Chronicle March 2012

The honor code at 14: Upper school departments explain how the Honor Code relates to specific classes.

A8-9

opening wins: Both varsity boys’ and girls’ track and field won their first two league meets by wide margins.

C7

C HUDnut to retire The Harvard -Westlake

hronicle

Los Angeles • Volume XXI • Issue VI • March 14, 2012

2013 likely Hudnut’s last graduation

By Judd Liebman

Laura Aaronson/chronicle archives

alexia boyarsky/chronicle archives

cody shott/chronicle archives

Chloe lister/chronicle

SO LONG, TOM: Then-Headmaster Thomas C. Hudnut greets a student at the 1994 Ring Ceremony, top left. Confetti rains on him at a 2007 Champions Day, top center. Hudnut suits up for the Office of Advancement 2008 Family Night at

Chloe lister/chronicle

Dodger Stadium, bottom left. Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra sits on Hudnut’s lap at 2009 WinterFest. Hudnut dressed as Santa Claus for years, bottom center. Hudnut opens the 2010 school year by unveiling the Wolverine statue, right.

In a first step toward a one-to-one computer model, wherein students will bring or be provided with a personal computing device to use at school, iPads are being distributed to faculty and staff as soon as practicable, Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said in an email to the faculty Monday.

“We are at a crossroads, and the path that leads to a one-to-one computer model seems the right one to take,” Huybrechts said.

This announcement follows the release of the iPad 3 last Wednesday.

Education Technology Chair Jeff Snapp first piloted the campaign a year ago when a few dozen iPads were given to departments for teachers to explore the use of iPads in the classroom. Huybrechts said the overwhelmingly positive feedback led the school to make iPads more widely available.

This change follows years of technological development over which computer usage at school has soared, Huybrechts said. The one-to-one computer system for students will be phased in over a few years, but will hopefully begin in September 2013.

Huybrechts said this will be a big change for the school. The earliest steps in the implementation will include widespread iPad distribution, training and curriculum development support, she said.

“I, too, have some anxiety about the pace of change and demands required to adapt, but I am excited about this new adventure,” Huybrechts said.

Huybrechts said the iPad may be better suited for the needs of teachers and students than laptops.

“I believe this direction is a good one for our students,” she said. “[The iPad] may be a better device for the kind of work we do in classrooms.”

Continued on page A11

Giolito’s season over, baseball ties Alemany

iPad distribution to begin ‘one-to-one computer model’

By Lara Sokoloff

President Thomas C. Hudnut, who oversaw the merger of Harvard School for Boys and Westlake School for Girls, announced to the Board of Trustees Monday that he will retire after the 2012-2013 school year, his 26th year at the school.

“It’s going to be a strange feeling because I started going to nursery school when I was 3, which means that September of 2013 will be the first time in 63 years that I haven’t been going to school,” Hudnut said. “I’m sure that will feel strange.”

Hudnut, who turns 65 this spring, was the headmaster of Harvard School for Boys from 1987 until the creation of Harvard-Westlake in 1989. He served as headmaster for Harvard-Westlake from 1989 until 2007 when he took on the role as President.

“Obviously the merger of two schools was a huge event for everyone involved with either school,” he said.

“The result is a school that is so much stronger and so much better in every way than either of its predecessor institutions.”

Hudnut earned his B.A. in politics from Princeton University and an M.A. in international relations from Tufts University. Before taking a position at Harvard School for Boys, Hudnut headed The Branson School in California.

As the first president of HarvardWestlake, Hudnut “oversees HarvardWestlake, Inc.,” he said in August.

By Camille Shooshani

Camille shooshani/chronicle

ELBOW STRAIN: Lucas Giolito ’12 pitches in his last game in the Mission League. He gave up two runs to Alemany.

It took 74 pitches for MLB prospect Lucas Giolito ’12 to reach the seventh inning, but only one to take him out for the season. Giolito, who hit 100 mph on two radar guns Feb. 28, left the March 6 Alemany game with a hurt right elbow.

After an MRI informed him he sprained his ulnar collateral ligament, he learned that the 2-1 loss was his last Mission League game.

“I threw one pitch in the last inning of that game and I felt a shooting pain in my arm,” Giolito said. “I wasn’t sure what it was but I was hoping for the Continued on page C6

The Chronicle Wednesday, March 14, 2012 3700 Coldwater Canyon Ave. Studio City, Calif. 91604

A2 Preview

ARIELLE MAXNER/CHRONICLE

PICTURE PERFECT: Photography I teacher Allan Sasaki speaks with Athletics Study Hall Coordinator Steve Shaw at the Photography I opening show Monday

at break. The show features a variety of developing and photographic techniques, including lithograph prints, silver gelatin prints and hand-coloring, among others.

Features B4

News A10

MICHAEL SUGERMAN/CHRONICLE

REMBERING JULIA: Friends of Julia Siegler ’14 left messages on purple rocks at the corner of Sunset and Cliffwood on the second anniversary of her death.

Sports C10

ROBBIE LOEB/CHRONICLE

LESLIE DINKIN/CHRONICLE

ZOO KEEPERS: Gil Young ’13 plays with his pet snake, Quasimoto. Numerous other students have unique pets, including chickens and chinchillas.

Offbeat

FACEOFF: Justice Sefas ’13 fights for posession of the ball in the middle of the field. The Wolverines lost the game 11-5 to Palisades, lowering their record to 3-2.

Video art students set fire to, drop piano

By Mariel Brunman

ELI HAIMS/CHRONICLE

A FIERY CRESCENDO: Video art students shot fire-cannons through a piano and dropped it from an excavator in the pool construction site last week.

A nightmarish soundtrack of coyote howls accompanied striking visuals of a grand piano set on fire and later dropped from an excavator in a film

by Xochi Maberry-Gaulke ’12 and Alex Moritz ’12.

The effects were shot in the pool construction zone on March 6. Maintence workers drilled holes into the bottom of the piano and fire-cannons were used to shoot flames without igniting the piano.

The project originally began when Upper School Performing Arts Teacher Mark Hilt approached Upper School Visual Arts Department Chair Cheri Gaulke, about organizing a fundraiser where students would be able to pay

The Chronicle is the student newspaper of Harvard-Westlake School. It is published eight 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 Ave., Studio City, CA 91604. Letters must be

$10 to help destroy an old piano.

“Craigslist is teeming with useless pianos,” Hilt said. “It is impossible to get rid of them. Because of insurance, [the fundraiser] was never able to happen, but Gaulke took the idea to her Video Art students with the idea to design a story and write a script where the climax would involve the destruction of the piano.”

The film centers on a student, played by Nick Healy ’13, preparing for a piano recital. Healy’s character has a nightmare in which he hits one wrong note during the performance, causing an audience played by Noah Ross ’12, Hank Doughan ’12, Max Goodley ’12, Jamie Ember ’12 and Marka MaberryGaulke ’12 to become violently enraged.

Hilt, who appears in a cameo role

as the student’s piano teacher, flicks a cigarette into the piano in disgust, causing it to smoke and burst into flames.

Michael Morgenstern ’03, who taught Video Art classes during the week, assisted with production and advised on filming and directional technique.

“I realized how if you are motivated to get things done, they can get done no matter what,” Maberry-Gaulke said. “[Moritz] was so helpful, and two is definitely better than one. We all worked well together, and were supported by so many people.”

Maberry-Gaulke and Moritz plan to finish the film by the end of the school year and submit it to a 2013 film festival.

signed and may be edited for space and to conform to Chronicle style and format.

Advertising questions may be directed to Alex Gura at (310) 467-1797. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or the school.

chronicle.hw.com

March 14, 2012

News A3

Studio chief to headline Film Festival

By Eric Greenberg

DANIEL KIM/CHRONICLE

MENCHIES MONDAY: In an effort to promote the upcoming “Spring in Your Step” charity dance, the Prefect

Council sold Menchie’s frozen yogurt and a variety of toppings to students during Activities period on Monday.

‘Spring in Your Step’ charity dance to benefit Gabriella Charter School

By Arielle Maxner

An on-campus dance this Saturday to benefit the Gabriella Axelrad Foundation will feature food trucks, entertainment from student performers and dancers from the Gabriella Charter School. The charity dance, called “Spring In Your Step,” will be held from 8 p.m. to midnight and is open to students in grades 9-12. Students must arrive by 8:30 p.m. and will be required to remain on campus until 11:30 p.m.

Founded by Liza Bercovici (Jacob ’10)in honor of her daughter, Gabriella, who died as a rising eighth grader at Harvard-Westlake in 1999, the Gabriella Axelrad Foundation established a kindergarten through eighth grade charter school. The Gabriella Charter School has a unique dancecentered curriculum and focuses on educating economically disadvantaged children.

The administration required that there be no fancy attire or limos, that the event be held on campus and that there be no amplified music outside past 8 p.m. Also, there are neighborhood restrictions on noise levels, so “Spring In Your Step” will be held in Taper Gymnasium.

“Working within these restrictions has been very difficult,” Head Prefect Brooke Levin ’12 said. “However, we feel like we are making the

most of this situation.”

Entertainment will feature the Scene Monkeys, Wolverine dancers, singers, jazz musicians and nathanson ’s/chronicle guest DJ Wiley Webb ’12 in Brooke Levin ’12 addition to the Gabri Dancers. Food trucks will provide food in the Munger Courtyard.

The Community Council and Prefect Council began planning in the beginning of the school year to create an event to replace Semiformal, which was canceled last year due to excessive drinking at an afterparty that led to student hospitalization.

“Specific detail planning began around two months ago when it looked like we actually would get approval,” Levin said. “However we weren’t even sure we had a date or official go-ahead for this event until right before the ‘save the date’ stickers came out [on Feb. 22].”

Students are required to sign a pledge in which they promise not to attend or organize any sort of organized afterparty when purchasing tickets for “Spring In Your Step,” Levin said. The dance was launched with a flash mob on Feb. 22 by the Scene Monkeys and members of the

planning committee and was followed up with an email detailing specifics.

Free cupcakes were given out on Feb. 13 to pronathanson ’s/chronicle mote the thenunannounced Rishi Bagrodia ’12 event. The $35 tickets were available for purchase beginning March 9, the same day a fundraising raffle began with prizes offered including two iPad 3’s, tickets to a night of American Idol and a Taper parking spot.

“We hope that ‘Spring in Your Step’ can occur every year and each year a new charity can benefit,” Levin said.

“If we all support this event, we can send a message that we all want to keep a school-wide social activity on the calendar and that we can enjoy it responsibly,” Head Prefect Rishi Bagrodia ’12 and Levin said in an email.

Parents were emailed on March 9 by Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra with a message from the Prefect and Community Councils containing information about “Spring In Your Step” and asking parents to encourage their child’s attendance.

The Chairman and CEO of DreamWorks Studios will deliver the keynote speech at Friday night’s ninth annual Harvard-Westlake Film Festival.

Stacey Snider (Katie Jones ’15), who heads DreamWorks Studios with Steven Spielberg, has overseen such projects as the “Bourne” series, the “Fast and Furious” series, the “Mummy” series and several others.

“She is probably the most powerful woman in Hollywood,” said Visual Arts Department Chair Cheri Gaulke, who is the co-advisor of the film festival with Cinema Studies teacher Ted Walch. “We wanted her because she is such an amazing role model and will be able to provide insights for the filmmakers about what goes into bringing a film to audiences.”

Snider offered to help find a speaker for this year’s festival, but the committee assigned to find a speaker asked her to headline the event instead.

“This woman’s right at the heart of the business,” Walch said. “She has a reputation for really being able to get through a good talk.”

“Imagine if you were a young aspiring filmmaker and had someone like [Snider] sit in a theater and watch your film,” Gaulke said. “That’s an unbelievable opportunity for our young filmmakers.”

Each year, the festival features a guest speaker, who talks about his or her profession and achievements in the film industry.

Past speakers have included directors Paul Thomas Anderson, Jason Reitman ’95, Kathryn Bigelow and Guillermo Del Toro, and actors Tom Hanks (Chet ’09), Jake Gyllenhaal ’98 and Jamie Lee Curtis.

The festival will be held at the ArcLight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood and will feature a selection of films made by high school students all over California that were chosen by the festival committee.

The films are judged by a panel of professionals of the film industry, including actors Alfre Woodard, Peter Gallagher (Kathryn ’11) and Kevin Costner, who will choose the finalists and winners.

On Saturday, the Film Festival will host a “Day After,” which the filmmakers can attend a series of workshops taught by professionals in the movie business.

Gaulke said she is excited to have the opportunity to have Snider as their speaker.

Former admissions officer, college counselor to replace Wimbish as dean

By Lara Sokoloff

College counselor and former admissions officer Christopher Jones will replace Upper School Dean Jon Wimbish for 2012-2013 school year.

Wimbish will serve as Head of Middle School following the departure of current Head of the Middle School Ronnie Codrington-Cazeau.

Jones first worked in admissions at Kenyon College from 1994 until 1996, and again from 2000-2002, where he met members of the Harvard-Westlake community. He later served in admissions at his alma mater, Williams College, and at American University. Jones has worked as a college counselor for over a decade at Columbus Academy in Columbus, Ohio, where he coaches basketball in addition to his college counseling duties.Jones has been asked to fill openings in the past, but has never had significant enough interest to act

on the offers, he said.

Although Columbus Academy, a pre-K through 12 independent co-education college preparatory day school, is similar to Harvard-Westlake, the counseling system divides the roles of guidance and college counselors. In his 10-year tenure, Jones served as a college counselor, but said he has recently involved himself in other programs that will help him transition to his role as a dean. “[Harvard-Westlake’s] model is very, very different from what you will find across the country,” he said. “My responsibilities have been as a college counselor, but I’ve taken on some responsibilities that will prepare me for what I’ll be doing at Harvard-Westlake.”

Jones said he was incredibly invested in Columbus Academy and hopes to become equally invested in the Harvard-Westlake community.

“It’s not tough to be invested, but it’s tough to be invested to the degree that I’d like to be,” he said. “It’s just going to take some time to learn exactly how to do it.

“I’ve been at [Columbus] Academy long enough for folks to know that when they come in the door, I’m one of the folks that they can come to,” he said. “It will just take time for folks at H-W to learn they can do the same with me.”

Despite the challenges of the transition, Jones said he is excited to enter a place with the reputation HarvardWestlake has.

“Obviously its commitment to education is unsurpassed, but I remember being struck by how committed they are to excellence in extracurriculars, from the arts to athletics to other arenas as well,” Jones said. “Just to be a part of something like that is pretty fantastic.”

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ALICIA NOLAN

PUMP UP: In addition to guiding students through the college proess, new dean Christopher Jones coaches basketball at the Columbus Academy in Ohio.

The Chronicle

A4 News

March 14, 2012

2 teachers to visit school in Beijing

By Lara Sokoloff

ABBIE NEUFELD/CHRONICLE

TALK TO ME: Director Rian Johnson, left, converses with four-time Oscar nominated director Jason Reitman ’95, right,

during an interview that was part of the “Speaking of Movies” series, hosted by the H-W Arts and Entertainment Network.

Director likes to ‘hole up in a dark room’ as part of script-writing process

By Abbie Neufeld

Though director Rian Johnson’s next movie “Looper,” a sci-fi film starring Bruce Willis and Joseph GordonLevitt, doesn’t come out for another six months, he hopes to spend a lot of the time writing his next film, he said Feb. 28 in Ahmanson Lecture Hall.

Johnson was the latest guest in Jason Reitman’s ’95 ongoing series “Speaking of Movies.” Johnson, who directed “Brick,” which won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005, and “The Brothers Bloom” spoke with Reitman about becoming a filmmaker and his preferences in the movie-making process.

Johnson described his writing process as “scribbling everywhere, then writing the whole [script] in three

days.” He said he likes to “hole up in a dark room with a notebook,” though he added, “this is probably not the healthiest way for you to work.”

Johnson first knew he wanted to be a director when he was a kid using one of his dad’s cameras and trying to recreate a shot from a Star Wars movie.

His interest in making movies increased dramatically during high school.

“That’s how I got through high school,” Johnson said. “I was constantly making movies with my friends.”

By the time Johnson graduated, he had made 80 short films.

After high school, Johnson went to the University of Southern California.

He only had to make a few films for his coursework, but made many more as independent projects.

“That’s how I became confident

Tuition to rise 3.3% next year

By Rebecca Nussbaum

Harvard-Westlake slowed tuition growth less than neighboring schools Tuition for the 2012-2013 school over the previous years, but now as year will rise by 3.3 percent to $31,350, other schools are “bouncing back,” our the smallest percentage increase in tuition is more consistent, Levin said.

25 years, Chief Financial Officer Rob “We could’ve hit the brakes just a Levin said. little bit harder and gotten away with Chair of the Board of Trustees it for a number of years, but we were Christine Hazy (Steven ’00, Cha- very afraid that we would then have rissa ’03, Trenton ’05, Courtney ’11) to rebound, and we didn’t want to do announced this that,” he said. number in a letter In her letter, on the Parents’ Hazy stressed the Portal that opened balance between re-enrollment in keeping tuition When it comes to faculty, February. affordable withprogram, and student As of last week, out lessening the the vast majority Harvard-Westlake support, we will not of students had experience. compromise. We will thus re-enrolled for “We offer a only keep tuition growth next school year, student experiLevin said. ence and personas low as prudently This year’s alized, caring enpossible.” small percent invironment that crease is due to are unmatched —Christine Hazy anywhere,” the Finance Comshe Chair of the Board said. “When it mittee’s finanof Trustees comes to faculty, cial sustainability campaign which program and stuwas launched in dent support, we 2003, Hazy said. will not compromise. We will thus only “What we did this year is what keep tuition growth as low as prudentwe’ve been doing the last few years is ly possible.” a tradeoff between going the lowest “Please know that we will continue we could possibly go and making sure to do everything possible to temper the we have a sustainable pace, because size of that investment and, even more what we really don’t want to have is a importantly, to maximize its return,” bounce,” Levin said.

Hazy said.

“

with the camera,” Johnson said. “It’s about learning that this is your language and you can play with it.”

Reitman and Johnson discussed the film industry’s transition from film to digital and the pros and cons of each.

“I love film,” Johnson said. “I’m going to shoot with it until they pry it out of my dead cold hands. [Digital] is an undeniably better way to edit, but the thing you can say about film is that it makes you stop and think.”

The interview concluded with a question and answer session with members of the audience.

Both directors were asked which Academy Award for Best Picture nominee they would have liked to direct.

Reitman said he would have liked to direct “Beginners,” though it was not nominated. Johnson said he would have preferred to direct “The Tree of Life.”

Sizing Up Harvard-Westlake’s tuition is in line with those of other local private high schools:

$ 1. Buckley................... $32,475

2. Brentwood.............. $31,250 3. Marlborough.......... $31,200 4. Crossroads.............. $30,900 5. Oakwood................ $30,800

6. H-W................... $30,350 7. Windward............... $30,198 8. Campbell Hall........ $29,615 9. Archer....................... $29,300 10. Polytechnic.......... $28,950 11. Oaks Christian... $26,240 12. Loyola................... $15,602 13. Notre Dame....... $12,200

SOURCES: SCHOOL WEBSITES GRAPHIC BY NIKA MADYOON AND MICHAEL SUGERMAN

Two teachers will visit Beijing No. 12 during spring break as part of a relationship first forged two summers ago

by Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts and President Thomas C. Hudnut.

Math teacher and chair of Upper School Faculty Academic Committee Kent Nealis and science teacher Narae Park will represent Harvard-Westlake in China. Nealis was approached by the Chinese teachers who visited in February, while Park volunteered to participate.

While here, teachers from Beijing No. 12 observed classes and heard lectures from teachers about “Their Approach to AP.” Park said she and Nealis will be visiting schools in Beijing and Shanghai where they will train teachers, attend seminars and observe classes. They will also meet with the European Union Education Foundation staff to discuss World Leading Schools Association high school curriculum.

Associate Head of School Audrius Barzdukas has piloted the program, working to both bring teachers here and send our representatives there.

“I’m very curious to see how the Chinese education system is different from and similar to ours,” Park said.

“It would also be interesting to see how their classroom mirrors their culture.

I’m most excited about just observing how differently [their classes] are conducted.”

Fukushima shifts to dean, Wareham to librarian

By Keane Muraoka-Robertson

History teacher Karen Fukushima will become a middle school dean next fall, replacing current eighth grade dean Karen Wareham, who will return to working in the nathanson ’s/chronicle library. Head of Karen Fukushima School Jeanne Huybrechts announced the change Feb. 21 in an email to middle school students and faculty.

Fukushima will work with Middle School Dean John Kim. “I think we are a good balance,” Fukushima said. “You want that balance between good cop-bad cop, and I think we’ve got that.”

Currently, Fukushima teaches two eighth grade and two ninth grade history classes and is a Student Council adviser. Next year, she will teach one history class. Since Fukushima found out she would be a dean, she has worked closely with Kim and Wareham to adjust to the new position.

“I’ve been sitting in on dean meetings and admission meetings for new ninth graders, so I’m already starting to transition and get to know the class and the job a little better,” Fukushima said. “Right now I’m in transition, learning the ropes before I officially take over in September.”

Fukushima believes her greatest challenge will be finding a balance between students, faculty and parents.

“I am looking forward to it,” Fukushima said. “I think it’s a challenge, but I think it is one that will be interesting.”

chronicle.hw.com

March 14, 2012

News A5

Senior class chooses gift

Walking in the Valley of Death

By Micah Sperling

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ALEXIS MCCARTHY

ROCKING IT: Geology teacher Wendy Van Norden led the second of two class trips to Death Valley last weekend.

The trip givses students visual representations of the course

material, such as plate tectonics and landscape formations.

Above, students look at different layers of a cliff to analyze the various forms of rock that the cliff is comprised of.

Work starts on 2nd floor Kutler Center, pool base

By Eli Haims

The steel support system for the new Kutler Center bridge building has been erected and the second floor’s support structure is set to go up within two weeks, Director of Campus Operations and Construction J.D. De Matte said.

The second floor support system will have large glass windows and curved steel on the roof.

Inside Mudd Library, a second floor mezzanine has been built above where reference books used to be held. A bridge connecting the existing second floor was built to connect it to the new mezzanine.

A retaining wall was completed last month adjacent to the southern driveway on the pool construction site. The foundation is being poured for the pool house, which will have a variety of uses.

“Well, it’s a big meeting room,” De Matte said. “It could be a locker area, a meeting room, a conference room.

A multi-purpose space is the proper word for it.”

The shallow end of the pool, which is eight feet deep, will be on the northern side of the construction site and the 13-foot-6-inch deep end will be on the opposite, close to the retaining wall.

Both the pool and the Kutler Center are set to open over the summer, in time for the 2011-12 school year.

The school will no longer solicit donations from alumni in college, President Thomas C. Hudnut announced to the senior class on March 6.

Chief Advancement Officer Ed Hu said the decision was made because college students usually are not making money, and it was inappropriate to ask for donations when people were short on money. The decision runs in contrast to the Advancement Office’s previous policy, which encouraged giv-

ing small amounts as a means to create an ongoing connection to the school so that when alumni started to earn money, they would continue to donate in larger amounts.

“Our philosophy has always been to get people early into a routine of giving,” Hu said. “If we’re looking at a lifelong engagement and supporting the school, you want to get people started early. Once you’ve got people in the mix, it’s much easier to keep them going.”

Hu said he had more confidence in

CHLOE LISTER/CHRONICLE

IN PROGRESS: The steel support system for the Kutler Center’s second floor was put up last week. Construction on the addition should commence in two weeks.

the school’s ability to remain connected to the alumni population because of the growth in social media.

“Whether it’s Facebook or whatever it might be, we didn’t have that tool five years ago,” he said.

Hu said that young alumni can contribute in other ways, such as hosting students during college tours or mentoring them during the application process.

“There are ways that people can give back, other than writing a check or giving us a credit card,” he said.

Sophomore sings in Honors Choir at Carnegie

By Elizabeth Madden

Elizabeth Cohen ’14 sang at Carnegie Hall in New York the weekend of Feb. 11 with the American High School Honors Choir.

Cohen, a member of the Bel Canto choir at school, was nominated to be a member of the Honors Choir by middle school choir teacher Nina Burtchaell.

“It is an outstanding experience for the most talented individuals from various choirs throughout the country.

They seem to provide an overall excit-

ing experience for the singers,” Burtchaell said.

The application process requires students to be first nominated by a music director or teacher and submit a recording of themselves performing.

“It was a totally different experience [from Bel Canto],” Cohen said. “It was a 250-member choir, we only had two days to learn all the music, and we had six hours of rehearsal a day. We also had to perform songs which all had really different styles in all different languages.”

New Asia initiative offers grant

By David Lim

Advancement Office stops requesting contributions from alumni in college

By Saj Sri-Kumar

After a vote by the senior class, this year’s senior gift will be a contribution to the Alumni Scholar Endowment Fund. The gift will be in memory of Ishan Bose-Pyne ’12, who died last year, and will help students who could not otherwise afford to pay HarvardWestlake tuition.

The class of 2011 chose to put their gift towards financial aid; the year before that, the class gift helped pay for the Kutler Center in memory of Brendan Kutler ’11.

The average gift amount is around $8,000 to $11,000 according to Wesley Friedman ’12, one of the students organizing the gift.

There has never been 100 percent participation in the collection of a senior gift. The average participation is around 80 percent, and Friedman said that the highest participation was 84 percent by the class of 2011.

“Some kids will give a dollar and some will give a couple hundred dollars,” Friedman said. “It’s not about how much you give. It’s about class participation.”

“It was the biggest audience I’ve ever sung in front of,” Cohen said. “Being onstage at Carnegie Hall and thinking about some of my idols that have performed there was amazing. It was better than I ever could have imagined.”

nathanson ’s/chronicle

Elizabeth Cohen ‘14

Deans announced in class meetings last week a new summer fellowship intended to “broaden and deepen the student’s understanding of Asian culture, history, and/or society,” according to an official description of the grant.

The Gunter-Gross Asia Initiative, an Asian studies program launched last year, will award up to $3,500 to the winning sophomore or junior, that may or may not be used for travel.

Department Chair Larry Klein, who designed the fellowship with the Kutler Center, said he modeled it to serve as “a companion” to the Junior Fellowship. The Junior Fellowship has sent juniors around the world on selfdesigned projects. Proposals are due March 19 to the applicant’s dean. The winner of the fellowship will be announced at the end-of-year Awards Assembly.

