowing that they were a really good team and had some big hitters,” team captain and setter
Nicole Elattrache ’14 said. “It was pretty rough and difficult to compete with them, so we knew that the only way we would have any success was by coming together and just being really scrappy because that’s what we can control.” The Lancer front row was too much to handle in the fourth set for the Wolverines, who attempted to make a comeback midway through the set while being down but eventually lost 23-25. The squad • Continued on page C6
The Chronicle
C2 Sports
Oct. 15, 2013
Facts &
Figures
5
Length of the girls golf team’s win streak before their loss to Notre Dame Oct. 10
8
Shutouts this season by field hockey goalie Daniela Grande ’ 15
The total points that the girls tennis team have won by this season
71
80
Percent of Teddy King ’14’s receptions that have been for a touchdown
Game to watch OCT. 15 Water Polo vs. Mater Dei 6 p.m. @ Mater Dei High School
The Wolverines only loss in their 11-1 season was to the no. 1 ranked Mater Dei Monarchs Sept. 21. The team is looking to bounce back from that 9-6 defeat in its game at Mater Dei and add another victory to its six game win streak.
KEY PLAYER
Johnny Hooper ’15 Hooper scored six goals in the squad’s latest game against Sacred Heart, more than any other person on the team. Despite only being a junior, he has taken over as the team’s leading scorer.
Junior Varsity Cross Country Next Meet: Oct. 25 @ Mt. SAC Invitational
Football (4-2) Next Game: Oct. 18 vs. St. Paul HS
Field Hockey (5-2-3) Next Game: Oct. 22 @ Chaminade HS
Girls’ Tennis (10-0) Next Match: Oct. 15 @ FSHA
Girls’ Volleyball (18-3) Next Match: Oct. 15 @ Louisville HS
Boys’ Water Polo (7-3) Next Game: Oct. 15 @ Mater Dei
AARON LYONS/CHRONICLE
ON THE PITCH: Midfielder Courtney O’Brien ’15, #8, heads the ball in a league match against Louisville last season, which the Wolverines won 6-0. O’Brien is the second Wolverine this year to get an opportunity to try out for the U-17 women’s national soccer team in Carson, Calif.
Junior midfielder tries out for national team
By Benjamin Most
women’s team scout potential players and invite them to naCourtney O’Brien ’15 is tional soccer camps. O’Brien trying out for the was one of around United States Un30 girls asked the der-17 women’s socECNL/id2 Nationcer team this month. al Training Camp, This makes O’Brien which took place in the second Wolverine Portland, Ore. last girls’ soccer player to August. try out for the U-17 O’Brien also reteam, after fellow ceived an invitation midfielder Chloe Casfor a camp in Carson, nathanson’s taneda ’15 attended Calif. where coaches Courtney the national team will consider her for O’Brien ’15 camp in Florida last the U-17 national month. team. Coaches for the national Before being accepted to
the national team, however, players must prove themselves in a series of camps, O’Brien said. “The goal is to be invited back to the next camp and continue to prove that you deserve to be there,” O’Brien said. Coaches are currently working on a final roster, which is due and will be released in February for the national women’s U-17 team. If she is accepted to the team, O’Brien will play in the 2014 U-17 World Cup, which is planned for late March and
early April in Costa Rica. All team members are required to spend at least a month in Costa Rica, in addition to visiting national camps before the World Cup occurs. O’Brien is currently participating in the Elite National Club League fall season. She practices two hours a week and plays one or two games every weekend, traveling frequently for tournaments, league games and college showcases. O’Brien hopes to continue pursuing her soccer career past high school as well.
