Who will you vote for? The Head Prefect candidates share their views on the Honor Board and what sets them apart from their competitors. Electronic voting begins today.
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L.A. Insiders’ Guide
Students suggest where to go, shop and eat in their local neighborhoods.
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march 23, 2011
Harvard-Westlake School Los Angeles, CA Volume XX Issue VII chronicle.hw.com
Del Toro fills in for ailing Iñárritu at 8th annual student film festival By Catherine Wang Despite a last-minute change in guest speakers, the 8th annual Film Festival at the Arclight Hollywood Cinerama Dome March 18 attracted more than 600 people to hear Oscar-nominated filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Hellboy”) and Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal ’98 and to watch 19 student films. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu (Maria Gonzalez ’13), Academy Award nominee for “Babel” and “Biutiful,” was originally scheduled to host the festival. He underwent an appendectomy the day before the festival and was not able to attend. “Right after he got out of surgery he asked whether he could host the festival,” festival adviser Cheri Gaulke said. “He really wanted to do it.” Gaulke and her fellow Film Festival adviser
Ted Walch considered having Iñaritu speak at the festival from his hospital through a video camera, but ultimately decided against the idea, Gaulke said. Iñaritu called del Toro and asked him to speak in his place, del Toro said. During his early days as a filmmaker, “I thought film was like fruit from a tree fully formed. I thought some people just saw Godzilla crushing cars and got him on film,” del Toro said. He applauded the festival organizers for supporting young artists’ foray into the film world. “This is a wonderful bridge,” he said. “I never dreamed of something like this when I was young.” President Thomas C. Hudnut remembered the creation of the film festival in 2004 see fILM FESTIVAL, B12
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live from the red carpet: Chelsea Khakshouri ’12 films Jacob Soboroff ’01 interviewing 2011 Lizzy award-winning filmmaker Molly Cinnamon ’14.
Seniors who fail to complete service hours will not matriculate
constructionWatch
By Alice Phillips
printed with permission of JD Dematte
what the future holds: The Kutler Center, above, will connect the third floor of Seaver with the Seeley
G. Mudd library via an enclosed bridge. The construction project will include a renovation of the library, right.
Kutler Center construction could begin by summer break By Daniel Rothberg Construction of the Kutler Center could begin at the end of the school year, Director of Campus Operations JD DeMatté said. The targeted opening date for the Kutler Center and renovated library is Jan. 25, 2012. After receiving approval from the Board of Trustees earlier this month and other permits from the city, construction of the project will start after the school receives the final permits, DeMatté said. “I’m hoping we are starting construction at the end of May or early June,” DeMatté said. The new facility, which will connect Mudd Library with the third floor of Seaver via bridge, will house the Kutler Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and Independent Research. The center is named in memory of Brendan Kutler ’10, who died
in his sleep last year. Jon and Sarah Kutler’s lead gift will fund the project, which will include a renovation of the library. Lester Tobias (Bryce ’10) is the architect for the project. The facility will include three new class spaces and an office. Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said the design for the Kutler Center is contemporary and is meant to reflect the department’s philosophy, which emphasizes deep research and interdisciplinary study. Starting next year, all humanities classes will be under the purview of the Kutler Center. The Faculty Academic Committee wil oversee the development of new courses for the Kutler Center. “The program itself is a very interesting one. It’s innovative. It’s forward thinking. It’s a bridge program,” Huybrechts said. “So we wanted the elements of [the facility] to be inter-
esting, innovative and creative and serve as an entrance to the school.” Though construction will limit access to the library, Huybrechts said that students will still be able to utilize library resources. “We have to have a fully functioning library, at least when it comes to using the resource materials,” Huybrechts said. Huybrechts will be meeting with DeMatté and Director of Upper School Planning John Feulner this week to discuss how to mitigate the construction’s interference with access to the library and history classrooms. “The real issue is we are building a project in the middle of the campus like when we did the Munger building,” DeMatté said. “It becomes a little bit of a logistical issue to do that but we have experience with that and should be able to get it done.”
As of March 16, 547 out of 870 upper school students had not completed their community service requirement for 2010-2011 year. The deadline to complete the requirement is May 2. nathanson ’s/chronicle Seniors who fail Harry to complete the Salamandra community service requirement will not graduate, Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra said. If their service is not done by graduation, the student’s diploma folder will be empty at graduation and their June transcript will not be sent to their future college. Juniors and sophomores who do not complete the requirement will not be able to register for the 2011-2012 school year unless they community service over the summer, which has been the case for several years. Students who fail to perform their community service before the May 2 deadline will have to complete extra hours. The Community Council’s requirement, which is listed as a graduation requirement in the curriculum guide, is four hours of hands-on community service that is performed with at least four other members of the HarvardWestlake community. “Community service is extremely important, and fits in to what HarvardWestlake believes to be a well-rounded student’s repertoire,” Head of Community Council Gaby Cohen ’11 said. “This year, we’re enforcing a stricter punishment to try and get that message across.” The Community Council plans to provide students with a list of outside of school community service opportunities so students can complete the requirement over spring break.
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The Chronicle Wednesday, March 23, 2011 Volume XX Issue VII
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Battle ground: Attackman Will Oliver ’11 and midfielder David Kinrich ’11 lunge for the ball in a varsity lacrosse game against Stevenson. Oliver set the school
news A6
The robotics team will compete in an international competition in Long Beach.
A7
Prefects are in the process of creating a contract with the administration that will allow prom to take place.
A9
The Science Bowl B Team goes to the finals of the Deparment of Water and Power’s regional competition.
record for most goals scored in a game with nine goals in the team’s 17-4 victory over Loyola March 18. Corey Wizenberg ’11 also set a record with six assists in the game.
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College clothing causes chaos By Mary Rose Fissinger
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sports
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Science teacher Wendy Van Norden and two students take alternative forms of transportation to school everday.
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Students have gone to measures as far as surgery to help their severe scoliosis.
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Ten student plays will be performed at the Playwrights Festival in April.
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Raymond Schorr ’13 will compete for the U.S. national team at the Fencing World Championship in Jordan.
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The track and field team sets multiple school and meet records at the Triton Invitational.
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In the past, a number of academic teachers doubled as varsity coaches. Now, only field hockey coach Erin Creznic remains.
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When spring rolls around, short sleeves and flowery dresses replace scarves, jackets and jeans — and college apparel. More than at most high schools, shirts and sweatshirts featuring college emblems are taboo at Harvard-Westlake when admissions decisions start coming out. In the middle of March the deans caution the senior class against wearing college clothing during the next couple months. “We ask them not to,” Upper School Dean Vanna Cairns said. The deans said they want to promote “sensitivity” throughout the class during the months when students are receiving their college decisions. “They deserve to be proud,” Cairns said, “but at this school it’s so hard…” The deans said that at Harvard-Westlake, students are more stressed about the college process, and more competitive. “Students still have very raw feelings about prestige,” Cairns said. “Once they go to college and realize they’re all at good schools, the sensitivity goes away. But in April after break if you come to school in a Princeton sweatshirt, we assume it’s saying, ‘I got into Princeton, and you didn’t.’” “We wish from the get-go that no one talked about college starting in September,” Cairns said. “But at this school everyone knows so much about everyone else. Their test scores, GPA, extra-cirriculars. It creates a sort of hyper feeling in March and April.” Not all students agree with this point of view. “I think it’s awesome for a student to wear college clothes when they’ve gotten in, but I get confused because I always assume the person’s going to the school they’re wearing the sweatshirt of, and that’s not always the case,” Tori Hill ’11 said. Many students wear college clothes from colleges their parents or siblings went to, colleges they’ve been accepted to but may not attend, schools they’ve applied to but not heard from, or schools they may have visited a year ago but then not even applied to. This was the case for Adrianna Crovo ’11, who wore a pair of Stanford University sweatpants, even though she had committed to the University of Michigan several months ago. “I understand because if you’re an athlete and you’re getting recruited and going on official visits, the schools give you stuff. Or you just buy stuff when you’re there,” Crovo said. The deans feel differently, however. “I personally wouldn’t wear one from April until the end of school,” Cairns said.
March 23, 2011
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Visual artist to speak at assembly By Alice Phillips Maya Lin, a world-renowned public artist and sculptor, will speak to the Upper School as part of the Brown Family Speaker Series April 25. Lin is the first visual artist to take part in the Maya Lin Studio speaker series, which Maya Lin brings one notable speaker to the Upper School each year. Lin will also visit art classes and eat lunch with students and faculty in the FeldmanHorn gallery. “Her work bridges history, art and the environment, so she should have something to interest everyone,” President Thomas C. Hudnut said. Lin won the contest to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial while an undergraduate at Yale University. Her design beat out 2,572 other entries in 1981 by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund selection committee. Art teacher Art Tobias (Will ’12) said that Lin’s design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has “had an outsized influence on everything of the sort done since.” Visual Arts Department Head Cheri Gaulke said that Lin’s visit could be inspirational to Harvard-Westlake’s student artists because of the range of Lin’s work and because Lin designed the memorial while a college student. “She is an amazing artist and one of my personal favorites,” Gaulke said. “I think the Vietnam Memorial is the best designed memorial in Washington D.C.” Lin’s work since the Vietnam Memorial includes the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, the Museum for African Art in New York City, the Women’s Table at Yale University and the Timetable at Stanford University. Former Brown Family Speaker Series guests include violinist Goto Midori, jazz musician Herbie Hancock, photographer Art Wolfe, documentarian Ken Burns and infectious disease doctor Peter Katona last April. The series was established in 2000 by Linda and Abbott Brown (Russell ’94 and David ’96).
School to start after Labor Day By Daniel Rothberg The 2011-2012 school year will begin on the Tuesday after Labor Day, Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. The start date falls on a Tuesday rather than a Wednesday, as is typically nathanson ’s/chronicle the case, to account for a Jeanne day lost during a planned Huybrechts three-day weekend in October. The long weekend in October, which was first created for the current school year, is intended to be a time for teachers to work on college recommendations and for seniors to visit colleges, Huybrechts said. “It’s just a busy time of the year so to have a three-day weekend was a great gift to everyone,” Huybrechts said. The start date of this current school year was Aug. 31 due to an unusually large number of holidays falling at the beginning of this year. In most years, the first day of school falls after the Labor Day holiday in September. “If we don’t have to start before Labor Day, we really don’t want to start school before Labor Day,” Huybrechts said. Apart from the start date, all other elements of the schedule will remain the same next year, including a five-day Thanksgiving break, Huybrechts said.
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Welcome back: CNN National Political Correspondent Jessica Yellin ’89 speaks to the Upper School for women’s history month, top. Students from Martha Wheelock’s Gender Studies class introduce Yellin, bottom left. Yellin talks to The Chronicle staff about her view on the current state of journalism, bottom right.
Yellin recounts experiences in broadcast journalism By Eli Haims
and
Camille Shooshani
CNN National Political Correspondent Jessica Yellin ’89 told students Monday at the Women’s History assembly about her journey from a local news reporter to covering the White House and how being a woman has played into this. “I’m not here as a pioneer of the American Women’s Movement,” she said. “I’m a beneficiary of it.” Yellin was introduced by members of Martha Wheelock’s Gender Studies class, who were wearing sashes with the words “vote for women” printed on them in honor of the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in California. At times, Yellin had to face sexist attitudes. While showing a demo tape to news stations in order to find a job, Yellin said that one news director commented that “blondes make stupid videos,” despite Yellin’s Harvard College degree. Even though there are some influential female anchors and correspondents, Yelling said that none of the senior White House correspondents or presidents of major networks were women. After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard with degrees in Women’s Studies and American History, Yellin interned in the Clinton White House. However, Yellin said that she
wanted to make a difference but felt that she couldn’t speak out in the White House, while many of her friends who were in journalism could “speak truth to power.” Yellin had a rocky start to her career. She first contacted stations in about 20 major cities, but these led to nothing. After driving across California, she found out about a startup 24-hour cable station in Florida and was hired. Throughout her search, Yellin said that her Westlake class ring, which she wears to this day, a reminding her that she can accomplish whatever she aim s to do, because of Westlake’s motto: “We can, because we think we can.” Yellin acknowledged retired teacher Joanne Parker, who was in the audience, and who was her women’s history teacher at Westlake. Yellin joined CNN in 2008 as a congressional correspondent. She was later put on the network’s presidential campaign coverage team, culminating with her election night appearance as a hologram. She said that CNN has done a great job in ensuring that women hold influential positions, commenting that many members of the political team are women. Yellin spoke to The Chronicle staff third period and attended a reception in Feldman-Horn after her assembly appearance.
Longtime volleyball coach dies at 59 By Jordan Freisleben Two memorial services were held for former head volleyball coach Jesse Quiroz, who died March 14 after battling kidney problems at the age of 59. The first one was held at Campbell Hall on Monday, where Quiroz has coached since leaving HarvardWestlake in 2007. School chaplain Father J. Young officiated a memorial service at Forest Lawn cemetery on Tuesday, focusing Quiroz’s club volleyball affili-
ations. Los Angeles Times sportswriter Eric Sondheimer said Quiroz was “recognized as one of the best volleyball coaches in the Southland.” “I remember Jesse as being just an incredibly caring and giving human being,” Salamandra said. “He always was there for his players, for our students, for the athletes. It was a sad shock and he’s somebody who’ll be remembered fondly, I’m sure, by a lot of students who were with him over the years, as well as colleagues.”
Quiroz resigned from his coaching position at Harvard-Westlake in February 2007 after nearly 20 years with the varsity volleyball teams. Quiroz led the volleyball teams to seven CIF Southern Section titles and three Div. III state championships. He was the CIF Southern Section Div. III Coach of the Year four times. “He was a genuine teacher of the game who inspired his players to excel as citizens, students and athletes,” Head of Athletics Audrius Barzdukas said.
A4 News
March 23, 2011
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Chronicle
Top schools restart early applications
Irrational Sweets
By Saj Sri-Kumar The return of early admission to Harvard University and Princeton University stands to benefit Harvard-Westlake students, Upper School Dean Beth Slattery said. “It’s better for our school that all of [the highly selective schools] have early programs,” she said. “We were not surprised [by the decision] and we were pleased.” Slattery predicted that the change would result in fewer students applying to Stanford University and Yale University for early admission. Stanford and Yale have nonbinding early admission programs that do not require students to attend if admitted. Slattery said that some students whose first choice was Harvard or Princeton would apply to Stanford or Yale for early admission and then apply to their first choice school regular admission. In addition to reducing the number of early applicants at Yale and Stanford, Slattery said that she thought the change would also lead to a reduction of regular applications to the so-called “top five” most selective schools, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As some students whose first choices are either Harvard or Princeton may get in during early admission, she said, they will not apply to an array of schools for regular admission. Harvard and Princeton both announced the resumption of early admission on Feb. 24. Both schools will use the “Single-Choice Early Action” program, which prohibits students from applying to other schools in an early admission program but does not require that the student attend if admitted. The change will go into effect next year. Harvard previously had a similar program but eliminated it following the 2006-2007 college admission season. Princeton previously had a binding early admission program but eliminated it that same year. Both schools hoped that their actions would influence other schools to cancel their early admission programs, but few schools followed suit. While saying that it may be a good idea in an ideal world to eliminate early admission at all schools, Slattery said that she believes that in general, early admission in its current form is beneficial for Harvard-Westlake students. “For Harvard-Westlake, early [admission] works,” she said. “It relieves some stress, and it also takes kids out of lots of different pools.”
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i want some pi(e): In celebrtaion of ‘Pi Day,’ members of the Social Committee handed out pieces of apple and cherry pie to passersby. ‘Pi Day’ is celebrated by math enthusiasts on 3/14, the first three digits of pi.