USC lab opens 3 spots to students

By Julia Aizuss

Three students will have the chance to participate in an eight-week internship program researching stem cells at University of Southern California this summer.

Current juniors and seniors are eligible to apply for one of three spots in the USC Early Investigator High School Summer Program in Stem Cell Research.

The Upper School Science Department will choose a short list of candidates to send to the EiHS Summer Program for final selection to the spots reserved by a Harvard-Westlake parent reserved, science teacher David Hinden said.

Selected students will conduct and present original research on embryonic stem cells in laboratories at The Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research.

The Chronicle

A6 News

inbrief

March 14, 2012

Library supplies phone chargers for check-out Phone chargers are now available for check-out in the library with student ID numbers, much like the current laptop and headphone checkout system. The library has chargers for most smartphones, such as iPhones, BlackBerrys, Windows Phones and most kinds of Android phones.

Judd Liebman ’12 proposed the idea to the Prefect Council, who then executed it.

—Arielle Maxner

7 students place in national technology competition Seven students were recognized by the Aspirations in Computing Awards of the National Center for Women In Technology. The awards honor high school-age girls for their achievements in technology.

Elana Stroud ’13 was chosen as a national winner. Six Harvard-Westlake students earned runner-up honors, including Molly Cinnamon ’14, Theo Davis ’13, Angela Knight ’14, Divya Siddarth ’14, Meghan Srivastava ’14 and Eden Weizman ’13. The awards will be presented on April 14.

—Jack Goldfisher

Robotics team constructs robot, enters competition The Robotics team will compete in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics 2012 Regional Competition at the Long Beach Convention Center today until March 17. The robot’s construction was completed on Feb. 21, Stop Build Day, the last day teams could work.

The team, led by Matt Heartney ’12, Julie Ko ’12 and Josh Lappen ’13, must construct a robot and program it to operate remotely and autonomously.

The FIRST Championship Event will occur from April 25 to 28.

“I feel we have some really solid ideas and with the time and effort put in, we could rock the competition,” Heartney said.

—Jensen Pak

Prefects plan to display artwork outside Rugby

Student artwork will be hung on the blank retaining wall outside the English classrooms in Rugby Hall.

The wall, which dominates the view from the classrooms on the south side of Rugby, has been the source of numerous complaints over the years from English teachers, Prefect David Olodort ’12 said.

Olodort said that the plan has been approved by the administration and the art and English departments. He is currently working with the art department and student artists to determine which art will be exhibited.

—Saj Sri-Kumar

250 students miss school, break attendance record

A record number of students were absent due to illness during the third week of February, said Head of Attendance Gabriel Preciado. There are generally 90 absences due to illness per week, but there were over 250 between Feb. 13 and Feb. 17. Students missed multiple days of school for anything from fevers and the stomach flu to injuries. Preciado attributed the spike in sicknesses to February’s weather.

Preciado plans on creating an almanac of graphs that would show the trends in absences throughout the year. He hopes that the almanac will help him predict surges in absences and help teachers with test planning and timing projects.

—Victor Yoon

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF INA COLEMAN

CIRCLE UP: Amanda Aizuss ’13, center, joins a group to edit the Commision on the Status of Women resolution, a statement

read at the United Nations, to clear up wording and ensure that the resolution applies to both women and girls.

GLI members attend Commission on the Status of Women Conference

By Keane Muraoka-Robertson

Five members of the Girls Learn International club attended the Commission on the Status of Women Conference from Feb. 27 through March 2 in New York. The conference is held annually by the United Nations to collect international views on women’s rights, including those from governmental organization and state commissions.

GLI is an international organization that encourages leadership and dedication among young women.

There are GLI chapters throughout the United States that are paired with schools in countries where girls struggle to receive an education. Recently, GLI became a member of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

“Our organization is mostly about creating awareness and learning about human rights and problems that we

can take action to solve,” Club Adviser Malina Mamigonian said.

Amanda Aizuss ’13, Katie Golden ’13, Tiggy Menkir ’14, Sarika Pandrangi ’13 and Kacey Wilson ’13 attended the conference, chaperoned by Mamigonian and Ina Coleman, Wilson’s mother, who is the California Regional Director for GLI. “The Commission on the Status of Women is an annual conference that the United Nations holds to collect the views of people from around the world,” Mamigonian said.

At the conference, GLI members helped draft a proposal to improve the economic and social status of girls around the world, which was read by the UN commission.

Club members presented on a food security panel and participated in boygirl dialogues.

They also attended various panels on violence against women, forced

marriage and on economic issues facing rural women.

Aizuss also gave a speech about what economic empowerment means to her.

“If you live in a rural area or in other countries, you are exposed to one way of thinking,” Aizuss said. “A lot of girls don’t realize that they should be able to go into whatever profession they want to and their gender shouldn’t limit or determine what you can do with your life.”

Former English teacher Martha Wheelock, who is on the board of the Feminist Majority Foundation, proposed the creation of a GLI chapter at Harvard-Westlake.

Upon the completion of the GLI curriculum, which includes lesson plans and projects, the Harvard-Westlake chapter will be partnered with a school in a foreign country that it will fundraise for.

Visiting artist screens film, teaches classes

By Sarah Novicoff

Moot Court team places 2nd at Duke

Murmurs of “That was so good” filled Ahmanson Lecture Hall as the projector clicked off and the movie ended to applause.

Professional filmmaker Michael Morgenstern ’03 screened his newest short film, “Shabbat Dinner”, to the Gay-Straight Alliance March 5 and again after school March 9 in Ahmanson Lecture Hall.

“Shabbat Dinner,” which will premiere next week at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, tells the story of two teenagers in different stages of coming out. One of the teenagers has already come out to his parents, while the other struggles to discover his sexual identity.

“The film tells a story of family pressures, social norms and a universal experience that is rarely discussed in mainstream media,” according to the film’s website.

“I thought it was awesome, and he did a great job with the subject matter,” video art and photography teacher Alyssa Sherwood said.

Morgenstern fielded questions after the film that ranged from the color contrast in scenery to his directing methods. The film’s budget was around $3,500, and different cameras were used for shots with the kids and shots with the parents.

Morgenstern also taught various levels of Video Art throughout the week. His classes focused on color correction of shots to make them appear more dramatic, more professional, lighter or darker. At the second screen-

The team of Micah Sperling ’12 and Miranda Van Iderstine ’13 finished in second place at the Duke Moot Court High School Tournament on Feb. 25 and 26. The two also won individual Speaker Awards for their arguments regarding the application of the First and Fifth Amendments to a simulated national security wiretapping case.

In Moot Court, students are presented with a simulated case. Participants then use past cases to make an argument for or against the constitutionality of the action described in the case, Moot Court team member Katie Jung ’14 said.

The competition takes place annually and according to the tournament website, “hundreds of teams of two students submit essays on a specific Supreme Court decision in order to enter the tournament.”

The final round was judged by a combination of professors, judges, legal scholars and lawyers, unlike the other rounds, which were judged by Duke University students in Moot Court, according to the tournament website.

Three other Moot Court teams qualified for the tournament.

Members of the Moot Court team have won this tournament twice in the past. Last year Ben Dreier ’11 and Andrew Hartford ’11 won arguing the constitutionality of the Affordable Health Care Act, and four years ago, Danielle Kolin ’08 and Melissa Saphier ’08 won arguing the availability of the writ of habeas corpus to alien detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

By Sarah Novicoff

SARAH NOVICOFF/CHRONICLE

Q & A: Michael Morgenstern ’03 answers questions after the screening of his newest short film, “Shabbat Dinner.” ing of “Shabbat Dinner,” Morgenstern also showed a music video he directed before color correction and after color correction “His class was a really great learning experience and I came to value the importance of color and light in film,” video art student Amanda Reiter ’14 said.

Morgenstern began his filmmaking career at age 10 and has directed, written or produced over a dozen films, both shorts and features. Morgenstern left Harvard-Westlake his junior year to attend boarding school in Montana.

He graduated from Brown University in 2004, receiving a degree in psychology. After his graduation, Morgenstern spent a year abroad working for the non-profit organization FilmAid in East Africa where he screened educational and Hollywood movies in refugee camps.

“I love directing and turning a story into a visual,” Morgenstern said about his filmmaking.

chronicle.hw.com

March 14, 2012

News A7

inbrief

Middle school government creates Honor Code video

The middle school’s Student Government and Character Committee created a video to promote the importance of following the Honor Code.

The video was shown at an allschool assembly. It centered around a student sharing information on a test, who was being chased by many others hoping to receive answers.

“Students took well to the video, and after the presentation it seemed as though students were thinking more on their actions,” said ninth grade representative Jackson Beavers ’15.

— Beatrice Fingerhut PRINTED WITH THE PERMISSION OF CYNTHIA CHEN

IN THE BAG: The Art Club designs tote bags to raise money for a 6-year-old leukemia patient Daniel Sherry. The bags will

be distributed to those who donate more than $25. The club plans to hold a out-of-school fundraiser over spring break.

Art Club paints totes for charity

By Jamie Chang

Over the music and chatter of students at club fair, Wendy Chen ’13 and Eden Weizman ’13 yell, “Join Art Club!

Buy a handmade tote bag!” in an attempt to get more members. They plan to use proceeds from the totes to help a child diagnosed with leukemia. Chen and Weizman’s club is a community service group whose “goal is to use art as a means of bringing people together to serve their community,” Chen said.

The Art Club has taken on two community service projects this year.

The first is called “Totes for Talbert.”

The Talbert Family Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides “financial relief to local families who have been struck by catastrophe.” The Art Club raises money for one of the children sponsored by the foundation.

“Daniel Sherry is a 6-year-old who was diagnosed with leukemia last year,” Chen said.

His doctors said he will need chemotherapy for the next three and a half years.

The Art Club accepts donations of any amount, and those who donate $25 or more will receive a hand painted canvas tote bag.

“Our club members individually design, paint and sign these tote bags,” Chen said.

Chen, Weizman, Kevin Adler ’13, Patrick Kang ’12 and Anders Villalta ’12 have all contributed to the cause and hand painted tote bags.

“It’s definitely a new way of going about fundraising,” Kang said. “It has the potential to raise a lot of money, especially with all the great tote bags that were made.”

Members are also planning to hold more fundraising campaigns at school and to hold a one-day fundraising event over spring break. All of the proceeds are donated to Sherry’s family.

The Art Club’s second project is teaching arts and crafts to seniors at the Canyon Creek Senior Center in Calabasas every other Friday afternoon.

Club members participate in crafts such as “decorating eco-friendly tote bags, decoupaging glass plates and making flower arrangements,” Chen said.

“All of the seniors were very kind and appreciative,” said Adler, who went to the senior center. “Even though I’m not the most artistically talented, it was great talking with them and helping them create art. I’m looking forward to doing it again.”

Alumnus wins Caltech teaching prize

By Eojin Choi

The California Institute of Technology presented professor Paul Asimow ’87 with the Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching. lance hayashida /caltech Asimow said Paul Asimow ‘87 he felt surprised and gratified “because I care about teaching and try to do it as well as I can, and it gives me a chance to reflect on teachers that influenced me.”

A professor of geology and geochemistry at Caltech, Asimow received the annual prize for “exceptional energy, originality and ability to explain complicated concepts effectively,” according to the award citation. Students from Asimow’s advanced petrology class nominated him for the award.

The nominations can be submitted by any member of the Caltech community and are weighed to help the committee decide. Then, the prize is kept secret until it is announced at an all-Institute faculty meeting. When Asimow almost forgot about the meeting on Feb. 27, the chairman walked him to the meeting to make sure he attended.

“It would have worked except we showed up an hour early,” Asimow said.

The chairman had to “let me in on the prize and ask me to act surprised.”

Asimow has taught at Caltech for 13 years after attending Harvard School and Harvard College, where he began studying Earth and planetary science.

At school, Asimow was influenced most by science teacher John Feulner and math teacher Beverly Feulner.

“It was a spectacular middle and high school experience,” Asimow said.

“I have no question that it not only gave me the foundation to succeed in whatever field I chose, but also a particular inspiration towards high-end teaching.”

Harvard-Westlake won the Green Cup Challenge by reducing its weekly energy use by an average of 22 percent over the course of the month.

The Environmental Club launched its third annual “Light Outs H-W” campaign at the beginning of February to encourage the use of natural light and power saving techniques such as putting computers to sleep, Environmental Club President Jessica Barzilay ’12 said. The club posted signs around school to raise awareness and enthusiasm for the effort.

“Winning this year was very meaningful because it’s been amazing to see an idea about making a difference grow into a movement,” Barzilay said.

“It was never about winning, but it is so rewarding seeing my friends and

teachers take the initiative to make a change and help the environment.”

The Green Cup Challenge is a national competition among schools interested in reducing their carbon footprint. The competition included 116 students from 22 schools. Nationally, the Green Cup Challenge prevented 1,567,562 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.

Barzilay, co-president Kevin Adler ’13, club supervisor Hillary Ethe and vice president Demren Sinik ’13 read electrical meters every week for the competition. Barzilay compared each week’s readings to the baseline she had calculated using the last three year’s utility bills.

This year’s results were HarvardWestlake’s best out of all three years the school has participated in the competition.

Latin students in the Junior Classical League compete in a trivia contest involving Latin language, history and culture at the California JCL State Convention from March 30-31.

Events include subjects such as grammar, speaking, Roman history and athletic and artistic contests based on games of the ancient Romans.

Josh Lappen ’13, David Lim ’13, Michael Rothberg ’13 and Jensen Pak ’14 placed first in the southern California regionals to qualify for the trivia competition.

— Mariel Brunman

Parents Association to hold fundraiser at LACMA Ticket sales for the HarvardWestlake Parents Association’s annual event went on sale March 12. The event, called Rock’N’Art, will be held April 28 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. An online auction will include prizes such as trips to Alaska, Miami, New York and San Francisco, internships and sports and theater events.

There will also be a new auction called Art Jukebox in which patrons bid on pieces without seeing the artist’s name. The art will be on display in Reynolds Gallery from April 23-27.

The proceeds of the event will go towards financial aid for the school.

— Carrie Davidson

Security to offer CERT training over spring break

The Environmental Club led an effort to reduce energy usage.

The security team will host a training session for the Community Emergency Response Team during spring break.

The session is taught by members of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Around 25 people typically participate, according to Head of Security Jim Crawford. Participants learn search and rescue skills such as emergency first aid and how to tag injuries in a natural disaster. After the training, students and faculty will be CPR and CERT-certified with the LAFD. — Morganne Ramsey

average kilowatt-hours consumed per week throughout the year

Teacher, 2 juniors attend women’s math conference

School reduces energy usage Going Green 22 percent to win competition 50,907

By Leslie Dinkin

Latin students to compete at statewide competition

39,674

average kilowatt-hours consumed per week during the competition

22% 1.6

drop in energy consumption

million pounds of carbon dioxide saved by all schools

SOURCES: GREEN CUP CHALLENGE GRAPHIC BY CLAIRE GOLDSMITH AND DAVID LIM

Math teacher Ashley Satterthwaite, Theo Davis ’13 and Elana Meer ’13 attended the Women Engineers and Scientists of Tomorrow Conference at Harvey Mudd College Saturday, March 3. The college’s chapter of the Society of Women Engineers hosted the event.

“The purpose [of going] was to be exposed to the interesting aspects of pursuing a career in a STEM field,” Satterthwaite said.

There, they attended workshops led by the Harvey Mudd faculty.

“The best part of the experience was getting to know my teacher better in a different environment,” Davis said.

— Keane Muraoka-Robertson

The Chronicle March. 1

A8 News

Honor Code: still challenging

By Nika Madyoon

Each department has its own standard for what is considered a violation.

Here are some examples: English:

nathanson ’s/chronicle

Harry Salamandra

nathanson ’s/chronicle

Jeanne Huybrechts

stead of a one-day suspension.

“I felt it needed to be amended because I felt what [she] had done was on the order of magnitude of several of the other students,” Huybrechts said.

The administration also added another prong to the suggested punishment. In what Huybrechts described as an attempt to “move forward in a positive and proactive way,” administrators asked Thelma to develop a message to the community regarding the Honor Code’s everyday role.

Huybrechts said the administration fully accepts the Honor Board’s recommendation roughly 90 percent of the time.

“There’s information sometimes that the Honor Board doesn’t have,” Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra said.

“That’s why something would be changed.”

As many seniors were involved in this case, there was speculation concerning whether the violation would be reported to colleges. The school’s disciplinary notification policy, devised by the deans and reviewed by the administration, states that all infractions leading to either suspension or expulsion must be reported.

“I think kids can learn from their mistakes at any time, and second chances are important,” Huybrechts said.

“I hope it opens up dialogue about what I understand is a fairly common practice,” she said of the case. “I hope the practice stops, because it ruins, or at the very least diminishes, the level playing ground.”

Huybrechts said she hopes to meet with members of the senior class after graduation and converse “candidly” with them about ways in which this habit may be brought to an end.

>>

Using some online sources

>>

Sparknotes, Cliffsnotes

>>

Having a tutor edit the content or style of an essay

Science

>>

Making up data for a lab

>>

Plagiarizing a lab, which includes copying data, conclusions, and calculations

History:

>>

Using Wikipedia as a source

>>

Having a tutor help with a paper

Foreign Language

>>

Online translator programs

Math:

>>

Using unauthorized programs on a calculator

SOURCES: DEPARTMENT HEADS GRAPHIC BY KEANE MURAOKA-ROBERTSON

1992

Nine students were disciplined last month after an Honor Board case concluded they gave or received unauthorized aid on a science midterm. The Board found two other students blameless in the incident. Those involved received punishments including in-house detention, a zero on part of the midterm and the revocation of senior privileges.

After days of questioning and deliberation, the Honor Board’s recommendation was released to students via email on Feb. 17. Separate recommendations were drawn up for each of the implicated students to detail their specific infractions and consequent punishments. The case revolved around the dissemination of information regarding the free-response portion of a science midterm. According to the board’s recommendation, a student who took the test early shared specific information about the exam with her friend.

Both then individually relayed their knowledge to two students who had yet to take the midterm. The information spread quickly to several students enrolled in the course.

“Obviously, when there are more students involved, there’s probably more gossip, more speculation,” Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. “But we intentionally did not handle it in any way that was different from every other violation.”

There was much conversation on campus about the details of the case and how the school would react before the board had even finished conducting hearings.

“I think it’s really unfortunate because disciplinary matters are supposed to be confidential,” Huybrechts said.

Huybrechts said that when teachers come across a minor infraction, they are often encouraged to handle the situation on an individual basis.

“That was never an option,” she said.

“This was going to go to the Honor Board.”

The administration chose to revise the proposed punishment in the case of the student who first spread information, calling for five days in-house detention in-

Breaking down the Code

Understand

By Judd Liebman

Waiting outside her first period class, a girl frantically skims her English book. Her friend, in the same English class, has the same problem: they sense an English quiz coming, and neither of them has read. The girl tries to condense the assignment into a 10-minute period before she has to go to class at 8 a.m..

Her friend whips out his phone and goes on Sparknotes.com.

“That’s not allowed,” she said.

“What’s not allowed? Sparknotes?

That’s totally fine,” he responded.

According to English Department Chair Larry Weber, using Sparknotes is, in fact, an Honor Code infraction.

“We ask students not to consult Sparknotes or Cliffs[notes] so they can have their own encounters with the writers,” Weber said. “Not just to prevent intentional plagiarism but also unintentional plagiarism because it can be hard to keep track of where your ideas come from.”

The Honor Code was adopted in 1998 and has been integrated into the community since. There are posters in many hallways stating the Honor Code, and many teachers start class on the first day of school going over class policy. Despite these efforts, more than half of students polled say it is not clear what an Honor Code infraction is.

Weber said English teachers always tell their students that using some online resources is not allowed for two reasons.

The first, he said, is that the department does not want students to take shortcuts in doing their work. The second is that some websites provide analysis. Not all

First prefect Spencer Rascoff ’93 proposes implementing an honor system

1998

Honor Board hears 11 cases in science midterm incident

57% of 487 vote in favo adopting th Code and H Board, Stud choose wh not to sign

Honor Code meant to be ‘long-term benefit that will change th

By Allison Hamburger With portions of the Honor Code before them, groups of 10th graders in Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra’s Choices and Challenges class face a hypothetical decision: to keep, to change, or to discard the well-known words.

“What ends up happening is, even if they initially start out saying ‘We want to throw this whole section out,’ other members in the class start talking about ‘Wait a minute, don’t you need that piece,’ and if you don’t have all these little pieces, then [the Honor Code] kind of isn’t whole,” Salamandra said. The Honor Code and the Honor Board aim to create a community of trust, states the student handbook. “[My students] seemed to be very suspicious of [the Honor Code], but what I tell them is that this is for 10 years down the road,” then-Honor Board adviser Larry Klein said in 1998. “It’s a long-term benefit. It will change the nature of our community.”

Now, 20 years after the code and board were proposed and 14 years after their implementation, the honor system still exists, but not without evolution.

Phase in Spencer Rascoff ’93 was First Prefect during the second year after the merger that formed Harvard-Westlake, and the

school was looking to develop an identity. forum for discussing ideas and issues,” Rascoff had noticed colleges’ honor sys- Klein said, and create more consistency tems, so he proposed adopting one. in administering punishments.

“I would argue that the Honor Code Faculty responded positively to the was part of a bigger picture,” Rascoff proposal. Many teachers, Chair of Upsaid. “There was a desire to treat stu- per School Faculty Academic Commitdents maturely and responsibly, to put tee Kent Nealis said, would rather have responsibility of ethics in the hands of a disciplinary situation be looked at the students.” from an outside perspective, even if that An honor sysmeans losing freetem would reduce dom to handle the cheating, lying issue.

There was a desire to and stealing, the Initially, students administration chose whether or treat students maturely said in 1992. After not to sign the code. and responsibly, to put Rascoff graduated, Students who signed student governwere given the opresponsibility of ethics in ment and faculty the hands of the students.” tion of appearing bemembers who had fore the board after attended universi—Spencer Rascoff ’93 an infraction. ties with honor sysThe new honor First Prefect tems worked for six process was gradualyears to craft an ly implemented SalHonor Code. amandra said, due to In the spring of 1998, students vot- the reluctance of some upperclassmen. ed to adopt the Honor Code, the Honor “[The Honor Code] was wanting to Board, both or neither. Out of 432 voters, enhance a trust community that was 57 percent voted for implementing both already in place,” Young said. “This was the code and the board, 12 percent voted kind of the next logical step, because a for just the code, and 31 percent voted lot of the things that were in the Honor against both.

Code were not new to the community.”

More students than adults have alYet by May 1999, a Chronicle story ways sat on the board, which appealed to read, “Most teachers are not able to students, Chaplain Father J. Young said. walk out of a classroom during a test, The Honor Board would also serve as “a and students are still hesitant to leave

“

their backpacks unattended on campus — students continue to cheat, do drugs and steal.”

Teachers lacked full trust in the system, one student said, which undermined the code. No student selected to go before the Honor Board until 2000, when two students accused of stealing a cafeteria soda agreed to do so.

The board began hearing all infractions during the 2001-2002 school year, the same year the code was implemented at the Middle School. Salamandra said he believes the ideals are now “woven into the fabric of the school.”

Another Merger The Student Council and Honor Board were separately elected bodies until they were combined in 2006, a controversial decision, Young said.

“When you really, really get down to it, both bodies were concerned about the same thing, and that is making HarvardWestlake a better place,” Young said.

The proposal had been rejected multiple times by Student Council before it passed, though Honor Board members supported it unanimously. There was no community-wide vote on the matter. “[A vote] seemed unnecessary given that we had already decided to put the new government through,” Student Body President Andrew Segal ’06 said at the time. An unofficial poll revealed 86 per-

14, 2012

chronicle.hw.com

News A9

14 years after inception

ding the subtleties of the Honor Code

All infractions go to the Honor Board, the Middle School accepts the Honor Code

he nature of the community’ cent of 287 students surveyed were opposed to the upcoming merger. It was unclear if the voters were fully informed, Salamandra said at the time.

The merger was “rammed down our throat,” a Student Council member said.

2007-2008 In 2007, a Prefect Council subcommittee to reassess the Honor Code hosted an adult-free forum during junior and senior class meetings. However, instead of discussing the code’s purpose and importance, as was intended, the senior meeting turned loud and unproductive.

The subcommittee also met with each department and recommended that each define their specific Honor Code policies. But when over 20 students were suspended or expelled for stealing and distributing history and Spanish midterms, the proposals were put on hold indefinitely.

A year later, a policy was implemented to allow teachers to deal with minor first offenses without the Honor Board.

Feedback “Right now, I think it’s meeting the needs of our community,” Salamandra said. “If the students felt that it wasn’t in some way, I would be willing to look at a proposal to see what modifications should be considered, but right now, it seems to be meeting the needs of our

community.”

In 2003, 75 percent of a random sample of 55 students said they “believe cheating is a problem at this school.”

Over the years, Prefect Council and other community members have suggested alterations to parts of the process, but often, the feedback is “sporadic” and unconstructive, Young said.

The role of the Honor Code comes into question in FAC discussions, Nealis said. Because of the code, making multiple versions of tests, for example, should be unnecessary, he said.

“If you have an Honor Code, should you then conduct yourself as if though students and faculty are going to behave honorably and accept the fact that there are going to be occasions when missteps are made and those become teachable moments because we all make mistakes?” Nealis said. “Or do we do our very very very very best to remove all temptation?”

“Unfortunately, I’d have to say overall, I don’t believe the code has had a tremendous effect on our students, either then or now,” Young said. “I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s been ignored or irrelevant or anything like that, but I think to say all of our students have it etched into their heart, soul and mind would be pretty false. It’s important to people, but usually it’s important mostly when an issue arises.”

“Tutors enable students to stay in AP Physics B who couldn’t otherwise survive it,” Reiner said.

What Reiner does caution his students about is unauthorized student aid on labs.

“You shouldn’t be sitting side by side writing,” he said. “Discussion [about labs with friends] should take place before you start writing. Sending someone an electronic file is definitely a bad decision.”

Reiner said appropriate collaboration involves teaching and helping a lab partner understand the material. Unauthorized aid includes exchanging or pooling answers.

“The only way to distinguish this is if there is the same careless error,” he said.

“I try to draw the only line I can. Punching in numbers is part of the job.”