Sports analysts, doctors to speak about statistics, sports medicine in new interdisciplinary class
By Grant Nussbaum
Within the next month, analytics consultant and Long Beach Wilson football coach Tim Chou, co-owner of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies Steve Kaplan (Madeline ’14, Leo ’16) and Grizzlies’ Vice President of Basketball Operations John Hollinger, on Nov. 15., will all speak to and work with the Sports and Statistics class on the subject of sports analytics. In its inaugural year as a Kutler Center or Interdisciplinary Studies course, Sports and Statistics has consisted of students performing statistical investigations in the field of either sports medicine or sports analytics. The course is centered around a blog on which all the students’ investigations are posted. The three analytics experts will follow four sports medicine and orthopedic doctors from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles who spoke to the class last month about conducting research in sports and sports medicine. Chou was one of eight finalists who presented his project for the “Evolution of Sport” contest at this year’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan Sports Conference, an annual sports analytics convention which course in-
structor and math teacher Bill contributions on the court. Thill attended this past FebChildren’s Hospital of Los ruary. Chou’s project entailed Angeles doctors Nina Lightcreating a new measurement dale and J. Lee Pace visited the of efficiency in college football. classes Sept. 24, as did doctors “I asked him about the Tracy Zaslow and Bianca Edisports analytics side because I son Sept. 27. wasn’t familiar, and I told him Pace discussed the proabout this course, which was cess of gathering and analyzalready under way,” Thill said. ing data for a research project, “He was and Lightdale thrilled elaborated when I with examples a s k e d of her own re Their experiences him to search in the be a part area of athas coaches, as sports of it, and hand inanalysts, or as researchers letes’ we met juries. give us special insight a couple Z a s l o w t i m e s and Edison that no single teacher like this sumalso continmyself could necessarily mer to ued addresst h i n k ing methods provide.” and plan of sports re— Bill Thill search, and i d e a s a b o u t Sports & Statistics teacher gave students how he feedback on can come potential projto talk. ect ideas. He’s even posted comments All four doctors also anon some of our students’ blog swered questions concerning posts already.” athletic injuries and sports Hollinger, who will visit medicine. the class on Nov. 15, was an Thill, who has been in conanalyst and writer for ESPN tact with Children’s Hospital before Kaplan hired him to Los Angeles about the course work for the Memphis Griz- since last April, feels the zlies. Hollinger is arguably CHLA doctors’ visits brought most known for inventing the unique, valuable insight to Player Efficiency Rating bas- students interested in sports ketball statistic, a metric used medicine. to quantify a player’s overall “Often when you have spe-
“
cial guests presentations, it’s very hit or miss,” Thill said. “If they know the students and they care about the students taking something away from it, they can prepare something very effective. The doctors and I had really talked a lot about the things that they wanted to get out of it and we wanted to get out of it early on. They put in a lot of work on presentations and plans to work with kids. So now, when students are going to be working individually with those doctors, there’s a common language and common experiences.” Thill hopes the speakers will serve as mentors that the students can look to for guidance on their sports medicine or sports analytics projects. “The role of the professionals is to give students another adult who knows the field, and just connect with them,” Thill said. “They know what matters most. They may know good ways to design a study, they may know good numbers or metrics to use, to measure defensive efficiency or some other qualitative athletic performance that isn’t in the typical box scores,” Thill said. “Their experiences as coaches, as sports analysts, or as researchers give us special insight that no single teacher like myself could necessarily provide.”