Senior performs Messager, Mozart to qualify for Spotlight Awards finals By Claire Hong Clarinetist Stefani Feldman ’11 is one of two finalists for the Los Angeles Music Center’s Spotlight Award in the classical instrumental section. As part of the Spotlight program, 15 semifinalists auditioned March 18 and then attended a luncheon with family and friends. After the luncheon, Director Jeri Gaile announced the finalists. “They called me first, and I was screaming inside,” Feldman said. For her audition pieces, Feldman performed the two pieces she played for her semifinals audition. The first piece had to come from either the Baroque or Classical time period while the second piece had to be either a Romantic or Impressionistic piece. She chose Mozart’s Clarinet Concert in A Major, K. 622 for her first piece and André Messager’s Solo de Concours for the second. She chose her second piece because she believes that “it shows off the huge range of a clarinet.” Feldman had to bring two different clarinets for her
audition, as each piece required a different range of sound. Before her audition in front of the judges, Feldman had an opportunity to warm up her pieces in a practice room. She said she tried not to get too nervous because “whatever happens will happen.” Right before she entered the audition room, Gaile gave her a quick motivational talk. “I really just wanted to enjoy the fact that I was playing for an audience that was listening to me and to enjoy performing because that’s what I love doing,” she said. “I love being able to communicate music in that way.” During her audition, Feldman said she just tried to give it her best and not stress on the outcome, and after her performance, she believed she couldn’t have performed her pieces any better. “This is the most beautifully I’ve ever played,” she said. “The tone was so warm and consistent, and I tried to make it sound as elegant as possible. During a part of the piece, I imagined a part from ‘The Great Gatsby’ because this piece to me embodied
the love Gatsby shows to Daisy. And it worked in the way I wanted to convey it. This is the first time I’ve used an outside experience to help my playing.” Feldman will nathanson ’s/chronicle perform at DoroStefani thy Chandler PaFeldman ’11 vilion on April 30 with the finalists from the other categories. From there, the judges will announce the first and second place winners from each category. The first place contestant from each section will receive $5,000 and the second place contestant will receive $4,000. As a finalist, Feldman will also have the opportunity to attend the Aspen Music Festival on full scholarship during the summer after her freshman year in college. Feldman also recently came in first place in the American Fine Arts Festival and will travel to Russia this coming summer to perform with the Kostroma Symphony Orchestra.
Bennis, Torre advise campus leaders at summit By Sade Tavangarian
Gaby cohen/vox
A leading man: Joe Torre engages student leaders, describing his experience playing and managing baseball. Leadership expert Warren Bennis also spoke at the summit.
“You don’t start out saying you think you want to be a leader,” Major League Baseball player and manager Joe Torre (Andrea Torre ’14) said at the 2011 Student Leadership Summit March 12. “Once you understand people are looking to you, then you’re a leader.” The keynote speaker was Torre. Lecturer Warren Bennis, who is often referred to as “the leadership guru” also spoke. He has written 30 books on the subject of leadership. The Financial Times acknowledged one of Bennis’ books, “Leaders,” as one of the top 50 best business books of all time. “Success and accomplishment is all about having something very important to you,” Torre said. “You need to want, you have to want to do it.” During his 17 years as a player, Torre was selected as an All-Star nine times. In his 26 years as a manager, Torre was twice named American League Manager of
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once you understand people are looking to you, then you’re a leader.”
—Joe Torre (Andrea Torre ’14)
the Year. He recently was asked by the commissioner of MLB to act as the Executive VP of Baseball Operations. Bennis shared his four main points of leadership, which included the significance of followership, contextual intelligence, admitted error and respect. Bennis said he had googled leadership and 14 million definitions popped up. He said, “no one has the answer but we all have ideas [about leadership.”] Director of Student Affairs Jordan Church was responsible for the event. “The Harvard-Westlake Student Leadership Summit is simply an opportunity for the student leaders on this campus
to gain some formal leadership training from faculty, alumni, parents or community leaders,” Church said. “Earlier this year I started asking guest speakers to participate in this event. Most of these sought after guests want the opportunity to speak to young adults, but they are so busy that matching schedules becomes the main problem. Fortunately, both Bennis and Torre were available and willing to speak at the leadership summit.” Gaby Cohen ’11 and Chris Holthouse ’11 also helped Church to organize the event, Church said. “Joe Torre was really interesting and he had a strong presence and taught me a lot about leadership,” Community Council member Ryan Lash ’12 said.
March 23, 2011
News A5
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School to excuse Coachella absences with parents’ assent By Ingrid Chang Last year more than 70 students were given detentions for unexcused absences on the Friday of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. This year the administration is taking a more flexible stance on absences on the Friday of the threeday festival, which runs from April 15-17 as long as students are honest about their reasons for leaving. Students will be excused on the condition that they fill out a green attendance sheet and get it signed by all of their teachers. “Last year students were I think they punished because they were not being honest about it,” need to look Head of Upper School Harry at their Salamandra said. relationships “They would say they were sick but the teachers with their would hear later that they teachers and weren’t sick, they were at Coachella. It’s not a good see if this is way to be working with your something teachers.” that is worth Salamandra encourages students to tell their teachapproaching ers the real reason for misstheir ing school, and excuses for absences will be dealt with teachers accordingly. about. “It depends on how the students deal with the situa—Harry tion,” Salamandra said. Salamandra “Especially if you’ve proven that you’ve been working Head of the hard all year, I think they Upper School need to look at their relationships with their teachers and see if this is something that is worth approaching their teachers about.” If students were to be excused for the day, they would be expected to make up any work that they missed on their own. In previous years students were given zeros on missed tests or assignments that were given on that day. In recent years, missing a day of school or missing classes for Coachella was not considered an excused absence, which resulted in detentions for many students. Previously students were able to fill out green forms to be excused for that day, but with a growing number of students leaving school, the administration stopped excusing absences for students to attend the music festival. “The question is now whether we want to keep it like that or consider it as an excused absence if they provide the proper paperwork,” Attendance Coordinator Gabriel Preciado said. “We’re willing to work with the students. You and your parents decide what’s important and we want to respect that,” Salamandra said. “I hope that people wouldn’t take advantage of the mutual respect we have between students, parents and the teachers at school.”
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sketches: Marianne Hall sketches faces of anthropologist Margaret Mead that will be turned into a bronze figure and placed in her memorial at the Museum of Natural History in New York.
Art teacher designs sculpture for Mead memorial in New York By Elana Zeltser Art teacher Marianne Hall was chosen to design the sculpture for the Margaret Mead Memorial which will be placed in the park around the Museum of Natural History in New York. Mead was one of the first women anthropologists and was also a writer, speaker and teacher. She taught at Columbia University where Hall took her class about using new media in anthropology. “She was a big, big inspiration to me so I am honored to be able to do this,” Hall said. Mead died in 1978 and to commemorate her, a committee asked Hall to sketch out the bronze sculpture which will include a life size figure of her, and a bench so that children and parents can sit around it. It will also feature sculptures of her good friend and her little grandson. As of now, the committee has agreed to all of Hall’s designs except how old they want Mead to
Committee urges more diversity, public service
Students, math teacher run in rainy Los Angeles Marathon By Austin Block
By Daniel Rothberg A committee of California educators recommended that the school increase diversity and advance its “public purpose” at a faculty and staff meeting in Saperstein Theater Feb. 16. Over the course of their four-day visit, the committee completed an accreditation report for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges/California Association for Independent Schools. WASC urged the school to focus on increasing diversity through enrollment to expose students to different experiences. In order to advance its public purpose, the committee said that the school should expand its “service endeavors” and develop partnerships with local schools. On several occasions, the visiting committee recommended that the school upgrade visual arts facilities in Reynolds Hall when fiscally feasible. The committee applauded the Board of Trustees and several administrators for completing the Middle School Modernization project without debt. The school will be notified about the terms of their CAIS/WASC accreditation later this year, middle school history teacher and accreditation leader John Corsello said.
appear. Hall has sketched many faces of Mead at different ages for consideration. Pointing to one of the many, Hall said “I like this one because this is what she looked like when she was my teacher in her late 60s.” When it is finished, funding will be needed to hire a sculptor to bring Hall’s sketch to life. “After I am done, the second step is to have everything printed up on a brochure that they are going to send around to people who fund memorials in New York,” said Hall. March is Women’s History Month, and Mead will be remembered in another way, as she is featured in the short film “One Fine Day” created by English Teacher Martha Wheelock. The film is played at the end of the Women’s History assembly every year, and Hall agrees that Mead deserves that tribute. “She was so brilliant, and she just engaged everyone. She was an amazing woman, an amazing anthropologist and an amazing teacher,” Hall said.
Printed With Permission of Bill thill
Marathon Man: Math teacher Bill Thill runs in the LA Marathon in five hours and 17 minutes despite the torrential rains.
Three students and mathematics teacher Bill Thill braved torrential rain to compete in the Los Angeles Marathon Sunday. Thill, who finished in five hours and 17 minutes, was running in his second marathon. At the 25 mile of the race, Thill said he had two options. “You can either decide you’re miserable or you can just embrace it and just go, and I think you have a much better time if you just embrace it,” Thill said. After he started out too fast last year and was unable to sprint to the finish line, he conserved enough energy for a final sprint this time. Thill ran with the Team to End AIDS, which raises money for AIDS Project Los Angeles. Jarred Green ’11, Elias Aquino ’12 and Daniel Belgrad ’13 also ran Sunday. Green and Belgrad were running in their first races. “I’ve always wanted to do one,” Green said. “I’ve grown up watching my dad run marathons so that’s kind of what got
me into it. “I’ve been watching them for years and years because they run by my house and this year I decided ‘why not?’” He said he started training in January and ran four to five times a week. He would run for 15 miles on Saturdays and total between 30 and 40 miles each week. He said he enjoyed the experience. “At some points it was awesome because whenever it would start to pour down even harder everyone would scream and go crazy just to make it better but then at some points, you’re like ‘wait this isn’t actually that fun,’” he said. “But in the end, every part of it was awesome and it was so much fun.” Green plans to run in the same marathon again next year. He said the last mile was the best part of the experience. “You run up to the ocean and you see the ocean, then you make the turn on Ocean Avenue, you can see the finish line all the way out there, and you know you just have one mile and you just go for it,” Green said.
A6 News
March 23, 2011
The
Chronicle
inbrief School receptionist leaves to pursue comic writing Former receptionist Susan Damon departed from her position March 15 to pursue her interest in comic book writing. She said she is now the assistant of a “prominent comic book writer” and is helping him with his new book. “I started a blog last November, and it just sort of took off,” Damon said. Her blog, www.thegirlynerd. com, centers on science fiction, fantasy, cartoons and comics, among other topics. Damon worked at the school for two and a half years. She has been replaced by Janiece Richard. —Allison Hamburger
Senior readies to partake in Chemistry Olympiad Jack Petok ’11 will be taking part in the national portion of the U.S. Chemistry Olympiad Competition hosted by the American Chemical Society on April 16. To prepare for the four and a half our four and a half hour exam, Petok said he will be reviewing his textbook from Advanced Placement Chemistry, taking practice exams and doing some lab practice with chemistry teacher Christopher Dartt. —Eli Haims
Vox nominated for NSPA Yearbook Pacemaker Vox Populi was named a finalist for the 2010 National Scholastic Press Association Yearbook Pacemaker Award, the most prestigious high school journalism award. The editors of the 2010 yearbook were Julia Cambre ’10 and Olivia Van Iderstine ’10. Pacemaker winners will be announced April 17 at the Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association Spring National High School Journalism Convention in Anaheim. Vox Populi is one of 15 yearbooks in the 233-288 page category named a Pacemaker Finalist. —Allison Hamburger
Austin Block/chronicle
robot rock: Julie Ko ’12, Matt Heartney ’12, Connor Basich ’13 and Crystal Ho ’12, from left, work on the minibot, which is designed to climb a pole. After being released by the larger robot, the first minibot to make it to the top wins extra points.
Robotics to take part in FIRST contest By Austin Block Members of the Robotics Club will pit their robot against about 60 other robots in the Los Angeles Regional of the international For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics Competition starting tomorrow. The competition at the Long Beach Arena extends through Saturday. Across the world, over 1,500 teams are participating in the FIRST competition. According to the FIRST website, if the team places in the top three in the regional or wins one of two specific awards, the team could advance to the FIRST Championship in St. Louis in April for the first time. This year’s competition has two main parts. In each round of competition, two teams of three robots will face off against each other. On each side of the arena, which is about 27 feet wide by 54 feet long, six vertical poles are placed with protruding pegs at heights of three, six and 10 feet. Robots must pick up inflatable tubes and place them on these rods. Teams get varying numbers of points for placing tubes at different heights and in different patterns. In the last 10 seconds of each round, robots must rush to the center of the arena, where four more columns stand, and release a “minibot” onto a column. The first minibot to climb to the top of a column earns its robot bonus points. For the first 10 to 15 seconds of the competition, robots must also operate autonomously, us-
ing sensors to recognize lines on the floor as they compete. Partway through Saturday, the top eight robots earn playoff spots. From there, each of of those teams picks two other teams to compete with them in the playoffs. However, if the first place team picks the second and third ranked teams, for example, the next seven highest ranked teams then get to pick teammates from the remaining pool. This selection process continues until eight teams of three are formed. By the end of the day, one team of three robots will remain and advance to the FIRST Championship. “One of the jobs in the competition is not only do the best job possible but advertise your team because getting in the top eight is really difficult,” team Co-Captain Chase Basich ’11 said. “There are a lot of really good teams out there but you want to make them want to pick you.” After only making the playoffs as an alternate last year, Basich said he expects the team to compete in the regional playoffs this year. He said that many of the 60 teams’ robots will be unable to drive, and still others will be unable to successfully pick up inflatables and place them on the pegs. Members met before the nature of the competition was even revealed, learned how to use tools and built what Basich called “pet projects” to practice building certain devices and parts. On Jan. 8, the competition began, and they shipped the bulk of the robot six weekends later.
Dreier, Hartford win national moot court competition By Daniel Rothberg
Seniors place in local computer science contest A four-person team of seniors won third place in a computer science competition Saturday at Troy High School. The team of Gabe Benjamin ’11, Jacob Swanson ’11, Ben-Hang Sung ’11 and Will Aalto ’11 had to solve 10 problems in a three-hour time span in the Dave Wittry Memorial Programming Contest. At least 11 other teams took part in the competition, including two other Harvard-Westlake teams, Benjamin said. —Alex Leichenger
Chronicle wins CSPA Gold Crown award The 2009-2010 Chronicle, edited by Sam Adams ’10 and Hana AlHenaid ’10, was one of 12 newspapers to win the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s Gold Crown Friday at the 87th annual Scholastic Convention. The Chronicle was judged on writing, design and graphics. Chronicle adviser Kathleen Neumeyer accepted the plaque at a ceremony at Columbia University. This is the Chronicle’s eighth Gold Crown. —Anabel Pasarow
abbie neufeld/chronicle
Making Money: Scott Becker ’05 spoke about how to succeed in entrepreneurship. He sold his company to Google for $70 million last year.
Alumnus advises students on high-stakes entrepeneurship By Eli Haims
and
Elana Zeltser
Scott Becker ’05, who sold a company he co-founded to Google for $70 million last year, spoke to a nearly packed Rugby Auditorium March 14 at break. Later in the day, he met with students in the Emery Room for a lunch reception, Upper School Mathematics Department Chair Paula Evans said. Becker spoke to students about getting involved and succeeding in high stakes entrepreneurship. Becker founded Invite Media, a company which sells advertising space online, while in college at the University of Pennsylvania. At its peak, 80 million people per month were viewing the advertisements sold by the company. He also said his experience during high school helped to prepare him for his business exploits. He said that computer science has been
the most practical for his ventures, as most of them involve a great deal of programming. He believes that the true key to success is making connections and finding people willing to help out. “Go and find mentors in whatever you want to do,” he said. “Reach out to people.” He emphasized that creating a successful startup company is all about solving problems. Becker said he failed at a number of ventures before Invite Media. “Luckily there is a long list online of other people failing,” Becker said. Becker said he felt it was time for a new project and left Invite Media. He hopes to get more involved in the pharmaceutical industry. Since high school, he has been interested in biotechnology and curing cancer and plans on investing money to solve problems in that field.
Ben Dreier ’11 and Andrew Hartford ’11 won the Duke National Moot Court competition on Feb. 27 in Durham, N.C. Dreier and Liza Wohlberg ’13 took second and eighth place for the indinathanson ’s/chronicle vidual speaker awards. Ben Dreier ’11 Though the other team of Wohlberg and Micah Sperling ’12 did not qualify for the quarterfinals, they did participate in the allstar round, a round for the two teams with the highest composite speaker score that did not make it to the quarterfinals. The 40 teams in the nathanson ’s/chronicle two-day competition arAndrew gued different sides of a Hartford ’11 case involving the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was signed into law by President Obama last March. “You have to debate both sides and each round you are told which side you will be debating,” Dreier said. “Ironically, we won on the side that I personally don’t believe in.” “We were just really excited and a little nervous to be going into the finals,” Dreier said. Dreier said that his team had competed against its final round opponent earlier in the tournament. “We thought they may have beaten us, they were a really tough team,” he said. Danielle Kolin ’08 and Melissa Saphier ’08 won in the competition in 2008.