“I consider our data to be as original as your ideas,” reads a document given by physics teacher John C. Feulner. “Thus, plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, copying data, massaging data, copying conclusions, and copying lab reports.”

Weber also said collaboration on English essays is tricky. Weber allows conversation about in-class topics. Students are allowed to hash out possibilities regarding passages, but cannot come up with definite answers together.

Another problem teachers face is students in the same class exchanging information about an exam with peers who have not yet taken the test.

The Faculty Handbook recommends that teachers change “make-up test[s] or one given to several sections at a diferent time periods in the same day... in a significant manner for each adminis-

Student Council and the Honor Board merge to form the Prefect Council

tration.” The handbook also states that “tests given one year should be significantly altered if they are to be administered the following year.”

Evans said the math department follows the guidelines recommended by the Faculty Handbook by having subject teams mix up questions.

“We know that if we just change numbers on a test that doesn’t make a difference at all,” she said.

“I would hope for consistency’s sake to give the same make-up test,” Feulner said. “Knowing even though I have told my students not to talk about the test out of class, in reality, I know it occurs.”

Feulner and Reiner sometimes give their students different versions of a test, but they said knowing about a question does not always help a student.

“There are cases when hearing about a problem would not matter, and there are cases where it does matter,” Feulner said.

Holmes-Chuba says teachers in the history department produce different exams if a student needs to make-up a test. There are either different multiple choice questions or alternate essay questions.

“We have an Honor Code, but it is unrealistic to think that somebody may not blurt something out even inadvertently,” Holmes-Chuba said.

Chenier’s department also makes new exams for make-up tests because “kids have normal conversations, it’s bound to happen,” Chenier said about make-up tests.

“We have an obligation to try to make sure the students are put in a reasonable position,” he said.

2008

ers warn students against using too much information gathered from the internet. Online translator programs are not allowed in the department, but Chenier said they aren’t that reliable, another deterrent from using them.

Another source of help is tutors. Chenier said tutors have stayed connected to the language department, so employing a tutor does not raise problems.

“We know who they are,” he said.

“They are not people really far from the program, so that helps.”

Weber, who sends a tutor policy to students’ homes in the fall, writes that “the increasing use of tutors has made it more difficult to discern authentic student work.”

Tutors are not allowed to change the content or style of an essay but can proofread for mechanical errors and awkward sentences, but students must rewrite the sentence structure themselves. Tutors can help clarify a student’s ideas but cannot suggest ways to improve the essay’s structure.

The history department prohibits students from using tutors on history papers in any way, Holmes-Chuba said.

“The use of a tutor is not accepted,” she said. “We even caution them with parental help. This is supposed to be your paper.”

“We tell our students that [getting help on] grammar and sentence structure is okay, but once you go past that, you’re entering murky waters,” she said.

Physics teacher Jesse Reiner said he does not have any problem with a student learning from a tutor, but “nontutored students are outcompeting students who have tutors,” he said.

2006

7 students or of he Honor Honor dents hether or n the code

2001

websites are discouraged because using critical material found online can actually strengthen students’ understanding of a novel and of an author’s life experiences, he said. The only condition is that students should let the teacher know they are consulting outside works.

The history department has a similar policy regarding online sources. History Department Chair Katherine HolmesChuba said most sources are acceptable but they need to be cited. Wikipedia is an exception, she said. Students can “start on Wikipedia, but we do not accept that as an acceptable source,” she said.

Librarians visit every 10th grade history class to help sophomores understand how to research responsibly, Holmes-Chuba said.

On the other hand, Math Department Chair Paula Evans said most homework solutions are posted on the internet. Teachers provide this resource so students can check their answers and learn from their mistakes, Evans said, and students who copy their homework only hurt their grades.

“Typically in the math department, the homework grade is a kind of a ‘gimme grade,’” Evans said. “If we need to assess skills, we use quizzes.”

The foreign language department’s policy on internet help is fairly nuanced, Department Chair Paul Chenier said.

For his Latin classes, he sends his students links to bolster their understanding of assigned texts. There is no possibility of plagiarism in his classes because the essays he assigns cannot be found online, he said.

For other language classes some assignments can be found online, so teach-

Prefect Council subcommittee makes unimplemented recommendations to improve Honor Code awareness.

soundbytes

“There have been periods when [the Honor Code] has been kind of a hot topic amongst the student body and many more periods when it hasn’t been at all. It’s been kind of a flat line with peaks here and there.”

—Father J . Young nathanson ’s/chronicle

“I wouldn’t presume to say it needs to be rewritten, although that would be something that would be likely, I think, if students wanted to leave their own imprint on it, but it needs to be discussed from the ground up again.”

—Kent Nealis Chair of Upper School FAC nathanson ’s/chronicle

“It’s always been an interesting situation where I feel the students respect the Honor Code generally, that’s why we leave our backpacks out, we leave our lockers unlocked, but sometimes it can fade into obscurity or in the back of our minds.”

—Rishi Bagrodia ’12 Head Prefect

nathanson ’s/chronicle

The Chronicle

A10 News

March 14, 2012

8th grader releases app, donates profit to researcher

By Michael Rothberg

MICHAEL SUGERMAN/CHRONICLE

MICHAEL SUGERMAN/CHRONICLE

MAGGIE BUNZEL/CHRONICLE

‘SLOW DOWN’: Jake Bracken ’14 reads messages inscribed to Siegler on purple rocks at the intersection of Cliffwood and Sunset, left. Oak trees on “Julia’s Corner” are covered with notes to Siegler, top right. Sophia Lopez ’14 writes a note to Siegler on a purple rock, bottom right.

Friends pay tribute to Siegler ’14

By Michael Sugerman

An all-day commemoration at the intersection of Cliffwood Avenue and Sunset Boulevard celebrated the life of Julia Siegler ’14 on Feb. 26. The event marked the anniversary of the car accident that killed Siegler two years ago.

As students, friends, neighbors and family gathered, a day that was tainted by sadness became an outlet to remember her fondly. The intersection, now dubbed “Julia’s Corner” by friends and family, is decorated with purple, her favorite color.

Photos and personal notes, written in the wake of her death, still adorn the tree trunks surrounding the site. Purple rocks, inscribed with messages to Julia, lie under the trees, accopmanied by glass-encased memorial candles.

A mosaic designed by Jody Siegler, Julia’s mother, adds to the memorial site. Following her daughter’s death, Siegler discovered a therapeutic outlet for her grief in the Seattle Mosaic Arts Studio. She said the studio’s motto, “taking broken pieces and making something whole again,” resonated with her.

“My usual image of Julia was holding her in my arms,” she said.

“I wanted to show a mother and a daughter with purple, sunshine and radiance. In my own mind now, [the mosaic] is more violent than rays of light. It is shattered. In the cold light of day at this corner, my life was shattered. Yet, I was going to pick up those fragments and create a public service message.”

AD #1

Directly following Julia’s 2010 death, Jake Feiler ’13, Eli Kogan ’13 and Max Thoeny ’13 started a “Slow Down for Julia” campaign.

Embracing her favorite color, they sold purple wristbands to spread awareness and encourage safe driving. They also designed purple flyers that outlined basic driving laws and precautions.

Subsequently, Siegler collaborated with Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky to establish a “Slow Down for Julia” fund. The fund was promoted via a press conference with the Los Angeles Police Department in the Brentwood area and has since raised money to promote motor safety.

As a result of the “Slow Down” campaign, the city cut down a handful of oak trees obstructing drivers’ vision on Cliffwood and lengthened the intersection’s crosswalks.

Last week, Rosendahl unveiled three new speed-tracking signs along Sunset at Anita Avenue, Kenter Avenue and North Bundy Drive at Octagon Street. These were paid for by the city, Mount St. Mary’s College and with $18,000 raised by Charlie Horowitz ’17 through his bar mitzvah.

Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts and Head of Middle School Ronnie Codrington-Cazeau are working with Feiler and Thoeny to redesign Harvard-Westlake bus safety procedures.

The two boys are currently compiling a film dedicated to Julia that will be mandatory for incoming fam-

ilies to watch. The video will teach students bus and vehicle safety.

“I try to embody the message that we’ve been trying to spread in our campaign, [to] just slow down,” Feiler said. “In driving of course, but in everyday life, it is important to think about how quickly life passes you by and to enjoy moments in the here and now.”

The “Slow Down for Julia” campaign also triggered movements for vehicle safety outside of HarvardWestlake. Zoe Mooser, a senior at Archer School for Girls, started a “Slow Down for Sunset” movement, endorsing driver awareness.

“When anything like this happens in the community, it becomes a joint effort,” she said. “I drive, and the most important thing is to be careful. Things can happen in a split second.”

Reform aside, Siegler said Julia’s death dealt a blow to her family, friends and community. An artist, a dancer, an intellectual and “a wordsmith,” her absence will continue to be a source of both pain and inspiration, she said.

“When I had Julia, I was immediately grateful,” Siegler said. “However, I was also aware of the fleeting nature of time. [After Julia’s death], the ‘Slow Down’ campaign was so prophetic, because it was an exact philosophy of mine as a parent. The experiences that slow you down are often the ones that are harder to go through, because you are infinitely aware of the passage of time, but I think you can use that to really make the memories stick.”

AD #2

Cameron Cohen ’16 released his second iPhone application, AnimalGrams, in December 2011.

He is currently donating a portion of the profits nathanson ’s/chronicle to fund pediatric oncologist Dr. Cameron Cohen ‘16 Noah Federman at UCLA. AnimalGrams, a play on the word “anagrams,” is a word game for Apple’s iOS operating system.

The goal of the application is to unscramble words in the shortest time possible.

At age 11, Cohen had surgery to remove a benign tumor in his leg. During the eight-month recovery period, he kept himself occupied by researching and developing his first application, iSketch.

“Once I had had my operation, I was home,” Cohen said. “I couldn’t go out and play sports with friends, or run around like I usually did. But I did have an iPod touch and I loved programming.”

Cohen researched how to develop an iPhone application by watching online tutorials from Stanford professors and Apple engineers. iSketch sold for 99 cents following its Apple App Store debut in 2009.

Cohen donated $20,000 of the application’s proceeds to the Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center.

Cohen’s donations to Mattel were used to purchase electronic devices to help distract patients from the hospital setting, he said.

“When you’re in the hospital and you just had an operation, just the worst thing to do is be thinking about the pain that you’re in,” Cohen said.

“Fortunately, I had my iPod touch and my computer when I was in the hospital to keep me distracted, but I saw so many kids that didn’t, I felt so bad.”

“Some of them didn’t even have parents with them,” he said. “I knew immediately I wanted to do something to help them.”

Cohen has had interviews with major networks including ABC, CBS and radio station KPCC. He was recently interviewed on live television by KNBC news anchor Colleen Williams.

“I tried to run through all the possible questions in my head so that she wouldn’t say something that really shocked me and I would be completely unprepared,” Cohen said. “Once I got up there, she was really nice. A lot of newscasters, you hear about how they are so nice on air but then are terrible afterwards. But she was really nice.

She took pictures with me, and it made it a lot easier.”

Cohen plans to continue developing applications in the future.

“As soon as I get a new idea, I’ll start working,” said Cohen.

AD #3

March 14, 2012

chronicle.hw.com

Hudnut plans to retire next June after 26 years Continued from page A1

BRIAN WILLEN/CHRONICLE ARCHIVES

ONE MAN CHEER SQUAD: Headmaster Tom Hudnut cheers on varsity football in the last game of the 1993 season on the grass field, years before it was Ted Slavin Field and before it got lights. The Wolverines lost to St. Bernard, 23-12.

2 pianists reach Panel Finals

By Jessica Lee

Pianists Alexia Le ’14 and Chelsea Pan ’14 were selected as Panel State Finalists and will perform at the State Finals, a statewide competition for students who play at a near-professional level.

The Certificate of Merit, sponsored

by The Music Teachers’ Association of California, is an annual evaluation involving over 27,000 musicians and consists of a written theory test and a judged performance of several memorized pieces. Panel is open exclusively to students in grades 10 through 12 who have completed the entire program of CM. There are three rounds of Panel Regional, State and Convention. Le auditioned for the Regional round on March 3 with five memorized pieces and was selected to advance to the State rounds.

To prepare for Panel, Le, who has played piano for 11 years, practiced every day for at least two hours. She also performed her pieces at recitals and charity events to get comfortable with performing her program before an audience.

To take the CM test and do well, applicants must practice their instruments every day for the entire year, Le said.

“There are no off seasons for music,” Le said. “The theory test requires intense study and practice, and the actual performance requires the ability to play well under the nerve-wracking pressure knowing that the judges are watching your every move.”

“Preparing for the CM and Panel was grueling work, but I love both music and the feeling of accomplishment,” Le said. “I dedicate a lot of time and concentration to the piano and it really is a lifestyle I have gotten used to.”

Hudnut to lead WASC evaluation at the Taipei American School

By Jack Goldfisher President Thomas C. Hudnut will head a Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation committee in Taiwan later this month.

The committee will tour Taipei American School and evaluate the school’s quality under guidelines set forth by WASC. In November, Hudnut visited Taipei American School, and his goals were to “examine all aspects of school life and operations and see whether the school [was] being true to its mission,” to prepare for the WASC committee’s upcoming evaluation.

The degree to which a school is accomplishing the purposes and functions outlined in its statement of pur-

News A11

pose is chief among determining how WASC rates a school.

In addition, WASC’s accreditation handbook sets forth a full set of criteria to determine whether to award an American school accreditation.

These criteria include school organization, student resources, student connectedness and community involvement.

WASC sets forth a set of criteria specific to schools in China, which includes additional requirements relating to a school’s finance management and stresses the school’s active promotion of intercultural and international awareness.

“I’ve chaired probably 15 or 20 visiting committees, but never out of this country,” Hudnut said

He is responsible for fundraising, admissions, public and alumni relations, campus planning and financial matters.

In addition to the merger and the Middle School Modernization Project, Hudnut directed the $13 million Munger Science Center project, the building of Feldman-Horn Art Gallery, the renovation of Weiler Hall and the installation of Ted Slavin Field.

“I don’t think there is a single moment that can characterize a 25-year experience,” he said. “It’s rather more like a collage. I love the dominant ethos of the school which I have long characterized as its being a place where it’s okay to want to do well.”

The Athletic Department grew under Hudnut’s leadership, as he added a Head of Athletics and various athletic directors. Hudnut also spearheaded a program to allow deans to provide guidance throughout high school and in the college process.

Hudnut has helped Harvard-Westlake achieve global recognition through his efforts to forge relationships with prominent high schools in the Pacific Rim. “It has been a team effort all the way, and I am proud to have worked with such great colleagues,” Hudnut said.

Hudnut said his proudest moment at Harvard-Westlake was seeing the North Faring campus for the first time in 2006 after its renovation.

“That’s such an extraordinary, unbelievable place,” he said. “It really took my breath away the first time I saw it in the evening with the sun go-

ing down and the stars coming up. It’s just a beautiful place. What it represents is the culmination of many years of planning and hard work.”

The Middle School Modernization Project and upper school renovations worked well because teachers helped architects design and plan the new facilities, Hudnut said.

“Teachers know better than architects what works and what doesn’t,” Hudnut said. “Empowering and engaging the faculty to be helpful on these projects went a long way toward making them turn out as they did.”

Hudnut said the Upper School “is a hodgepodge of buildings now, some of which work and some of which don’t particularly work any longer. There is going to be have to be very careful thought given to the articulation and design of the upper school campus.”

After his departure from the school, Hudnut will remain in Los Angeles and join an executive search firm to help find school heads.

He might also pursue educational ventures in China.

“I do not intend to spend my retirement working on my golf game but rather doing things that I have never had the chance to do or been able to do previously,” Hudnut said.

There is currently no plan of succession for the vacancy left by Hudnut’s retirement.

“Contemplating one’s retirement is in a way exhilarating because there are other things to do in life, but in the same time, when almost the entirety of one’s life’s focus has been on a certain job for 25 years, it’s hard to imagine that’s not being a daily part of one’s life,” Hudnut said.

Chronicle The Harvard-Westlake

3700 Coldwater Canyon, Los Angeles, CA 91604

Editors in Chief: Judd Liebman, Lara Sokoloff

Managing Editors: Eli Haims, Allison Hamburger, Austin Lee, Saj Sri-Kumar Executive Editors: Justine Goode, Rebecca Nussbaum Presentations Editors: Chloe Lister, Arielle Maxner, Victor Yoon

O

The Chronicle • March 14, 2012

pinion

A12

Los Angeles • Volume XXI • Issue VI

Ads Manager: Alex Gura Business Managers: Sanjana Kucheria, Susan Wang Assistants: Tara Stone Chief Copy Editor: Micah Sperling Chief

of Photography: Daniel Kim Photoshop Editor: Hank Gerba

News Managing Editors: Maddy Baxter, Nika Madyoon Section Heads: David Lim, Keane Robertson, Michael Sugerman News Copy Editor: Ana Scuric Assistants: Julia Aizuss, Beatrice Fingerhut, Jivani Gengatharan, Jack Goldfisher, Claire Goldsmith, Elizabeth Maden, Alex McNab, Lauren Sonnenberg, Noa Yadidi Opinion Managing Editors: Abbie Neufeld, Anabel Pasarow Section Heads: Mariel Brunman, Rachel Schwartz Opinion Copy Editor: Ana Scuric Opinion Assistants: Sarah Novicoff, Lizzy Thomas Christine Jarjour Features Managing Editors: Cami de Ry, Megan Kawasaki Features Section Heads: Michael Rothberg, Megan Ward, Elana Zeltser Features Copy Editor: Carrie Davidson Features Assistants: Eojin Choi, Leslie Dinkin, Sydney Foreman, Eric Greenberg, David Gisser, Jessica Lee, Jessica Murdock, Morganne Ramsey, Emily Segal, Lauren Siegel Science & Health Editor: Jessica Barzilay Science & Health Section Head: Gabrielle Franchina Centerspread Editors: Caitie Benell, Jamie Chang Arts & Entertainment Managing Editor: Claire Hong Arts & Entertainment Section Heads: Maggie Bunzel, Aaron Lyons Sports Managing Editors: David Kolin, Julius Pak Section Heads: Michael Aronson, Luke Holthouse, Camille Shooshani Sports Copy Editor: Robbie Loeb Senior Sportswriter: Charlton Azuoma Assistants: Eric Loeb, Grant Nussbaum, Patrick Ryan, Lucy Putnam, Sam Sachs

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Editors in Chief Eli Haims, Austin Lee Online Editors: David Gobel, Alex Gura, Sanjana Kucheria, Chelsea Khakshouri, Cherish Molezion, Shana Saleh, Meagan Wang, Susan Wang Online Assistants: Mazelle Etessami, Jensen Pak, Malanna Wheat Adviser: Kathleen Neumeyer

RACHEL SCHWARTZ/CHRONICLE

We need to clarify the Honor Code

There’s no doubt that the Honor Code is important to the community. Seventyeight percent of students polled think so, and 82 percent of students believe in the Honor Code. But despite the overwhelming support of the 14-year-old code, 54 percent of students polled said it is not clear to them what constitutes an Honor Code infraction. This discrepency needs to be addressed.

The responsibility falls not on the administration, not on the teachers, not on the prefects, not on the students, but on the community as a whole.

Students claim to believe in a document that they do not understand. They throw blind faith at the code but do not comprehend the fine details of it.

From this overwhelming trust in the code, we can assume students are willing

to explore the minutia of the document. But we need guidance.

Part of the burden falls on the administration, which needs to dissect the Honor Code with students. Deans should hold round-table class meetings directed at answering anonymous questions submitted about infractions. It is hard for students to come forward with questions without implicating themselves, but their questions need to be answered.

Teachers should take a more active role, detailing their interpretations of the Honor Code. Students need to be open to others’ interpretations of the code to gain a broader and more comprehensive understanding.

With its inherent vagueness necessary to keep the document up to date, the Honor Code begs to be questioned. Its gray areas are larger than its black and white sections, but sometimes, the gray needs to be cleared up.

A hearfelt thank you to an unforgettable leader

President Thomas C. Hudnut will remain ingrained in school history as the force that forged Harvard-Westlake’s path to greatness. A chief architect of the 1989 merger of Harvard School for Boys and Westlake School for Girls, Hudnut made Harvard-Westlake his brainchild. Coaxing it through the early years, he expected nothing less than excellence in academics, athletics and the arts.

In 2006, Hudnut created his own role as President to improve athletics, create an environment where academics are a priority and oversee the greater image of the institution.

The role he created is suited uniquely to him, to his ideals and charisma. To fill that individualized role aptly will be a difficult task.

Hudnut is an educator, representing Harvard-Westlake on numerous committees and boards both nationally and internationally. He is a prodigious fundraiser, piloting the epic fundraising campaign

that led to the Middle School Modernization Project. He is the face of Harvard-Westlake to the world.

But beyond any literal aspect of his job, Hudnut is a multidimensional figure that ties our community together.

He opens each year with a President’s address and closes it with handshakes at graduation. He is a brilliant orator who enriches our community with wisdom and personality.

We are on the brink of what will certainly be a new era.

To maintain the unparalleled

foundation that Hudnut has laid, we must continue to evolve. A successor for Hudnut has yet to be named, but truthfully every individual of the Harvard-Westlake community is Hudnut’s successor. We are the keepers of his legacy.

Hudnut’s innate humanity and intense love of learning must be kept alive and thriving through the passionate endeavors of every member of our community.

Only by doing so can we give Hudnut his much-deserved thank you.

chronicle.hw.com

March 14, 2012

Opinion A13

By Justine Goode

Definition of an athlete

RACHEL SCHWARTZ/CHRONICLE

The actor within

By Saj Sri-Kumar

B

efore this school year, I can’t remember ever setting foot on the Rugby Auditorium stage. Until September, I had never enrolled in a performing or visual arts class at the Upper School, coming very close to not finishing my graduation requirement.

Today, however, I find myself spending more time in Rugby than I’m spending in any one of my academic classes. What happened?

Call it my own version of senioritis.

Going into September, I thought that first semester of senior year would be live up to its reputation: a stressful few months filled with nothing besides trying to get myself into college. That’s not how it turned out.

Senioritis usually entails slacking off due to the decreased pressure of second semester. College applications and transcripts have been submitted and grades lose significance beyond a student’s own pride.

Even though it was extremely tempting to phone in my schoolwork for the rest of the year, I used my newfound free time and effort to explore new pursuits outside of the classroom.

At the beginning of the year, I enrolled in Technical Theater, initially because I thought it was a convenient way to fulfill my requirement. Fairly quickly, I stopped treating it as a means to an end and instead found myself enjoying the hands-on work that became a welcome diversion from my academic classes.

When February came around, I auditioned for the Playwrights’ Festival and was cast in one of the one-act plays. All of a sudden, I’m now spending a significant portion of my day in performing arts.

Has the shift been a little jarring? In some ways, yes. The most common response when people found out that I was cast in a play was not “Congratulations!”

but rather “Wait, you’re actually acting?” There are still moments during rehearsal when I realize what I’m doing and laugh to myself.

In addition to providing a fun activity, acting has changed my outlook on school. Rather than following the monotonous schedule of hours of school followed by hours of homework (and, if I’m lucky, a few hours of sleep), I now have time carved into my day where my mind is able to completely forget about schoolwork.

When I was signing up for classes last year, I was groaning when trying to figure out how to fulfill my art requirement.

There were so many classes in my established interests that I wanted to take but couldn’t take because I had to sign up for an art class.

I tried to see if I could somehow pass off working on a newspaper as a visual art (it didn’t work out).

Looking back, I’m glad the school forced me to take an art class.

My name is Justine, and I’m an athlete.

I still can’t type that sentence without finding it hilarious. I was always the one girl who didn’t play on an AYSO soccer team, who would have rather stayed in class than go to P.E., who dreaded the Presidential fitness tests. I’ve always been way more comfortable with the word “rehearsal” than “practice.” So I don’t even know what possessed me to join the track team in the first place and how I got through that grueling first training season. I guess I just had this vague feeling that it’s good for you to do something you don’t like every once in a while.

Maybe I should clarify — I’m not a good athlete. You will not see me at CIF or as Athlete of the Month. I had my butt kicked by a freshman long jumper at our first meet this season.

You get the picture.

But something struck me the other day as I picked up my uniform for the fourth year in a row — I’m still here.

The thought genuinely shocked me. All the hundreds of times I’d thought about quitting, whether it was irrationally during a torturous 20-minute drill or seriously as I read through One Act monologues, I had never followed through. Why? Eventually, I realized that I’ve stayed because being on track and being on a team has allowed me to forge a new, unexpected aspect of my identity. I didn’t have to radically change anything about myself, except for my belief that running is the devil.

I could be a part of a community and feel camaraderie just by showing up to practice. And after four years, I actually know my events and the techniques, even if I will never take them to a state level like some of my teammates.

As a senior, it feels really good to be able to look back at the past three years and feel like I’ve actually grown, that I’ve gained new knowledge of areas that were once totally foreign to me. And I’m proud because I know I stuck it out longer than anyone ever expected — my parents, my friends, my coaches and especially myself. Now, I can give encouragement to nervous underclassmen as they prepare to compete in their first meets. Even though some of them will probably beat me, I have experience, and the advice I can give to them is actually credible. I am an athlete, even if I have to remind myself sometimes.

Thank you prefects, but separate from the board

By Judd Liebman

I

need to say thank you. Thank you to the prefects who have done what they were elected to do without asking for recognition. I asked if a simple change in the library was possible. It wasn’t anything special or even that important, but I thought it would be a good idea. In less than a week, the prefects got the idea approved, talked to the librarians and implemented the plan flawlessly. All I did was come up with a simple idea, and the prefects did the rest. So thank you prefects for catering to our needs and desires to make our lives easier.

We elected you to implement our proposals, and it seems you have done just that. You deserve a little credit

around here.

In October, the Chronicle editorial board asked you to involve the student body more. The Prefect Council did just that: it has recently released a newsletter and had a giant white suggestion box at the Clubs Fair. In February, the editorial board urged the prefects to build the hype about the upcoming event. The prefects then choreographed a flash mob, sent a couple emails out to the student body and advertised the event around campus. The student body now seems excited to participate in this new tradition, as it should be.

The real problem with the Prefect Council is two-pronged. First, stu-

dents don’t know enough about what the prefects do. As a member of the Community Council, I have had the privilege of working with the prefects in planning “Spring in Your Step.” For those who don’t get to see the prefects at work, it’s amazing. It is nonstop work. They are working hard to get an event the students will enjoy, and the team of the Community Council and the Prefect Council has done a wonderful job.