Oct. 15, 2013
hwchronicle.com/sports
Sports C3
inbrief
Football
Palisades, Serra hand team first two losses following win streak
sion five times, including three fumbles and two interceptions The Wolverine football by first year starting quarterteam’s last two games have back Marshal Cohen ’16. Playleft what players describe as ers attribute these turnovers a sour taste in their mouths. to a dominant Serra front, After starting the season off which simply overpowered the 4-0, the team has lost its last Wolverines offensive line the two matchups, its Homecom- entire game. “I don’t think we played ing matchup against Palisades Charter High School and its to the fullest of our abilities,” first Mission League show- starting right tackle Ben down with Serra High School, Klein ’14 said. “There were a by an average of 41.5 points lot of mental mistakes made and those are what kill a play. per game. “Obviously no one likes to I think we need to work on finlose,” said Head Coach Scot ishing our blocks. We often get Ruggles following the team’s to our man but don’t fully get 63-7 loss to the Serra Cava- him out of the play so he can liers. “But in football and in still come back and tackle. If life you have to get back up if we finish our blocks and cut out the mental mistakes we’ll someone knocks you down.” The team’s matchup be really great.” In addition to being placed against the Palisades Dolphins was one players say they ex- in a tough situation in terms pected to win, and lost not be- of field position because of the turnovers, cause of their Serra’s ofopponents’ fense scored performance, ease, up but their own In football and in with 35-0 at the mistakes. life you have to get back end of the The team first quarc o m m i t up if someone knocks ter and 56-0 ted multiple you down.” at halftime. holding and Players said false start —Scot Ruggles that the size penalties in crucial situaHead Football Coach d i f f e r e n c e between the tions, leading Wo l v e r i n e to shortened drives and placing the defense players on the defensive line, and the much larger players on in challenging situations. “We just need to be dis- the Serra offensive line proved ciplined,” Ruggles said. “You to be a challenge. The averknow the bottom line is you age Cavalier lineman boasts a can’t put yourself in first and weight of 267 pounds, while no 25 situations. We made too Wolverine weighs more than many mistakes to win a foot- 245 pounds. “We’ve played guys who are ball game.” In addition to the pen- bigger than us, stronger than alties, turnovers have also us and supposedly better than plagued the Wolverines in not us,” Jeremy Tepper ’15 said. only their matchup with the “Last night we played a team Dolphins, but also against the that is good and we definitely respect them, but I think it’s Cavaliers. The team had three turn- important that we go through overs against Palisades Char- the tape and are aware of what ter, and by just a few minutes went wrong and do everything into the second quarter in we can do to turn around its matchup with Serra, the our Mission League season. team’s offense had already We’ve shown that we can play given the Cavaliers posses- deal with big linemen against
Basketball alumnus plays in Germany
All-time Wolverine boys’ basketball leading scorer Bryce Taylor ’04 made his debut for the FC Bayern Munich basketball team in the German Bundesliga Basketball League Oct. 3. In his first three games with the Bavarian Giants, Taylor, who holds HarvardWestlake basketball records for most points in both one game and over one season, averaged 7.3 points per game on 72.7 percent shooting. Bayern Munich is Taylor’s fourth team in five seasons as a player in the BBL. Taylor signed with Munich this past July after spending last season with the Artland Dragons. — Grant Nussbaum
By Eric Loeb
Fried named top 20 Minor Leaguer
“
JACK GOLDFISHER/CHRONICLE
SLIPPERY: Quarterback Marshal Cohen ’16 breaks a tackle in a run against Serra. The team lost 63-7 and has a 4-2 season record. Loyola and Granada Hills, so it’s a matter of continuing to do that and getting after it.” The team’s next Mission League matchup is against St. Paul Friday and players and coaches alike are ready to turn the Mission League season around. “For the rest of the season the offense needs to help out the defense and start games off right and not turn the ball over,” Cohen said. “We may have a young team but we
need to grow up fast to make these next four league games play as smooth as possible.” Ruggles echoed a similar desire to turn the season around. “Obviously we want to win and it’s a very good league,” he said. “We know we can compete with anyone if we play the way we know we can. We have to go back to basics and start doing the little things right and once we do that we are going to be alright.”
Water Polo
Team earns redemption in finals game rematch • Continued from page C1
CAITLIN NEAPOLE/CHRONICLE
CANNON: Davis Wachtell ’16 prepares to take a shot on goal in water polo’s 20-3 rout of Crespi Oct 9. The squad has a 13-1 record.
us and we should be proud to bring home the tournament victory,” Morio Saito ’15 said. “One of the things we can take away from this tournament is that our group has the ability to make that CIF championship game. This tournament is one of the factors that should motivate our group to come out, train the hardest we’ve ever trained and come back and play even better for CIF.” This is the first season the squad has won the S&R Invitational. Homecoming proved to be another opportunity for the Wolverines to showcase their talent and prove they could play at the highest level, but they only scraped by Long Beach Wilson 11-8. “The win on Homecoming was not as dominant as it
should have been,” left-handed attacker Duncan Froomer ’16 said. “Saying that, we came out with a win due to Anthony [Ridgley ’15] coming up with some huge saves and our team executing on offense in key moments.” League play has not posed a challenge to the team’s season record so far. The Wolverines rolled Crespi 20-3 in their league opener Oct. 9. Their next league matchup is against Loyola Oct. 23. The Wolverines hope to keep the same mindset for all of their league games. “We just have to dominate league and move on to playoffs,” Center Raphael Raede ’15 said. “We have to face all these teams the same way. We need to start and finish against every team the same way: strong.”