March 23, 2011
News A7
The
Chronicle
inbrief
Bake sale raises money to help Race for the Cure A student-run bake sale raised $375 for Race for the Cure last Monday, Anna Romanoff ’11 said. The bake sale was partly organized through Peer Support, and multiple leaders and trainees both baked and sold items for the sale, Romanoff said. Race for the Cure is the largest walk/run world-wide that raises money for breast cancer research. Romanoff and her team participated in the Los Angeles race March 6. —Lara Sokoloff
Daniel Kim/chronicle
Knockout: Alec Caso ’11 is tackled by his classmates after he wins the March Madness Knockout Competition on a last minute shot against Charlie Benell ’12. The Prefect Council awarded Caso with a gift card for $25 to In-N-Out Burger.
Students participate in March Madness contests, events set up by Prefect Council By Saj Sri-Kumar
March Madness ushered in three days of events at the Upper School last week. The events, organized by the Prefect Council in conjunction with the Student Athletic Advisory Council, aimed to involve students in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Men’s Division I Basketball Championship, colloquially known as March Madness. A total of 117 students submitted brackets to the schoolwide bracket challenge. To participate, students had to predict the winners and losers of the 126 games of the tournament. Prizes will be awarded after spring break to the student in each grade with the best bracket, as determined by a formula that awards points for each correct prediction. The winner in the senior class will win gift cards to restaurants on Ventura Boulevard, and the sophomore and ju-
nior winners will receive senior off-campus privileges for one week for themselves and a friend. The Prefect Council also organized events in Taper Gymnasium on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Students were able to participate in a knockout competition Wednesday. In a close finish, Alec Caso ’11 won the competition, beating Charlie Benell ’12 for the game-winning shot. Caso received a $25 gift card to In-N-Out Burger as a prize for winning the competition. The Prefect Council also arranged for live basketball games to be broadcast in Taper on Thursday and Friday. Two games were shown each day, and a basketball hoop was available to allow students to play while watching the games. Prefect David Olodort ’12, who organized the event along with prefect Michael Wagmeister ’13, said that no games are being broadcast this week as the NCAA has shifted all of the remaining games to later time slots.
Prefects, administration draft prom contract By Jordan Freisleben The Senior Prefects are currently in the process of writing a contract that the senior class will present to the administration to address the ambiguity of this year’s prom, Head Prefect Chris Holthouse ’11 said. After cancelling all future semiformals in February, the administration has not yet made a decision regarding whether prom will be held. The contract would be an agreement between the senior class and the administration to hold prom under safer conditions and to address the problems that have occurred at past events. “The Prefect Council has been engaged in a pretty lengthy procedure so far just trying to figure out how we want to approach the problem,” Holthouse said. “We’ve definitely been talking to some of the administrators, the deans, our advisers, as well as the whole student body and we’ve had a couple of meetings, in-class meetings, where we’ve invited a bunch of the seniors to really do some work with the Prefect Council to find out exactly what we want to do.” Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra said that the administration has not yet been approached with any of the prefects’ ideas. “Personally, I hope that there’s some way it can happen. I don’t want to deny something that I feel that the seniors could do in the right way,” Salamandra said. Holthouse said that, like the case with semiformal, the prom itself is not the issue. “The problem is just what happens after prom – and that’s what this agreement is going to pretty much deal with,” he said. “It’s going to say something to the extent of ‘I will not plan or attend some after party that’s at a
“
professional venue’ or one in which you If you want to come need to buy tickets to go. That’s one of and you think ‘Partythe big problems ing is what it’s all with the after parties – they’re proabout’ – then don’t fessional places come. where kids are just drinking like crazy —Harry Salamandra the first 10 or 15 Head of Upper School nathanson’s/chronicle minutes and then get sick and taken the Prefects are doing a good job leadto the hospital. Another part of the ing.” contract may be an agreement that Salamandra said that the senior says ‘Kids that attend prom will not get a hotel room at the hotel in which prom bonding at prom needs to be more emis at.’ That’s kind of a reasonable thing phasized than the after-parties and that administrators have said they may binge drinking. “Come if you want that feel – about want to have included in the contract.” bonding, being with friends, doing some Salamandra said that the proposed fun things, things that you’ll rememcontract will have to be carefully evaluber,” he said. “It’s that kind of culmiated to see if it meets what the adminnating experience that would be good. If istration wants to accomplish. you want to come and you think ‘Party“We might have to tweak it,” Salaing is what it’s all about’ – then don’t mandra said. “It might be almost right come.” on, it might not be that we completely Holthouse said that the contract have to reject it.” would be a way to ensure a longtime About two weeks ago, the senior pre- high school tradition. fects went around at senior class meet“Obviously, prom is an incredibly ing to hear ideas voiced by their class- important thing in high school and we mates. want to be as proactive as possible so “All 285 seniors are aware that this that senior year, [we] have the opporis what’s going to be happening,” Hol- tunity to go to something that is special thouse said. “We’re thinking this week and is absolutely a part of high school,” the senior and head prefects are going Holthouse said. “It’s a proactive step to get together and actually try to write that we’re taking, the senior student up a draft of this contract or actually body is going to take and present to the put the ideas on paper. We’re going to administration.” have a draft at some point in the next Salamandra said that the adminiscouple weeks and going to finalize that tration would prefer to hold prom. with members of the senior class, and “You guys have worked so hard here, then once we do that, we’re basically it seems like a crazy way to finish out good to give it to the administration.” the year,” he said. “It’s going to leave a “In an endeavor like this, you really bad taste in the students’ mouths, the need to be led,” Head of School Jeanne parents’, the administration’s – it’s a Huybrechts said. “You can’t ask 300 lose-lose for all of us. There are no real people to figure it out together. I think winners.”
”
Woo delivers speech on democracy, wins 1st place Kelsey Woo ’11 won first place in National Voice of Democracy contest for her speech, “Does My Generation Have a Role in America’s Future?” The award, which was awared to Woo by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, carries a $30,000 scholarship grant. Woo delivered her speech in front of a crowd of 2,500 people in an event in Washington, D.C. Woo beat out more tahn 50,000 other students from the United States and Europe. —Saj Sri-Kumar
Researchers introduce biology summer program Researchers from Coastal Marine Biolabs spoke about a summer program for students at break Monday, Feb. 28 in Ahmanson lecture hall. Ralph Imondi and Linda Santschi, Scientific Co-Directors, introduced the program and gave a brief overview of CMB. There are four major areas of research available: Biomes to Genomes, NeuroLab, Nature’s Engineers and Biomolecular Messengers. The summer program is a nine day resident program in Ventura County. Students will learn how to dive and take part in the CMB research laboratory. —Meagan Wang
4 seniors compete to join 2011 U.S. Physics Team Seniors Jack Petok ’11, Alex Scharch ’11, Jeffrey Sperling ’11 and Jeremy Work ’11 are semifinalists competing for a chance to be on the 2011 U.S. Physics Team this summer. The list of semifinalists was released Feb. 24. All of the semifinalists had to complete a questionnaire in order to be considered. They will take a second exam to become one of the 20 who will attend a training camp at the University of Maryland-College Park in May. The 42nd International Physics Olympiad will be held in Bangkok from July 10 to 18. The U.S. Travelling Team will be made up of five of the 20 members of the U.S. Physics Team. —Daniel Kim
Coin drive to raise money for tsunami relief in Japan The Community Council has teamed up with President of the Red Cross Club Christine Sull ’12 and Jean Park ’11 to raise money for relief aid in Japan. Money jars will be placed in deans’ offices labeled “Japanaid” throughout this week. The donations will benefit the American Red Cross and Americares. —Jean Park
A8 News
March 23, 2011
The
Chronicle
Getting to know the candidates Today sophomores and juniors vote online for a female and a male candidate to lead the Prefect Council. Unlike previous years, this year had no primary due to the limited number of candidates. Brooke Levin
Q A
What do you feel is the most important role of a prefect? First and foremost, every prefect is meant to meet the interests of the student body. Their initial responsibility is that the prefect remains in touch with what students are feeling and wanting. Prefects take on the role of thinking broader and improving the school as a whole.
Q A
Rishi Bagrodia
Q A
Do you think that the Honor Board and Prefect Council should be separated?
I think they shouldn’t be separated because people vote for the prefects to represent them and the community. It follows through what the role of the Honor Board is. Not only do [the Honor Board members] represent the student community, but they are also on the student’s side wholeheartedly and completely.
Q A
What sets you apart from the other candidates? I have more experience as a leader with a wider scope of activities and more time for the Prefect Council that would give me better advantage in serving as Head Prefect. I tend to be quite organized, a little too organized sometimes, and I think that also helped just for these kinds of things. I take things down to the very last detail and that’s what will set me apart. eli haims/chronicle
When people go to vote, what should they keep in mind and associate with you? Two things. One is the experience I have had on Prefect Council in the last two years. I understand the system and I’ve worked closely with the administration and seen how it is run. The second thing is being open to other kids, ideas, and suggestions. I’m not stuck on one way and I’m completely open. I won’t just be Head Prefect with no interaction. So ultimately, the two things are experience and a willingness to collaborate with my peers.
saj sri-kumar/chronicle
Katie Price
Q A
When people go to vote, what should they keep in mind and associate with you? I take pride in being a leader and through my actions and my words, I think I lead by example. And, not that the other candidates aren’t, but I think that I’m someone that people can associate their personal lives and their school troubles and struggles with. I’m no superstar; I’m an average student, I’m an average person here on this campus, and I think that that’s something that students can associate with and would be able to talk to me on any emotional, personal, or social level.
Q A
What sets you apart from the other candidates? I’m generally optimistic about this campus and the power of the students... I have a lot of faith in the administration and the faculty and students as a whole.
saj sri-kumar/chronicle
on the
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web
• full interviews
Ben Greif
Q A
When people go to vote, what should they keep in mind and associate with you? The main thing for my platform is improving the cafeteria, like to reduce congestion by having separate entrances and exits... Also I’d like to improve food choices, not just with healthier food choices, but just in general. I don’t think we should be banning any food. If we want to drink soda, I don’t think we should be forcing you not to drink soda.
Q A
What are your feelings on the fact that you are the only new candidate? I’ve heard that some people are looking forward to having someone new to look at, someone who might bring in different ideas. We know the prefects and what they’ve done so far. They’ve been good prefects, but I’m not sure if they’re going to be able to come up with new things with the track they’ve already set for themselves. eli haims/chronicle
David Olodort
Q A
How do you plan to make the Head Prefects more visible around campus? I think that I can connect with a lot of people and talk to people, just being out there in the crowd... I also think a really important aspect is social networking, especially in our age right now, using Facebook and Twitter. I want to enhance and use more of them - email, so people know what’s going on, so that they we know what’s going on with them and they can connect with us.
Q A
Do you think that the Honor Board and Prefect Council should be separated? No. I definitely think that the Honor Board should have students on it. I think that it’s important to have the student perspective, because they have sympathy and understand what the students are going through, and they know where they’re coming from. saj sri-kumar/chronicle
• candidate statements look for more coverage at chronicle.hw.com
Compiled
by
Maddy Baxter, Eli Haims, Rebecca Nussbaum, Lara Sokoloff and Saj Sri-Kumar
March 23, 2011
News A9
The
Chronicle
science bowl savvy The following are questions from the first nine of the 17 rounds of the bowl.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Math: The price of a postage stamp changes from 33 cents to 34 cents. What is the percent increase in price? Physics: What is the most common term for the inwardly directed force exerted on an object to keep the object moving in a circle?
Astronomy: The stars Merak and Dubhe in the bowl of the Big Dipper are most commonly used to locate what star?
Biology: Of the following four diseases, name all that are caused by viruses: measles, AIDS, tuberculosis, leprosy.
Chemistry: Using proper chemical nomenclature, finish balancing the following equation: Fe2O3 + 3 CO yields what, assuming the iron is totally reduced? Earth Science: The seismic discontinuity that marks the base of the crust of the Earth is known as the what? Astronomy: From data primarily on the motions of what planet did Kepler propose that planets follow elliptical orbits?
Biology: In bacterial transference of genes, what is the term for when naked DNA enters the cell from the surroundings? Chemistry: Of the following four species, name all that contain an odd number of electrons: O2-, O2-2, SO2, CO.
Answers: 1. 3 2. Centripital 3. Polaris 4. Measles; AIDS 5. 2 Fe + 3 CO2 6. MOHO 7. Mars 8. Transduction 9. O2-
Source: U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl Graphic by Eli Haims
printed with permission of justin ho
Prepared: Rhett Gentile ’13, Jeffrey Bu ’12, Hank Adelmann ’11 and Jack Petok ’11, from left, pose before the final round of the Los Angeles regional Science Bowl competition against the North Hollywood A-team.
Science Bowl B team places second in regional contest By Mary Rose Fissinger
The Harvard-Westlake B Team qualified for the final round of the Regional Science Bowl Competition Feb. 26 at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power building. As reward for their runner-up finish, they received $2,000 for the school and $750 in scholarship money each. The team consisted of captain Hank Adelmann ’11, Jeffrey Bu ’12, Rhett Gentile ’13, Brian Jun ’13 and Jack Petok ’11, with Jun serving as the alternate. Math and Computer Science teacher Jacob Hazard coached them. After the seven rounds of play in the morning, the B team was tied for first in its division. It then entered into the double elimination tournament. It was defeated in the second round, and entered the consolation bracket. The B Team won its next five rounds, including an extremely close match against Venice High which was forced into a five question tie-breaking round when Adelmann correctly answered a bonus question worth 10 points. “Several things contributed particularly to our success, mostly the deadly focus Jack Petok went into after we had some less than great rounds in the round robin,” Adelmann said. Entering the championship round from the consolation bracket, the team would have had to defeat the opposing team, defending Regional Champions North Hollywood, twice in order to claim the regional title. However, it lost the first round of the Championships, and North Hollywood claimed its 12th Regional Championship in 13 years. “It felt like the miracle on ice,” Adelmann said. “We came into the DWP with the hope to scrape by getting out of the round robin, and we ended up versus the national champs in the finals. I’m really proud of our team and how everyone did. It’s a tad bittersweet though, Jack and I are seniors and wish
we could go back for another try next year.” The Harvard-Westlake A Team, consisting of captain Jeffrey Sperling ’11, Colin Campbell ’12, Justin Ho ’12, David Lim ’13 and Saj Sri-Kumar ’12 and coached by math teacher Kevin Weis, finished the morning rounds in first place in their division, but lost the first two rounds of double elimination. Last summer, Sperling attended the Summer Science Program in Santa Barbara, where he tracked the location of a near-earth asteroid. He said SSP helped him in the competition. “Intellectually, my favorite part of the program was the astronomy I learned,” Sperling said. “I was able to answer a lot of astronomy questions at the competition that I otherwise wouldn’t have. It also prepared me in the sense that it was another program that reinforces intellectual curiosity and scientific inquiry.” During the competition, the questions are posed by the reader and identified by topic as either multiple choice or short answer. Whichever team answers the toss-up question, worth 4 points each, correctly is then asked a bonus question on the same topic, worth 10 points. The opposing team has no opportunity to answer the bonus question, but there is a time limit of 20 seconds. The teams are made up of specialists. For instance, on the B team, Adelmann was the Biology specialist, Petok was the Chemistry specialist, Bu was the Physics and math specialist and Gentile was the energy specialist, but they were all able to answer questions in every area. Petok partially attributed the team’s success to the close bond that developed between the members and the rhythm they were able to achieve. “We really felt like brothers, and when we got to the competition it was like telepathy,” he said. “We knew who would answer which question and in how much time. It was like magic, but this is science, so there is no magic.”