The second problem is a disapproval of the Honor Board. I am not going to state my opinion about the board here, but the prefects are getting a bad reputation because they are involved in negative conversations

about the board. The prefects’ hard work is being overshadowed.

So prefects, if you want your work to be appreciated, disassociate yourselves from the Honor Board. Have two separate committees. There can be a Prefect Council, which caters to our every need and desire. And there can be an Honor Board, which deals with Honor Code infractions. The prefects’ work is going unnoticed, and it shouldn’t be. They are improving life on our campus every day. For the prefects’ sake, they should get out of the cloud of disapproval surrounding the Honor Board and step into a positive light where their work can be truly appreciated.

The Chronicle

A14 Opinion

A tale of the accused

By Carl*

March 14, 2012

There is a widespread perception that everyone who goes before the Board is automatically guilty and the only thing left up for deliberation is the punishments to recommend. To a great extent this is true.

“T

he Honor Board wants to see you,” my dean said to me on a Tuesday afternoon last month. My heart skipped a beat. I sat silently for a minute realizing what I had been told and responded with an “Okay.” I worked out the logistics with my dean: I would have a day to write a statement explaining what had gone on, and in two days, I would skip class to go before the Board for allegedly receiving unauthorized aid on a science midterm.

When Thursday morning rolled around, I stood in front of my dean’s office, waiting for him to return after hearing one of the other 10 cases being heard for weeks. People I was supposed to be going to class with walked by me. Some gave me awkward looks, no doubt wondering why I was standing there instead of going to class, while others told me that I was going to be late. For each, I made up a different excuse as to why I would not be going to class.

Nearly 20 minutes later, my dean came to escort me from the second floor of Chalmers to the Emery Room, on the second floor of Seaver. Awkward and suspicious glares abounded as I walked side-by-side with my dean through the Quad and to Seaver. I felt as if my peers already saw me as guilty as I walked through the Quad.

In many Honor Board recommendations, Prefects write that students make conflicting statements before the Board. After going before the Board, it is very easy to see how someone may accidentally say something that he or she did not mean to.

Different people fired the same questions in multiple forms at me, seemingly trying to make me slip up and say something I did not believe.

“Do you think that having information about the test beforehand aided you?” one Prefect asked, to which I responded with a “No.” “Do you feel as if you had an unfair advantage?” another asked, to which I also responded in the negative. “Do you think that you were more comfortable walking into the test knowing types of questions?”

Aidan Yetman-Michaelson

a third asked and was met with the same reply.

Going before the Honor Board is inevitably a very stressful experience.

A group of a dozen or so faculty and students decide if you are guilty of violating the Honor Code based on how they interpret it, without you being given the chance to offer your interpretations. It felt to me, even though I was assured by my dean that it was not true, that I was guilty even before I stepped foot in the room. I have absolute faith in what my dean says, yet it was very difficult for me to believe him. Based on every previous case I had read, harsher punishments were given when defendants did not acknowledge that they were in violation of the Honor Code.

There is a widespread perception that everyone who goes before the Board is automatically guilty, and the only thing left up for deliberation is the punishments to recommend. To a great extent this is true. The system of the Honor Review Committee reviewing potential cases before they go to the full Honor Board all but en-

Repairing honor

By David Lim

S

hortly after school ended on a Friday almost a month ago, my phone buzzed announcing the arrival of an email. The same message containing a 29-page Honor Board Recommendation landed simultaneously in the inboxes of all my classmates.

I paid much more attention than I usually do to Honor Board recommendations. What was different this time was that the 11 individuals named in the recommendation could not be simply reduced to nameless, faceless “cheaters.”

Behind the randomly chosen names and genders in the document, there were classmates that I had seen every day. I had first met some of them on the second grade handball courts and I looked up to others as seniors.

This time, it wasn’t some class in a galaxy, far, far away but one of my own classes that was left in almost universal shock when we returned from semester break. Instead of facing our midterms, we heard a bleak statement from our teacher notifying us of alleged cheating on our midterm.

Class was dismissed, leaving us nearly 90 minutes of our canceled double to share in our disbelief.

Exempting the prefects and stu-

dents sent before the Honor Board, few members of our student body hold real situations up to the text of the Honor Code.

For the rest of us, the Honor Code only becomes a part of our schoolwide conversation as an instrument of punishment that we have little to no control over. The idealistic language, which few of us have read thoroughly since signing the Honor Code in seventh grade, leaves the Honor Code open to varying personal interpretations and doesn’t go far in setting clear-cut rules that can be enforced consistently.

As we approach the five-year anniversary of the expulsions that led to nationwide media attention, nothing has visibly changed to make the Honor Code more practical or prominent.

The signs put up around the school are not nearly enough to combat the magnitude of this long-term problem.

A month before the 2007 scandal, Prefect Council’s effort to increase awareness of the Honor Code with unsupervised discussions crashed and burned as they lost control of a rowdy senior class.

“Kids don’t even know what the Honor Code is,” Head Prefect Talia Smith said in December 2007, explaining the reasons for the class-wide

sures that the student will be found guilty of some violation. After being told by my dean that I would go before the Board, I convinced myself using this logic that I was guilty.

I was ready to go before the Board and falsely confess that I had cheated on the test. I was ready to recognize my violation of the Honor Code and my breach of the trust of my classmates and my teacher.

When I weighed my options — telling the truth, risking being found guilty and being punished not only for my violation but also for not recognizing my violation versus lying and guaranteeing some less severe punishment — I was inclined to go with the latter. Just to avoid a more serious consequence, I was ready to betray my own morals.

This is a huge issue. I argued with my parents until 2 or 3 a.m., finally giving up due to exhaustion and agreed to tell the truth. I had zero confidence that the Honor Board would do the right thing. I actively wanted to lie, to throw myself under the bus, to potentially jeopardize my

college admissions chances, because I did not trust the judgment of the Honor Board. Yet, when I was sent the Board’s recommendation the next week, I was found not to be in violation of the Honor Code. Much to my surprise, the Honor Board made the right decision.

The sole fact that I had such little confidence that I would be judged fairly before the case and was so unnecessarily uncomfortable while before the Board indicated a huge problem. “But they decided in your favor, did they not?” you may ask. Yes, they did.

But I was punished nonetheless.

Humiliation in front of my peers, a strained relationship with my dean, endless fighting with my parents, many sleepless nights. This punishment is intrinsic with the system, and the only way to counter it is to alter the system. It is time for serious thought to be given as to how the Honor Board can be changed. *Names have been changed to correspond to the anonymized Honor Board recommendation.

We all have a stake in the integrity of our community and when the Honor Code is broken, the damage goes beyond the class the violation occured in. assembly. “They don’t know how it would apply in their lives.

In the past five years, there have alleged Honor Code violations involving midterms and finals committed by groups of students in 2007, 2010, and 2012. If we really are to break from this unacceptable pattern, there must be fundamental changes to how we view the Honor Code. The Honor Code, originally initiated by students, must have a tangible presence beyond the closed doors where the Honor Board meets.

We should expect more than the one-way communiqués summarizing cases. Discussion of the Honor Code that can result in positive, more practical change should not be monopolized by the few who can punish members of the student body.

We all have a stake in the integrity of our community and when the Honor Code is broken, the damage goes beyond the class the violation occurred in. Cheating affects all the relationships that we have with administrators, teachers and each other that depend on mutual trust.

No teacher should ever have their trust “shattered” irrevocably with their all of their current and future students, as expressed in the Honor Board case.

No students should ever be wracked by discussions on the Honor Board case that has left a stain on their class without an effective outlet for their outrage.

What we really need is a two-way dialogue between the student body and those who enforce the Honor Code to make the Honor Code practical and relevant by laying down clearly what constitutes cheating.

Although the attempt in 2007 failed due to its botched implementation, the core concept is what is needed for real, lasting change.

When remarking to a classmate that nearly a quarter of our class would face the Honor Board, the last thing I expected to hear from him was that he would too appear before the Board. Our school has seen too many students reduced to aliases on recommendations and the trust that holds us together has been breached too often by the regular Honor Code violations, not only by lone individuals but also by groups of students. What has been lacking is a clear and coherent response to the mistakes of the few.

Changes are necessary to make the Honor Code relevant to all of us and to return it to the original studentdriven vision. It would be unfair to all of us to expect anything less.

chronicle.hw.com

March 14, 2012

Opinion A15

quadtalk The Chronicle asked:

“Do you believe in the Honor Code?”

“Yes, it is important to our community because it gives general guidelines for people to follow.”

282 students weighed in on the Chronicle poll:

231

Yes

—Samantha Garfield ’14 ANABEL PASAROW/CHRONICLE

“There are so many gray areas. The school tries to make everything black and white when it is really not.”

—Laurel Aberle ‘13 ANABEL PASAROW/CHRONICLE

“I believe in the principles of it. But I don’t think people need to be told not to lie and cheat and steal to know it’s wrong.”

—Joe Kitaj ’12 ANABEL PASAROW/CHRONICLE

No

51

“Considering we sign it in seventh grade, I think it has been a part of me since the beginning.”

—Henry Copses ’14

“Honor is important to the community, as long as everyone is held to the same standards. Making exceptions interferes with the image of the school as an honor-driven community. The Honor Code establishes some basic standards that everyone should be held to.”

—Micah Sperling ’12

“Is it clear what a violation of the Honor Code is?”

279 students weighed in on the Chronicle poll:

151

No

“No, because it is allencompassing, so there cannot be strict enough rules to regulate what is a violation.”

—Andrew Meepos ’13

128

Yes

MARIEL BRUNMAN/CHRONICLE

“No. It’s obviously not clear if everyone has different opinions about it.”

“Yes because it is about trust and honor in our community.”

—Matt Leichenger ’14

“Not really. I know what the Code is vaguely, but it is not specifically stated anywhere.”

—Helen Dwyer ‘13 “Not at all. It’s hard to tell what the severity of one thing is over another.”

—Charlotte Gordon ’12

—Lauren Choi ’12 RACHEL SCHWARTZ/CHRONICLE

“A violation is basically just doing something that your conscience is telling you is wrong.”

—Adison Abdo ’14 RACHEL SCHWARTZ/CHRONICLE

Letter to the Editor We were disappointed with a photograph published on page B2 of the February issue of the Chronicle, accompanying an article written to highlight the nathanson ’s/chronicle spirit of “Ohana” Karen Fukushima that exists among the members of an upper school photography class.

However, we believe that the photo detracts from the camaraderie and family spirit of the class because it contains an offensive gesture that could be construed as racist towards

Asian Americans.

We have been told that the Chronicle was only given that one photograph to run, and it is unfortunate that the editors decided to nathanson ’s/chronicle run it without Steve Chae examining it more carefully or thinking about its possible implications. This situation puts the photography class, one that is known for its closeness, under scrutiny and sheds an unfortunate light on a circumstance that was probably

unintentional.

Our purpose is not to bring additional attention to the specific student, who we have been told has expressed sincere regret, but to nathanson ’s/chronicle express our Stephen Chan disappointment with the Chronicle staff for its oversight. It was a regrettable editorial decision to not evaluate the photograph more closely before its appearance in print.

The Chronicle is a great publication and its readership is

widespread, and we hope that in the future the editorial staff will be vigilant to avoid situations that can be hurtful to members of our own community.

— Steve Chae, Spectrum adviser Stephen Chan, Middle School FAC Chair Karen Fukushima, Middle School Student Council Adviser

The Chronicle apologizes for the photo. No offense was intended to any member of the community. We did not think about possible implications, as we did not notice the offensive gesture.

exposure

March 14, 2012

time to dance

By Jessica Barzilay

Midway through their Sunday matinee, the seven seniors in Advanced Dance II sashayed out from the wings and onto the stage of Rugby auditorium. They glided through the choreography until their “senior dance” drew to a close. Arms around each other, the dancers beamed at the audience, soaking in every moment of their last performance.

“We love each other,” dancer Asha Jordan ’12 said. “I love every single junior and I have no words for the seniors. Every time I think about us not being together next year I send myself into an emotional hiatus.”

The Advanced Dance II company explored different interpretations of time in its annual concert, “A Matter of Time,” on March 2-4. The dancers drew inspiration from interviews with community members of all ages, as well as from their

A16

With multi-generational dancers sharing the stage, Advanced Dance II explored the themes of time and aging in their performance in Rugby Theater.

individual experiences with growing up.

“Time as a theme can be rather abstract, but the human being’s relationship to time is very personal,” company director Cynthia Winter said.

Set to an array of sounds and songs, the dances ranged from literal choreography of a clock’s mechanics to more interpretive expressions of aging and healing.

“This show is so unique because its theme is something so intangible,” dancer Mikaila Mitchell ’13 said.

“Time is not a story, or a series of events. It involves just about everything you can think of in life, which is why I think this year’s show [reached] out to a really broad audience.”

Nick Healy ’13 narrated the show with select quotes from the interviews conducted with students, faculty and family members, some of whom also made cameos in the show.

Dean Sharon Cuseo and her twin daughters, science teacher David Hinden, French teacher Simona Ghirlanda, Spanish teacher Dianne Tritica, Executive Assistant to the President Ann-Marie Whitman and parents

of dancers Bella Hicks ’12 and Asha Jordan ’12 shared the stage with the company at different points throughout the show. Hicks sang a ballad from the edge of the stage as her parents, Tom and Noelle Hicks, swayed in a slow dance in the background, and Jordan invited her mother Apryl Sims up for a duet about the effect of time and aging on family relationships.

“I don’t think there has ever been a mother-daughter duet in past shows, and it is such a special moment, a moment that I will never ever forget,” Jordan said.

Dancers began brainstorming and planning for the concert at the start of the school year, and seeing the culmination of their work was incredibly rewarding, Mitchell said.

“It was so exciting to see the final product of our hard work and how each dance relates to one another,” she said. “ADII is an extremely special community. In my opinion I think this group of dancers is the closest dance group I’ve ever been a part of at Harvard-Westlake. We all care so much for each other, and this experience has made us bond even more.”

TICK TOCK: Catherine Haber ’12, clockwise from left, does a backbend in Advanced Dance II’s performance “A Matter of Time.” The senior company dancers embrace as their dance concludes. Nicolena Farias-Eisner ’13 performs en pointe. Spanish teacher Dianne Tritica, Gabrielle Franchina ’13, Executive Assistant to the President Ann-Marie Whitman, science teacher David Hinden, Asha Jordan ’12, French teacher Simona Ghirlanda and Sarah Seo ’12 groove.

Bella Hicks ’12 reaches across the stage. Seo carries Abby Sandler ’13.

PHOTOS BY CHLOE LISTER

F

The Chronicle • March 14, 2012

eatures Los Angeles • Volume XXI • Issue VI

natural blend

Raw food diets have been increasing in popularity as a way to stay healthy, but are these “cleanses” truly as beneficial as they seem?

Page B12

CHLOE LISTER AND ARIELLE MAXNER/CHRONICLE

The Chronicle

March 14, 2012

>>

B2 Features

>>

Coat rack with pipes for hooks

Sectioned drawer

Skateboard

>>

>> Pencil holder

GRAPHIC BY MEGAN KAWASAKI AND VICTOR YOON

Out of the woods Spurred by a childhood interest in building, Peter Schulman ’12 constructs functional objects out of wood for personal use.

By Victor Yoon

that,” he said. “I hope to build everything I’ve designed so far, but I design A loud whirring sound emanates way too many things for me to have from inside the garage, where Peter the time to build all of them. Often Schulman ’12 is drilling holes into a necessity outs one of the ideas at the wooden board. As he brushes aside the top of the list, or sometimes an idea rewood shavings and begins to affix the ally grabs me and I can’t stop thinking pipes he had laid aside for the project, about it.” the materials begin to transform into Based on how much he needs a new a physical version of the sketch beside piece, Schulman allows himself more him. With each piece he adds, Schul- room for experimentation with the deman turns what was once a board and sign. a pile of pipes “If I really into his own coat need a bookcase, hanger. form follows func“I needed a tion. But if I only I love design. I used to coat hanger and have a few books, I decided to build would try a really be on Facebook when I a fairly simple daring idea that’s procrastinated, but now I one that was still more aesthetiunique and aesjust design or build things, cally pleasing,” thetically pleasSchulman said. and so far, I can’t get ing,” he said. “It’s “Other times, I enough of it.” great being able have a really crazy to quickly create idea that I want —Peter Schulman ’12 to make work. an idea for something that can I often browse have a basic funcmodern furniture tion such as a bookcase while also be- websites for inspiration. I’m inspired ing able to create something artistic by Charles and Ray Eames. They don’t and interesting.” follow a certain style or method but inSchulman said he has always been stead make every piece to its function interested in building, but his interest and setting.” for design is somewhat recent.

Schulman said he is also inspired by Often, when he was younger, he the Eames’ success, which inspires him worked with or competed against his to pursue such a narrow field. brother to build something, whether it “I love design. I used to be on Facewas a pair of skateboards or the work- book when I procrastinated, but now, I bench that he still uses. just design or build things, and so far, However, Schulman eventually be- I can’t get enough of it. I’m also intercame more interested in designing ested in writing and architecture, but than building. design has grabbed me the most out “I realized that I liked design more of the three,” Schulman said. “Design when I was creating more designs than just comes most naturally to me and is I had time to build and was okay with most rewarding.”

“

VICTOR YOON/CHRONICLE

FINISHING TOUCHES: Peter Schulman ’12 sprays varnish on a drawer that he made out of various types of wood, one of many pieces that he has designed and built.

March 14 , 2012

The Chronicle

Features B3

H GR A P

Pills & ecreation

By Alex Gura

T

he three-eared drug sniffing dog caused Lizzie* ’12 to panic. After taking too many anti-anxiety pills at the airport, she began to feel strange, and grabbing her mother’s arm, she put on sun glasses so she would not look suspicious.

This was the second time Lizzie had used prescription medicine to feel a euphoric change in consciousness that accompanies the consumption of psychoactive medications such as ADHD medicine, anti-anxiety pills and painkillers.

Lizzie’s drug of choice was Ativan, a commonly prescribed medication, used to treat anxiety, seizures and insomnia.

The first time she used Ativan recreationally, she was in a much more controlled environment.

“I knew it calmed you down, and I had to go out to a party I didn’t want to go to, so I took double [the average dose],” Lizzie said.

She said the second time she inadvertently became “s**t-faced high” after taking too much and has taken Ativan since.

“I could see why kids would want to do it,” Lizzie said. “But it’s just too expensive.”

Tony* ’13 said he had a similar experience when he took some of his mother’s Xanax after a stressful test.

“I came home after my first SAT and was super nervous,” Tony said.

“I took a quarter of a tablet, and it calmed me down. It makes everything seem more manageable.”

But Lizzie and Tony were lucky. According to Westwood psychiatrist Dr. Julie C. Weinbach, who specializes in adolescent psychiatry, there could be serious side effects to unsupervised use of prescription medications, especially ones like Ativan.

“It’s like drinking and driving: reflexes are slow, and coordination is a problem,” Weinbach said. “It’s the kind of medication that if you took too much you could die, but I don’t know if anyone would be dumb enough to take a

N R YOO V ICTO IC BY

To concentrate while studying, to lose weight or just for recreation, some students have abused strong and potentially dangerous prescription drugs such as Adderall, Ativan and Xanax.

whole handful.”

However, there is a risk of over dosage, especially in unsupervised teenage drug use. According to the United States Center for Disease Control, unintentional lethal prescription drug overdose has been rising since 1999, with teenage use contributing to a large portion of the increase.

“The worst thing about medications like Ativan and Xanax, also known as benzodiazepines, is they are very physically addicting,” Weinbach said. “If someone took a lot every day and stopped, [he or she] could possibly have a seizure and die.”

However, the most common side effects of extended drug use and sudden withdrawal are similar to those for detoxing alcoholics. Symptoms includes sweating, tremors, nausea and other physical symptoms, she said.

Other medications such as Adderall are used not for pleasure, but as a “study drug.” Greg* ’12 got Adderall from a friend and started using it to help him concentrate.

“I started taking ADD meds so I could finish my tests faster,” Greg said.

“I never got the reaction that people would seek this stuff out for.”

Dr. Jennifer Ouchi, a pediatrician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said teens are most likely getting medications like Adderall and other amphetamine study drugs from friends with prescriptions, whereas Xanax and anti-anxiety pills are coming from their parents’ medicine cabinet.

“Parents would most likely have serious issues that would need to be treated [with the anti-anxiety pills],” Ouchi said. “They would usually have a month-long supply. I can’t imagine most kids would be able to get a prescription like that.”

Not all people take these drugs for recreational or studying purposes.

Weinbach said amphetamine salts, such as Adderall, cause a loss of appetite which could lead to weight loss and thus could be used by teenagers seeking an easy diet fix. However, these medications too can have serious side effects if not monitored properly.

“I always ask people if they have a history of heart disease or family members that have died from heart attacks before prescribing these pills,” Weinbach said. “There is a risk that these could cause sudden cardiac death. This is when people who wouldn’t normally have a heart attack, like teenage girls, just drop dead.”

Some students who use these drugs for medical purposes are strongly against their recreational use. Candice* ’14, who is prescribed both Adderall and Xanax for ADD and chronic anxiety, said people who use these drugs recreationally give the medications a bad name.

“I feel shame talking about [my prescriptions] when I really shouldn’t feel ashamed of it,” Candice said. “If you have ADD and have problems concentrating, you have to take Adderall.

It’s bad if someone who doesn’t have problems takes it. It puts me at the same level as them.”

One time, Candice was asked by friends to sell her Xanax pills to them, which she said was “really scary.”

“I’m actually prescribed, and having taken it, I know it has really strong effects,” she said “I won’t take a full one.”

Margaret* ’13, who is prescribed Ativan, said she thinks prescription medicines should stay in the cabinet, and that other recreational drugs exist for a reason.

“If a kid hands you a joint, you know it would affect you ‘as prescribed,’ and it would get you high,” she said. “But when you take something that you don’t know or at too large a dose, you really don’t know how it will affect you.”

Ultimately, Lizzie said the reason she stopped taking Ativan recreationally is that friends who were also using drugs lost control, and she realized that the same thing could happen to her.

“Sometimes when I have to go somewhere I really don’t want to be I feel like I should seek them out, but I fight the urge,” she said. * names have been changed

B4 Features

The Chronicle

March 14, 2012

LESLIE DINKIN/CHRONICLE

LESLIE DINKIN/CHRONICLE

ANIMAL KINGDOM: Lauren Schlussel ’13 affectionately holds her chinchilla, Fergie, above. Gil Young ’13 shows off his striped snake, top right. Jeffrey Bu ’12 poses with his two chickens, right. Science teacher Blaise Eitner’s Californian desert tortoise, Mohave takes a walk in his backyard, bottom.

Welcome to the zoo

Dusting the chinchilla and thawing frozen mice for the snake are what some students do to take care of their pets.

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF SHAWN BU

By Michael Rothberg and Elana Zeltser Jeffrey Bu ’12 cracks a fresh egg every morning into a sizzling frying pan.

It may not be farm fresh, but it is backyard fresh. Bu has two pet chickens, which he keeps in a makeshift coop behind his house.

Last year, Bu’s father realized the costliness of buying cartons of eggs from the market each week.

“It really I buy 30 frozen mice and started as a joke, take two out of the freezer but then one day a week. I thaw them in hot my dad and I actually went to a water before I feed them farm and picked up two chickens,” to the snake.”

Bu said.

—Gil Young ’13 For the first few months, Bu and his family nurtured and incubated the baby chickens, keeping them in a box with a bright light shining on them. When they were old enough, the Bu family fenced off a portion of its backyard as a coop.

“When you approach, one of them, she will stare at you and let you stand right next to it,” Bu said. “The other one runs away literally every time someone is near her.”

Gil Young ’13 houses a green 5-month-old chameleon and a white, orange and red snake.

His snake, Quasimoto, which he got in ninth grade as a a reward for doing well in school, eats meals of frozen mice.

“I buy 30 frozen mice and take two out of the freezer a week,” Young said.

“I thaw them in hot water before I feed them to the snake.”

Young said snakes are a good option for a first pet, as they are rather low maintenance, whereas chameleons require more care.

His chameleon, named Sloop after the Beach Boys song “Sloop John

“

B,” needs to be fed live crickets each day. Young must also spray the leaves in its cage with water because chameleons drink by licking water droplets off leaves.

Sloop is currently monochromatic, as he is still young, but he will grow up to be aquamarine and yellow, Young said. However, when Sloop becomes agitated, his skin color changes.

“Sometimes when I reach into his cage he’ll get scared and begin to change colors or get stripes,” Young said.

Gabby Trujillo ’12 also has a snake, a baby ball python she got last summer.

Along with her ball python, Trujillo also has a cat and a dog. “[The animals] all live in one apartment together and get along,” she said.

Unlike dogs and cats, “snakes only eat once a week,” Trujillo said, and they are easier to take care of than her other pets.

Trujillo feeds mice to her ball python.

“At first it was sad for me, but it was also cool,” she said.

Lauren Schlussel ’13 has cared for a chinchilla named Fergie for about six years.

“Chinchillas are one of the softest animals in the world,” Schlussel said.

“She’s friendly and just really cute. I saw it at Petco and I begged my parents to let me get it until they finally gave in.”

In addition to cleaning her pet’s cage and feeding Fergie, Schlussel gives her chinchilla a “dust bath” every two weeks, in which the chinchilla rolls around in minerals to keep her coat clean and healthy.

Science teacher Blaise Eitner shares his home with a leopard gecko, a Chilean Rose Hair tarantula, a beta fish and a Californian desert tortoise named Mohave.

The reason Eitner has animals such a tortoise and a tarantula, is because “my wife and I and our family in general have lifestyles where we can’t be at home as much as we would like to,” Eitner said.

Eitner said pets such as dogs and cats have more emotional needs compared to those of a tortoise.

“We can leave these animals at home and not feel guilty that they somehow have not had their emotional needs met,” Eitner said.

When Eitner first got his tarantula, he didn’t know that they could climb glass, so he didn’t buy a top for the tarantula’s cage.

Eitner then left for a two week vacation, and when he returned, he went to check on the animals and said, “Honey, where is the tarantula?”

During the six weeks in which Eitner could not find the tarantula, he always warned guests who came over.