Sports magazine and website Baseball America recently named former Wolverine standout Max Fried ’12 one of its Midwest League Top 20 Prospects. The left-handed Fried scored a number eight ranking for his pitching in the San Diego Padres organization. Fried put up 7.6 strikeouts per game this past season on the Fort Wayne Tin Caps, the secondbest rate among starters in the Midwest League. Fried was drafted seventh overall by the Padres in the 2012 draft and spent his first season on the organization’s Rookie league team and this past season in Low-A. For its report, Baseball America talked to an American League scout about Fried. “I don’t think he’ll take long. He’ll shoot through the minors,” the scout said in his report. “He doesn’t have all that much to work on.” — Lizzy Thomas
Fencer places at first tournament of year
Team captain Roy Dritley ’16 was the only Wolverine to place during the first fencing tournament of the year Sept. 22. He used his sword of choice: the foil. This tournament was the first of two individual tournaments this year. Dritley hopes that next tournament the team will be able to do better and believes this can be achievable with more practice. “Although we didn’t win, we all played our best,” Dritley said. —Jonah Ullendorff
Senior midfielder commits for lacrosse
Noah Pompan ’14 committed to Gettysburg College for lacrosse Oct. 10. Pompan, a varsity midfielder, also considered University of Richmond, Boston University, Bucknell University and Skidmore College, but he said Gettysburg was a great fit athletically, socially and academically. “I really liked the kids on the team and the coaching staff,” Pompan said. “I’m really excited to play at the next level.” —Henry Vogel
The Chronicle
C4 Sports
Oct. 15, 2013
Homecoming 2013 Recap
Boys’ Water Polo
Homecoming Kings Boys' water polo was the only Wolverine varsity team to come out of Homecoming Oct. 5 victorious, defeating Long Beach Wilson 11-8.
CAITLIN NEAPOLE/CHRONICLE
Girls’ Volleyball
Football
Out of Reach
Grounded
Holding and false start penalities in key situations limited the Wolverines offensive attack in their 45-18 loss to Palisades Charter HS.
The Wolverines could not complete their comeback after dropping the first two sets to Lakewood, losing their Homecoming match 3-1.
CAITLIN NEAPOLE/CHRONICLE
Fanatics, athletics department resolve student section dispute By Grant Nussbaum and Patrick Ryan
One aspect lacking from the Homecoming 2013 finale football matchup against Palisades other than a Wolverine victory was the presence of a single, distinct student section in the stands. Instead of congregating in one area of the bleachers, Wolverine Fanatics were split up throughout the bleachers, the track and the lower quad, hindering communication between the student-fans and preventing any cheers or chants supporting the Wolverines from gaining full momentum. While they did not have any direct confrontation with the administration, the Head Fanatics thought that the school should have alotted a part of the bleachers solely for the students.
“Collectively, we feel that it would be appropriate for the administration to chain off the section traditionally taken by student fans,” Head Fanatic Jonathan Felker ’14 said. “This would allow those students who attend the Homecoming football game to have a place to cheer together, as opposed to scattered around the track.” Head of Athletics Terry Barnum believes neither side planned ahead enough to practically form a student section amidst the packed Homecoming crowd. “We had more people get in their seats for the football game earlier,” Barnum said. “We had people in the stands a full half hour or 45 minutes before kickoff, and we hadn’t told them ahead of time that they couldn’t sit in those spots. There would have been hundreds of people we were asking to move.”