Alumnus explains challenges of research, academic math By Alex Gura
and
David Lim
Mathematics professor Jeremy Martin ’92 presented research and academic experiences to math students in an open discussion afterschool Monday. Explaining his field of combinatorics, Martin walked students through simple problems in his subject and divulged personal experiences throughout his career. Martin, an associate professor at the University of Kansas, spoke both in the Advanced Seminar and Directed Studies classes as well as in Ahmanson Lecture Hall. “We’re all trying to understand reality,” he said. “What I do is much easier than the lab scientist that studies a cell. The benefit I get from looking at simple objects is that I can understand them more closely.” A member of the first graduating class of Harvard-
Westlake, Martin went on to graduate from Harvard University and chose to study at University of San Diego’s pure mathematics program instead of an engineering school because “the people were happier.” Instead of working as an “applied mathematician,” Martin works in abstract math, solving theorems that may or may not be used later on in the real world. “I build tools where the use for them haven’t been invented,” Martin said. “Maybe someone will come into my tool shop and say, ‘I need a tool to solve a problem,’ and I’ll say ‘I’ve got just the thing for you.’” Martin was invited by math teacher Beverly Feulner to speak here previously. Feulner has stayed in touch with Martin, whom she taught nearly 20 years ago. Current Advanced Seminar teacher and Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics committee head Kevin Weis asked Feulner to invite Martin again to speak for a more general audience. “Dr. Martin’s style of teaching makes math very tangible. Though his research is undoubtedly very complex, he uses models and concrete examples,” Courtney Kelly ’11 said. “He let my Directed Studies class delve into graph theory without the least bit of hesitation.” He also discussed complex graph theory problems with the Advanced Seminar class. Martin teaches a wide variety of college classes, ranging from his favorite, honors freshman calculus, to classes for non-math majors with up to 700 students. He also spends a significant amount of time working with graduate students, whom he considers his “junior-level associates.”
Jamie Kim/chronicle
a love of numbers: Martin explained to math classes and an audience afterschool his field of work, his research experiences and problems he encountered.
A10 News
The
Chronicle
LAFD to offer crisis training for students
March 23, 2011
By Rachel Schwartz Students will have a chance to learn search and rescue, triage, disaster readiness and emergency planning skills that could help them in emergency situations at Community Emergency Response Team training sessions offered by the Los Angeles Fire Department next week at the Upper School. “The Fire Department admits that if we have an earthquake similar to the recent Japan quake, we will be on our own,” Head of Security Jim Crawford said. In case of a monumental quake the school would not be able to rely on emergency services provided by the city. Both Japan and California are said to be in the “Pacific Ring of Fire” on more than one tectonic plate, making them earthquake prone. The San Andreas Fault, where the Pacific and North American plates meet, runs down California, meaning that if and when these plates move, Los Angeles will be greatly affected, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A huge earthquake has been expected to occur along the San Andreas Fault for years. According to the American Red Cross, preparing for an earthquake can make a significant change in the outcome of an emergency. Becoming aware of the safest areas of a building and its exits are important skills that are recommended by Red Cross and will be covered in CERT training. In this seminar, experts will teach students how to react in a crisis situation so as to help ourselves as well as others, regardless of whether external aid is available. CERT training will be held every year and though attendance is not required, it is encouraged by the administration. The seminars, given by the Security Team, are open to all staff, faculty, coaches and students who wish to attend. Training will run from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 28 and 29. Lunch will be provided both days.
printed with permission of blaise eitner
under the sea: Gabriela Figueroa ’11, Lili Nanus ’11 and Alex Valdez ’11 take samples of ocean water with their classmates on a boat docked off Long Beach. Students also studied marine animals.
Students study ocean samples, marine animals on field trip By Sanjana Kucheria Blaise Eitner’s Ocean and Marine Biology class took a field trip March 15 to collect and observe live marine organisms and learn methods used for collecting oceanographic data. The students boarded a boat at Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, adjacent to the Aquarium of the Pacific. The boat went out a few miles into the Long Beach Harbor. On the boat, there were various different stations, each of which had a different activity for the students to do. The students gathered plankton samples and
Keane Muraoka-Robertson/chronicle
job search: Tables were set up for each school who sent representatives to the event. Teacher candidates had the opportunity to interview with several schools.
School hosts job fair for teacher candidates By Keane Muraoka-Robertson and Megan Ward Prospective teachers interviewed with potential employers last Saturday in Taper Gym at diversity fair. Cal/ West Educators Placement, a firm which connects prospective teachers with independent schools in California, holds four to five “connection events” each March and April across the country. Prospective teachers met with school administrators from about 35 independent schools in Southern California. “The process is tough for both sides, so our job is to try to make a perfect match,” Director of Operations Doritt Diamond said. The candidates who attend these events are selected and prescreened by Cal/West prior to the connection event. The firm receives around 100 resumes a day and represents only about 10 percent of all applicants.
The chosen candidates from around the country are invited to attend in hopes of getting an interview with a school. “The interview process is everyone’s worst nightmare,” Diamond said. “It’s like being at a junior high dance and not being asked to dance. We try to make it as pleasant as possible.” These connection events take a full year of planning and are held at schools, convention centers and hotels. Upper School deans Tamar Adegbile and Canh Oxelson were speakers. “[Adegbile] and I were asked to open the day with a presentation about our experiences as educators in independent schools. We also hosted a lunchtime discussion about cultural diversity in independent school communities,” Oxelson said. “I spoke about how educators know if they’re making a difference in the lives of their students. [Adegbile] gave advice about how to build a career as an educator in independent schools.”
ocean floor samples, and they ran a net along the bottom of the ocean to catch fish, lobsters, crabs and sea stars. The students did the field work that they learned about in the first semester of the course. A lot of the organisms that were caught were ones that the students learned about in the second semester of the course, which focuses on biology. “It helped to see everything that we learned in class in the context of the real world,” Alex Valdez ’11 said. “The best part was seeing a big group of sea lions lounging on a buoy that we passed by. Some were just relaxing but others were chasing each other around in the water.”
News A11
Chronicle
The
March 23, 2011
Community service award honors brothers By Allana Rivera
catherine wang/chronicle
teaching technology: After installing the computers, Brian Adler ’15 teaches a group of children how to use their new laptop while a Computers for Youth official oversees the other activities.
Events enable over 30 students to complete service requirement By Catherine Wang Community Council organized six service events over the past three weekends. Six students wrote letters and assembled care packages for soldiers at an Operation Gratitude event March 5. “It was really meaningful that the students got the opportunity to write letters to soldiers, because it’s a means of directly thanking them for their efforts,” Community Council member Jessica Barzilay ’12 said. Six students taught middle school students and their families computer skills with the non-profit organization Computers for Youth, a national organization that gives computers to low income students’ families and hosts daylong workshops to teach these families how to
use the computers. The event was held on March 5 at Vaughn Charter Middle School and on March 12 at Bert Corona Middle School. “I couldn’t believe that most of the people hadn’t used computers before,” Jacqueline Sir ’11 said. “It gave me a new perspective.” Nine students played sports with mentally and physically disabled children at an event with Kids Enjoy Exercise Now on March 13. Nine more students prepared lunches and distributed them to homeless people March 13 and 20 at the Ocean Park Community Center in Santa Monica. Seven students and members of the Environmental Club, planted trees and hacked weeds at an event with the non-profit organization Tree People in Calabasas March 19.
Jonathan Lee ’12 and Robert Lee ’14 won the Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy Award, created especially for them by The Asian Pacific Community Fund and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy. Kristin B. Ramos, marketing associate of nathanson ’s/chronicle the APCF said that the award would continJonathan ue to be given to individuals aged 14-18 who Lee ’12 “have displayed exceptional philanthropic leadership and service through volunteer activities to help further the Asian Pacific Islander community,” Three years ago, the brothers began evaluating non-profit organizations on behalf of a foundation to decide whether to award them monetary grants. Since then, they have evaluated over 50 non-profit organizations and over $350,000 has been awarded. In addition, they integrated other students nathanson ’s/chronicle into this process through Foundation Boys, Robert Lee ’14 a group set up at Windward School, the boys’ middle school. “The teams work under the guidance of the boys to determine the target organization; they learn the legal definition and structure of a nonprofit, and formulate an interview process of management/board to understand fundraising, financial and programmatic complexities of the target. The team goes out for a site visit and interviews the organization. The information is compiled into a full research report that is orally presented to me, the director of the upper school, senior management of the nonprofit, and the boys,” Ethel Gullette, Coordinator of Community Service Learning at Windward School, explained. The brothers have duplicated this system at the university level to extend their knowledge to graduate students. They also got their club basketball teammates to package food crates during the Christmas holiday for distribution to needy families, and they are an integral part of the Annual Westside Children’s Center Thanksgiving Dinner for the children and their families, Gullette said. The Lee family also supports Operation Mend, a project that helps wounded soldiers.
the
Chronicle
3700 Coldwater Canyon, Los Angeles, CA 91604
Editors-in-Chief: Alice Phillips, Daniel Rothberg Managing Editors: Austin Block, Jordan Freisleben Executive Editor: Catherine Wang
pinion o
Harvard-Westlake School Volume XX Issue VII March 23, 2011
Presentations Editors: Ingrid Chang, Mary Rose Fissinger Executive Sports Editor: Alex Leichenger Business and Ads Manager: David Burton Copy Editors: Jordan McSpadden, Susan Wang News Managing Editors: Matthew Lee, Emily Khaykin Section Heads: Rebecca Nussbaum, Lara Sokoloff, Sajjan Sri-Kumar Infographics: Maddy Baxter, Eli Haims Assistants: Wendy Chen, Carrie Davidson, David Lim, Keane Muraoka-Robertson, Ana Scuric, Camille Shooshani, Megan Ward Opinion Managing Editors: Noelle Lyons, Jean Park Section Heads: Chanah Haddad, Molly Harrower, Anabel Pasarow, Shana Saleh Assistants: Rachel Schwartz, Michael Sugerman Features Managing Editors: Joyce Kim, Olivia Kwitny, Sade Tavangarian Features Section Heads: Allison Hamburger, Chloe Lister Infographics: Megan Kawasaki Features Assistants: Caitie Benell, Mariel Brunman, Jamie Chang, Leslie Dinkin, Gabrielle Franchina, Michael Rothberg, Elana Zeltser Science & Health Editors: Claire Hong, Nika Madyoon Centerspread Editors: Camille de Ry, Arielle Maxner Arts & Entertainment Editors Jessica Barzilay, Justine Goode Arts & Entertainment Assistants: Maggie Bunzel, Bo Lee, Aaron Lyons Photography Assistant: Cherish Molezion Sports Managing Editors: Alec Caso, Kelly Ohriner Section Heads: David Kolin, Austin Lee, Julius Pak, Chelsey Taylor-Vaughn Assistants: Michael Aronson, Charlton Azuoma, Nicole Gould, Luke Holthouse, Daniel Kim, Robbie Loeb, Shawn Ma, Allana Rivera, Micah Sperling, Ally White Chronicle Online Managing Editor: Vivien Mao News Update Editors: Evan Brown, Hank Gerba, Sanjana Kucheria Opinion Update Editor: Victor Yoon Feature Update Editors: Julius Pak A&E Update Editors: Tiffany Liao, Meagan Wang Sports Update Editors: David Gobel, Judd Liebman Multimedia Editors: Ashley Khakshouri, Chelsea Khakshouri Blogs Editor: Abbie Neufeld Adviser: Kathleen Neumeyer The Chronicle is the student newspaper of Harvard-Westlake School. It is published nine times per year. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the seniors on the Editorial Board. Letters to the editor may be submitted to chronicle@ hw.com or mailed to 3700 Coldwater Canyon, North Hollywood, CA 91604. Letters must be signed and may be edited for space and to conform to Chronicle style and format. Advertising questions may be directed to Business Manager David Burton at (626) 319-0575. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or the school.
JEAN PARK and noelle lyons/CHRONICLE
While few are learning in the classroom, others are on their way to Coachella...
Administration, don’t skip out
S
o let’s say that there’s this Muppets on Ice performance in Fargo, North Dakota… And let’s say that Joe Junior and his mother really want to go… Can he skip school on Friday in order to make his flight? That would probably be frowned upon. So why is it okay for students to ditch school for Coachella as long as it is parent-approved?
Last week the administration announced at a faculty meeting that it will be taking a more relaxed approach toward students who miss school to go to the Coachella Music Festival in April. While, technically, this new conciliatory approach only serves students’ interests, it serves as another example of how the administration has disregarded precedent and the established school attendance policy. Last year, more than 70 students were punished with detention for missing their Friday classes for Coachella. Coachella was not considered an “excused absence.” Students were informed of this ahead of time through email and told that there would be repercussions for missing school. Missing school for Coachella continues to be disrespectful to teachers and the students who do attend their classes, regardless of whether or not the administration decides it’s an “excused absence.” In a discussion-based class of 20 students, what would be accomplished if 15 are missing school to go to Coachella? Teachers’ lesson plans are affected and they will need to explain everything to the absent students the following week, throwing off their pace of teaching. By creating this loophole, the administration is undermining its entire policy. How can students be deterred from missing school for unnecessary reasons if they will face no repercussions? The administration loses its credibility and its power over the student body
if it shows such inconsistency in punishments and does not adhere to the rules in the Student Handbook. Rules are not written to be mere suggestions; they are principles that are adhered to and respected. What makes a music festival more excusable than anything else? Yes, Kanye West and Duran Duran will be there, but Coachella is still not a religious holiday, college visit nor a Wolverine athletic event. While it is easier to punish three students than 300, a point needs to be made nonetheless. If the school takes this kind of laidback approach for Coachella, students, particularly the ones affected by chronic senioritis, will think they can get away with more days like this. Just to clarify, we are not bashing Coachella. If the school were steadfast in its approach to Coachella absences, it would force students to grow up. To avoid inconviencing teacher and students, in addition to a marred attendance record, students might go to their Friday classes and hightail it out of school at 2:35 p.m. to still make the weekend performances. The administration said it has taken this new approach because it wants students and parents to be forthright and honest if students miss school for Coachella. While the integrity of students and their parents is extremely important, so is the integrity of the school to act accordingly when students violate a rule.
Just finish community service
T
wo hundred seniors’ names decorate the wall next to Upper School Dean Canh Oxelson’s Chalmers office. If you are one of those seniors, you might want to finish your community service.
The deadline is May 2, and if you haven’t completed your requirement by then, unfortunate consequences await. You will have to do more community service than the requirement dictates, and you will not matriculate until you finish those hours. You may receive an empty folder instead of a diploma at graduation, and until you officially graduate, your final transcript will not be sent to the college you plan to attend. These punishments are appropriate, and the administration rightly demonstrated its commitment to the school community service requirement by announcing these consequences. In recent years, the Community Council has successfully planned and advertised dozens of events, helping students complete a reasonable school requirement that aims to build community both inside and outside of school. In spite of this sturdy foundation, however, the council and the school were unable to prevent over 100 students from disregarding their community service last year, and as of now, it looks like this year could be exactly the same. Although these numbers seem to undermine the credibility of the council and of the school’s community service requirement, this ambivalence toward service is not the fault of the system. The students who ignored
the requirement last year did so not because the current requirement is too onerous but rather because there were no immediate consequences for their actions. This new policy, however, sends a clear, reasonable message to the student body. Admittedly, the current program is not perfect, and several changes should be made that both encourage students to complete their requirement and make community service more meaningful for all involved. The Community Council could do more to promote repeat trips to the same place or event. Students who attend an isolated community service event do not develop substantial relationships with people inside or outside the community. While the demise of the Harvard-Westlake Chandler Tutoring program indicates the difficulty students have in making regular service commitments, a more concerted effort to promote these types of programs could help them work. Secondly, as the school is already beginning to do, the Community Council should aid already existing groups within the school community, like the volleyball team or peer support groups, in setting up team or club events. Working together, these students, who are already tightly-knit, will make the community service experience something to look forward to rather than a burden. And they will grow even closer in the process.
Chronicle
The
March 23, 2011
Opinion A13
We can’t judge ourselves Lara Sokoloff
M
ost believe that the Honor Board is a collaboration between the students and the administration to ensure that the laws delineated in the Honor Code are upheld. However, what is the true purpose of these students that sit on the Honor Board? First off, the student qualified to serve on the Honor Board is not the What same student that will serve as a good planning fun events for the truly gives Prefect, student body. Thus, the two should [the at least be separated. But more than that, our discipline should not involve prefects] students. I believe that no student in the right to the Harvard-Westlake community has judge their a clear enough idea of what is right and what is wrong to be able to accurately peers? it is determine punishments for their peers; it simply should not be allowed. true that A great deal of the Prefect Council’s they were argument in favor of an Honor Board references the “sympathy” that offendelected by ers receive from the students on the the student panel. However, it is very rare that a body to do Prefect sees the process from the other so, but does side. Thus, what truly gives them the the student right to judge their peers? It is true that they were elected by the student body body to do so, but does the student body entirely understand the implications of entirely choice? Most likely not. understand its The Honor Board is meant to uphold the the Honor Code, which was created the students for the students years implications by ago. The Honor Code is not a black and of its white document; there is room left for interpretation. choice? But what makes the Prefects’ interpretation the right one? Prefects were elected to lead their classes, and I agree that they should. However, they should lead by upholding the Honor Code in their everyday actions and endeavors, not by applying personal interpretations of the document to punish their classmates. The responsibility to punish students lies strictly with the administration; it is not the responsibility of one student to punish another. Therefore, it is necessary that the current Honor Board be dissolved, and in its place, a board of only administrators should determine the fate of students that have not upheld the standards of conduct expected of them.