“We didn’t think it was right not to warn our guests about the tarantula.

I would say, ‘Oh, by the way, you are welcome in our house but there is a tarantula crawling around somewhere,’” Eitner said.

Eitner, who has studied the life sciences for decades, also takes care of many animals in his Munger classroom including an aquarium of fish, a snake, a bearded dragon and an iguana.

Additional reporting by Jamie Chang

BLAISE EITNER

chronicle.hw.com

March 14, 2012

Faking it

Features B5

Fake IDs sometimes help underage students purchase alcohol and gain entry to 18-plus and 21-plus clubs and music festivals.

These are some of the factors on the most recent California driver’s license issued that help security officers, policemen and cashiers determine if an ID is fake.

When under ultraviolet light, a small color ID picture appears.

DL

X#######

CLASS C END NONE

EXP ##/##/#### LN LAST NAME FN FIRST NAME

When a light is pressed against the back of the license, an outline of the California bear is visible.

permanent address DOB MM/DD/YYYY RSTR NONE

date of birth

SEX M/F HAIR hair color EYES eye color HGT #’##” WGT ### lb ISS date issued DD

Changing the date of birth is generally the main reason for obtaining a fake ID.

GRAPHIC BY CLAIRE HONG AND CAITIE BENELL SOURCE: WWW.DMV.CA.GOV

The signature on a driver’s license is etched with raised lettering so it can be felt.

By Lara Sokoloff

ration, he said. His parents purchased his first fake ID for $200. After it was e flashed his ID at the entrance taken, he bought two new ones, which to Avalon, a club in Hollywood. he uses about twice a month, online for The bouncer shined his black $100. light against the card and glanced at Trevor* ’12 also purchased an ID Logan* ’12. for 18-plus and 21-plus events like con“The bouncer just said ‘This is fake, certs and music festivals. leave.’ And I wasn’t able to get it back,” “Obviously every once in a while it Logan said. “It was a club I had gone to will come in handy just to pick somesuccessfully three times before, but ap- thing up, but that’s not the primary parently the ID had an issue with the reason,” he said. black light.”

Trevor said he also uses his fake The punishments for possession of a to buy drinks at dinner but not as offake ID vary, Detective Mike McPher- ten to get into bars and clubs. Trevor son of the Los Angeles Police Depart- got his ID for $150 through someone ment said. Many IDs use the offender’s who used to go to Crossroads School. real name and change only his birth- He uses his ID “very often during the day, for which he could be found guilty weekends,” he said. of counterfeiting a Trevor recently government seal. had his ID confisThe offender is cated but purchased guilty of identity a new one through My friends and I theft only if the a popular online thought it would be ID is in someone service. He bought else’s name. The his ID in a group of fun to maybe go out to punishment also three or four to get bars. I also don’t think increases if the ofa discount, he said. it’s fair if you’re stealing fender is over 18.

To pay for the ID, “If you’re 18 Trevor had to wire your parents’ alcohol.” years old, you’ve money to an account crossed a line,” —Susanna* ’12 number given to him McPherson said. by a site representa“You’re now retive. Trevor said he sponsible for your own actions.” received his ID in a chopsticks box.

For juveniles, the penalties could be “I thought he had actually sent me a fine to the parents, time in a deten- chopsticks,” he said. “I sat there [looktion facility or community service. As ing] at a box of chopsticks, thinking he an adult, the offender could be fined had screwed me.” and sent to jail. The misdemeanor also Evaline* ’12 got an ID for her older goes on the offender’s permanent re- sister’s bachelorette party. She used it cord, Maureen Rodriguez of the City once to buy alcohol and lost it partyAttorney’s office said. ing. Evaline paid $125 for hers, which Logan got his first fake ID for his she obtained through her friend’s boy17th birthday to gain entry to clubs and friend. musical festivals that only admit those “The fake one was literally your exover 18 or 21. He occasionally used it to act same ID, your same picture, same buy alcohol. information, same everything,” she “A lot of clubs are 21-plus just for said. “It was a very real ID, I thought.” the sake of facilitating bar service Evaline said that had she not lost because it’s where they make a lot of her ID, she would have used it to buy their money,” he said. “Eighteen is also alcohol but not to go to bars or drink a common restriction age just for legal out in public places. liability reasons.”

Susanna* ’12, however, got an ID to As a musician, Logan attends festi- have a new thing to do at night, she vals and clubs for enjoyment and inspi- said.

H

“

“My friends and I thought it would be fun to maybe go out to bars,” she said. “I also don’t think it’s fair if you’re stealing your parents’ alcohol. Obviously that wasn’t the main reason, but it’s part of it.”

Susanna got her ID at the end of junior year from an upperclassman. She said she wasn’t sure where he had gotten it from. She paid $180 and uses it once a week during the school year but more often during summer vacation.

“I know a lot of people who have them,” she said. “I use mine a lot more than other people because I’m not really afraid of it. If you look older, it usually works better.”

“I tend to not think twice about breaking rules if I’m serving the purpose of the rule, even though I am technically breaking it,” he said. “The [purpose] of having something be 21plus is to have people not drinking, and if I’m not drinking, I don’t have moral qualms whatsoever about that.”

Evaline said she initially hesitated to use her ID even when she knew the liquor store was known to sell alcohol to underage drinkers.

“Inside I was freaking out, like ‘Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,’” she said. “Then I just kind of flashed it. It was not a big deal.”

Susanna said she has also come to know which places are more lenient.

“Once you have an ID, you become aware of which places are pretty strict with their carding,” she said. “Some store owners will be fine. I mean you’re purchasing something, and even if your ID looks a little questionable, they are making a profit off of it.”

A business who knowingly sells to underage customers could be charged for a misdemeanor and may face losing its liquor license. Other possible consequences include a fine or jail time, Rodriguez said.

“As we’ve gotten older, it comes in handy, but it’s definitely expensive and there’s definitely a risk involved in having it,” Trevor said. “But a lot of kids, especially seniors, are starting to have them.” * names have been changed

The Chronicle

B6 Features

Contraceptive use increases in teens

Protect Yourself

Over the past few decades, more and more sexually active teenagers are taking precautions to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. The condom is the most common form of protection when teens first have intercourse.

85% % using contraception

75% 55%

Prior to 1985

2000-2004 2005-2008 1st year of sexual activity

By Lara Sokoloff

H

er health insurance didn’t cover it, Robin* ’13 said.

“The ones that are covered by insurance aren’t the best ones for your body,” she said. “It’s like you’re jeopardizing your health for something that’s a lower price.”

Robin began using birth control in March 2011, but decided to stop treatment shortly after for personal reasons. When she decided to resume using the medication, she and her family sought a more cost-efficient option. However, the cheaper method caused Robin’s period to become irregular and “messed up my body system completely,” she said. Robin now takes free samples every month from her gynecologist’s office.

Another gynecologist Dr. Maria Ottavi (Sam ’12) said she has seen a marked increase in the use of contraception in her Santa Monica practice, which she attributes to greater parental involvement.

“The new generation of parents are more open and more proactive about getting their daughters on birth control,” she said. “Many moms took the pill themselves, versus previous generations where they hadn’t.”

The Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit organization that works to advance reproductive health, estimates a 10 percent increase in the use of contraception between 1995 and 2008. It also reported a sharp decline in teen pregnancy from 117 to 68, out of 1000, as a result.

Ottavi prescribes various methods of contraception, including pills, the NuvaRing and intrauterine devices.

These hormonal methods regulate the user’s period and prevent pregnancy, but do not prevent sexually transmitted diseases. Efficiency rates range from 97-99 percent, she said.

The method best for the patient is determined by her medical history, age and life style.

Planned Parenthood offers similar contraceptive options, said Serena Josel of Planned Parenthood.

California law does not require parental consent to attain any form of contraception, and Josel encouraged teens to take responsibility for their sexual health.

Alicia* ’12 went to Planned

Parenthood for her current method of birth control. It was recommended that she use Implanon, an insertion in the upper arm that provides a steady stream nathanson ’s/chronicle of hormones.

Sheila Siegel Alicia used “the patch,” an alternative birth control mechanism, during sophomore year. She said it was relatively low maintenance, but she experienced complications when she began smoking in addition to using it.

She said she experienced some side effects from taking both the patch and Implanon. Taking the patch lightened her period, caused her her breasts to grow slightly larger and increased her appetite, which led to weight gain, she said. Implanon likewise caused her to go up a cup size and cleared her skin. However, it also lengthened her period and caused her to have cramps, she said.

Alicia initially went on birth control because her parents encouraged her to start. She was not sexually active at the time, but instead wanted experience, using it to learn which method worked best for her body.

“When I was sexually active, I had actually already gone off birth control [the patch,]” she said. “When I entered into a stable relationship, I realized it was a necessity.”

Alicia has had to take Plan B, an emergency contraceptive known as the “morning after pill,” at least four times. She ultimately decided to go back on birth control because of her experience with Plan B, she said.

“It makes you feel horrible, it’s just chemicals inside of your body, ripping everything out,” she said. “You can be in an extreme amount of pain, it changes your cycle and you just have to deal with that [for a] week, week and a half waiting to get your period.

I don’t think any girl should have to suffer through those weeks.”

Josel said that Plan B is highly effective if taken within 12 hours of intercourse, but becomes less and less effective the longer you wait. She said women may experience some

5 effective birth control methods

Oral Contraception

March 1

As shown in a st of women rely o Other methods,

>> 28%

>> 16.1%

of contraceptive users of all ages opt for the pill to regulate their periods and protect against pregnancy. 54% of sexually active teens rely on the pill.

of contraceptive users, or 6,200 women, use the male condom as their primary source of protection. It is one of the only methods of contraceptives that can also prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

Male Condom

side effects, b nothing lo term.

“The m common s effects inclu nausea a vo m i t i n g Ottavi said. “I like four bir control pills one dosage.”

S c h o o psychologist D students most questions on they are looki contraceptive m “Sometimes from college,” usually when th really ask me usually just ‘oo Ottavi said her patients s prevent pregn take it purely f Jane* ’12 control to clear recently due to fatigue. She be months ago, an effects it had u Jane chose medications be severe.

“According would not be s effects, so I th safe bet to go w She said additional sid breasts got sl menstruation increased. Her fairly regular, a going on the pi Jane said th symptoms and allergy to glut effect from the She stopped weeks after began.

Zoe* ’13 beg a month ago t When she beg every two or th she had to do s said.

“I wanted she said. “If y

Nu

14, 2012

chronicle.hw.com

Women turn to contraceptives for a variety of reasons including improving skin, regulating menstruation and preventing pregnancy.

f

but ong

most side ude and g ,” It’s rth in

Features B7

nathanson ’s/chronicle

Luba Bek o l Dr. Sheila Siegel said often come to her with contraception when ing for an emergency method like Plan B. s students write me Siegel said. “But it’s hey trip up. They don’t what type to use. It’s ops.’” d about 85 percent of seek birth control to nancy, but 15 percent for health reasons. began taking birth r her skin, but stopped o abdominal pains and egan taking the pill six nd was happy with the up until recently. e the pill over other ecause it was the least

to my dermatologist, I suffering from any side hought it was a pretty with,” she said. she had only minor de effects, as her lightly bigger around and her appetite period had always been and was not affected by ill. hat she researched her d attributes them to an ten or dairy, or a side e pill. d taking the pill three the abdominal pains

gan taking birth control to regulate her period. gan getting her period hree weeks, she decided something about it, she

more structure to it,” you know you’re going

to have it, you’re almost mentally prepared to have it and it’s not as stressful and annoying.”

Zoe said she has had very minimal side effects since she began taking the pill. She chose the pill because it is “definitely the least intrusive, and no one has to know that you’re on it.”

“It definitely raises eyebrows if you say you’re on it,” she said. “I’m definitely not having sex, but I would rather people not assume that I was.

As least for a second they will think about that before they think I’m doing it for other reasons.”

Violet* ’12 has chosen not to start taking birth control because of negative judgment from her peers, she said.

“I think teens can be really mean when it comes to this kind of thing, and I would just never want to put myself in a position where I could be judged in a bad way,” she said.

Violet’s family’s values have also shaped her views, she said.

“My family is pretty conservative,” she said. “My parents always hint at how bad it is to do anything sexual before marriage, and I guess I’ve kind of adopted their view. I have friends who [have sex] now, and while I don’t think it’s morally wrong, it’s just not for me.”

Robin, who has begun following the political debate surrounding the issue, also said the generally negative stigma surrounding birth control upsets her.

“It’s frustrating that people make assumptions that people who take birth control are being promiscuous or using it for the wrong reasons,” she said. “It’s kind of offensive when a huge percentage of the girls on birth control are not the way they’re describing them.”

Counselor and humanities teacher Luba Bek attributes the stigma at school to a false conception of hypersexuality.

“When people are thinking that everyone else is having sex, and someone is taking the pill, their suspicions are confirmed,” she said.

“But this whole idea that people just go and have sex, I think it’s a myth.”

Siegel said she thinks the stigma has lessened because of an acceptance that women are more sexually active than they used to be.

“Oral sex. People didn’t even talk about oral sex until [President] Clinton,” she said. “It was the last thing you did, and you certainly didn’t talk about it.”

Alicia said she thinks a lot of people think you have to be sexually active to be using birth control, or that you have to not want to use a condom to be on birth control.

“In reality it’s something people use for a lot of different reasons,” she said. “By choosing to take birth control, you’re assuming a responsibility of your sexuality that a lot of teenagers are unwilling to do because of the stigma or because they aren’t informed. Taking birth control doesn’t mean you’re a slut, it just means you’re taking an extra step.”

Ottavi emphasized that taking birth control should be used in conjunction with a condom as a backup form of contraception.

“It’s my favorite speech to give,” she said. “But kids usually know from sex education class.”

Hormonal methods of contraception do not prevent against sexually transmitted diseases. Josel, of Planned Parenthood, said that condoms must be used in order to prevent contracting a sexually transmitted disease, although the only true method to prevent it is abstinence.

“I don’t think that students here are that stupid,” Bek said. “We just talk about it so much in health classes, but people will do what they choose to do. With this age comes the feeling of being invincible, that even if it happens to somebody else, it will not happen to me because I’m special.”

Alicia initially chose not to go on birth control because she didn’t want to give herself an excuse for not using a condom. She thinks a sexually transmitted disease would be “a million times worse than getting pregnant.”

“If you make the decision to be sexual, you certainly ought to make a decision to use birth control,” Siegel said. “It’s kind of denial to have sex and then feel bad about getting birth control.”

Do you think that insurance should cover the cost of contraceptives?

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“I think insurance should cover the cost of birth control. While there may be higher priorities given the economic situation of the country, I do not think it should be dismissed. It is important for people who can’t afford it to have all the options available to others.”

—Emily Plotkin ’13

“I don’t think that the avalibility of contraceptives translates into girls having sex at a younger age. If all women are using it, I don’t see it as something scandalous, and I think insurance should cover it.”

—Wyatt Kroopf ‘12

nathanson ’s/chronicle

“My understanding is that insurance companies cover Viagra, so it only makes sense to also cover contraceptives. If they didn’t, how irresponsible would that be.”

—Vanna Cairns Upper School Dean

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“Health insurance covers medical necessities and birth control is just that. It ensures the health, saftey and protection of women who cannot care for or do not want a child. ” —Rebecca Aaron ’13

nathanson ’s/chronicle

— additional reporting by Susan Wang * names have been changed

tudy taken by Guttmacher Institute from 2006-2008, the majority on birth control pills as their primary method of contraception. however are selected for their efficiency and convenience.

uvaRing

>> 2.4%

>> 1.1%

>> 1.1%

of female contraceptive users insert a small ring into the vaginal cavity for three weeks out of the month. This method is effective as less than 1 out of 100 women who use it properly will get pregnant each year.

of women who use contraceptives have a match-stick sized rod implanted into their arm.

Implanon can effectively prevent pregnancy for three years before requiring replacment.

of contraceptive users stick a new patch on their arm once a week for 3 weeks out of the month to prevent pregnancy.

The fourth week they go patch-free. Like the pill, the patch releases hormones that regulate ovulation.

Implanon

Evra Patch

ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED BY GUTTMACHER.ORG ALL INFOGRAPHICS BY GABRIELLE FRANCHINA AND ELANA ZELTSER

B8 Features

March 14, 2012

The Chronicle

highstakes

Pair of seniors head to Military Academy

By Chloe Lister

When Ben Greif ’12 and Victoria Pearson ’12 graduate in June, the two will also be preparing to join the army as they attend their school of choice, the United States nathanson ’s/chronicle Military Academy Ben Greif ’12 at West Point.

Greif decided to apply to West Point early on. He called West Point the “best choice I could think of.” “[West Point provides] an excellent free education, and you graduate as an officer just as you would through [a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program],” Greif said.

ROTC is a college-based program designed to train officers for the U.S. armed forces. However, students participate in the program while simultaneously attending a traditional college or university. Greif said he preferred a full military education to the “half and half ” experience of an ROTC program because it would allow him to dive right in to his military career, he said.

Military involvement in Pearson’s family stretches back four generations.

Her cousin is currently serving in the military and stationed in the United States after serving in the Middle East, her uncle served in Vietnam, her grandfather served in the Korean War and her great-grandfather served in

the U.S. Navy during World War I. However, Pearson had never seriously considered a career in the military until she found out about West Point. Her decision to attend West Point was “in no way expected by anyone,” she said.

While Greif, as well as most of her future classmates, began their applications to West Point the summer before their senior year, Pearson didn’t find out about the academy until October.

Pearson first learned about West Point when college representatives visited The Council of African American Parents, where Pearson volunteers.

The program helps African American students in Los Angeles prepare for college.

“I was asking a lot of questions during the presentation, and afterwards [the representative] pulled me aside and asked me to send him my grades and told me that I would be a great candidate,” Pearson said.

The beginning of the West Point application process is typical of that for any other college or university. Students must meet basic eligibility criteria such as U.S. citizenship and a high grade point average.

This process was slightly different for Pearson. After sending her information to a West Point representative, she was sent a Letter of Assurance guaranteeing her a spot in the class of 2016 if she met the remaining application requirements.

If a student is judged by West Point to be a suitable candidate, he or she must then secure a nomination from a

“

West Point is one of the only schools I found that actually cares who a student is and about their integrity.”

—Victoria Pearson ’12

U.S. Congressman, Senator or the Vice President.

Greif was a nominee of Congressman Howard Berman, the representative of the 28th District of California, as well as the primary nominee of California Senator Dianne Feinstein. Greif said these nominations “really put [him] in a good place.”

Congressman Adam Schiff, the representative of the 29th District of California, nominated Pearson for West Point. However, Pearson said her experience getting this nomination was much more stressful than Greif ’s.

“The senatorial or congressional nomination forms were due a week after I found out I even had to apply for one,” Pearson said. “It was a huge rush to get everything done and to do it thoroughly because without one, you can’t get in.”

Candidates also have to pass a medical test and a physical fitness exam before being offered admission to the academy. The fitness test is a 45-minute exam that “spans everything from a kneeling basketball throw to a mile run and pull-ups,” Greif said.

nathanson ’s/chronicle

If a candidate passes all these requirements, he or she is admitted to West Point and becomes part of the Corps of Cadets. At the start of the cadets’ third year, they are sworn in and commited to eight-year terms of service as officers after they graduate.

Greif said part of the reason he felt so strongly about attending West Point is because he felt indebted to the military, as his grandfather was liberated from a concentration camp during World War II. “If the U.S. army had not liberated him, I wouldn’t be here today,” Greif said.

Pearson’s choice to attend West Point was partly because she didn’t think any other school was the right fit. “[At another school] you won’t be required to do an interview, and that way you can write any essay and portray yourself in any way and write your list of extracurriculars, but that doesn’t actually define you as a person,” Pearson said. “West Point is one of the only schools I found that actually cares who a student is and about their integrity.”

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A Through his lens

The Chronicle • March 14, 2012

rts & E ntertainment

B9

Los Angeles • Volume XXI • Issue VI

Kevin O’Malley teaches photography, drawing and painting and has won an award for his screenplay.

By Arielle Maxner

breaks into the farmhouse. But that’s where things start getting complicat“This girl dropped her pen, stuck ed.” her foot out and scratched her ankle,” “Spoiler alert,” he added. art teacher Kevin O’Malley said. “She Though he has written four feature was wearing this ankle bracelet. I just scripts, two short scripts and a non-ficwent, ‘Whoo!’ That evening I wrote the tion book, O’Malley has never written first scene of ‘Bananafish Sandwich.’” a personal essay for college. Writing “Bananafish Sandwich,” O’Malley’s “Bananafish Sandwich” gave him the screenplay, was the grand prize winner “the chance and the challenge of writof the 2011 New Hampshire Film Fes- ing a personal essay,” he said. tival Screenplay Competition.

O’Malley actually wrote two college His trophy, a granite block, sits essays for his screenplay, as there are askew on his desk in the Feldman- scenes in which Nick and his “pseudoHorn photography classroom, a glori- girlfriend” Jillian read their essays. fied paperweight, he said.

“It’s like paying my dues for never O’Malley originally wrote “Banan- having to [write college essays],” he fish Sandwich” as a short script, called said.

“Barococo.”

O’Malley never applied to college “It’s an art history joke,” O’Malley and never planned to, he said, as he said. “The boy shows up, and he sees wanted to become a director on Broadthe girl of his dreams in the classroom. way. However, he had an interview with The instructor picks him out as the a professor from Trinity College, after new kid and keeps asking him ques- which he was immediately accepted. tions. He has no idea what the guy’s “I never filled out a form, I never talking about. The instructor puts up wrote a personal essay,” O’Malley said. a picture of the “I did take the ‘Girl with a Pearl SATs, just beEarring’ and cause they made asks, ‘what era everyone take the You have to find a way to is this from?’ He SATs. The progoes, ‘Barococo?’ cess that I went have incredibly thin skin, so It’s a combination through to get you can experience things of Baroque and into college is on an emotional level, and Rococo.” nothing like what O’Malley took you guys have to do a 180 flip and switch to inspiration from do.” having incredibly thick skin sources as varied He received his as the life of J. when people say ‘This is not degree in painting D. Salinger and as a photorealgood.’” the movie “Ferris ist painter. HowBueller’s Day Off ” O’Malley —Kevin O’Malley ever, to write “Bananbegan his artistry Art Teacher afish Sandwich.” with photography “You know the when he was 8 scene in ‘Ferris years old.

Bueller’ where they’re in the museum, “My older brother was this mad sciand slowly go to the Seurat painting?” entist,” O’Malley said. “I remember he O’Malley said. “I wanted to do a scene kicked me out of his laboratory, in the that was better than that one, and I cellar. I probably read [about photogthink I did. There are lots and lots of raphy] in a magazine somewhere and pictures, that sort of the non-verbal thought ‘Oh, photography, you can use story of what he [the protagonist] is chemicals. I’ll show that big brother.’ I going through emotionally.” just started teaching myself how to do The screenplay focuses on a senior stuff. It was fun. It was great.” in high school, Nick Ellis, who has been When O’Malley was 12, he had the wait-listed by six colleges. luck of being given professional pho“What it comes down to is he’s a tography equipment. His father, a docreally good athlete, a rower,” O’Malley tor, had a patient who had a passion for said. “Everybody keeps telling him, photography.

‘That’s not enough to get into college,’ After the patient died, his wife and he eventually gets it into his head “wanted my dad to come down and see that the only way to get their attention the studio,” O’Malley said. “She asked is if he breaks into this J. D. Salinger- if anyone in his family was interested esque author’s farmhouse and saves all in photography. So we hopped in the the manuscripts — he actually goes and car, drove to Long Meadow, Massachu-

“

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF RACHEL TAN

AN EYE FOR ART: Art teacher Kevin O’Malley poses for a portait which was taken by Rachel Tan ’08. He has taken photos since he was 8 years old. setts. We got to the house. Where the garage should have been was this guy’s studio. It was a full, professional darkroom with absolutely everything you could possibly want. She said, ‘Well, what do you need?’ I said, ‘I have three trays at home,’ and she said, ‘You need an enlarger. You need this. You need that.’ She literally gave me a full-blown studio. So at about age 12, I had all this equipment and absolutely no idea how to use it. That took a long time [to learn].”

But O’Malley did learn. Today, he is adept with both film and digital cameras, and with PhotoShop and studio equipment.

He did not have difficulty transitioning from film to digital photography.

“I was so ready for digital,” O’Malley said. “I was doing film since I was really young, and I’ve been in a lot of badly ventilated darkrooms. The fact that I’m still alive and kicking is amazing.”

Still, there’s some almost indescribable quality that he finds missing in digital photography.

“I will still shoot color film with the 8x10 camera, the big monster camera, just because the look — you still can’t get that look with a digital camera,” O’Malley said. “Close, maybe with the new Hasselblad, the big 60-megapixel

cameras, pretty amazing. But there’s a sort of saturation to the color that you can’t get with digital. But it’s not breaking my heart.”

Now, O’Malley teaches two photography classes, a video art class and a drawing and painting class. He enjoys them all, but finds that “writing is different.”

“You have to find a way to have incredibly thin skin, so you experience things on an emotional level, and do a 180 flip and switch to having incredibly thick skin when people say, ‘This is not good,’” O’Malley said. “It’s different from taking a photograph and putting it up in a gallery. There’s a level of separation there.”

Describing his writing style, O’Malley said, “Imagine a table, a nice dinner table, with a beautiful dinner, all spread, with china and plates and silverware and nice glasses and luscious food. Imagine someone standing at one end and slowly lifting the edge of the table. You’re having your nice dinner, and go, ‘Hmm, the wine seems to be tilting a little bit. No matter,’ and the table keeps tilting some more. All of a sudden, the salt and pepper shakers start sliding off the table. At some point, the table is completely vertical and — whoosh, everything falls onto the floor. That’s my writing style.”

Scene Monkeys work with Yale improv troupe

By Mariel Brunman

MARIEL BRUNMAN/CHRONICLE

MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO: Cody Kahoe of Yale’s improv group, Just Add Water, works with Scene Monkey David Feinerman ’12 in the Drama Lab.

Snaps of approval for comedic timing and unexpected improvisational lines echoed rhythmically around the Drama Lab on March 6 as the Yale Improvisational Acting troupe, Just Add Water, gave advice to, played games and ad-libbed performances with the Scene Monkeys, the upper school improvisation theater troupe.