The administration and Head Fanatics have been at odds in the past, notably when school officials ejected Fanatics for chants that were deemed inappropriate. This time around, both sides look to be on the same page in resolving the issue of a student section for the future, although Head Fanatics believe they do not deserve to bear the blame for the Homecoming football game’s disorganization. “The Head Fanatics as a group took a lot of the heat for not creating some sort of student section, but what people do not understand is how hard it is to relocate parents who tend to be stubborn about the view from which they watch their children,” Felker said. “If they were not allowed to sit in that section in the first place, however, it would be very easy
“
JACK GOLDFISHER/CHRONICLE
It has been a joint effort in the past where the Fanatic leaders along with school administrators have tried to rope off a section so the Fanatics have somewhere to sit. That just didn’t happen Saturday. It wasn’t the school’s fault, it wasn’t the Fanatics’ fault. It was just that we had a big crowd." —Terry Barnum Head of Athletics
for us, as Head Fanatics, to do our job. For future reference, we believe the administration should set up a designated student section large enough to accommodate the standard student fan turnout.” Barnum agrees with the Fanatics’ solution and does not think either side is to blame for the mistake. “It has been a joint effort in the past where the Fanatic leaders along with school administrators have tried to rope off a section so the Fanatics have somewhere to sit,” Barnum said. “That
nathanson’s
just didn’t happen Saturday. It wasn’t the school’s fault, it wasn’t the Fanatics’ fault. It was just that we had a big crowd.” “[The student section] is something we will have to plan for better in the future,” Barnum added. “It didn’t work out the way we would have wanted to. What we can do in the future is make sure we rope off that section and let families know that if they sit there, once the varsity game starts, they’re going to have to move so the Fanatics can sit down.”
Oct. 15, 2013
hwchronicle.com/sports
Crunch Time
Sports C5
Along with the water polo team's matchup against Mater Dei, several late-season fall showdowns prove crucial and worthy of being called "Games to Watch." After starting out the year with a flawless 4-0 record, the Wolverines lost their Homecoming game to Palisades Charter High School and their Mission League opener to Serra Oct. 11. The squad's game against St. Paul is critical to its competitiveness in the Mission League and a win will prevent the team from going down 0-2 in league. With a win against St. Paul, the squad will look to get back on track and end its two game losing streak.
Football 10/18 vs. St. Paul
SAM SACHS/CHRONICLE
Girls’ Volleyball 10/22 vs. Notre Dame
PRINTED WITH PERMISION OF BERNARD DILLARD
After defeating league rival, Dame Knights Oct. 3, the Wolverines went on to defeat the defending CIF Division I State Champions Marymount for the second time this season. The squad split the season series against the Knights last year and has already taken the first match 3-0. The Wolverines are currently first place in the Mission League with an undefeated 4-0 record, followed by Notre Dame, who have only lost one game throughout their season.
GRANT NUSSBAUM/CHRONICLE
The field hockey team has had one of the best seasons in its history with only one loss, a defeat against Glendora HS that was later avenged in a rematch, which the Wolverines won 4-0. The defense has been nearly flawless, allowing only one goal in the last nine games. Along with the stout defense, the teams offense has been prolific. The team takes on Lousiville HS in its final game of the regular season. The Wolverines defeated Louisville handily in a 7-0 win Oct. 8.
GRANT NUSSBAUM/CHRONICLE
The girls' tennis team has notched a 9-2 overall record, while going undefeated in league play thus far with a 6-0 record. The squad has experienced many injuries to key players, but has been able to dominate the Mission League with an average win advantage of 11 points. The team will compete in four more league matches before competing in League Prelims on Oct. 28 and the League Prelim Finals on Oct. 30. The squad lost to Tesoro in the second round of the CIF playoffs last year.
Field Hockey 10/24 vs. Louisville
Girls' Tennis 10/28 League Prelims
C6 Sports
The Chronicle
Oct. 15, 2013
Girls’ Tennis
Squad trounces Notre Dame, remains undefeated in league By Lucy Putnam
GRANT NUSSBAUM/CHRONICLE
PERFECT SWING: Chelsea Pan ’14 rushes towards the net to return a volley during an Oct. 10 away match against Notre Dame.