JEAN PARK AND RACHEL SCHWARTZ/CHRONICLE
Take time to immerse Chloe Lister
T
he week before winter break, I received some of the worst grades I’ve gotten at school this year. In the subsequent week back at school, it was a similar case. Convinced that this can’t be just a coincidence, I’m chalking these bad grades up to the fact that I opted to go on the Semester at Sea pre-college enrichment voyage, a three-week cruise around Central America with 35 other high school students. Now I’m not saying that going on this trip wasn’t worth it. I believe the contrary, actually; from playing with children in an orphanage in Guatemala to zip lining through the jungle in Honduras, I honestly think I’m a better person after those three weeks. However, because of this trip I missed a little over a week of schoolwork, which, as any Harvard-Westlake student knows, is a hefty load to make up. While I am convinced that other students would greatly benefit from learning outside the classroom while doing something they love, it’s nearly impossible to do with the way the academic year is currently set up. Any kind of program over winter break would take students away from their families for the holidays and would be too close to midterms, and spring break, for juniors at least, is typically reserved for col-
Understanding through photographs
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n one of my classes, my teacher gave us some time to read about the recent events in Japan on school laptops. A student commented on how the only thing in the news these days is the crisis in Japan. He also mentioned that it was somewhat “unethical” to just sit around watching clips and viewing pictures of the tragedy. At first, I started to feel bad. I actually closed the web page that I had opened and checked my email as a perfunctory response. But there’s actually nothing unethical about acknowledging what others are going through. It’s informative to display a visual reality that other people should know about. There are many times when I find myself having seen an incredibly heartbreaking and tragic image
lege visits. And, as we all know, missing any school is basically out of the question. Therefore, I’m proposing a program for us that would be similar in nature to that of Oakwood School in North Hollywood, which the school’s website describes as an “intense two-week period in the academic year for students to be fully immersed in rich and challenging learning experiences in ways not possible during the regular academic schedule.” Students at Oakwood are able to select programs that are fitted to the individual interests that they don’t get to explore as much due to the rigor of the school week, whether it’s traveling to Costa Rica to study ecology or staying in Los Angeles to do intensive workshops. Our immersion trips could fall just after the end of the semester and be either instead of or in addition to the already existing semester break. This would allow students to fully commit themselves to their activity of choice without the stress of schoolwork constantly looming over them. With the constant rigor of the school year creating a persistent air of anxiety during much of our time at school, I think a program like the one I’ve described would make students part of a much more wellrounded community.
i dont’ think it’s unethical to expose yourself to what is really happening on the other side of the world
Jean Park and I feel bad that I am unable to do anything other than continue looking and trying to find out more. Almost everyone has those moments where they stop complaining and take a few seconds to remember that there are many people are in a far worse situation than themselves. These moments can very well be propelled by the impact of images and in my opinion, I think that makes people a lot more ethical: to think of others when they themselves aren’t in the best situations. For me, it’s difficult, to say the least, to imagine any tragedy as monumental as the one occurring in Japan. It’s probably hard for most people I know to imagine that kind of unforgiving loss, but I think the least that most people can do is be informed and understand their circum-
stances. And I think one important way to understanding is to view images. A photograph does more than tell a thousand words. It leaves an impression that words aren’t able to and for that reason, a single picture has the power to put someone like me into somebody else’s shoes for just a moment. To some people, another story in the newspaper with the words “Japan” or “disaster” in the headline may only be another replicate of a skeletally structured news story with the same information. But to others, it is a very important reality check. Although most people aren’t able to donate a great deal of money, everyone is able to be informed and understand the situation that is currently unfolding. While it’s not direct
help, being aware of the entire situation, emotional or not, is still very important to our society. So, I don’t think it’s unethical to expose yourself to what is really happening on the other side of the world, whether it is in the form of words or photographs. However, I admit that it can sometimes become overly excessive when news sites or blogs feel the need to upload boundless quantities of photographs aimed at evoking sympathy, not giving information. Understanding, or at least attempting to understand, and getting a glimpse of a reality that is much different than your own is far from unethical. What’s unethical is dismissing this tragedy as nothing more than a nuisance.
A14 Opinion
March 23, 2011
The
Chronicle
Let service be service Alice Phillips
i simply refuse to believe that nearly two thirds of the upper school students are indifferent to the world outside of harvardwestlake.
The Chronicle’s page 11 editorial “Finish your community service” is wrong. This year, 547 students had yet to complete their community service requirement on March 16. Out of 870 upper school students. That’s 63 percent of upper school students. Last year, 271 students had yet to complete the requirement by May 21. Something clearly isn’t working. The Chronicle’s editorial ignores the fairly obvious fact that if nearly two thirds of upper school students have yet to complete their service, the system is broken. Full disclosure: I haven’t completed my community service requirement. I’ll do it, I swear, but I’ll do it later. I have to admit, I’m comforted by the knowledge that I am not alone in my procrastination. But, despite my personal inadequacies in this department, I maintain that the community service system is broken and needs to be fixed. In fact, it was probably faultily constructed in the first place. I simply refuse to believe that nearly two thirds of upper school students are indifferent to the world outside of Harvard-Westlake. I refuse to believe, as the Community Council would have me think, that nearly two thirds of students are so apathetic and/or selfish that they can’t take four hours out of their life for community service. No, the problem is the system. The problem is the half-baked, often disingenuous community service model at this school. Community Council claims to support students’ involvement in community service, but it seems rather irrational to require that students who have already acquired a life-long love for community service do extra, school approved service just because service must be done with four members of the community. If the mission of the Council is truly to build ties with the larger Los Angeles community, a student who has done 50 hours of independent service should be considered a shining success. But that doesn’t seeem to be the case. Half of the mission of the Council, as stated in their mission statement, is to build community within the Harvard-Westlake community. I, for one, get quite enough of the Harvard-Westlake community. What I need more of is the pure, un-Harvard-Westlakeadulterated Los Angeles community. If the point is Harvard-Westlake community building, let’s call it community building. If the point is community service, let’s call it community service. And let’s not pretend that 63 percent of students are indifferent to the outside world.
JEAN PARK AND MOLLY HARROWER/CHRONICLE
Not the bake sale I had expected Jordan McSpadden
I
n 10th grade when I started my club, Tune In, I did not think it would be as difficult as it has been to actually get it started. After I came up with the idea to buy iPod Nanos for kids to use at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, I thought everything else would fall into place. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Starting a club requires students who are interested in your ideas and a lot of motivation. You also have to submit a proposal to Jordan Church, the Director of Student Affairs, who then reads it and approves or doesn’t approve your club. To get students to join my club, I put up a poster at the Community Council Fair that happens every November. I reserved a table, put out a sign-up sheet and baked cookies to put on my table. Although 30 people signed up for my club, only five people responded to my email asking students to bake goods for my bake sale. I was not too surprised that only five people responded to my email, because most students just sign up without knowing anything about the club or without any interest. Despite the problem of getting students to sign up for my club, for me, the toughest part of starting a club was organizing how I wanted to raise the money. I thought the easiest and most effective way to raise money would be to have a bake sale during a Monday break. All the students would be
free and walking in and out of the cafeteria. Who would not want to stop by our table for a baked treat? Almost everything we were selling was homemade. What I did not factor in was that other clubs might be having some sort of activity that would compete with my bake sale. I needed to have my bake sale stand out so that students would want to buy my cookies and brownies. For example, the second time I had my bake sale, I did not realize until the Sunday before that my bake sale would be during Pi Day, March 14, when the Social Committee would be giving out free pie. They had cherry and apple with whipped cream. And how am I supposed to compete with free pie? Heck, even I wanted some. And if it wasn’t bad enough, students can only pay with cash at bake sales. So many people have come up to me during the bake sales to say, “We can pay with our student I.D.s, right?” So many times I have had to turn them down and watch them sulk away wishing they could just take out a dollar and eat one of my delectable brownies. It is frustrating knowing that I would be making more money if students could use their I.D.s to buy goods at the bake sale. Overall, getting my club approved, getting my bake sale approved by the planning committee and actually raising money takes a lot more work than I originally thought it would.
Let’s evaluate our teachers
E
very day I am graded by my teachers. I get labs, quizzes, essays, and tests back with either a letter grade or a percentage. I am told my successes and my failures in each class almost every day. I have one question: When is it my turn? The Los Angeles Times ran a series of stories this summer that shocked the nation about the effectiveness of teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The data team collected test scores from different years and compared them. After analyzing how students’ test scores changed after facing a certain teacher’s class, the data team published the results, using a sliding scale ranging from “least effective” to “most effective.” Focusing entirely on test scores does not tell the full story about whether a teacher is a “good”
Judd Liebman teacher or “bad” teacher. There needs to be more information, and the best way to attain that information is by surveying the students. For me, it’s very hard to separate the material from the teacher. When I have a good relationship with a teacher, I usually have a better grasp of the material. Unfortunately, the contrary is also true. But what if there are teachers who don’t have good relationships with most of their students? Why doesn’t the administration take students’ opinions into consideration? I want a turn to grade those who each and every day enter a grade in the system for me. Instead of homework surveys, we should have extensive teacher effectiveness surveys. Harvard-Westlake prides itself in its academic excellence, so the faculty should be comprised of only the best
teachers. The students know how the teacher interacts with his or her class. The students know how engaging a teacher is. The students know whether a teacher’s skills are perfected or not, and the students are the only ones who know whether a teacher truly motivates his or her students to do better. Motivated teachers equate to motivated students and success in the classroom. The students have the knowledge, and it is the administration’s duty to find out which teachers excel and which teachers do not. Only this evaluation help actively encourage better teaching. The heads of departments evaluate every teacher, but how do they know which teachers actually help students learn the material? Parents make calls complaining to deans and administrators about shoddy teach-
ers, but it’s time that we take these complaints seriously. There needs to be some form of anonymous survey so the administration can weed out the bad from the good. Let’s say that across the board students overwhelmingly give Mr. Smith bad grades. The students don’t like Mr. Smith, and they aren’t meshing well with him. Is it fair to keep him at Harvard-Westlake? If the school expects the best from the students, the school should also expect the best from the teachers. I have had teachers that have made me love a subject. Their enthusiasm makes me want to learn the material to make them proud. They should be rewarded when these teacher surveys come in and these teachers should help other teachers. Most of all, these teachers should know that what they are doing is really helping students.
March 23, 2011
Opinion A15
The
Chronicle
quadtalk makinggrades What do you think the administration should do about prom?
“There should definitely be a prom because every high school student deserves one.”
—Laurel Wayne ’13
The Chronicle evaluates recent campus developments.
A C
Student film submissions soar for Film Festival.
School leaves seniors in limbo as to the fate of prom.
BF
Starting school on Tuesday after Labor Day will force families to travel on the holiday.
Fan attendance is dismal at girls’ basketball games, boys’ road games.
bynumbers
“The administration should keep prom but make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.”
The Chronicle polled 333 students who weighed in on how the school punishes seniors who do not complete the community service requirement by the May 2 deadline.
Community Council
—Alex Velaise ’11
129
“i hope the administration will carefully consider the seniors’ proposal because i want there to be a prom.” — Dean Mike Bird
98 65
26 15
212 75 44
—Wiley Webb ’12
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jean park/Chronicle
Off-campus privileges should be revoked. There should be no punishment. Their June transcripts should not be sent to colleges until they complete their requirement. They should not be able to walk with their class at graduation. They should not have their diplomas signed.
The Chronicle polled 345 students who weighed in on whether or not Coachella absences should be excused.
Disciplinary Action
“Prom should not be different from last year. at semiformal, the seniors acted more responsibly than students in other grades.”
How should seniors be punished for failing to complete the community service requirement?
Do you think students who miss school for Coachella should be punished?
No, because with parental permission, students should be allowed to miss school. No, because students will be dishonest about their absences and go to Coachella anyway. Yes, because the school should be consistent when enforcing its attendance policy. Yes, because when a large portion of the student body is absent, the academic environment suffers.
Results based on an online poll e-mailed to Harvard-Westlake upper school students through http://www.surveymonkey.com.
March 23, 2011
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a night at the theater The Advanced Dance II class, along with dozens of guest performers, brought the movies to life in Rugby Auditorium with their annual dance show which paid tribute to the great films of all time.
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By Lara Sokoloff
T
he Advanced Dance II yearly showcase in Rugby Auditorium March 4, 5 and 6 was movie-themed. Director Cynthia Winter suggested the theme to the dancers in the beginning of the year. The show was primarily choreographed by the Advanced Dance II students, Hallie Brookman ’12 said. The showcase entailed 96 numbers, varying from group dances, to duets, to comedy scenes featuring Scene Monkeys. Each number was inspired by a different movie, varying from classics like “Casablanca” and “Snow White” to modern features including “Black Swan” and “The King’s Speech.” “Performing in the show was such an amazing experience,” Sarah Seo ’12 said. “My favorite number was definitely ‘Saturday Night Fever.’ I was really nervous to perform it for the first time, but once the
music started and we went out there, I just forgot everything I was ever worried about and had so much fun.” Multiple guests participated in the show in addition to the members of the Advanced Dance II class. The guests included members of the Scene Monkeys, Advanced Dance I dancers, and members of the faculty. “I was great fun to be on the other side of the teaching dynamic,” Upper School Dean Vanna Cairns said. “My teachers were very patient. It was so very professional.” The dancers have been preparing on weekends and after school for the show since they returned from winter break, Brookman said. “The show was an unforgettable experience, and we really saw that the work and time we put into the show really paid off,” she said. “I’m so lucky and glad to have been a part of it.”
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Pass the popcorn: Amanda Allen ’12 plays the part of Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz” dance (1), Dancers wield ribbons in the dance portraying “The Lion King,” one of only three animated films to make the cut (2), One of the larger dances, “West Side Story,” incorporated several members of the class (3), Jazzi Marine ’13 soars during the “Mary Poppins” dance in front of Nicolena Farias-Eisner ’13 and Sara Best ’11 (4), English teacher Adam Howard is Tom Cruise in the iconic moment from the 1983 film “Risky Business” (5), Asha Jordan ’12 takes center stage during the “James Bond” dance (6).
photos by chloe lister
Eatures F the
Chronicle Volume XX Issue VII March 23, 2011
go Where locals hang B 6,7,8
shop eat
photos by Ingrid chang, chloe lister and maddy baxter
B2 Features
March 23, 2011
The
Chronicle
Going for a Jackson Foster ’11 plans to bike across the country, totaling more than 4,000 miles, for several months during his year off before college. By Jordan Freisleben
J
ackson Foster ’11 prides himself on being anything but ordinary. Based on his choice of college (he deferred to the Rhode Island School of Design) and his decision to build a treehouse in his backyard earlier this year, it’s not out of character that Foster is planning something completely unique for his gap year. From the end of August through November, he will cycle across the country from Virginia back to California. Foster plans to bike crosscountry with his older brother Drew Foster ’07, who is taking a semester off from Brown University. Foster said he first thought of the idea to cycle cross-country because of his love of backpacking. “I’m a backpacker, so the idea of traveling with everything with me and traveling without electricity is something that I’m pretty passionate about,” he said. “I thought I could travel a long distance on a bike instead of walking, this is backpacking on wheels – kind of using your legs as wheels.” On a trip to Yosemite last summer, Foster met some people who biked across the country. “I always knew I was going to take a gap year, but I never really knew what exactly I was going to do and this just kind of fit into place,” he said. Foster said that he and his brother are getting their maps from a website called the Adventure Cycle Association, which specializes in providing long distance bike routes. They are taking the
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ike many students, Sam Lyons ’13 is ready to leave for school at 7 a.m. Backpack and sports bag in hand, he says good-bye to his parents and walks out the front door. But rather than jumping into a car or school bus, Lyons hops onto his bike, straps his backpack on with a bungee cord, puts his sports bag on his back and begins his threemile trek to school. With two parents who need to get to work, Lyons puts the responsibility of getting to school upon himself. Since the second week of school, Lyons has made a 20-30 minute ride to and from campus every day. While exerting that much energy so early in the morning may seem daunting, Lyons enjoys the freedom it gives him. “I like to be in charge of my schedule. I can choose when I leave home and when I get back,” said Lyons. In addition, he finds that riding his bicycle can be an energy booster. While Lyons, a member of the cross country and track and field teams, finds that his “leisurely”
morning rides do not give him much exercise, Lyons will often take longer routes and ride full speed on the way home to exert himself and gain strength and endurance. Another perk is that he is “always awake by first period,” Lyons said. Benjamin Gaylord ’13 has a similar experience. He lives 15 minutes away from school by bike and also just truly enjoys the responsibility of providing himself with transportation. “If I have more work to do and want to stay late at school then I don’t have to call to get picked up,” Gaylord said. Gaylord, who is also on track and field, finds the ride a good way to stay in shape, especially since he carries his backpack on his back. Lyons and Gaylord, however, are not the only people who take alternative vehicles to school. Geology teacher Wendy Van Norden often makes her way to campus on a Segway. She discovered her love for Segways after participating in a Segway tour in San Diego. While it would only take her less than 10 minutes to get to school by car, Van Norden prefers the 30-minute commute on her vehicle of choice.