Just Add Water is on a spring tour working with high school improvisational troupes, and the Scene Monkeys were one of the crew’s first stops.

“I was really impressed at how advanced and in-sync with each other [the Just Add Water performers] were,” Scene Monkey Haleh Kanani ’12

said. “They just really seemed to know what they were doing and felt comfortable with it.”

Both the Scene Monkeys and Just Add Water meshed quickly through games that tested their accents, acting and musical ability.

“Charlie’s Angels” required one actor to alternate and incorporate fictional characters in two different, unrelated scenes going on across the room while trying to solve each problem presented in the scenes. “Rydell High” challenged the Monkeys to delve into musical improvisation. “‘Rydell High’ places actors in a common high school setting but pauses the scene and requires actors to ad-lib a song about their situation in any mu-

sical style, ranging from rap to reggae,” Scene Monkey Tara Joshi ’14 said.

“I think we were all intimidated and inspired at the same time,” Scene Monkey Lucas Foster ’13 said. “We did musical games, drills and a great game that was centered on increasing levels of chaos. I was pretty excited when I mentioned oil-drinking possums during it and received snaps of approval.”

“Thet are a very skilled group,” Michael Gabriel, a member of Just Add Water, said. “We do a lot of workshops going around to different schools on tours, and I would say they are definitely really good and really funny. It was a fun group to work with in terms of their people skills, their personalities and their creativity.”

The Chronicle

B10 A&E

From page to stage SERIES A

Thursday, April 19 at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 21 at 8 p.m., Sunday, April 22 at 2 p.m.

Arc by Elana Zeltser ‘13

nathanson ’s/chronicle

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“Arc is the story of two girls helping each other through turning points in their lives and finding the strength to make some pretty important decisions. I love how brave Joan of Arc was, despite her age and the terrible positions she was put in.

Even though she fought in wars dressed like a man, she still had the problems of a teenage girl.”

nathanson ’s/chronicle

SERIES B

Friday, April 20 at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 21 at 2 p.m., Sunday, April 22 at 7 p.m.

The Nightshift at Gooseneck

by Rebecca Moretti ‘13 “The story is about a young man who works at a bar at a famous hotel in Boston. It’s basically set the night before he’s going to go to Paris. It’s about how people have dreams and they follow their dreams. But, most of them don’t actually go and do it.”

Echo by Wyatt Kroopf ‘12

“[The play] is about a guy who kids pay to take their SATs for them. I thought it would be kind of fun to do because it’s kind of an interesting topic.

It’s looking less at the whole issue of morality and more looking at the way high school focuses on things that are maybe aren’t so important in the long run, like SAT scores.”

“[The play] is about two guys in a car and they’re not really talking about much, and then they decide to go to a cave, and one of the guys tries to stay there and become a Neanderthal and they get into a fight about that. I read a lot of absurdist plays. It’s more about the rhythm of the language.”

Ocean, Desert, Arctic, Ocean

by Hank Doughan ‘12

The Keeping by Daniele Wieder ‘12

“My play is a silent play where a man and a woman go on a journey together through different regions. They start in the ocean and go to the desert and then the arctic region and the ocean. I was inspired by Samuel Beckett’s one act plays.”

“The one act follows the story of four women serving in the Navy during World War II and their transitions from working women of the ‘40s to housewives of the ‘50s. This play is one part of a series of one acts I have written. The goal of this project is to dramatize and make accessible some of the richest, but often overlooked, parts of women’s history.”

“[My play] is about a man who lives under a table, and he is stuck there because of the malevolent actions of a second man who lives in the shadows and who seeks to keep him under the table. He meets a woman who comes from a world outside the table who tries to bring him out from under the table.

It’s exploring perspectives and a metaphor for growing up and experiencing life and for conquering fear.“

Pope Fiction by Natalie Markiles ‘13

The Good Boy by Leland Frankel ‘12

“My play is basically about the reelection of a new pope and the chaos that ensues from within the papal conclave. I like reading about the Vatican and such, so I think that’s kind of interesting so I thought it would be fun.”

“My play is about two very different people.

“I was reading a lot about the Occupy Wall Street movement, and then I heard about how it got shut down pretty violently. I thought it could make a really cool story. The play is basically about a young journalism student who goes down to the movement trying to write an article and he ends up getting swept up in the movement. ”

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Under the Table by Alex Gura ‘12

“My play is about a lonely landlady. One day a prospective tenant comes. Basically, she ends up giving him the space mostly because he reminds her of her son. My brother had an internship a few years ago downtown, and he stayed with this Persian lady named Faye, and she was very controlling, very maternal, but kind of in a creepy way, because she wasn’t his mom. I got inspiration from that.”

Occupy by Cory Batchler ‘13

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The 11 playwrights describe their one-act plays that will be performed in the upcoming Playwrights Festival in Rugby Theater.

A Dollar a Point by Cathy Mayer ‘12

A Melody of Spring

by Tara Joshi ‘14

nathanson ’s/chronicle

March 14, 2012

One of them a sort of confident, freewheeling hippie, and the other a very cynical, self-conscious charity worker, who happen to meet and their resulting clash of wills over life, death, love and the like. Just thinking about the big picture and taking a moment. I wanted to tackle some of the bigger themes.

I wanted to find what kind of characters I could use to express such big ideas and such big concepts.”

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Scene Monkeys, the upper school improv group, will also perform in both Series A and Series B. Tickets are available at the bookstore and at hw.com/boxoffice.

GRAPHIC BY VICTOR YOON

March 14, 2012

chronicle.hw.com

A&E B11

Photo class investigates subcultures through art

By Megan Kawasaki

Large clusters of photo prints were pinned onto the walls of FeldmanHorn Gallery for “(sub)culture,” an art show put on by students in Kevin O’Malley’s Photography III Class.

Each of the 11 students in the class photographed distinct groups of people to depict subcultures such as school clubs and families.

“It’s an assignment that I’ve given over the years, but I’ve never done a combination where they have to do a subculture on campus and off campus,” O’Malley said.

Simone Bookman ’12 photographed the subculture of student musicians, a choice inspired by her own interests in music.

Seeing the musicians with their instruments revealed them in a different light than seeing them casually around campus, she said.

“I took many pictures of Justin [Sohn ’12] and he just looked so different in them,” Bookman said. “I didn’t just see a person who inhabits the same campus as me. I saw part of who Justin really is. As a photographer, it was cool to be able to bring something out of people that I don’t really see. I don’t think I’d ever done that before.”

O’Malley said he was impressed by the range of subjects that were chosen.

He believes that not showing his students a lecture by the late professional photographer Diane Arbus gave the students more freedom creatively with their projects, since they didn’t feel tied to a particular example.

“I think it worked better this way,” O’Malley said, “It was a really nice mix.”

Jazz Explorers perform classics with a ‘new spin’

By Claire Hong

PHOTOS BY ROBBIE LOEB

SUPER BASS: Brian Gross ’12, Molly Steinberg ’14 and Charlie Andrews ’13 harmonize as an ensemble of guitar, saxophone and trumpet, top. Sinclair Cook ’14 plays the saxophone, above.

Jake Chapman ’12, leader of the Jazz Explorers, created an arrangement of the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” for the jazz concert on March 9 and 10.

“I just wanted to put a new spin on an old classic,” he said. “I actually started in the summer, and I came up with the idea and just started working on my computer with it. I just left it alone for a few months and then I finally brought it back a month ago.”

Chapman played both the vibraphone and the piano during the concert.

Noah Weinman ’12, who is also a member of the Jazz Explorers and plays the trumpet, said his favorite part of te performance was during the song “Interplay,” when band mate Jon Alkali ’12 played a solo on his guitar.

“Jon Alkali’s solo on ‘Interplay’ where he starts off a capella and then we build it up and then we go back to

Gaulke explores motherhood, feminism in regional exhibitions

senting this part of their lives so as to seem somehow more legitimate, curaAn art exhibition at the Santa tor Bruria Finkel said. Gaulke was also Monica Airport gallery called “Break- recently featured in an exhibit called ing in Two: Provocative Visions of “Doin’ it in Public: Feminism and Art Motherhood” features a dyptich that at the Women’s Building,” at the show includes images of upper school Visual at the Otis College of Art and Design Arts department chair Cheri Gaulke’s in the Ben Maltz Gallery, which was on daughters Xochi and Marka Maberry- display until Feb. 26.

Gaulke ’12.

Gaulke moved to Los Angeles in One picture 1975 to work with in the dyptich the innovative culfeatures her tural art organizaThe truth is that the little daughters posed tion, the Women’s like the WilliamBuilding. darlings were absolutely Adolphe BouShe founded miserable during he shoot guereau’s, mimtwo collaborative icking a posed art groups there: and the photograph photo from when “Feminist Art represents that one moment they were chilWorkers,” in 1976, dren. and “SOS,” or when they appeared to be “We have a “Sisters of Survivhappy .” portrait of Xoal” in 1980 which chi and Marka —Cheri Gaulke was an anti-nucleas angels, and Visual Arts department chair ar art group. everyone adores “For me, art is it,” Gaulke said. a vehicle for social “The truth is that the little darlings change,” said Gaulke. “But how do you were absolutely miserable during the do it without being dogmatic or didacshoot and the photograph represents tic?” that one moment when they appeared Gaulke’s show “Peep Totter Fly” to be happy. Sue [Maberry, Gaulke’s at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibipartner] and I decided to photograph tions featured video of performance art them as angels again, but this time, by some Harvard-Westlake students. give them the opportunity to pose any The exhibition closed Jan. 29, but way they desired.” not before some faculty members had In the other photo of the dyptich, a chance to attend.

Gaulke and Maberry are staged like “It was about looking at mobility the farmers in American Gothic by and society,” Gaulke said. “High heels Grant Wood, using a camera instead are an incredibly impractical shoe. If of a pitchfork. The exhibit focuses on you were to tell someone to attach this themes of motherhood in order to pose spike to their heal and get up on their a contrast to the 1970s when female tippy toes and walk around like that all artists were discouraged from repre- day it would be ridiculous … What I try

Additional reporting by Robbie Loeb

Sophomore’s short film gains recognition

By Rachel Schwartz

“

the intro underneath his solo is the perfect storm of jazz,” he said.

Although that was his favorite moment, both he and Chapman agreed that their performance of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was the best they had ever played the song.

“It’s really hard,” Weinman said.

“And [Chapman’s] arrangement is like four pages long with all these crazy rhythms, but it turned out well.”

Along with the Jazz Explorers, who were the final act on the first night of the concert, nine other combos performed.

This concert was upper school Jazz Director Shawn Costantino’s first concert since his absence earlier in the year. The combos have been rehearsing since their last concert in December.

“It was such a fun performance, and I’m really proud of everyone,” Chapman said. “The performance just came together [that night].”

By Rachel Schwartz

“ B o o k s t o r e ,” a short film entirely written, edited, directed and produced by Alex Haney ’14, was selected to be screened at both the National Film ’ / Festival for Talented Youth and Alex Haney ’14 the Sacramento International Film Festival. The film will also be featured in the HarvardWestlake Film Festival.

Set in the upper school bookstore, the film follows a precocious high school student, Tara, played by Tara Joshi ’14, in charge of the bookstore for a week, as she tries to impress her advisor. It features Angela Haney ’14, Alex Haney himself, Joshi, Greg Lehroff ’14, Sophia Lopez ’14 and Angus O’Brien ’14. Alex Haney, a member of the Screen Actors Guild, said he suddenly came up with the idea one afternoon.

“I didn’t do any homework that night and wrote it all down for like three hours,” Haney said.

With the help of friends Henry Han ’14 as director of photography and Michele Lee ’14 managing props, Haney coordinated the project to be almost entirely student run, except for visual arts department chair Cheri Gaulke’s participation as executive producer.

She is also Haney’s video art teacher.

“I’m really proud,” Haney said of the recognition his film has received.

nathanson s chronicle

CHERI GAULKE

A PASSAGE OF TIME: Xochi ’12 and Marka Maberry-Gaulke ’12 pose as a part of visual arts department chair Cheri Gaulke’s motherhood exhibition. to do in my work is take on something that I think we have a cultural blind spot about. I’ve realized that you have to put men in high heels.”

She said that the opportunity for men to try on this uniquely feminine style of footwear was eye-opening. All three exhibitions were a part of Pacific Standard Time, a five month series of art shows organized and sponsored by the Getty Foundation in order to celebrate the history of art and design in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, LACES, and the Getty Center are a few of the 60 institutions involved with Pacific Standard Time.

March 14, 2012

Spring

Cleansing

By Justine Goode

’12). However, Schiavelli’s diet of many different fruits and vegetables was On the second day of her raw food more nutritious than most fad diets, cleanse, Olivia Schiavelli ’12 found ref- such as the popular “Master Cleanse,” uge in a nail salon. Irritable and hungry a short cleanse which consists of wadue to the limited food she had eaten ter, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. that day, she treated herself to a mani- Kawasaki said that short cleanses, cure as a distraction from her growling including fruit and vegetable juice distomach. Schiavelli’s mother had seen ets, can be beneficial as long as they the cleanse, created by cardiothoracic are supplemented by a small, healthy surgeon and television personality Dr. meal. They can provide a teenager’s Mehmet Oz, in a magazine and sug- body with minerals and vitamins that gested the two try it over a weekend. they might not get from a more typical “I did it processed diet. for two days,” However, KawaSchiavelli said. saki warned against The main objective of the “Two very trying more extreme horrible days.” crash diets as a teencleanse is to be healthy S c h i av e l l i ager, as they can lead and see what it feels like said it was to problems in the hard to stick long term. to have your body run to the “dis“In your adoon all real food, nothing gusting” diet lescence, if you do processed.” suggested by choose to go on a lot the magazine. of diets, you’re set—Eliza Kellman ‘12 ting yourself up for For breakfast, she could eat an eating disorder, only quinoa, a and that’s something gluten-free grain, and prunes. Lunch you should really consider,” she said. was a blueberry smoothie and dinner If teenagers want to lose weight, was cabbage soup with onions, mush- Kawasaki said they should simply eat rooms, celery and a side of sauerkraut. more vegetables, supplemented by If she wanted a snack, Schiavelli made fruits, some grains and lean meats or a juice out of artichoke hearts, kale, fish. pineapple and cucumber.

“If you were to eat eight to 10 serv“Snack was easily the worst,” she ings of vegetables and more fruit, then said. you would be healthy,” she said. “You She said after the weekend was just wouldn’t have to worry. The main over, she felt virtually no benefits from culprit of the American diet is proher extreme diet. cessed foods and lots of sugar.”

“Honestly, I felt nothing,” she said.

Eliza Kellman ’12 said she has en“We were supposed to feel all rejuve- joyed sticking to a long term cleanse nated and clean and have more energy, that fulfills these all-natural standards. but my mom and I both felt exactly the Kellman started the cleanse, suggested same.” by her acupuncturist, a week after her Many cleanses, even in the short father began it. She decided to do it term, are not healthy for most teen- with him as she felt it was a good way agers as they tend to deprive adoles- to get healthy. cent bodies of necessary nutrients, said “The main objective of the cleanse pediatrician Mizin Kawasaki (Megan is to be healthy and see what it feels

“

The Chronicle

chronicle.hw.com

B12

Vegetables, smoothies and natural food are the bill of fare for detox diets, but the cuisine draws mixed reviews.

like to have your body run on all real food, nothing processed, and all food that our body is meant to digest and digests easily,” she said. Kellman said she did not have any specific interest in losing weight.

On her cleanse, Kellman makes sure to drink two “green” smoothies a day, made with with greens, cucumbers, celery and fruit, as well as flax oil, fiber powder and dietary supplements.

She also eats meat and vegetables, but is careful to avoid gluten (especially wheat), dairy, nuts, sugar or processed foods. She can also eat limited amounts of brown rice or quinoa as well as specific fruits, like blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.

Two weeks into her threeweek cleanse, Kellman said she is already feeling the benefits of her natural diet.

“I think I’m going to try to stick very close to the guidelines after the three weeks are over,” she said.

“I feel so much better and the food is great.

Now if I ever stray off the cleanse, I can really feel the difference in my body right away.

It’s just not as natural.”

CAMI DE RY/CHRONICLE

Sports The Chronicle • March 14, 2012

Los Angeles • Volume XXI • Issue VI

All winter sports teams qualified for CIF playoffs, but no team went beyond quarterfinals except girls’ water polo.

C4-5

Track coach breaks own world record

By David Lim

Track coach Felix Sanchez broke the indoor world record in the 400-meter hurdles on Feb. 18 at an international meet in Val De Reuil, France.

Sanchez, nickdavid lim /chronicle named “Super Felix Sanchez Felix,” clocked in at 48.78 seconds to break his own indoor world record of 49.25, which he had set just two weeks before.

Sanchez, a two-time International Association of Athletics Federation World Champion, brought home his native Dominican Republic its first Olympic gold medal in 2004. He is currently training to compete in his fourth Olympics in London this summer.

“I wouldn’t be training as hard I am if I didn’t want to win,” Sanchez said.

He usually spends two hours on the track in the morning and heads to the gym after coaching the track team in the afternoon.

Now in his 12th year coaching at Harvard-Westlake, Sanchez first came to the track program right out of USC, where he was a PAC-10 Champion and received All-American honors. He won his first IAAF World Championship in the same year he joined the coaching staff.

Track and Field Program Head Jonas Koolsbergen asked him that year if he was coming back with his first international medal under his belt. “[Koolsbergen] didn’t know if I was going to come back because I was a World Champion now, and maybe coming back to coach was peanuts. But no, I enjoyed it,” Sanchez said. “For about three or four years, he asked me, ‘Are you going to come back?’ He doesn’t ask me anymore.”

“It’s just you against six or seven other guys,” Sanchez said. “There’s nothing like entering a stadium, the crowds buzzing. The gun goes off and when you cross the line first and you win, there’s no better feeling.”

Related Coverage For further coverage of the Track and Field team, turn to C7.

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF HEATHER SHANNON

NUMBER ONE: First-year girls’ water polo Head Coach Brian Flacks ’06, center, celebrates in the pool with his team

and after defeating Los Osos 9-2 in the championship game of CIF playoffs to win the program’s second straight CIF title.

Déjà vu

This had happened before. Almost a year prior to the day, the 2011 girls’ water polo team trumped Los Osos in the CIF Final. On Feb. 25, a redesigned team shared that familiar feeling: same place, same opponent, same time, different year.

By Luke Holthouse Seven weeks in 2012 transformed the girls’ water polo team. On Jan. 7, the Wolverines fell to Los Osos 14-13 in a highly anticipated rematch of the 2011 CIF championship game. On Jan. 7, the Wolverines were still adjusting the loss of last year’s co-captains Camille Hooks ’11 and Ashley Grossman ’11, former Head Coach Robert Lynn and their home pool due to reconstruction. On Jan. 7, the Wolverines weren’t the best Div. IV girls’ water polo team in the Southern Section of California.

But on Feb. 25, in another CIF championship game matchup with Los Osos, the Wolverines proved they

were, beating the Grizzlies 9-2.

“It feels unbelievable,” goalie Kristen Lee ’12 said. “That loss was the turning point of our season. I think we stopped trying to be the team we were last year. We worked so hard all season, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to have a win.”

Harvard-Westlake was expected to meet Los Osos in the 2012 final at the start of the season. An official pre-season coaches poll ranked the Wolverines as the best team in Div. IV, with Los Osos ranked second. When asked early in the season who the toughest team the Wolverines would play in the regular season, Lee didn’t hesitate when she said Los Osos.

In the highly anticipated matchup on Jan. 7, the score was tied until the last 26 seconds of the game, when Grizzlies were able to extract their revenge at their home pool, winning the nail-biting rematch by a final score of 14-13.

Morgan Hallock ’13 said the team needed to fix their defense. She said the team needed to stop pressing out on opponents so aggressivel.

“When we played Los Osos the first time, it was a lot of ‘We’re a big press team, we don’t like to come back,’” she said.

First-year Head Coach Brian Flacks ’06 had the challenge of implemeting a new, compressed defense Continued on page C5

Edosomwan defers a year for post-graduate prep school, to attend Harvard in 2013

By Robbie Loeb Just drop the “Westlake” and dress him in crimson, but wait until 2013. On March 11, basketball star Zena Edosomwan ’12 committed to play at Harvard University but will spend a year as a post-graduate student at Northfield Mount Hermon, a preparatory boarding school in Gill, Mass., 80 miles from the Harvard campus.

“I will be attending Northfield Mount Hermon next year to become a better player, and it works out well with Harvard,” Edosomwan said. “In that year, I can really grow as a person and develop more as a player.”

Edosomwan will reclassify as a part of the graduating class of 2013 and after playing and studying at Mount Hermon next year, he will enroll at

Harvard.

“It’s the best school in the world,” he said of Harvard. “Their basketball program is on the rise. This year, they’ve made a lot of history and it’s something I want to be a part of. I want to have the best of both worlds. Academically and basketball-wise, Harvard does a great job of offering that to me.”

In December, the current Harvard team was ranked in the top 25 of the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ National polls for the first time in the school’s history. The Crimson went 26-4, won the Ivy League tournament and earned a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament this year. Harvard is the top-ranked university academically in the nation, according to the U.S. News’ college rankings.

“They’re a great staff, Coach [Yan-

ni] Hufnagel and Coach [Tommy] Amaker, I just really enjoyed my visit,” Edosomwan said. “I didn’t really consider Harvard throughout this whole process, I just kind of thought ‘Meh, I wouldn’t want to go there,’ but after my visit everything changed.”

Edosomwan narrowed down his choices to the University of California, Berkeley, Connecticut, Harvard, Texas, UCLA, Southern California and Washington before ultimately deciding on the Crimson.

“That’s just where I felt most comfortable,” Edosomwan said. “I felt like I belonged there, with the staff and the players, and everything just fit very well.”

Of the players on the current Harvard roster, three have attended Northfield Mount Hermon.

ROBBIE LOEB/CHRONICLE

HARVARD BOUND: Zena Edosomwan ’12 gets excited before the Jan. 13 Loyola game. He committed to Harvard on Sunday.

The Chronicle

C2 Sports

Facts & Figures

1

Hit allowed by the baseball team in its 14-1 win over Santa Barbara.

8

Strikeouts pitched

by Lauren Li ’12 in the softball team’s 11-1 win over San Marino.

10

Points scored by Ross O’Shea ’14 in the lacrosse team’s 18-13 win at Crespi.

Time posted

by Garrett Robinson ’15 in a 200-meter race.

22.51

66

Inches jumped by Alex Florent ’15 vs. Alemany to set the varsity record for high jump jump.

Speed in MPH recorded twice by pitcher Lucas Giolito ’12 before injuring his elbow.

100

game of the month LACROSSE vs. Loyola

March 17 @ Loyola 11:30 a.m.

The Wolverines will try to extend their winning streak in league play to 10 games against their league rival. The Wolverines clinched the first Mission League Championship ever for the lacrosse program at Loyola last year with an 8-7 win in triple overtime.

Records:

4-0 overall; 1-0 league

Opponent to Watch: Cooper Perkins ’13 Perkins has surrendered an average of 4.5 goals a game this year. He had 14 saves in Loyola’s overtime loss to the Wolverines last season. The Wolverines will have trouble scoring on him with their two leading scorers, Evan Meister ’12 and Ross O’Shea ‘14 injured.

School Comparison: Wolverines Cubs 49

14

SAAC February Athletes of the Month

nathanson ’s

Morgan Hallock ’13 Water Polo

The Wolverines triumphed over the Westlake Warriors 8-7 with the help of 16 saves from goalie and co-captain Matt Mantel ’12.

Lacrosse falls to Palisades due to loss of starters, remains confident

By Charlton Azouma and Micah Sperling

Shorthanded due to injuries, the varsity lacrosse team lost to Palisades 11-5 on March 9 and faces the prospect of playing at archrival Loyola on Saturday down three starters.

Both the offensive and defensive units were affected by the injuries as attackmen Ross O’Shea ’14 and Evan Meister ’12 are out with a hip and hamstring injury, respectively, while starting defenseman Jake Feiler ’13 was out with a concussion.

Meister and O’Shea lead the team in scoring with 18 and 12 points, respectively, while Feiler usually covers the best offensive threat on oppposing teams. Feiler is expected to be back when the team resumes league play on Saturday at Loyola, but O’Shea is not and Meister is questionable.

The team is 3-2 overall and 1-0 in league. The Wolverines pulled out one-goal wins against non-league opponents Oak Park and Westlake, winning both games 8-7. Against Westlake, goalie and co-captain Matt Mantel ’12 made 16 saves.

“I try to be a leader as much as possible and lead our defense,” Mantel

By Luke Holthouse

Position: Goalie

CIF Rank:

DANIEL KIM/CHRONICLE

GOING DEEP: Defender Andrew Park ’15 clears out of the Wolverines’ defensive territory around a Westlake attackman.

said. “We have a lot of young guys so I try to lead them so they can grow as lacrosse players.”

The team lost 11-3 at St. Margarets on March 2, but opened league play with an 18-13 win at Crespi on March 6.

Under first-year Head Coach Jay Pfeifer, the team is beginning to get used to a new free style of play on offense that encorporates contributions from a variety of players.

“It’s a style of play that works better for our team,” midfielder and cocaptain Connor Pasich ’12 said. “It lets a lot more guys step up. Instead of having one really good starting line, we can have three good lines that we can interchange at any time.”

While the senior captains have been a major part of the team this year, there are some underclassmen with a hand in the team’s wins as well. Eli Caplan ’14, Roman Holthouse ’15 and Oliver Levitt ’15 have all added goals this year playing in their first varsity season.

“We’re not a one-man team,” midfielder Jack Temko ’14 said. “Our captains lead us well, and it’s not just a three man team. Our coaching is very oriented on if you’re playing well in practice, you’ll be in the game. It’s not based on age at all.”

Despite the injuries, the team is still confident that it can win its second straight Mission League title.

“It’s tough in the beginning of the year with a new coach and a lot of new players,” Pasich said. “[But] I think we’re looking really good.”

JV Lacrosse JV Lacrosse is still looking for its first win of the season.

Overall Record: 0-5 League Record: 0-1 Last two games: Crespi: L (4-3) Palisades: L (5-2) Next game: Saturday @ Loyola

NATHANSON’S

“Although we’ve had some tough losses, we are improving and still have the confidence and the skills to win Mission League again.”