With a decisive 15-3 victory against Notre Dame Oct. 10, the girls’ tennis team continued its five game winning streak. The team has earned a league record of 6-0 this season and a 9-2 overall record, placing them at the top of the Mission League heading into CIF Finals in late October. The team’s successful performance is notable considering its players have been sidelined with multiple injuries. Captain Levi Craske-Curtin ’14 explained that captain Sophie Gunter ’14 pulled a shoulder muscle, Juliana Simon ’16 has a stress fracture in her spine that requires physical therapy and Arin Schwimmer ’15 has a shoulder injury that has kept her off the court but has not been diagnosed and remains a mystery. Jenna Moustafa ’17 and
Rebecca Li ’15 suffered toe and foot injuries and Isabella de Montesquiou ’16 and Joelle Choi ’16 have also been sidelined by more minor shoulder and back injuries during the season. “I’m confident that next season will be much better, as we have very good players, but right now, we really need to just work on getting the players back to health,” CraskeCurtin said. Despite these challenges, the team’s only two losses have been against strong competition from Santa Barbara and Peninsula. The Oct. 10 victory against Notre Dame was just another win in the teams expected sweep of the Mission League, which it has dominated for years. The coaching staff ’s switch of doubles partners in the Notre Dame match led to suc-
cess, especially in the hardwon battle of Pan and de Montesquiou, whose sets stood out among the rest. “We were up, then Notre Dame caught up and it became a back and forth,” Pan said. “Then it ended up evening out at 7-7 only for us to win in a tiebreaker 7-3.” But this year’s injuries may come to create a more significant challenge. Individual CIF preliminaries begin Oct. 28, and the team plans to send singles players Moufasa and Craske-Curtin as well as doubles partners Gunter and Paige Moelis ’15 and Pan and de Montesquiou. “We are focused on our team’s need for bonding and we have been working on that,” Pan said. “Our goal is obviously to win CIF, but regardless I’m sure we will make it to the quarters again,” Moelis said.
Girls’ Volleyball
Committed Captains
The three captains of the Wolverines girls’ volleyball team have all committed to play volleyball at the collegiate level.
Jo Kremer ’14
Outside Hitter University of Notre Dame
Nicole Elattrache ’14 Setter Duke University
Marielle Bagnard ’14
Libero University of Southern California
Wolverines recover from homecoming loss with 3rd place finish in Cali Challenge tournament • Continued from page C1 ended the match losing 1-3, but took a lot away from playing against the 43rd ranked team in California. “I thought we went out our hardest, and it was just a tough team to play especially because we hadn’t played blockers that were that big and aggressive, but I think it was a good chance for us to realize that we’re not invincible despite our great wins in league, and that the teams we are going to face in playoffs are going to be really tough just like Lakewood,” opposite hitter Mia Natsis ’14 said. The Wolverines have faced tough competition all over the country, including a matchup against Assumption, a team
from Kentucky ranked 10th in the nation, and a non-league game against Marymount, the CIF Division I State Champions. The squad lost to Assumption 0-2 in the Durango Tournament in Las Vegas, Nev., but managed to defeat the Marymount Sailors for the first time in seven years 3-1. “Going into the Marymount match the team was focused every day in practice and intent on getting better as part of the preparation process to play really good volleyball,” head coach Adam Black said. “The win proves that training with a purpose and as a team will improve our performance. That win was a byproduct of everyone’s efforts in practice and support for each other.”