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“Transamerica Bike Trail” and will bike more than 4,000 miles. “The maps give you turn-to-turn directions for the entire way and they also tell you bike shops on the way and campgrounds,” he said. The brothers are starting in Virginia and then cycling to Kentucky. From Kentucky, they’ll cycle across Southern Illinois to Missouri. From Missouri they’ll continue on through Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana to Idaho and Oregon. Foster said that he and his brother are then planning to cycle down the West Coast from Oregon back to Los Angeles. Foster said that he has already been training for about a month to prepare for the different biking terrains on his trip. “Going through Colorado, through the Rockies, is going to be extremely hard,” he said. Foster said that weather conditions during his bike tour might require some improvisation to their schedule. “We’re going to be going through Colorado in October, so there’s really heavy snow,” he said. “One thing my brother and I are really happy about is that if the weather’s a little extreme, we’re going to have to cut down to New Mexico and to Arizona and then up to California. There’s a sense of spontaneity to this trip. If weather tends to stop us, we’re going to have to find another way home.” Foster has been training by going on 20-mile bike rides four or five times a week. On his trip, he plans to travel roughly between 60 and 80 miles a day. He said he and his brother plan on biking five
two wheelers
By Elana Zeltser
n
or
t ic
or six days a week and stopping one day a week in a city for a “rest day.” Foster said that he has never been to most of the places that he’ll be biking through. “It’s a lot of mountains, a lot of grass, a lot of cows, and you know it’s kind of the biggest contrast to what I’ve been doing the last four years in high school,” he said. Foster credits his semester at the High Mountain Institute in Colorado in his junior year for opening him up to a plan like this. “That sculpted this entire trip,” he said. “If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t be going on this trip. That place opened up my entire life – I hadn’t backpacked really before that, and now every free moment, that’s what I do. That gave me the idea of where I’m happiest and where I’m the best person that I am, which is not in a city and when I’m traveling and doing it on my own.” Foster said he’s looking forward to the experiences he’ll have on his trip. “I’ll probably learn a lot on this trip about the country and about people and about independence, that’s the biggest thing,” he said. While Foster has never been on a bike trip of this rigor, he said his backpacking experiences will be helpful. “I think biking and backpacking are really similar; we’re going to be very lightweight travellers. Sleeping wise, we’re not going to have planned places to sleep – we’ll sleep either at a campground or at a local church,” he said. Foster plans to use the remaining months of his gap year to do community service or work with the National Forest Service.
To stay in shape, save gas or just for the joy of the ride, some students and teachers opt to bike, scooter or Segway to school. A Segway not only is more fun for her, but it also uses less energy than a car. “It only goes about 12 miles per hour. For some strange reason, it is well-timed for the lights, so I almost never have to wait at a stoplight,” Van Norden said. Another teacher with a unique means of transportation is director of the theater program Chris Moore. About three days a week, Moore jumps onto his Piaggio scooter for the three-quarters-ofa-mile ride between his house and campus. “From closing the garage door at home to parking in my space by the chapel it takes approximately one minute [and] 15 seconds. Big commute,” Moore said. He chooses his scooter over a car for many reasons. “Gas mileage. Less emissions… Last year I probably saved about $700 in gas. It costs about $7 to fill up my scooter, and it will get about 180 miles per tank full whereas my car cost about $60 to fill up,” Moore said. While there are many advantages to not taking a car, there are also many dangers. Lyons, Gaylord, Van Norden and Moore all agree that there are serious safety
concerns when riding to school on two-wheelers. While they all take the necessary precautions, such as always wearing a helmet, “there are careless drivers out there. You always have to be on your toes when you’re riding,” Gaylord said. “I actually got hit a couple of weeks ago… It was my right of way. The light was green. It said walk and I was technically a pedestrian because I was on my bike on the cross walk. I didn’t see this woman coming down, and she didn’t see me… I was a bit shaken up,” Lyons said. Van Norden used to ride her bike to school as well, but after a “number of close calls” she decided to use the Segway because it can be ridden on sidewalks. Moore also recognizes the dangers that can come from riding two-wheeled vehicles. “People don’t look for motorcycles and tend to cut you off. I have been hit twice on scooters — totaling the bikes both times,” Moore said. They all believe that they are taking measures to ensure their safety, and all enjoy their methods of travel. And tomorrow, as usual, Lyons will jump onto that bike and set the pedals in motion.
March 23, 2011
The
Back Bends By Megan Kawasaki
and
Features B3
Chronicle
Tiffany Liao
I
n her sophomore year, while many students were enjoying their winter breaks, Nina* ’12 spent almost her entire vacation in a hospital room recovering from corrective back surgery. Nina was diagnosed at a young age with scoliosis, a condition in which the spine unnaturally curves into an “S” shape. Despite this condition, Nina never felt much pain and was not bothered by it. As she grew older, her scoliosis worsened, and her doctor advised her to wear a back brace, which she did during the eighth and ninth grades. However, the apparatus did nothing to shape her backbone or ease her scoliosis. “It was not helpful, so I stopped wearing it,” she said. Having had no luck with the back brace, Nina considered surgery at the urging of her doctor. After much deliberation, Nina and her parents decided she would go through with the procedure. Nina went to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for corrective surgery. She spent a total of five weeks undergoing and recovering from the operation. She did not feel much pain because she was put on morphine after the surgery. “I was out of it the whole time, so I don’t really remember,” she said. Doctors placed a 10-inch titanium pole into Nina’s back to provide support for her spine as bones fused together. As a result, her backbone is now sturdier and straighter. Throughout her stay, her friends tried to visit her in the hospital but were not allowed past the lobby due to hospital policy. “I really liked their cards,” Nina said. “It was really sweet.” After the surgery, Nina was a bit hesitant about doing any physical activities, including yoga. “I didn’t do anything too rigorous out of fear, not because I couldn’t,” she said. By the time junior year came around, the surgery no longer affected Nina or her everyday life in any way. Scoliosis is very common, and over seven million people each year are diagnosed with it. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, scoliosis is idiopathic, meaning that the cause for it is currently unknown. It is often hard to catch it early though because there is no noticeable pain in the beginning stages of scoliosis. Caleb* ’12 was diagnosed with scoliosis in September 2009 during an annual checkup. Like Nina, he also required —Caleb* ‘12 surgery to correct his spine. Initially, the curvature of his backbone was at 27 degrees, so his doctor urged him to wear a back brace. However, Caleb felt that it was ineffective. “I really hated it, so I didn’t wear it that often, especially since the back brace had no guarantee of working since my scoliosis was pretty bad,” he said. Over the next nine months, his spine continued to curve at a sharper angle. However, even with severe scoliosis and mild pain, he felt that his day-to-day life was normal. By June of 2010, his scoliosis had progressed dramatically, and his spine was curved at a 65 degree angle, making surgery necessary. “The usual cutoff for surgery for most surgeons is around 30 degrees curvature. My curve was around 60 degrees when I went for surgery,” he said. Caleb underwent the operation that month in order to straighten his backbone. Afterwards, he gained a whole inch in height, and his spine is now bent at an angle of around 20 degrees. He feels that his back is in much less pain than before, but the scope of his activities is more limited. “I couldn’t really do much in the way of sports, and I’m not allowed to play contact sports from now on,” Caleb said. Despite the prevalence of scoliosis, the AAOS claims that only a few cases require medical intervention and surgery. It can usually be left alone if it is not too severe and is often highly managable. “It’s subtle stuff,” Caleb said. “You only find scoliosis if you’re really looking for it. It’s more common than most people realize.”
“
You only find scoliosis if you’re really looking for it.”
* names have been changed
The severity of scoliosis can range from a slight curve of the backbone to a condition where corrective spinal surgery is required.
The Anatomy of Scoliosis Not only do people with scoliosis have curved spines, but they also have related side effects, including differing shoulder heights or uneven waists.
One shoulder can be higher than the other.
One shoulder blade may jut out further than the other while the back is relaxed.
1
2
3 The waist is uneven, and the hips are often raised.
4
The spine abnormally curves laterally to varying degrees.
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF Nina*
One leg can be longer than the other due to curvature of the spine.
5
Information from american academy of orthopaedic surgeons graphics by megan kawasaki and jamie chang
B4 Features
The
Chronicle
En Pointe
March 23, 2011
Pressure
Not only does dancing take a physical toll on a ballerina’s body, but it can also test a dancer’s mental strength.
“
Injuries plague student dancer By Cami
de
Ry
En pointe since she was 11 years old, Anna Witenberg’s ’13 body has had to suffer the consequences of her intense dance routine. Witenberg has dealt with knee problems, Achilles tendonitis, and shin splits throughout her dancing career. Dancing en pointe takes a lot of meticulous technique to perfect, Witenberg said. As a ballerina pliés, she is expected to bring her heels all the way down to the ground, but due to Witenberg’s low instep and rolling heels, she did not do this as a young dancer. She developed habits that were soon hard to break, and her body was paying the price as it developed Achilles tendonitis. “It probably won’t really ever go away, but I do pilates and other exercises to try to strengthen the muscles around the tendon so they can do their job,” Witenberg said. According to Witenberg, it is a dancer’s responsibility to know the
“
It’s a matter of complimenting flexibility and strength.”
—Anna Witenberg ’13
weaknesses of his or her body. “For example, if someone has a really flexible back, they tend to forget to strengthen the back muscles to support it, which leads to back problems. It’s a matter of complimenting flexibility and strength,” Witenberg said. New pointe shoes also place a physical strain on dancers’ feet. To break in her shoes, Witenberg puts them on first. She feels that if she does it manually the shoes don’t properly fit her feet. After many sequences of long, slow motions of pliés and relevés, Witenberg bends the new shoes just a little bit to break
them in perfectly. The injuries that Witenberg has faced have impeded her from some dance opportunities. For example, in the summer of 2009 she was supposed to attend the Boston Ballet Summer Camp, but because her ankles and Achilles were in their worst states, she was unable to go. Now that Witenberg has felt the strains on the body, she hasn’t been dancing en pointe as often. From when she was 11 years old to 14 years old she attended en pointe ballet classes about four times a week. Contrarily, her dance routine has dropped in its intensity; she now attends maybe once a week at most. “Now it’s more of a matter to brush up on technique,” Witenberg said.
phic
by M add y
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By Maddy Baxter
Gra
that may be one of the reasons I like dance because you can always Aside from the physical strains that dancing can have be better.” on one’s body, the emotional pressures can take an equally Hallie Brookman ’12 has been on effective toll. Such pressures include competition, stress, a competition dance team since age weight and the desire to be perfect. eight, dancing contemporary, jazz and “It is good pressure. A lot of it comes from myself,” Rachel ballet. She dances at the Brentwood Schwartz ’13 said. Academy of Dance and Westside The pressure to remain a certain size is felt by many School of Ballet, participating in about dancers who desire to look more visually appealing. “Part five to six competitions a year. of being a dancer is that your body is your instrument. It is Brookman often feels the pressures all about how you to please the teacher look and making or choreographer. sure that you can “One of the worst make the best lines feelings is feeling like There is with your body is I’ve disappointed my nothing like really important,” teacher,” Brookman Schwartz said. said. the feeling Schwartz has Dancing is visual and I get when I been dancing ballet is all about one’s body. since she was Although no teacher dance. It’s my three years old. has ever put pressure form of Self Currently, she is in on Brookman to look a expression.” Advanced Dance certain way, she finds I at school and it hard not to think —Halle Brookman ’12 Nathanson’s/Chronicle performs at the about it. Westside Academy “After spending of Dance. endless hours in “I like performing. It is this weird out of body experience front of a mirror wearing either a that lets you explore the artistry instead of just the leotard or tights, it’s hard to not critique technique,” Schwartz said. my own body image,” Brookman said. Over the past summer, Schwartz attended the San However, no matter if Brookman feels Francisco Ballet Summer Intensive, in which incredibly self–conscious, she does not go to any talented people constantly surrounded her. According extremes to look a certain way. to Schwartz, there is a lot of pressure to do well because “There is nothing like the feeling dance is such a competitive world. The teachers can tell how I get when I dance. It’s my form of self serious a student is and depending on what they see they will expression,” Brookman said. Similar to push that student harder. However, amongst peers, “we all Schwartz, Brookman admitted to being understand and talk about it comfortably,” Schwartz said. a perfectionist, constantly striving for As far as perfection goes, Schwartz definitely feels the improvement. The pressure to be perfect is pressure to be perfect. “But where isn’t there that pressure?” all put on myself, Brookman said. Schwartz said. “I am definitely a perfectionist by nature and
and Cam i de ry
Dancers strive for physical perfection
March 23, 2011 T RS PRIN CORNELL
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TUFTS JOHNS HOPKINS
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Stakes COLGATE
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BROWN EMERSON
CARNEGIE MELLON
STANFORD
Features B5
Chronicle
DUKE
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KENYON
Chapter 7: While some seniors are anxiously awaiting their final college decisions, others are relaxing as committed second-semester seniors.
By Catherine Wang
“I really won’t be able to make a decision until I find out how much schools will want me to pay even if I get into one of the more prestigious schools on my list,” he said. I can’t get too excited because I wouldn’t want to attend just to burden myself with a huge debt if it turns out they won’t M provide that much money for me.” Aiden has applied for several scholarships online and is planning on applying to more during spring break.
CAL STATE
Madison the Performer: Though Madison* was accepted early decision to Wesleyan University in February, her workload has increased, she said. “We’re the only school in the country that still has work as second semester seniors,” she said. Wesfest, a three-day event in April during which students admitted to Wesleyan visit the school, coincides with a school performance, so she will not be able to attend. She may make a weekend trip to visit the school. She is traveling to the East Coast this summer, so she may also visit the school shortly after graduation, she said. As many of her friends hear from their Regular Decision schools, Madison has no regrets about her decision to go to Wesleyan. “It was frustrating to do all of the other applications,” she said. “I completed seven only to withdraw. It took me a lot of time and money for my parents to fill out the supplements.” Aiden the All-Around: Aiden* was accepted to the University of Miami last week and awaits more admissions decisions. Aiden did not know much about Miami before being accepted, but after researching it, he said he would be happy to go there. “It sounds like a really tight school,” he said. “Students say work is really manageable.” He is attracted to the school’s social scene. There is “lots to do” in Miami and good nightlife, he said. Along with Miami, Aiden was accepted to the University of California, Santa Cruz, University of California, Riverside and Case Western Reserve University last month. “I got a nasty $18,000 scholarship from Case Western but I don’t think I can see myself there,” he said. Although Aiden considers Miami a frontrunner among the schools he was accepted to, he “doesn’t want to get too attached.”