—Mathew Stieg ’14 SOURCE: HW.COM/ATHLETICS

Boys’ tennis loses to University High, sweeps at Palm Desert

Harvard-Westlake:

3-2 overall; 1-0 league Loyola:

March 14, 2012

nathanson ’s

Brandon Chen ’12 Wrestling

The lone blemish on the near-perfect season of the boys’ tennis team was a loss to University High School on March 6, the same team that defeated the Wolverines in the Finals of CIF playoffs last year.

Besides the Wolverines’ 11-3 loss at University, they have won all six of their other matches.

The season opened with a 14-3 victory at Brentwood on Feb. 28 before the team defeated Calabasas on Feb. 29. For the team’s home opener at Los Angeles Valley College on March 1, the team defeated Santa Monica 12-6.

The next week, after the loss at University, the Wolverines hosted San Marino on March 8, also winning 12-6.

The Wolverines then traveled to Palm Springs to take on Peninsula and Corona Del Mar between March 9-10.

The team beat Peninsula 12-4 before winning 10-8 against Corona Del Mar. The Wolverines defeated Corona Del Mar in the quarterfinals of CIF playoffs last year.

The team played Palos Verdes yesterday but results were unavailable as

of press time.

Co-captain Jeffrey Bu ’12 said that he feels optimistic about the team’s chances in playoffs because it has beaten strong opponents without some of its players due to conflicts or injuries. Co-captain Jackson Frons ’12, Dylan Eisner ’13 and Harrison Kalt ’13 were all absent from the trip to Palm Springs due to injuries.

“If we’re at full strength, I say we’ll be really good,” Bu said.

The team begins its league season today when they host Notre Dame.

The Wolverines have won the Mission League every year since 1997.

LUKE HOLTHOUSE/CHRONICLE

RALLY: Doubles player Adam Williams ’12 returns a volley during a match against Santa Monica High School.

JV Tennis The JV Tennis team looks to continue its winning ways as it heads into league play.

Overall Record: 3-1 Last games: University HS: L (12-6) San Marino: W (12-6) Next game: Today @ Notre Dame

nathanson ’s

“It’s teamwork during doubles and singles, it’s not letting the mental side of the game get a hold over you.”

—Nicholas Brooks ’14 SOURCE: HW.COM/ATHLETICS

chronicle.hw.com

March 14, 2012

Sports C3

New coach implements team practices

By Robbie Loeb

DANIEL KIM/CHRONICLE

SAFE AT THIRD: Pitcher Chloe Pendergast ’13 slides into third base in the team’s 8-2 victory against San Fernando on

March 10. On defense, she struck out four batters, only allowing 3 hits throughout the game. She went 2 for 3 at the plate.

Softball defends undefeated record in Lincoln school tournament

By David Kolin

The softball team has held opposing teams to less than two runs in four of the seven games it has played this season. The team’s record is 5-1-1, as results from Tuesday’s game against Village Christian were not available at press time.

The team’s biggest victory so far this season was a 21-0 shutout against Glendale in the Lincoln High School Tournament. “[During that game], we just all came together and we were able to pick each other up a lot,” shortstop and

pitcher Chloe Pendergast ’13 said. “If one person got a hit, the next person would be able to pick them up and get another hit. It was just very continuous.”

In the Lincoln High School Tournament, the Wolverines won three of four games, with the game against Bell-Jeff High School ending in an 8-8 tie. The team was missing two of its starting infielders during the game because of SAT testing.

“The coaches have been emphasizing more team leadership and looking to get better as a team rather than working for yourself,” Pendergast said.

JV Softball After losing its first three games, JV softball rebounded with a win over San Marino.

Overall Record: 2-4

“The coaches are doing a great job of making our team the best it can be and all the girls are so positive and amazing.”

—Molly Chapman ’14

Last game: Marshall: W (17-3) Next game:

Tomorrow vs. Faith Baptist NATHANSON’S

SOURCE: HW.COM/ATHLETICS

“I think since it’s the beginning of the season we are not all used to working with each other. I think we just need to work on working together as a team and not getting down on ourselves for the little things we do wrong.”

The new fielding coach, Bianca Mejia, has been working with the girls on the technical aspects of the game, helping with their hitting as well as their fielding.

“The girls really look up to [Mejia],” captain and pitcher Lauren Li ’12 said.

“She takes the sport very seriously.

That just adds to the intensity that the team has.”

So far this season, Li has maintained a .850 batting average after six games. Last year, Li was the only pitcher, but this year, she is part of a three-pitcher rotation with Pendergast and Maddie Kaplan ’14.

During the second game on Saturday, against San Fernando, Pendergast only allowed three hits the entire game and struck out four batters.

The team will face its biggest rival, Chaminade, on March 23 at home. Its next game is this Friday against Highland in the Lancaster Tournament.

First year Head Coach Tony Kewalremani filled the role of former Head Coach Scott Wood with one goal in mind: to revive the golf program.

The team never used to have a practice schedule under Wood, but with Kewalremani’s new system, the boys play every weekday and many practice both days of the weekend.

“This year we have been practicing as a team and working really hard every day to be the best team we can be, and that has been an improvement from last year,” team captain and Texas A&M-commit Charlie Benell ’12 said. “The practices have helped because they give people who would not ordinarily practice after school the opportunity to get better and dedicate some time to practicing.”

The boys went into their first match against Chaminade Feb. 28 with high hopes of beating last year’s Mission League champions. However, the Wolverines lost by two strokes, 199201, to the Eagles at Woodland Hills Country Club with an uncharacteristic round of 10-over from Emory-commit Max Goodley ’12.

The boys rebounded with an eightshot victory, 194-202, over the Eagles at Wilson Harding Golf Course two days later behind Bakari Bolden’s ’14 two-under 35.

“Bolden has been playing consistently well, and we can count on him every week,” Benell said.

The team took both matches against rival Crespi the following week, led by Michael Aronson’s ’13 one-under 35 at Encino Golf Course on March 6.

The Wolverines face St. Francis Thursday and Notre Dame next week.

JV Golf JV golf looks to spark a winning streak against Notre Dame today.

Overall Record: 1-0 League Record: 1-0 Last two games: Chaminade: W (211-263) Yesterday vs. Viewpoint Next game: Friday vs. Loyola “I think we are one of the best teams in our leage, but we could definitely improve. I see us being the best team in our league by the end of the year.”

—Jake Lepler ’14 NATHANSON’S

SOURCE: HW.COM/ATHLETICS

Volleyball rebounds after loss to St. Francis

By Luke Holthouse

DANIEL KIM/CHRONICLE

UP AND OVER: Outside hitter Chase Klein ’13 hits above Chaminade’s block.

It took an important league game against St. Francis for the boys’ varsity volleyball team to acclimate to the new season. The Wolverines fell to the Golden Knights during their season opener, losing 25-18, 25-21, 25-23.

The Wolverines struggled against St. Francis because they hadn’t worked out some of the kinks in their game, middle blocker Jake Schapiro ’12 said.

Since then, the Wolverines have defeated their opponents and have won all four subsequent games. They beat league competitors Notre Dame and Chaminade in three straight sets.

“All around, our hitters have been doing pretty well,” Head Coach Adam Black said. “[Charlie] Troy ’12 has been pretty consistent with his attack, keeping it in and being smart with the sets that he’s getting. [Charlie] Porter ’12 and [Chase] Klein ’13 do a good job of taking rips at the ball when it’s

there.”

At 4-1 overall and 2-1 in league as of press time, the Wolverines are on pace to finish better than last year.

The 2011 team, which finished at 10-17 overall and 5-7 in league, made playoffs as one of the top four teams in the Mission League, but was knocked out in the first round by Newport Harbor.

The Wolverines played Loyola yesterday, but results were unavailable at press time. Loyola is highly favored to win league as all six of its seniors have committed to Div. I colleges.

While Black said it was too early in the season to tell, he thinks his team should be able to stick around in the playoff race.

“Every league game for us is a big game,” Black said. “I haven’t seen the rest of the league play, but I think, just based on what I know about people coming back from other teams, it’s going to be a fight all the way around the whole league.”

JV Volleyball

JV volleyball won its first four league games.

Overall Record: 10-3 League Record: 4-0 Last two games: Santa Barbara: L (1-0) Yesterday vs. Loyola Next game: Tomorrow @ Crespi

NATHANSON’S

“We are a pretty solid team with a few players that show some strong potential for being future varsity stars.”

—Hugo de Castro-Aberger ’13 SOURCE: HW.COM/ATHLETICS

C4 Sports

The Chronicle

March 14, 2012

Winter Season CIF Penalty kicks bring down girls’ soccer

By Michael Aronson A 4-3 loss in penalty kicks snapped the girls’ soccer team’s 13 game unbeaten streak.

The San Clemente Lady Tritons ended the season of the Wolverines, who were ranked ninth in the nation

by ESPN FAB 50, in the quarterfinals of CIF on Feb. 24.

Team captain Danielle Duhl ’12 and McKynzie Dickman ’14 each suffered injuries in the match, hurting the girls’ chances of beating the seventh best team in the nation, Head Coach Richard Simms said.

Although the girls lost in the quarterfinals, goalie Reba Magier ’12 deemed the season a success because of the girls’ Mission League peformance and large number of shutouts.

“We put a lot of work in this year,” Magier said. “Even though we lost to San Clemente, we stayed in the game longer than they did. It came down to PKs, and it could have gone either way.”

Magier’s goalkeeping along with a solid defense kept the ball out of the net for 11 games.

Some of the Wolverines’ shutouts include an 8-0 win over Palisades at the season’s start and 7-0 wins over Notre Dame Academy and Louisville.

“We had so many shutouts because our defense worked hard in practice, and many of the younger players stepped up and went out of their comfort zone to communicate and help me out,” she said.

The Wolverines outscored opponenents 72-14 this season.

A 7-1 win over Newport Harbor in

PHOTOS BY ROBBIE LOEB/CHRONICLE

EARLY LOSS: Danielle Duhl ’12, left, advances the ball before leaving the game due to injury. Mackenzie Howe ’14 walks back to her team after her penalty kick soared above the crossbar, right. the first round and a 1-0 victory over Canyon in the second round convinced Hannah Lichtenstein ’13, one of the team’s leading scorers, that the girls had the potential for a deep run in the playoffs in only their second year in Division I. “Obviously we would have liked to go farther in CIF, but we overcame adversity and got a lot better as the season went on,” Lichtenstein said.

talented attackers and solid defense.

“We were only able to focus so much on defense because we had such gifted attackers like Rina [Gores ’15], [Lichtenstein] and [Duhl] who did big things for us when we needed them to,” Howe said. “A win against San Clemente would have been fantastic because we wanted it so badly, but when it comes down to [penalty kicks], it’s anyone’s game.”

Wrestlers advance to playoffs, fail to reach Masters rounds

Boys’ soccer falls in 1st round match

By Luke Holthouse

By Charlton Azuoma

Heading into the postseason, the varsity boys’ soccer team had won two games in a row against Mission League opponents Crespi and Alemany, but the Wolverines were eliminated in the first match of CIF Playoffs against Thousand Oaks, 2-0.

In the first half, neither team could get on the scoreboard, as goalkeeper Wade Clement ’12 kept the clean sheet for the Wolverines.

“I just tried to keep my team in the game,” Clement said. “We weren’t really creating very much out top, so our only chance was to keep things locked down on the defensive end. We tried the whole game to keep the ball out of the net at whatever cost.”

In the second half, things loosened up for the Wolverines on the defensive end, as Thousand Oaks was able to score twice in 10 minutes and beat the Wolverines.

“It was a tough first round game against Thousand Oaks, they were cochampions of their league,” midfielder Charlie Porter ’12 said. “Our offense in the preseason and the beginning of the regular season came out unbelievably hot.”

“Because this is only our second year in [Division] I, we definitely have potential to go farther in the future.”

The Wolverines did not lose in the Mission League this season, finishing 7-0-3. They won the close Mission League battle over the 6-3-1 Chaminade Eagles.

Forward Mackenzie Howe ’14 said the team’s national recognition and large margins of victory to the team’s

DANIEL KIM/CHRONICLE

YOUNG GUN: Ty Gilhuly ’13 dribbles the ball in the boys’ soccer team’s first round loss to Thousand Oaks High School.

None of the six wrestlers who qualified for CIF Playoffs advanced from the first round into CIF Masters.

Brandon Chen ’12, Patrick Halkett ’14, Ben Klein ’14 and James Wauer ’13 were eliminated on the first day of the two-day tournament at Oak Hills High School between Feb. 17-18.

Charlie Nelson ’13 and Henry Schlossberg ’13 advanced to the second day before being knocked out.

The top five of 32 wrestlers from each weight class advanced to CIF Masters.

Schlossberg said because of random chance and performance during the regular season, the six Wolverines were not seeded very highly and faced tough opponents early on in the tournament.

“It’s really difficult to make it to Masters,” Schlossberg said. “It’s really the luck of the draw as far as who you get, and you can get stuck with a pretty tough guy.”

The meet marked the last wrestling match for Chen, whom Head Coach Gary Bairos regards as the best wrestler on the team.

Bairos said Chen needed to have an almost flawless performance at the tournament to advance due to the difficulty of the 145-pound weight class.

“[Chen] had one of the toughest weight classes in the tournament.

It was just a brutal weight,” Bairos said. “He wrestled really well. He lost a couple of close bouts to some good people and ended up not advancing on, but it’s really not indicative of the wrestler that he is. I still think [Chen] is learning.”

At meets where scores were tallied for overall teams rather than individuals, the Wolverines struggled, going 0-4 in the Mission League and not qualifying for CIF Playoffs as a team.

However, the team had more success at meets where scores were tallied for each individual.

“On paper, it probably looks like we didn’t have a great season, but in reality, it was a pretty darn good season,” Bairos said. “We go to all the toughest tournaments they offer around here. We took a lot of losses, but the upside is that the kids will be far more experienced next year.”

Jake Bracken ’14, who did not qualify for CIF but attended the tournament as an alternate, said some of those younger wrestlers should see vast improvements.

“Next year [Bracken] should be able to get a more favorable draw as far as his weight class goes,” Schlossberg said. “[Changing classes] should help him out, and he works really hard.”

chronicle.hw.com

March 14, 2012

Sports C5

Winter Season CIF Boys’ hoops falls by 12 to Serra in quarterfinals

By Robbie Loeb

An up-and-down season for the boys’ basketball team culminated in a 62-50 loss at the hands of Gardena Serra in the CIF quarterfinals. The Wolverines finished their season 19-10 and went 7-5 in the Mission League for a fourth-place finish.

Since the preseason opened with two straight losses in November, the Wolverines have been inconsistent, and the December injury to forward Josh Hearlihy ’12 that sidelined him for six weeks certainly didn’t help their cause. The team was never able to string together more than four straight wins and got behind early in the league season, losing to Chaminade, Loyola and Alemany in a four-game span. The season certainly had its highlights, Head Coach Greg Hilliard said, particularly a buzzer-beating victory at Crespi and a 81-62 win over the eventual Mission League champion Alemany in the final league game. That momentum carried into the playoffs as the team breezed past Whitney with a 34-point thrashing in the first round and narrowly closed out JSerra 53-49 in round two.

“We lived up to our eight seed, and we gave the first seed a very good run for their money,” Hilliard said. “We had the only late-season victory over Alemany, who was a very strong team.”

But the disappointments reigned supreme for the Wolverines, who fell twice to rival Loyola and were bounced from the playoffs early on. The team did not finish atop the league standings for the first time in four years, despite

having a physically imposing and talented frontline. Serra, with 6-foot10 Emmanual Ndumanya, 6-6 Daddy Ugbede and 6-7 Tavrion Dawson was the only team the boys faced all season that could matchup with their size.

“It was new,” Hearlihy said. “Not a whole lot of teams can match up with all of our size person for person like they could. We didn’t hit the boards as strong as we needed to against a team that was as strong as us and as athletic as us.”

Hilliard said consistently bad third quarters plagued his team, which explains the erratic results. The troublesome third was perhaps most exposed in the team’s final loss, in which the Wolverines saw their doubledigit first-half lead vanish behind a 10-0 run by Serra to start the third. The Wolverines committed five turnovers at the end of that quarter and ended up getting blown out in the quarter 25-9.

“Give credit to Serra,” Zena Edosomwan ’12 said. “We just had a collapse in the third quarter and they capitalized.”

“These guys did very well with the characteristic of having a bad quarter every game,” Hilliard said. “Somehow we were able to overcome that enough to have a very strong season.”

Last year’s team won the Mission League and a CIF title despite injuries to key role players, which this year’s team couldn’t match even with the improvements Edosomwan made to his game in the offseason and Derick Newton’s ’14 emergence as the team’s leading scorer.

DANIEL KIM/CHRONICLE

HIS LAST IN BLACK AND RED: Josh Hearlihy ’12 dribbles around a Serra defender in his last game as a Wolverine. Hearlihy lost most of his season to injury.

Girls’ basketball falls 1st round matchup to Workman, loses team captain to college

By Camille Shooshani

CAMILLE SHOOSHANI/CHRONICLE

LAST GAME: Leslie Schuman ’12 shoots the ball over a Notre Dame defender. Her high school career ended after the CIF loss.

Captain Leslie Schuman ’12 watched from the bench as the clock wound down on her final high school basketball game.

Down 19 and with two stars sidelined with injuries early on, reviving the game against Workman in the first round of CIF playoffs was impossible. Two years ago, Schuman was on her way to a State Championship.

Last year, the team defied expectations and made a second straight state run.

But the loss of nine seniors hit the team hard, and with a 5-5 record in league, the girls almost missed playoffs entirely.

“I’ve been to the top, and I’ve won before, and I’m blessed,” Emory-

commit Schuman said. “We weren’t expected to do anything, but we still came third in league. I just wish I had more time with them.”

“It really sucked to sit there and watch our season end,” co-captain Natalie Florescu ’13 said. “We did struggle, but they were just a better team, a true shooting team. The girls stepped up more than anyone could have expected them to.” “[That game] was indicative of the highs and lows of the year,” Head Coach Melissa Hearlihy said. “I had Leslie [Schuman] throwing up in the bathroom but we also had Zoe [Bohn ’14] come back with the game of her life.

Three senior will graduate in June, including Schuman, but with more varsity experience, the girls hope to

improve on their third place finish in the Mission League standings.

“We’re going to be a new team once again and work through the same things we had to work through this year,” guard Alixx Lucas ’13 said.

“Now that we know what to do, it’ll be a lot easier.”

“There’s going to have to be some adjustments,” Schuman said. “It’s a matter of them stepping into their roles and taking on bigger responsibility.”

“What does success mean? Success shouldn’t be measured by wins alone,” Hearlihy said. “Success needs to be measured by how much better you get as an indvidual and as a team.

If that’s the way we measured our season, we were very sucessful this year.”

Girls’ water polo takes CIF Continued from page C1

that forces outside shots rather than play an aggressive, full-pool press defense like they did last season when Hooks and Grossman could cause turnovers.

Over the next seven weeks, the Wolverines won every game they played in the Mission League, finishing undefeated in league for the fifth straight year. They made quick work of Trabuco Hills and Sunny Hills in the first rounds of playoffs and survived overtime scare from Upland in the semifinals. Ultimately, they got the rematch they wanted in the Final.

But the Wolverines Los Osos saw in the Final was a totally different

team from their regular season matchup. The defense saw a 12 –point improvement from the regular season game. Lee made 13 saves on 15 shots in a game that Bella Gonzalez ’12 described as the game of Lee’s life. On offense, Maddie Abrahams ’14, Sydney Cheong ’14, Gonzalez, Hallock and Kassie Shannon ’13 added goals.

“People don’t really understand the scope of things this year,” Flacks said. “We don’t have a pool, and we’re travelling all the time. To come out here and have that kind of a performance was amazing. You work so hard to earn the chance to play in a championship game. When it gets here, you want to smile and appreciate it and I think we did a great job today.”

DANIEL KIM/CHRONICLE

BACK TO BACK: Players push Head Coach Brian Flacks ’06 into the pool after winning their second straight CIF title. The Wolverines beat Los Osos 9-2 in the matchup.

C6 Sports

bases LOADED

The Chronicle

March 14, 2012

With star pitcher Lucas Giolito ’12 out for the season with a sprained ulnar cruciate ligament, the baseball team will need to rely on Joe Corrigan ’13, Max Fried ’12 and Jack Flaherty ’14 to compete for a title. Stories by Robbie Loeb

DANIEL KIM/CHRONICLE

Joe Corrigan ’13 First Baseman

JUDD LIEBMAN/CHRONICLE

Jack Flaherty ’14 Third Baseman, Pitcher

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF JON FRIED

First baseman Joe Corrigan ’13 committed to USC in early November, making him the second baseball player from the junior class to commit after catcher Arden Pabst ’13 committed to Georgia Tech in September.

This year, Corrigan has been consistent with his bat, connecting over half the time he steps up to the plate. He leads the team with a .545 batting average in 22 at bats, with nine runs and seven RBIs. The first baseman has 12 hits with eight singles, two doubles, a triple and a home run.

Corrigan posted a .355 batting average last year to go with 33 hits, 20 runs, 17 RBIs and a team-best 14 stolen bases.

This is his third year on varsity after making the team as a freshman, the only one in the class of 2013 to do so.

The future Trojan impressed college scouts this summer at the 2011 Elite Baseball Series, prompting USC to extend an offer. USC has won 12 national championships in its history, while no other school has won more than six.

Max Fried ’12 Pitcher Top-ranked right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito ’12 may have played his final game in red and black, but top-ranked southpaw Max Fried ’12 is just beginning his career as a Wolverine.

Fried dominates on the mound with his deadly sharp curveball, throws a mid-90 mph fastball and his 6-foot-4 frame makes opposing batters shudder at the plate.

Fried signed his letter of intent in November to play at UCLA, but could potentially bypass college and instead head for the MLB, where he’s a projected top 10 draft pick in June.

The senior transfer had an early loss against Valencia in the finals of the Easton Tournament, inflating his ERA to 3.91. From the mound, Fried has given up 15 hits and eight earned runs, has walked nine and stuck out 22.

In his 26 at bats so far, Fried has posted a .423 average with seven runs and six RBIs.

Right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty ’14, who excelled as a starter in his freshman season, going 6-2 with a 2.51 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 47 innings, slides to the number two slot in the rotation with the injury to Lucas Giolito ’12, and has the opportunity to blossom in his increased role.

Flaherty threw a complete-game shutout against West Ranch in the semifinals of the Easton Tournament on March 1.

He is extremely effective with his go-to slider and his secondary pitch is a well-placed fastball that sits in the 83-86 mph range, catcher Arden Pabst ’13 said.

Early this year, Flaherty has yet to give up a run in 9.2 innings. He has only allowed six hits and two walks while collecting six strikeouts.

When he’s not on the mound, Flaherty fills in at third base where he makes good use of his powerful arm. At the plate this season, Flaherty has batted .381 with eight hits, seven runs and three RBIs in 21 at bats. In his freshman campaign, Flaherty hit .355 with 27 hits, 21 runs, 18 RBIs, two home runs and stole 13 bases.

Baseball loses Giolito to elbow injury, winless in league Continued from page A1

best and expecting the worst.”

An ulnar collateral ligament sprain results from repetitive stress to the elbow. The stress eventually creates a tear with varying degrees of severity, according to athletic trainer Milo Sini.

“It’s a very common injury and happens all the time,” Head Coach Matt LaCour said. “The stress of throwing a baseball is tough on the [ligament] and when you are talking about throwing a baseball 99 to 100 mph, the stress is sometimes too much.”

Despite the loss of at least six to 10 weeks of his senior season, Giolito said injury will not affect him in the longterm. It is currently unclear whether or not he still has potential as a top 10 pick in the draft June 4.

“Scouts all know what [Giolito] is capable of by this point and the injury he has is not something organizations are going to shy from,” LaCour said.

With Giolito and ESPN’s best lefthanded high school pitcher, Max Fried ’12, the league title and even a CIF championship seemed within reach for Wolverine baseball. If the team qualifies for CIF playoffs, the Wolverines could be in action as late as June, which could be enough time to see Giolito on the mound again for the Wolverines.

“I’m going to do everything I can

from the sidelines to help my team out.

We’re still going to have a special year,” Giolito said.

Fried replaced Giolito as the number one pitcher, with Jack Flaherty ’14 and Brandon Deere ’12 closing out the three-man rotation. Closer Hans Hansen ’13 will still lead the bullpen.

With Giolito as a cheerleader, and with Fried on the mound, the Wolverines faced Alemany again Friday in the second game of the series.

The team needed the win after the tough loss Tuesday but the game looked bleak. His team down 2-1 in the seventh inning, LaCour was ejected for arguing a call at third base. With the sun setting quickly, Kenny Grodin ’13 needed to secure a run. Grodin sent Andrew Wallach ’13 home with a pinch-hit double right before the game ended early 2-2 because of darkness.

“It was really important that we tied, but it sucks that we couldn’t [finish],” Grodin said.

On March 10, the team secured a 14-1 win over Santa Barbara in the Chatsworth Tournament.

Though LaCour could not coach due to a suspension following his ejection, Deere and Hansen only allowed one hit.

The Wolverines faced Crespi Tuesday, though results were not available at press time and will play them Friday in the second game of the series.

DANIEL KIM/CHRONICLE

SWINGING FOR THE FENCES: Shortstop Brian Ginsburg ’14 takes a swing in the Wolverines’ first league game against Alemany. The team lost the game 2-0.

JV Boys’ Baseball The Wolverines look to end their losing streak in the Mission League against Crespi this Friday.

Overall Record: 4-3-1 League Record: 0-2-0

“We struggled with not getting off the bus ready to go for our game on the road. We’re going to try to turn that around.”

— Matt Karo ’14

Last two games: Kennedy L (3-1) Alemany L (7-2) nathanson ’s

SOURCE: HW.COM/ATHLETICS

March 14, 2012

chronicle.hw.com

Sports C7

DANIEL KIM/CHRONICLE

RIGHT ON TRACK: Amy Weissenbach ’12, left, competes in a meet against Alemany on March 1, left. Shea Copeland, right, pursues her. Garrett Robinson ’15, far right, runs

Track and field wins league openers

By Julius Pak

For the first time in program history, both varsity track and field teams won the first two league meets of the season.

The boys’ and girls’ teams defeated Alemany 73-58 and 92-43.