After advancing past pool play with a 4-0 record in the Cali Challenge tournament, the squad faced off against Marymount in the quarterfinals. The Wolverines took the first set 25-18, lost the tightly contested second set 22-25, and closed out the match with a down to the wire 15-11 win against the Sailors. The win marks the second time in the last month that the squad beat the defending state champions. The Wolverines went on to lose their next match 2-0 to Torrey Pines in the semifinals of the tournament . “I think we played unbelievably well, and it wasn’t just Marymount making mistakes, it was us showing what we
can really do,” middle blocker Arielle Strom ’14 said. “It was really exciting to beat them again because it shows that our first game against them wasn’t just a fluke, and that we can actually beat them. We are better than them.” The team faces Louisville today, and will matchup against league rival Notre Dame Oct. 22. The Wolverines split the season series last year against the Knights and defeated them in their first meeting this year 3-0. “I think we definitely realize that they are our biggest competition in the Mission League, and that beating them at their home will be much harder than taking them on here [at home],” outside hitter
CAITLIN NEAPOLE/CHRONICLE
ALL IN: The Wolverines huddle up before their Homecoming match against Lakewood. They lost the match to the Lancers in four games. Rachel Savage ’15 said. “If we did what we did the first time and came out with a lot more fire than them we will have similar results.”
hwchronicle.com/sports
Oct. 15, 2013 Cross Country
Girls’ Golf
Injured runners return to competition By Tyler Graham
With two impact runners returning from injury to the boys’ team, and the girls’ team well on its way to winning a sixth straight Mission League title, the cross country teams are locked and loaded as they near CIF playoffs. Both teams competed in the Wayne Walker Invitational Sept. 27 at Craig Park, and the Mission League Cluster Meet Oct 3. at Crescenta Valley Park. At Wayne Walker, the boys’ team finished 13th out of 17 teams, while the girls’ team took second place. The girls’ team continued its League success, adding to an impressive season with another win at the Mission League Cluster, while the boys’ team finished third, behind Loyola and Crespi; the former is ranked second in the State by PrepCalTrack. “I feel extremely pleased with the way that we are progressing as a cross country team,” Program Head Jonas Koolsbergen said. At the Wayne Walker Invitational, captain and senior standout Lizzy Thomas ’14 beat out a field of over 300 runners in the girls’ overall division to take home first place by 20 seconds, and led the way for the Wolverines at the Mission League Cluster Meet, notching her fifth and sixth victories of the season, respectively. The Student Ath-
letic Advisory Council named Thomas Athlete of the Month for September. “I think it was a very apt choice,” Koolsbergen said. “It was a very deserving honor. She had a spectacular first month of the season and is running extremely well.” Thomas’ performance and those of her teammates have propelled the team. Runners Rachel Porter ’16 and Nicole Araya ’16 joined Thomas in the top 10 at Wayne Walker, while co-captain Monica Nimmagadda ’14 placed 19th overall. “We’ve been getting tremendous work from people like Nimmagadda, Porter and Araya,” Koolsbergen said. “On the girls’ side, they have all been outstanding this season.” PrepCalTrack ranked the girls’ team third in Divison 4 statewide. “It’s exciting,” Koolsbergen said. “It definitely exemplifies what we want to be and what we know we are. Which is a team that can be in the mix in the major championships this postseason. It tells us that we are a legitimate contender, but it also tells us that we have work to do.” The boys’ team has been powered by an unlikely source: the “Fab Five,” a group of five sophomores comprised of Jack Stovitz ’16, Henry Roskin ’16, Jeffrey Ehlers ’16, Roland Montgomery ’16 and Josh
Sports C7
Team drops its first match of the season By Sam Sachs
LUKE HOLTHOUSE/CHRONICLE
SPEED: David Manahan ’14 races towards the finish line. Friedman ’16. Captain David Manahan ’14, who was battling a shin injury throughout the beginning of the season, is attempting to return to his preinjury form with playoffs rapidly approaching. Manahan’s fellow captain Ben Weissenbach ’15 plans to return from a knee injury, which has held him out of the season thus far, in time for the playoffs. “The season is a constant process of improvement, and the training system is designed to bring out our very best results in postseason races,” Koolsbergen said. “We are on exactly the path that we want to be on to have our best possible performances when it is time to give our best possible performances.”