IDDLEBURY
Zoe the Artist: Zoe*, who was accepted early decision to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, is enjoying being a second semester senior. “I don’t stress out anymore,” she said. “I’m definitely working less hard.” Though she completes all of her assignments and homework, she does not put as much effort into her schoolwork, she said. Zoe sometimes still cannot believe she was accepted to NYU. “It’s been my dream since I was little,” she said. I couldn’t imagine myself at any other school.” Zoe and a friend she met at an NYU summer program plan to be roommates. She will submit a housing application later this month. Alexis the Athlete: After being accepted to St. Mary’s College through its early decision program in December, Alexis* is waiting to hear from the school’s financial aid office. “I’m just waiting and then I’ll get into everything,” she said. “They estimate that they will release those decisions sometime in late March.” Alexis was recruited to St. Mary’s as a walk-on recruit. “There’s only so much the school can do for walk-on recruits,” Alexis said. “But the coaches have helped us since we can communicate with financial advisers.” If St. Mary’s does not offer her enough financial
illustration by Melissa Gertler
aid, Alexis is considering Emory University, California Lutheran University and California State Universities. Alexis applied for several scholarships on her own, and she will receive notifications from the organizations she applied to between March and June. Carter the Brain: After being accepted to Massachusetts Institute of Technology in December, Carter* only applied to Harvard University. He receives his admission decision March 30. “I’m not really nervous, just because I have a pretty good alternative,” he said. “I’m hopeful.” If he is accepted to Harvard, Carter does not know which school he would choose. “Every week I switch off,” he said. “HW alumni from one school convince me and then alumni from the other school convince me and it goes back and forth.” Carter is “not stressing” about making decisions right now, he said. “In three months I’ll have to make decisions,” he said. “I’m sort of not thinking about it because so many things will change after March 30.” Carter has made plans to attend MIT’s Campus Preview Weekend April 7 through 10. *names have been changed
Academic Prep Services Dissatisfied with first semester grades?
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Since
1980
B6 Features
The
The locals’ choice where to
Chron
go
shop in...
eat
Venice
From the coast heart of the city insiders’ guide down neighbor eateries, shops across Los Ang
“The main hangout is either Abbot Kinney or the Venice Boardwalk. The Venice boardwalk has all the tourist attractions, but Abbot Kinney has all the good food, artsy craft shops and furniture.” —Ian Durra ’12
“As far as re good ones a the Omelett bana. They I can eat a l ing too muc
suggested by Durra and Ward
more in Venice
Allison Ham
Abbot’s Pizza Company
1407 Abbot Kinney Blvd. between California Avenue and Milwood Avenue
The Breakwater (surf spot)
end of Windward Street, past the playground
Venice Skate Park
on Venice Beach, off of Market Street ingrid chang/chronicle
SUN AND SAND: Venice Beach, above, features shops and art along the shore and is off of Pacific Avenue. Wild-
flour Pizza, right, is located at 2807 Main Street, between Hill and Ashland, down the street from the Omelette Parlor.
ingrid chang/chronicle
—Ingrid Chang
Manhattan Beach
Mary rose fissinger/chronicle
Allison Hamburger/chronic
324 Manhattan Beach Blvd. between Morningside Drive and Highland Avenue
Wahoo’s Fish Taco
1129 Manhattan Ave. between 12th Street and Manhattan Beach Boulevard
Becker’s Bakery and Deli
1025 N. Manhattan Ave. and 10th Street
Uncle Bill’s Pancake House
mary rose fissinger/chronicle
DOWN BY THE SEA: Manhattan Beach Boulevard, left, is lined with shops and restaurants and leads to the pier. The Kettle, upper right, is on 1138 Highland Ave., between Manhattan Avenue and Morningside Drive and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Justine Goode/chronicle
1305 Highland Ave., off of 13th Street
more in MB
The Beehive and Katwalk (clothing stores) suggested by Sofen and St. Jean
“We call it downtown Manhattan Beach and it has all of the best stores and it’s really easy to walk around there. —Morgan St. Jean ’12
“[The Kettle is] open 24 hours a day so you never go hungry. I recommend the honey bran muffins.” —Brigid Sofen ’12
—Mary Rose Fissinger
Features B7
nicle
West Hollywood
t to the y, this breaks rhood and sights geles.
mburger/chronicle
“I always get lunch [at Joan’s on Third] which has amazing grilled cheese with tomato. They’re always really crowded but will deliver around West Hollywood for free.” —Hannah Rosenberg ’11
suggested by Riley Guerin ’11 and Rosenberg
Allison Hamburger/chronicle
more in WeHo
estaurants, some are Wildflour Pizza, te Parlor, La Cahave great food and lot without spendch.” —Spencer Ward ’11
Cami de ry/chronicle
Maddy Baxter/chronicle
Cami de ry/chronicle
Milk
8209 W. Third St. between La Jolla Avenue and Harper Avenue
Swinger’s
8020 Beverly Blvd. between Fairfax Avenue and Crescent Heights Boulevard
WE GO TO WEHO: Joan’s on Third, upper left, at 8350 W. Third St., serves lunch and desserts. Locals also recommend Joe’s Pizza, upper right, at 8539 W.Sunset Blvd. near La Cienega and Book Soup, lower right, at 8818 W. Sunset Blvd., between Larrabee and Horn.
Opening Ceremony (clothing store)
418 La Cienega Blvd. between Melrose Avenue and Beverly Boulevard
The Troubador (music venue) 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., near N. Doheny Drive
—Maddy Baxter
Allison Hamburger/chronicle
Silver Lake Reservoir
On Silver Lake Boulevard, north of Sunset Boulevard
Greek Theater (music venue) 8539 W. Sunset Blvd., near N. Cienega Boulevard
K2
Allison Hamburger/chronicle
3916 W. Sunset Blvd. between Hyperion Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard
more in Silver Lake
3816 W. Sunset Blvd. between Hyperion Avenue and Lucile Avenue
“On the weekends, I sometimes go to Lamill Coffee. It’s a really low key coffee shop and crazy busy like Starbucks. It’s hip and unique in its own way.” —Cheryl Ikegami ’11
chloe lister/chronicle
“The area is beautiful and very vibrant, day and night. Lots of interesting independent shops and a number of wonderful restaurants, all close together.” —Paul Chenier, Foreign Language teacher
cle
r
Ragg Mop Vintage
suggested by Chenier, Ikegami and Marka Maberry-Gaulke ’12
Silver Lake
Allison Hamburger/chronicle
Eclectic: A variety of stores, cafes and murals fill Sunset Junction, right. Cheryl Ikegami ’11 suggests Lamill Coffee Boutique, upper left, located at 1636 Silver Lake Blvd., north of Sunset.
—Chloe Lister chloe lister/chronicle
B8 Features
March 23, 2011
The
Chronicle
Larchmont Justine Goode/chronicle
“I like Bottega for their chicken pesto panini because it’s only a short walk away from home.” —Brenda Flores ’13 Claire Hong/chronicle
in the neighborhood: La Bottega Marino is located at 203 N. Larchmont Blvd., between Beverly Boulevard and Third Street in Larchmont Village.
“I really enjoy walking to Larchmont on a Saturday morning to have red velvet pancakes from The Bungalow.” —Kacey Wilson ’13
more in Larchmont suggested by Melissa Flores ’12
Bricks and Scones
403 N. Larchmont Blvd.
Library (clothing store) 121 N. Larchmont Blvd. Claire Hong/chronicle
Eco-friendly cafÉ: The Bungalow, a café-style restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, is located at 107 N. Larchmont Blvd. between Beverly Boulevard and Third Street.
Sherman Oaks
Allison Hamburger/chronicle
Heavenly Couture
133 N. Larchmont Blvd.
Pasadena
more in the Valley suggested by Jay Kleinbart ’12 and Liliana Muscarella ’12
Farfalla Trattoria 16403 Ventura Blvd.
The Stand
17000 Ventura Blvd.
Iguana
14422 Ventura Blvd.
“Nami Sushi is the best sushi place for lunch. It’s not very expensive and the food is really, really good, and you get a lot of it.” —Alyse Gellis ’13
Eli Haims/chronicle
Classic italian: Il Fornaio is located in the One Colorado Shopping Center at 24 W. Union St. between Smith Alley and West Union Street.
“People, whenever they go to Pasadena, definitely have to hit up Colorado Boulevard. It’s what’s poppin’ whenever you go there. They have everything from Urban Outfitters to Zara to Coldstone to Il Fornaio.” —Noor Fateh ’11
Justine Goode/chronicle Justine Goode/chronicle
sushi: Nami Sushi is located at 4454 Van Nuys Blvd., between Van Nuys and Moorpark Street. Allison Hamburger/chronicle
more in Pasadena suggested by Jonathan Chu ’12 and Hank Doughan ’12
Norton Simon Museum 411 W. Colorado Blvd.
Saladang Song
363 S. Fair Oaks Ave. Justine Goode/chronicle
Rose Bowl flea market
dating back: American Vintage, at 14438 Ventura Blvd., offers a variety of clothes from the 1920s through the 1970s.
1001 Rose Bowl Dr.
“[Marston’s Restaurant] is the perfect place for a relaxed brunch and to wake up and enjoy the day.” —Hank Doughan ’12
“American Vintage has an amazing array of dresses, jackets, t-shirts and shoes. It’s one of the best collections of vintage clothes, along with Iguana.” —Liliana Muscarella ’12
Eli Haims/chronicle
Justine Goode/chronicle
Justine Goode/chronicle
at home: Marston’s Restaurant, which tries to emulate the cozy feel of a cottage, is located at 151 E. Walnut St.
Allison Hamburger/chronicle
A&E B9
Chronicle
The
March 23, 2011
inbrief Jazz combos win awards in competition The Advanced Jazz Combo and the Jazz Explorers competed in the 42nd annual Dos Pueblos Jazz Festival, held in Santa Barbara on March 5. The two combos played a few songs and then received critiques from professional jazz musicians. The Advanced Jazz Combo performed “Poinciana” by the Ahmad Jamal Trio, “Joshua” by Miles Davis and “One for Daddy-O” by Cannonball Adderley. The Jazz Explorers performed “Love for Sale with Chameleon” by Porter and Hancock, “Driftin’” by Hancock and “Beatrice” by Rivers a la Glasper. The Jazz Explorers took 2nd place and the Advanced Jazz Combo took 3rd place in the competition. Additionally, each Jazz Explorer won the Outstanding Soloist Award. “It was a really fun event. This was my third year, and it’s always relaxing and allows the band to bond,” Jazz Explorer bassist Hank Adelmann ’11 said. —Kelly Ohriner Jessica Barzilay/chronicle
BEATING THE DRUMS: Professional jazz specialist Ed Roscetti leads student musician Gil Young ’13 in a rhythm exercise in
ad-libbing on the African drum in front of director Shawn Costantino’s eighth period rhythm section class.
bringing in the experts
Jazz director Shawn Costantino cycles in professional jazz specialists to enrich the curriculum and give musicians individual attention.
By Jessica Barzilay
forms with the Brian Setzer Orchestra and Earth, Wind, and Fire coeneath rooms full of students founder Al McKay. quietly taking tests and meet“Learning from the best is very ing with their deans, the atmo- productive. They help with everything sphere in a classroom on the bottom from small rhythms to keeping time floor of Chalmers is slightly different. to more developed and complex meloA group of students stomp their feet, dies,” said Patrick Edwards ’11, who clap their hands and beat their shak- plays baritone saxophone in Studio ers, fusing the different sounds into Jazz Band. intertwining rhythms and beats. Although both Cleary and Reid are “Start making the sound of your college friends of Costantino, finding instrument, don’t just sing against specialists is often a matter of chance, the pulse, but you become the pulse,” as in the case of Roscetti. Former professional jazz musician Ed Roscetti Head of Upper School Security Kevin instructed. Giberson became friendly with RoscBringing his expertise in percus- etti, a frequent morning jogger at the sion and rhythm, Roscetti is just one Upper School. Giberson introduced of many coaches recruited by Jazz Di- Roscetti to Costantino and the two rector Shawn Costantino to enrich became friends. Like all of the coachdifferent aspects of the upper school es, Roscetti is a specialist, focusing on program. Costandifferent styles of tino has brought hand drumming in outside coachand percussion. es since 2006. The He has written professional mubooks and prosicians “deal with duced CDs offereverything, from ing guidance on song selection to the wide applicreating intercations of drumesting arrangeming. ments, to jazz imCostantino provisation and began his eighth m u s i c i a n s h i p ,” period rhythm Costantino said. —Noah Weinman ’12 section class with Although his an introduction Jazz Band trumpeter of Roscetti and a initial goal in integrating coaches declaration of his into the program hopes for the leswas to accelerate son: to “get more the development of the small com- intense rhythms.” bos, introducing outside instructors Roscetti, a teacher at the Musialso serves a practical purpose. When cians Institute College of Contemother coaches are present, Costantino porary Music, set out to accomplish said, two to three jazz groups, from a this by emphasizing the importance of 17-piece band to a five-person combo, physically connecting to the music. can rehearse simultaneously with “Spend some time with indepencoach supervision. dence, away from your normal axe, “In order for the jazz program to and if you do this every day you will maintain its excellence, we have to be feel like a different player,” Roscetti masterful multi-taskers,” Costantino said. said. He and assistant Nick Adams Throughout the year, Costantino demonstrated their deep connection rotates about five coaches and mixes to the beat by performing a song on in diverse specialists when the op- the drums before leading the class porunity arises. The regular guests in exercises with the shakers, which include keyboardist Lincoln Cleary, included making specific sounds and trumpet player Steve Reid, who per- improvised shaking.
B
“
They bring valuable insight, professional experience and fascinating hairstyles.”
“That feel is not going to come off of the paper,” Roscetti told the room of students, who were playing different rhythms simultaneously. At the end of class, Roscetti and Adams invited the students to freestyle on the various instruments. Costantino said that Roscetti’s lesson is important to the students because music is about community interaction, which percussion instruments lend themselves to. “Percussion loosens students up so that when they go back to their combo or band they have a larger awareness of rhythmic music,” he said. Brian Gross ’12, who plays bass guitar in rhythm section, appreciates the unique guidance the coaches offer. Since students are largely responsible for arranging and rehearsing their pieces and performances, outside opinions prove extremely useful. “The jazz teachers can help us figure out songs and harmonies that we could not figure out without their aid,” Gross said. The coaches also offer invaluable advice regarding musicianship in general, Gross said. “The best piece of advice I’ve heard was ‘You should play music because it’s fun and you love it, not because it’s work and you feel you have to’,” he said. Noah Weinman ’12, a trumpet player in jazz band, values the coaches’ individual flair as well as their musical prowess. “They bring valuable insight, professional experience and fascinating hairstyles,” Weinman said. Renowned musical historian and pianist Michael Feinstein, who performed at a school assembly Feb. 7, also stopped by Costantino’s classes, instructing the players to incorporate his immersive way of performing into jazz instrumentalist shows. Since Costantino took the initiative, integrating coaches into the curriculum has become a fixture in both the upper and middle school programs. Very happy with the results, Costantino plans on continuing the tradition in the future. “It is working like a charm,” he said.