The victories of both teams in the March 1 meet against Alemany also marked Head of Program and Varsity Head Coach Jonas Koolsbergen’s 300th and 301st track and field wins over his 24 years in charge of the program at Harvard School and Harvard-Westlake.

“I think this season started off really well,” co-captain Amy Weissen-

bach ’12 said. “Part of the reason why we didn’t start as well last year is because we didn’t have all of our pieces.

We had people competing in basketball and soccer. This year, fortunately, we’ve gotten everybody into training right away.”

“It’s a lot different this year since we have so much depth not only on the sprint side but on the distance side also,” co-captain Cami Chapus ’12 said.

Also at the home meet against Alemany, a member of the girls’ team broke the first school record of the season when Alex Florent ’15 jumped to a record height in the high jump event.

“I was a little nervous because it was my first meet, and I just decided

By Lizzy Thomas

By Keane Muraoka-Robertson

Track coach and Olympic gold medalist Joanna Hayes, who resumed training in November after a three year hiatus, has begun training for the U.S. Olympic EMILY SEGAL/CHRONICLE Team. She will Joanna Hayes run trials later this June to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Earlier in Hayes’ career, she won a gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. “[Winning] the Olympics changed my life,” Hayes said. “I already had a contract with Nike, but it got bigger once I won.”

Following her record setting race at the Olympics, she encountered a series of injuries.

“After the best season and overall year of my life at the time — winning the Olympic Gold medal, setting the Olympic Record, ranking first in the world and winning USA Track and Field Classic Athlete of the Year — I went [on] to have four of the toughest seasons of my life,” Hayes said in her blog.

Hayes is currently training at two hours a day, four days a week, at UCLA. “[The transition] has been really crazy,” Hayes said. “Before it was just me, and I just ran track and had a contract. Now I coach at Harvard-Westlake, private training sessions for athletes, personal training, and then I also have my daughter, and I train.”

to do my best,” Florent said. “I hope at least to set it higher for incoming people next year.”

Following the Alemany meet, both teams avenged their losses to St. Francis and Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy last year in this year’s dual meet at St. Francis.

Defending CIF champions, the girls’ team reversed last year’s narrow 62-65 loss to Flintridge into a 77-49 victory last Wednesday.

Similarly, the boys’ team defeated St. Francis 78-49 after last year’s defeat by a margin of one point.

Both teams are now preparing for their meets against Notre Dame Academy Thursday.

Junior talent

Coach trains for Olympics

DANIEL KIM/CHRONICLE

DETERMINATION: Elle Wilson ’13 runs in a track and field meet on Mar. 1.

DANIEL KIM/CHRONICLE

in the same meet. The team has won its first two league meets of the season, a third of the team’s total meets this season. The scores of the first meets were 73-58 and 78-49.

It’s a Thursday afternoon and Elle Wilson ’13 is easily beating half the boys on the track team in their set of 20 200-meter runs.

Come Monday, she’ll probably do the same thing during the team’s sprint workout, never relaxing her near-perfect form.

Wilson wasn’t one of those people naturally drawn towards running.

“I dreaded running in elementary school,” Wilson said.

Wilson has come a long way since then. She runs every day for a weekly total of 40 to 50 miles, and comes to school at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an additional practice that focuses on core.

Though Wilson has run as a Wolverine since seventh grade, it wasn’t until her freshman year that she viewed her sport as anything other than recreational. “I mostly did it for fun until ninth grade, and that was when I got serious,” Wilson said.

Freshman year also marked Wilson’s transition from sprints to distance running. Wilson, who ran almost exclusively 400-meter stet in middle school, was picked out by Head Distance Coach Tim Sharpe as a long-distance runner upon her arrival to the high school team.

“What it really came down to was watching her develop,” Sharpe said. “I saw that her particular range of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers is that of a distance runner.”

In the two years since, Wilson, who now runs in the 800-meter and 1600-meter races in track in addition to the three-mile race, has come a long

JV Track and Field The boys’ JV team has yet to pick up a league victory while the girls’ won their meet against Flintridge.

Boys’ League Record: 0-2 Girls’ League Record: 1-1 Next match: Tuesday vs. Chaminade at Harvard-Westlake US “[The season’s] going all right. We’ve run some of our early meets, but I hope to improve my times and see the team succeed.”

—Bradley Schlesinger ’14 NATHANSONS’ SOURCE: HW.COM/ATHLETICS

Elle Wilson’s ’15 new training schedule has improved her times in track and field and cross country. way.

She shaved a whole minute off her three-mile cross country time this past fall down to 19:32 at the Woodbridge Invitational, a personal best.

ESPN awarded her the Golden Anchor Award, an award administered to the fastest fifth place runner from any team, after the varsity girls cross country team’s victory at the Mission League Finals.

After the team’s third place finish at the State Championships, Sharpe and Head Track Coach Jonas Koolsbergen chose Wilson for the Coach’s Choice award.

“Elle does everything in her power to get better,” Sharpe said.

Sharpe’s nickname for Wilson is “puma,” because of her almost feline running form.

“There’s no magic formula — it’s just putting in the work,” said Wilson.

Wilson’s dedication has gotten her through the myriad injuries she’s suffered as a result of her sport.

“Shin splints, horrible blisters, Achilles tendon, knees — everything you can have, I’ve had it,” Wilson said.

Wilson’s training was interrupted again this January when she left the country for 12 days to debate in South Africa.

“It kind of happened that it was a happy accident that I got sick right before it,” she said. “My shins were really bad when I was there so I couldn’t really run anyway,” Most recently, Wilson tied her personal best in the 4x400-meter with a 64 second leg at the Tri-County Invitational March 10 straight off a morning SAT. She looks forward to bettering her 2:28 personal best in the 800.

The Chronicle

C8 Sports

Mastering

the Madness

By Judd Liebman

E

very March brings a familiar tradition for Greg Myerson ’13.

Myerson has filled out a bracket predicting the 64-team March Madness NCAA Tournament every year he can remember.

He starts watching college games at the beginning of the year and takes in everything he can. Come March, he has a big task: Myerson has to pick the winners of 63 games to enter into both the Harvard-Westlake and ESPN bracket competition.

The tournament starts Thursday, and the rules are simple. Each round has a point value, with the first round of games worth the least and the final round worth the most. The more correct predictions, the more points a participant wins.

The Student-Athlete Advisory Council has planned the school competition in which all students can submit a bracket to Yahoo.com. Predictions need to be submitted by Thursday morning. SAAC has organized college games to be screened in Taper Gymnasium on Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Owners of the three best brackets will receive gift cards to various restaurants, SAAC member Matt Wolfen ’12 said.

Myerson, who has Kentucky taking the championship, usually uses pretournament rankings to decide many of the matchups.

“Generally, I’m not the most adventurous,” he said. “I’m not going to be the guy to have VCU (the 12 seed in the South) or Butler in the Final Four.

I think about how teams have done in

March 15-16 1 Kentucky

March 22-23

16 MVSU/WKU 8 Iowa St

For two weeks a year, 68 college basketball teams compete in a sudden elimination tournament to crown the national champion. Around the country, millions of fans fill out their brackets in an attempt at the sought after “perfect bracket.” Students compete against friends and can watch the madness in Taper Gym as it happens.

the past. I look at coaching and how good the team’s coaching is, or if they have an electric player. And I look for experience.”

He, like Alex Rand-Lewis ’12, who will participate in the bracket competition hosted by the Student Athletic Advisory Council and one created by a friend made through Yahoo, looks on ESPN for more information on teams.

Rand-Lewis doesn’t follow college ball throughout the year, so he uses ESPN “Bracketology” as his primary source.

He doesn’t spend too much time researching though.

“I’m not a big college basketball fan, but when March Madness comes along, people who don’t follow basketball all year can jump into it and have some fun,” he said.

Both Rand-Lewis, who picked Syracuse to go all the way, and Myerson have picked #1-seeded teams to take the tournament, but many focus on “bracket busters.”

“I believe in the underdog,” Katie Price ’12 said. “I like when the underdog wins because it mixes up people’s expectations.”

Price has never completed a bracket and joined an individual pool with friends from outside of school. She plans on submitting her bracket to her individual and Harvard-Westlake pools.

Noah Weinman ’12 and English teacher Adam Howard pick their teams based on feeling and having a hunch, they said. Howard submits two brackets, a dream one and a legitimate one. In his dream bracket, Howard always picks Texas (the East’s 11-seed) to win. In his real bracket, he has picked

March 17-18

March 24-25

March 14, 2012

Missouri to win it all.

“I say this without any supporting statistics,” he said. “Hunch picks.”

Weinman’s methodology is almost totally random.

“I don’t follow college basketball,” he said. “If I see a school, and it has an interesting team, I’ll usually pick it to win unless it’s 1 vs. 16 or 2 vs. 15 team.”

He will compete in the school bracket but only competes for fun and for the thrill of picking an unrealistic bracket.

“It’s great when you have that one upset in your favor,” Weinman said.

“If you call that one major upset, it’s a great feeling.”

Weinman has selected the Wichita State Shockers, the fifth seed in the South, to win the tournament based on the team name and mascot.

“The only real hope is making the absurd bracket that has a one in trillion chance of being right,” he said.

Andrew Wallach ’13, who created a 35-member league on Yahoo.com, doesn’t pick the underdog as often as Weinman does but said that going with the top seeds isn’t a good bet either.

“A 5 against 12 matchup is the best to pick the underdog on,” he said.

“Those 12 teams are always dangerous.

I don’t know how they do it, but they always come ready to play” The 12 seeds that have qualified so far are Virginia Commonwealth University, Harvard and Long Beach State.

Keeping that upset secret can be the secret to a bracket’s success, Myerson said.

“I’ll talk to [friends] about the bracket, but I won’t give away anything if I think I have anything,” he said.

2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Bracket

March 24-25

6 UNLV

prize money from ESPN for a perfect bracket, which no one has ever chosen

40 million

brackets will be filled out in 2012

9.22 x 10-18

chance of making a perfect bracket

0.026%

8

odds of the final four being all number one seeds

lowest seeded team to ever go to the championship game SOURCE: SPORTSGRID.COM GRAPHIC BY CAMILLE SHOOSHANI

March 15-16 1 Syracuse 16 UNC-Asheville

8 Kansas St 9 Southern Miss 5 Vanderbilt 12 Harvard 4 Wisconsin

4 Indiana 13 New Mexico St

$5 million

March 22-23

March 31

March 31

12 VCU

will be bet on games

March 17-18

9 Connecticut 5 Wichita St

Bracketology $3.5 million

13 Montana

SOUTH

EAST

6 Cincinnati

11 Colorado

11 Texas

3 Baylor

3 Florida St

14 S. Dakota St

14 St. Bonaventure

April 2

7 Notre Dame

7 Gonzaga

10 Xavier

10 West Virginia

2 Duke

2 Ohio St

15 Lehigh

15 Loyola (MD)

CHAMPION

1 North Carolina

1 Michigan St 16 LIU Brooklyn

16 Lamar/Vermont

8 Memphis

8 Creighton

9 St. Louis

9 Alabama

5 New Mexico

5 Temple

12 Long Beach St

12 Cal/USF

4 Louisville

4 Michigan

13 Davidson 6 Murray St

WEST

11 Colorado St

13 Ohio

MIDWEST

6 San Diego St 11 NC State

3 Marquette

3 Georgetown

14 BYU/Iona

14 Belmont

7 Florida

7 St. Mary’s

10 Virgina

10 Purdue

2 Missouri

2 Kansas

15 Norfolk St

15 Detroit GRAPHIC BY SAM SACHS

CUT AND PLAY: Cut out this bracket and select your winner for each matchup.

The numbers represent the teams’ seeds, which were determined by a group of ana-

lysts based on each team’s performance throughout the regular season. To enter your bracket in the Harvard-Westlake pool, check your email for instructions.

March 14, 2012

chronicle.hw.com

Sports C9

PHOTOS BY LUKE HOLTHOUSE/CHRONICLE

THE ITALIAN CONNECTION: AC Milan trainer Jose Soto explains the results of one of his experiments to the soccer players, left. Soto prepares to scan boys’ soccer striker Cole Fletcher’s ’15 chest to determine what muscles are being used in his exercises, right.

The Milan Lab

By Luke Holthouse

A

shirtless Beau McGinley ’13 steps onto the dynabiopsy machine inside the upper school weight room. Jose Soto of the Milan Lab asks McGinley how tall he is.

“5-feet, 11 [inches],” answers the varsity boys’ soccer midfielder.

Soto asks his assistant Lucca Bongarra to plug that value into the metric unit conversion app on his iPhone.

Lucca tells Soto to type 1.80 meters into MilanLab computer program, and the test is ready to go.

Soto sticks two motion sensors to McGinley’s hips and instructs McGinley to stand in between another motion sensor lying on the padded mats of the weight room. The three sensors are connected to Soto’s laptop computer and provide all the data needed to calculate the efficiency of McGinley’s jumping technique. Soto tells McGinley to wait a couple of seconds in a squat before exploding into a jump.

As McGinley lands on the mat, the program measures the amount of force in his jump and identifies the muscle groups that provided the energy. The program detects whether a muscle group in McGinley’s legs is strong and in shape, or is weak and in need of rest.

The dynabiopsy machine is just one of three parts of the MilanLab that Soto and his staff demonstrated for Harvard-Westlake.

The MilanLab is a unique applied kinesiology database that uses information about an athlete and helps model a workout regimen for that athlete. Head Athletic Trainer Milo Sini said that the program has been very

Fitness test Dynabiopsy

successful for the team, as many of the players on AC Milan are relatively old for professional soccer players, but have managed to avoid injury and keep the team competitive.

“AC Milan is probably the only team in the world who has perfected, through the MilanLab, a data collecting ability to monitor a soccer player through the age of six to the professional level in multiple variables.” Sini said.

Soto said that the philosophy behind the MilanLab is to build a comprehensive plan for each individual athlete that uses all possible technologies to maximize the player’s performance on the field.

“The philosophy is to use all the expertise of this human and technological and scientific resources of AC Milan,” Soto said. “You use all of this together to give the player the greatest training experience possible.”

Soto also emphasized the importance of structuring the MilanLab program for each individual player differently.

“At the end of the day, the most important person is the individual player,” Soto said. “The key is to recognize differences and by me having a deep understanding of your characteristics, I can make you better.”

Besides the jumping tests with the dynabiopsy machine, Soto tested both the miniature heart rate monitor and the ultrasound body mass indicator.

The miniature heart rate monitor calculated whether each athlete’s heart was working too hard to pump blood across their body, indicating that the athlete needed more rest. The body

How the test helps: Improper jumping can indicate tense or oveworked muscles.

mass indicator gave specific results Lucca, are both players on the AC Mion the body and muscle type of each lan youth development team. athlete, which helps Soto specialize his Barzdukas hopes that the boys’ training for each individual. and girls’ soccer programs introduce a Sini said that Harvard-Westlake school-based club team that would alhopes to incorporate some of the Mi- low players to stick with their teamlanLab technologies into the Harvard- mates and coaching staff during the Westlake sports offseason. program, but “It’s a little that the procrazy for a kid to gram hasn’t play for one coach AC Milan is probably the figured out how for five months of only team in the world who the year and then they would use the technology come play for anhas perfected, through the yet. He also said other coach for MilanLab, a data collecting that Harvardfive months of the Westlake trainyear,” Barzdukas ability to monitor a soccer ers and soccer said. “If we can player through the age of coaches can find some way to six to the professional level keep kids playing learn from the perspective of together over the in multiple variables.”

AC Milan trainlonger term, they’ll ers and coaches —Milo Sini get to know each by interacting Director of Sports Medicine other so they can with them on build talent on top the project. of talents.”

Head of Barzdukas said Athletics Audrius Barzdukas said that that AC Milan and Harvard-Westlake AC Milan hopes to develop its brand became interested in each other bein the United States with the help of cause they are both members of the Harvard-Westlake. He added that in Scholastic Institute for Sports Science the future, AC Milan may look to Har- and Medicine. vard-Westlake to be the headquarter “I look at it as two elite brands of its youth development program in coming together to form a unique southern California. partnership,” Barzdukas said. “We’re The current youth development one of the best schools in the world. team in Los Angeles practices on the They’re one of the best soccer clubs in Ted Slavin Field and features several the world. And we both happen to be in players who aren’t yet Harvard-West- the kid development business. I think lake students, but are members of the the results of that partnership will be Harvard-Westlake community. Barz- exciting for both organizations. We’re dukas’ son, Rimas, and middle school just getting started, we’re just getting English teacher Jennifer Dohr’s son, it going.”

“

A trainer from the Milan Lab performed three tests on players of the soccer teams to establish their fitness baselines. The tests can indicate when a player may be at risk for injury.

Heart Rate Monitor

BMI Indicator BMI refers to the variation of one’s proportion compared to the average build.

The test: Athletes are hooked up to a machine that measures the tension in the string attached to them when they jump.

AC Milan is the winningest professional soccer team in the world. The club has won 18 international tournaments sanctioned by either the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) or the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), more than any other football club in the world.

The test: The test: The trainer measured the heart rates of the soccer players to establish the athletes’ baseline.

Players were scanned to determine which muscles were working to perform an action.

How the test helps: A much higher heart rate denotes either a lack of fitness or exhaustion.

How the test helps: The scan can point out which muscles are not working efficiently or in shape.

SOURCE: MILO SINI, JOSE SOTO

INFOGRAPHIC BY ARIELLE MAXNER, AUSTIN LEE, AND JULIUS PAK

C10 Sports

The Chronicle

March 14, 2012

DON’T LOOK DOWN: Charlie Andrews ’13 races against the clock at the American Bouldering Series National Champtionships for Youth in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF BRUCE MITCHELL

Rock Solid

By David Lim

Forty seconds stood between Charlie Andrews ’13 and elimination. He knew it would be over if he didn’t make the leap to the next hold.

It was the second day of the American Bouldering Series National Championships for Youth in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Andrews had made the first cut the day before to make the semifinals, placing first out of the 37 best youth climbers in America.

Bouldering, Andrews’ favorite style of rock climbing, involves short climbs without a rope. Competitors have four minutes to make it as far as they can up the wall.

“It’s pure movement, and you don’t have to worry about extra equipment that rope climbing will necessarily entail,” Andrews said. “The moves can be much harder because it’s a shorter route, so it can be some pretty amazing things you’re doing on the wall.”

He said hedidn’t have the mental clarity the second day that had allowed him to get through qualifiers with relative ease. In the first semifinal climb, Andrews said he struggled to find a route and had to take a moment to

calm himself down before finishing.

With the clock winding down, he didn’t have any time in his last climb of the day. Andrews had a long way to go upwards in order to have a shot the next day at the finals. Exhausted after multiple unsuccessful attempts to make the next hold, he said made a final attempt, pushing out all thoughts of what would happen if he fell.

“My only thought was iron determination to stick the hold,” Andrews said. “I tried to channel all the crowd noise through my fatiguing body. This was my last shot.”

With what he describes as an “allout lunge,” Andrews made the hold with 30 seconds to go.

“It’s the only time I’ve ever been amped enough to yell at myself while climbing, ‘Come on!’” Andrews said.

He executed 10 more moves rapidly that he visualized in his head one after another. Seeing eight seconds left on the clock, Andrews reached the final face of the wall and accelerated as the top was just in reach, he said.

“I paused momentarily before the final move, feeling the crowd’s energy welling up behind me like a wave, but my body was done.” Andrews said. “I leapt for the finish but sailed just short and nearly landed on my friend as he

Charlie Andrews ’13 has made it past a brutal semifinal to place 8th at the American Bouldering Series Championship for Youth. turned around.”

Although he didn’t make it all the way to the top, Andrews made it far enough to take sixth place in the semifinals and qualify for the finals with the top 10 climbers. He said he faced another challenging day on Sunday in the finals and placed eighth in the national competition. He was also nominated for the North Face Young Gun Award as a role model in his community.

He has gotten to know the other climbers through their encounters at elite competitions throughout the year.

They hang out during their free time before and after climbs.

“Even though I only see them once or twice a year, I feel closer to them than a lot of people I see everyday,” Andrews said. “There’s definitely a common factor in who makes it. It’s good to see them there.”

The real opponent, Andrews said, is the route to the top. On every climb, he plays a mental game against the wall. He must navigate alone and stay focused under pressure.

“Sometimes, I think of catch phrases to prevent scattered thought that can lead to distraction and non-fluid climbing,” he said.

During Divisionals, which he passed weeks before to reach Nationals, his

mantra was to “climb hard, smart and fast.”

At Nationals, his technique was no longer the concern. Instead, he focused on a simpler message.

“I want to inspire people,” he said.

Andrews, who has made the U.S. Youth National Team for six consecutive years, has set even loftier goals for his future and hopes to qualify for Men’s National Team for the first time this year. If rock climbing makes the cut for 2020 Summer Olympics, Andrews hopes to be part of the Men’s National Team that would compete at the international level.

“It’s one of my life goals to compete in the Olympics, so, if the sport is admitted, I expect that would motivate me to train as hard as possible to prepare myself to qualify for the Men’s U.S. team,” he said.

Regardless of whether the event does make it, Andrews sees climbing as a part of his future in college and beyond.

“I will be out of college and my life will be totally different, so it’s hard to extrapolate my chances or anything like that,” Andrews said. “With the love of climbing I feel today, I think it’s safe to say I’ll still be climbing,” Andrews said.

March 14, 2012

chronicle.hw.com

Sports C11

Junior wins equestrian competition in Spain

By Eric Loeb

Kogan traveled to Spain for his junior year as part of the School Year While studying abroad, Eli Ko- Abroad program. gan ’13 recently finished in first place After qualifying for the event by at the Casilla La Mancha Federación winning smaller events in Zaragoza, Hípica National Equestrian event. De- Spain, where he currently lives, he spite being the youngest competitor, he needed special permission to particiranked first in show in multiple events, pate from the Casilla La Mancha Fedwinning the 0.9 and 1.1 meter jumping eración Hípica. events.

While balancing his hobby with Kogan athis studies, Kotempted to clear gan trained viga 1.1 meter fence orously in order on the first day I had no idea that I came in to continue to of competition in the first until they called the top compete but failed. On the events. three back into the ring to second day, how“When in ever, Kogan sucZaragoza, I get receive the trophies. When cessfully cleared out to the barn they handed me the first the 0.9 meter bar every day exand did not replace trophy, I was shocked.” cept Mondays,” cieve a single deKogan said. “At —Eli Kogan ’13 the barn, I eiduction from the judges. ther jump a few On the third horses or work and final day, he returned to the 1.1 on training a few young stallions. At meter event, completing the jump and the moment, my project stallion is a finishing in first place.

5-year-old named Confoster. A couple “I had no idea that I came in first times a month, I compete in shows in until they called the top three back the area, and, after winning last weekinto the ring to receive the trophies,” end in Toledo, I will now start traveling Kogan said. “When they handed me to higher level shows. I may be comthe first place trophy, I was shocked. ing back to Spain in July to spend the The first day of competition I was month competing.” eliminated, and the second day I did “Coming to Spain this year was the not qualify top three, so winning first best decision I have ever made,” Kogan on the last day was the culmination of said. “I love my host family and I have a lot of hard work and validated every made lifelong friends, both American minute of it. I was more than ecstatic and Spanish.” to have won, and the lap of honor felt Kogan is currently on a week-long like a dream.” trip through Cordoba, Sevilla, and CaKogan began riding early in his life. diz for school, but he looks forward to “I started out riding western when returning to Zaragoza to continue his I was very young,” he said. “When training there and compete in more I moved to London when I was six, I events. started riding English and, soon after, “I feel like this year is a complete jumping.” dream,” Kogan said.

“

PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF BETSY KOGAN

LEAPS AND BOUNDS: Eli Kogan ’13 competes in a jumping event at Casilla La Mancha Federación Hípica National Equestrian competition in Spain, which he won.

SPECIAL OCCASION DRESSES: PROM

EVENING HOMECOMING

RUNWAY SILK CHIFFON CHARMEUSE ORGANZA

SEQUIN LACE EMBELLISH CRYSTAL FEATHER

A-LINE MERMAID STRAPLESS SHORT TRUMPET HALTER BALL

The Chronicle

C12 Sports

March 14, 2012

Teeing off with

Charlie Benell ’12

290 yards

59

Average Driving Distance National Ranking

+2

Handicap MICHAEL ARONSON/CHRONICLE

Texas A&M-commit and team captain Charlie Benell ’12 is entering his final high school season with what he believes is one of the best golf teams the Wolverines have seen in years.

By Michael Aronson

Q A Q A

Q A Q A Q A Q A MICHAEL ARONSON/CHRONICLE

FOLLOW THROUGH: Team Captain Charlie Benell ’12 holds his finish on the second tee box at Griffith Park Golf Course in the boys’ golf team’s 208-221 victory over the rival Crespi Celts.

What is your role as captain this year?

Benell: “Right now, I’m mainly focused on being a solid leader for the guys on the team and setting a good example. I want this to be a special year, not just because it’s my senior year, but because we have such a solid team.”

Who other than you will play an important role on the team this year?

Benell: “I think Bakari [Bolden ’14] will be a huge part of our team this year. He’s been playing unbelievably well, and has gotten really strong. I think we also have some really good freshmen in Jeffrey [Aronson ’15] and Tyler [Tsay ’15], who are growing fast and learning a lot more about the varsity system.”

How has the new coach changed the team dynamic?

Benell: “We’re more of a tight-knit group this year than we ever have been in the past. We always used to practice individually because that was how our old coach ran things. Now we practice as a team, and it has shown in our performance. Coach [Tony Kewalremani] is a great coach and a great leader. He’s one of the top coaches in the country, and it is really nice to have him.”

What are your expectations for yourself and for the team this year?

Benell: “Well, obviously I’d like to play as well as I can every match. I’d like to win team league and CIF this year.

While I’ve been on the team, we have come close to winning CIF rings, and I really want us to win them this year. I truly believe we are definitely the best team in our league, and I think we also have a great chance at winning the team championship.”

Which of the upcoming matches is the most important and why?

Benell: “I think the Loyola matches coming up are going to be huge. They are our biggest league rivals, and they have a solid team this year. They didn’t really lose anyone special this year, and they have a lot of younger talent, but so do we. I’m confident we can beat them.”

Do you feel any pressure to play at the Division I standard?

Benell: “Not really. It just feels good to just be into a school like A&M. I don’t feel any pressure because I know that if I play the game I am capable of, the scores will speak for themselves.”