to schedule my official around playoffs but unfortunately After starting off the sea- everyone is running a really son 5-0, girls’ golf lost for the tight schedule and that Monfirst time this year in a match day [Oct. 21] is the only time I against league rival Notre could visit.” Dame Oct. 10. This means that captain Although the Wolverines Maddy Abrahams ’14 will shot 221, their second lowest again be the only senior in the score of the year and their low- lineup come playoff time. The est ever at their home Encino team started the season off Golf Course, 3-0 without they lost by Kushi and 28 strokes as once again the Knights will count on Whatever shot 193. younger playThe team ers to step up girls we do bring out has just weland help fill onto the course, the comed back Kushi’s place. Kate Kushi “Kate not philosophy remains the ’14 after she being with same.” missed the us in CIF or beginning of —Maddy Abrahams ’14 for the rest the season of the season recovering is definitely from an injury. a loss,” captain Maddy Abra“[It] feels great to be back, hams said. “But with whatit was a huge bummer being ever girls we do bring out onto out for the first half of the sea- the course, the philosophy reson,” Kushi said. “Everyone is mains the same.” playing great, and I’m glad to Abrahams has shot even see some of the younger play- par in her last two matches, ers make substantial contri- including the loss against butions.” Notre Dame. Kushi, however, will miss The squad finished its the playoffs for the Wolver- regular season out with an ines as she has official visits away match at Oaks Christian that conflict with the team’s Oct. 14, but the results were schedule. unavailable as of press time. “Under the new rules for The Wolverines have a home this year if a player misses match against Flintridge Saone round of playoffs she can’t cred Heart Academy Oct. 17 play in subsequent rounds,” before Mission League Prelims Kushi said. “I tried my best get under way Oct. 21.
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Oct. 15, 2013
IN THE BACK ROW
Q&A with Marielle Bagnard
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF BERNARD DILLARD
SERVE’S UP: Marielle Bagnard ’14 prepares to serve the ball in a heated match against Marymount Sept. 12. As the starting libero and team captain, Bagnard led the team to a third place finish at the California Challenge in San Diego last weekend. This season is her last playing indoors, as she committed to USC for sand volleyball next autumn.
By Audrey Wilson
Stats:
A 4
How long have you been playing volleyball and when did you decide to start playing?
Bagnard’s Beach Rating
I started at Sunshine [indoor volleyball club] and I was maybe 9 or 10 years old. I started playing because it was in my family, the sport was in my family, and my dad kind of inspired me to play with his passion.
What made you decide to pursue sand volleyball?
USC’s sand volleyball national rank
First of all I love the beach, but second of all I really like the challenge. In sand volleyball you need to be more of a well-rounded player, and that kind of forced me to learn every position to the best of my ability.
How do you train for sand volleyball outside of school and what is the commitment like?
NATHANSON’S
It is nice because with Harvard Westlake and with any club sport, it’s a big drive, but since I live in the Palisades the beach is literally right down my street so that makes it really accessible to train. I’d say it’s about the same if not more in terms of practice for indoor and club. It’d be more similar to school where you want to do it every day because it’s really important to practice in different wind situations. Weight lifting still comes into play because it is a lot harder to jump and to move in the sand and that being said you need to condition a lot more. People condition a lot for indoor, but sand definitely makes things harder.
What school did you commit to, and what separated that school from your other options? I committed to University of Southern California, and I am going there for sand volleyball. I really liked it because first of all I knew when applying to schools I wanted some place warm. I actually did a bunch of indoor volleyball camps over the summer and I just realized that I didn’t really like the indoor game as much as I liked the beach game and I just couldn’t really see myself making that big of a commitment for indoor even though I like it. I just like beach so much more and I know that I would be way more in to practicing that many times a week, or doing the weightlifting for that sport because I like being on the beach more.
What are your individual and team goals for your last season with your Harvard-Westlake team? Hands down, I want to win CIF. That better happen. We kind of assumed that we were going to do that last year, and that ended up being a challenge for us, but I doubt it will be a challenge for this team this year. I want to make it as far as we can, so that would mean CIF and State. My sister has a banner up there on the wall in Taper, and I am constantly asked is that my relative, but I’d rather it be is that you, with my name up there on one of the banners. I think in the long term that would be a goal. As a team I just really want to have fun, this is my last indoor season. I really like this group of girls, and I think we have the potential to go really far and we really click, and I think that we definitely can do it.