Combo plays Jam Fest benefit at Roxy A jazz combo played at Jam Fest at the Roxy on March 6 as a fundraiser. The players in the combo were Daniel Sunshine ’13 on the drums, Jason Garfinkel ’11 on alto sax, Kevin On ’11 on tenor sax, Sam Lyons ’13 on the keys, Chris Freedman ’12 on bass and Ben Krause ’11 on the guitar. The occasion was Jam Fest, a fundraiser for the MusiCares foundation, which provides health benefits to uninsured musicians. Campbell Hall, Bridges Academy, Crossroads School, Star Prep Academy and New Community Jewish performed alongside HarvardWestlake. The combo played two Joshua Redman songs: “Headin’ Home” and “Can a Good Thing Last Forever.” The same jazz combo is planning to perform at either Vibrato or Vitello’s sometime during the remainder of the year. “It was really rewarding playing the music we love for a great cause. Benefits like this add an entirely new aspect to playing,” Krause said. —Caitie Benell
Jazz Explorers perform at 24th Street Theater The Jazz Explorers headlined a benefit for the 24th Street Theater’s “After ‘Cool’” program Sunday, March 20 at 4:30 p.m. The 24th Street Theater is a professional theater that brings music, theater, dance and visual arts to the community and promotes arts education. The “After ‘Cool’ ” program is an after-school enrichment curriculum for local students and at risk youth; the goal is to allow the students to express themselves artistically and provide a well-balanced education with an array of perspectives. The Jazz Explorers performed pieces from their repertoire. Members Jordan Bryan ’11, Hank Adelman ’11, Maguire Parsons ’11 Alex Scharch ’11 and Jake Chapman ’12 prepared for the performance by working with Jazz Director Shawn Costantino. “I enjoyed playing at this benefit because we used something that we love to do to raise money for a spectacular program. I definitely feel that our playing was as much of a celebration as a performance.” Chapman said. —Mariel Brunman and Keane Robertson
B10 A&E
March 23, 2011
The
Chronicle
Choirs awarded for festival performance By Nika Madyoon
Alex ravan/Vox
Come together: The symphony orchestra and both the women’s and the men’s choirs collaborated for their Major Works performance.
performing
the classics By Chloe Lister
and
Victor Yoon
Nearly one in seven upper school students performed in the Major Works concert, a collaboration performance of the combined men’s and women’s choirs and the symphony orchestra, said vocal head Rodger Guerrero. Covering more than three centuries of musical history, the performance in St. Michael’s church featured pieces in three different languages. The purpose of the annual Major Works concert is to utilize the upper school music program to play classical repertoire. This year’s concert consisted of three pieces performed by both the orchestra and the choir, and two instrumental pieces, both linked to the choral performances. The performance opened with an orchestral prelude to an opera by Tchaikovsky and was followed by an entire “Missa Brevis,” short mass, composed by Mozart, which lasted nearly 40 minutes and was a combination of the string section and the choir. A chorus from the same Russian opera was one of two pieces that utilized all student musicians that night. The second piece was Ralph Vaughan William’s “Serenade to Music,” which set a sonnet from Shakespeare’s “The Mer-
Alex ravan/Vox
The men’s and women’s choirs performed classical pieces with symphony orchestra. chant of Venice” to music. It used the orchestra and all upper schools vocal performers, replacing solo parts with men and women from the Chamber Singers, the highest tier choir. Students who performed in Major Works enjoyed the new style of music the concert offered. “I’ve never done anything like that before. It was really cool having a fuller sound due to the orchestra because for our concerts we only have a piano,” Sara Carreras ’13, a member of Bel Canto, said. Amy Weissenbach ’12, a member of Chamber Singers, particularly enjoyed working with other musical groups on campus. “Major Works was really fun because it’s not often that we get to combine all the choral groups together and sing together with the orchestra. It was great to hear the combination of all the music groups,” she said. “Being able to accompany singers was really eye opening and memorable because it increased the power of mousic even more,” Danni Xia ’12, a member of the symphony orchesta, said. Many singers noted that the music was more sophisticated than what they usually do, especially since the songs were much longer.
and
Michael Sugerman
Hundreds of Southern California students sang in the Southern California Vocal Association festival during the week of March 14. The Chamber Singers and Combined Women’s Festival Chorus both performed and received Superior Ratings. Chamber Singers performed four pieces: “Lady in the Water,” “i carry your heart,” “Ave Maria” and “The Battle of Jericho.” The Combined Women’s Festival Chorus consisted of two Middle School ensembles – Girl’s Chorus and Vocal Ensemble – and two Upper School ensembles – Bel Canto and women from Chamber Singers. The combined chorus sang three compositions: “Musica Dei Optimus,” “Elijah Rock” and “Come Away, Sweet Love.” “It was nice to see the hard work we put in to get ready be rewarded with a Superior Ranking,” Halle Levitt ’12 said. The importance of the rating, Hank Doughan ’12 said, is that it adds prestige to the assorted choirs. “[The rating] shows intonation and blend within the choir,” he said. “It shows that we express musicality through our emotion in the songs.” “It was really interesting to see the choirs from the different schools perform. I was so proud of our choirs because we represented Harvard-Westlake well,” Morgan St. Jean ’12 said. In addition to their recent performance in the SCVA Festival, the Chamber Singers will be going on a choral tour of Spain over spring break from March 28 to April 8. Students will visit Barcelona first, then Madrid, followed by Cordoba and Sevilla. The itinerary for the trip includes activities such as guided sightseeing tours to view attractions such as the Sagrada Familia and the Palau de la Musica, as well as leisure time in each of the four cities that students will visit. Participating students will also sing in concerts throughout the country. “Chamber Singers is really a family within the choral music program,” Doughan said. “I’m really excited to go to Spain because I feel that we will all become closer and soak in a wide variety of knowledge.”
Jazz Singers perform in benefit for P.S. Arts By Caitie Bennell and Mariel Brunman
Printed with Permission of Danielle Strassman
all jazzed up: The Jazz Singers take a photo with actor Darren Criss at a benefit concert for P.S. Arts.
The Jazz Singers performed at the Santa Monica Community College Broad Theater on March 7 to benefit P.S. Arts. Actor Darren Criss, who plays Blaine Anderson on the television series “Glee,” performed Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” and actor Josh Malina hosted. P.S. Arts raises money to train, recruit and hire professional artists to develop and teach an educational and empowering curriculum at inner-city
Los Angeles schools. “Knowing that performing would benefit kids that do what I love to do made it all the more special,” Kelsey Woo ’11 said. The Jazz Singers were invited to sing by the all-male awardwinning Yale a capella group, the Whiffenpoofs. The Jazz Singers performed Paul Simon’s “Love Me Like a Rock” and closed the show alongside the Whiffenpoofs with “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Choirs from Crossroads School and Marlborough School performed as well.
“It was a fun experience. We met choirs from Marlborough and Crossroads. I hadn’t performed on stage, and it was interesting to perform in front of a lot of people and parents. We had never done this before and it was really great,” Erin Landau ’11 said. “We were there for nine hours which made it a great bonding experience,” Danielle Strassman ’11 said. “It was exciting to know that the audience paid to see us and that we got the opportunity to share the stage with big stars.”
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March 23, 2011
The
Meet the
playwrights By Michael Rothberg The annual Playwrights Festival, which features original one-act plays written, directed and performed by students, is scheduled to begin Thursday April 14 and end Sunday April 17. After auditions, the cast list for the festival was announced on Feb. 28 by performing arts teacher Chris Moore, and rehearsals began in early March. “Let’s all work together, have fun and make some terrific theater
Series A
A&E B11
ChronicLe
10 student plays will be performed at the Playwrights Festival April 14-15.
together,” Moore said in an email to the actors, directors and writers. “I’m most excited to be in a show that was written by someone I know, and today during the read through, it was different than anything I had ever experienced,” Megan Ward ’13, who was cast in “Three Little Words” by Kelsey Woo ’11 said. The one act plays are divided into two sets. Series A features “Platform Nine,” “Lavatory Unrest,” “Step,” “A Walk to the Vet”
April 14 at 7 p.m., April 16 at 8 p.m., April 17 at 2 p.m.
and “Three Little Words.” Series B consists of “…Or Not to Be,” “Roommates,” “Dropped Stitches,” “Buried Alive” and “Oh No!” Scene Monkeys, a comedy troupe of students directed by Michele Spears, will also perform for the festival. “Since I have never acted before, the festival was a great way to get involved in theater,” cast member Leslie Dinkin ’13 of Monica Sullivan ’13’s “Lavatory Unrest” said. Tickets are on sale now at www. hw.com/boxoffice.
Series B
April 15 at 7 p.m., April 16 at 2 p.m., April 17 at 7 p.m.
‘Steps’ ‘Oh No!’
By Elana Zeltser ’13
It’s about...“the relationship and underlying issues of two step-siblings with nothing in common.” Inspired by...“my personal experience in a more dramatic context.”
By Alex Valdez ’11 & Arielle Basich ’11
It’s about...“a murder in a mansion and people try to figure out who committed it.” Inspired by...“we both like Agatha Christie a lot and wanted to write something mysterious.”
‘Platform Nine’ ‘Buried Alive’ By Rebecca Moretti ’13
It’s about...“Two kids meeting at a train station in the middle of the night. They are running away, going in opposite directions but searching for the same thing.” Inspired by...“the search for meaning and identity that is especially heightened during the teenage years and the loss of innocence that comes with it.”
By Wyatt Kroopf ’12
It’s about...“a grave robbing couple who have relationship issues.” Inspired by...“the relationship between Bonnie and Clyde.”
‘Lavatory Unrest’ ‘Dropped Stitches’ By Monica Sullivan ’13
It’s about...“a Catholic all-girls school that becomes a co-ed school. They build a wall to divide the girls’ bathroom, and the guys realize they can hear through the wall” Inspired by...“this book, “Fly on the Wall”, about a girl who changes into a fly and goes into a boys’ locker room.”
By Dani Wieder ’12
Inspired by...“a book about the events of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, and I was so moved by the story that when I found out this year was the 100 year anniversary [...] I couldn’t write about anything else. It was too perfect.” It’s about...“the lives of women who worked in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City in the early 20th century.”
‘The Walk to the Vet’ ‘Roommates’ By Cathy Mayer ’12
It’s about...“a guy on a walk with his dog while he thinks about people he’s met in the past and meets them during the walk.” Inspired by...“a thought about a guy talking to his pet and the pet talking back. From there I expanded it about the guy.”
By Anna Witenberg ’13 & Natalie Markiles ’13
It’s about...“a crazy old lady and average young boy helping each other discover themselves under the same roof.” Inspired by...“family plus “Big Momma’s House” plus the “Teenage Dream.”
‘Three Little Words’ ‘...Or Not to Be’ By Kelsey Woo ’11
It’s about...“the first time people say, ‘I love you.’” Inspired by...“a pretty universal and common thing that people can relate to.”
By Leland Frankel ’12
It’s about...“a day in the life of a failed Shakespeare actor who works as a Santa in the mall during holiday season.” Inspired by...“taking my nervous anxiety and chanelling it into the character.” photos by nathanson’s
B12 Features
March 23, 2011
The
Chronicle
Photos By Chloe Lister
lights, camera, action: Tom Hudnut gives Elizabeth Yale ’04 the first Lizzie Award as her
mother, Leah Bishop, watches, left. Director Guillermo del Toro speaks, right. Jacob Soboroff ’01 interviews
filmmaker Gabe Benjamin ’11 as co-directors Nick Lieberman ’11 and Jacqueline Sir ’11 stand by, bottom.
live from the red carpet
from film festival, A1
Special Guest: Jake Gyllenhaal ’96 talks about his past festival experiences.
Ch loe chronicle er/
t Lis
by Elizabeth Yale ’04 and marveled at how much it has grown. “It was like a snowball rolling down a hill,” he said. “We used to only take films from the greater metropolitan Los Angeles area, and now we get submissions from across California. The submissions are growing, both in number and in quality.” This year’s film festival included a preshow red carpet, during which AMC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff ’01 interviewed all the student filmmakers. A committee of students and faculty, including Gaulke, Walch and math teacher Kevin Weis, selected the 19 festival films from more than 200 submissions by California high school students. The selected films ranged from animated films to documentaries to music videos. A panel of film industry judges, including Peter Baxter (Zoe ’13), James Brooks, Rona Cosgrove ’85, Priscilla Nedd Friendly (Madeleine ’13, Andrew ’14), Tim Ryan and Yale, voted on the Lizzie Award recipients. “In the Quiet Hour,” a story of a family coping with the death of a family member, by Max Sokoloff of the San Francisco Art and Film Program, won the Lizzie Award for Best Overall Film. Festival Directors Nick Lieberman ’11 and Jacqueline Sir ’11 awarded the Festival Directors’ Choice award to “Texas Tea,” a music video about love, by Stefan Ng of University High School. “The Forest” by Rachel Clyde of the San Francisco Art and Film Program received the Sally Menke Award for Editing, named after the female film editor who died last fall. “How to Disappear Completely,” by Cesar Cervantes of Bell High School received the Humanitarian award, “Sunny Side Up” by Mattan Cohen of Northwood High School received the Founder’s award, “Starface” by Chanel Samson, Cassandra Dimas and Caitie Guttry of Providence High School received the Sound Design and Originality awards, “Saving Private Schmidt” by Elius Kim and Kevin Clark of Capistrano Valley High School received the Direction and Cinematography awards, “Wangypong. The Movie.” by Harry Keenan, Max Groel and Johnny Frohman of Palisades Charter High School received the Story/Writing award and “See” by Molly Cinnamon ’14 and Miranda Kaser of Harvard-Westlake Summer Film Camp received the Use of Music and Title Design awards. Also screened were “Honey…When Are You Coming Home” by Adam Hull of Notre Dame High School, “I Hurt Too” by Rayka
Zehtabchi of University High School, “iDate” by Ben Mullen of Culver City High School, “Paris is Burning” by Carolina Vazquez, Olivia Tant, Jake Kolton and Adrian Lau of Santa Monica High School, “Pedestrious” by Hugo Alvarez of Bell High School, “Psalm 51” by Mason Shefa of Oakwood School, “Speechless” by Libby Blood of El Dorado High School, “Strike Force” by Vishal Rattanchandani of the Orange County High School for the Arts, “Suffocation” by Nick Lieberman, Gabe Benjamin and Jacqueline Sir of Harvard-Westlake School and “The Clock of Life” by Eric Brownrout and Josh Levin of Calabasas High School. The New York Film Academy gave a $1,500 scholarship to Cervantes and $500 scholarships to the other filmmakers. At the conclusion of the film screenings, Gyllenhaal took the stage and shared his memory of Harvard-Westlake’s first film festival in Rugby Auditorium as well as his admiration for the filmmakers. “Promise me you’ll all hire me for your movies,” he said. All of the student filmmakers joined him on stage for a picture. Lieberman and Sir then asked the filmmakers questions about the conception and production of their films. After the program, filmmakers and audience members enjoyed refreshments at a reception at the Arclight Café. Summit Entertainment and Deluxe Digital’s Rob Friedman (Taylor ’03, Lane ’07) underwrote the DVDs of the 17 screened films that all audience members received as they walked out of the theater. The filmmakers attended workshops in Rugby the day after the film festival with director Barnet Kellman, acting coach Andrew Block, cinematographer Lance Acord, Ember and Cosgrove.
ports S
March madness
The Chronicle Volume XX Issue VII March 23, 2011
C5
Girls’ basketball, which lost the CIF Championship to Canyon, was knocked out of state tournament in the quarterfinals by Rialto.
Rider wins $300,000 in 4 contests By Catherine Wang
Lucy Davis ’11 won four consecutive Grand Prix classes at the Horse Shows in the Sun Desert Circuit March in Thermal, California between March 5 and 13, accumulating $300,000 in prize money. nathanson ’s/chronicle Davis was the youngest Lucy Davis ’11 rider competing in the six week international circuit. The first four weeks of competition were qualifying rounds for championship horse shows. There were four “big money classes” during the final two weeks. Davis swept the four classes, all of which were show-jumping events. Davis won the first “big money class,” the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, on March 5. The event was a qualifier for the World Cup, which will take place in Germany in April. Davis won the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix the following day to conclude the fifth week of the circuit. She won the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix March 11, before closing out the circuit’s final week with a win in the $200,000 Lamborghini Grand Prix of the Desert March 13. “Four in a row doesn’t happen very often,” she said. “After the first event I was so excited I didn’t even think about winning the next one and then I won the second and I was so excited that I didn’t think about winning the next one, or the next one. I must have been really relaxed. Or really lucky.” Davis was also awarded the SHALANNO Style of Riding Award, presented to a young jumper. Riders in the circuit earned points for their nationwide ranking. Davis is currently ranked first for riders 21 years old and younger. The circuit’s top 30 money winners qualified for a $1 milion Grand Prix class in September. “None of this is a championship. It’s all qualifying stuff,” Davis said. “You don’t get everyone, but there are still good classes and good competition.” Davis will attend Stanford University in the fall and spend her summer competing in Europe. The 18-year-old Davis mostly competes against Olympic-bound riders. She is 10 to 20 years younger than most of her competition. “I’m still really young – I only stepped into this level of competition last year,” she said. “I’m still trying to get the most experience possible.” Davis hopes to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and she will attend the Olympic Trials next spring. “I’ll still be really young though,” Davis said. “It totally depends on my horses and how sound they are. My best shot would probably be [in the] 2016 [Olympics].”
griffy simon/vox
Celebrate good times: Noor Fateh ’11 leads the boys’ basketball team as it rejoices after
winning its second CIF Division IIIA title in the past three years. The team defeated Inglewood 47-45.
Boys’ basketball wins CIF, falls in state tournament By Judd Liebman
When guard Jordan Butler ’11 banked in a three-pointer from the sideline to beat the third quarter buzzer, it all seemed within reach for the boys’ basketball team. What the players once thought impossible became possible with one shot. It might not have been the “shot that was heard around the world,” but in Taper Gym, it felt like it. Butler’s three-pointer brought the Wolverines, once down as much as 15 to La Verne Lutheran, to within two going into the final eight minutes of the state quarterfinal game on March 12. Over the course of the season, the team dealt with various injuries and the ineligibility of potential star Danilo Dragovic ’11, yet it still defeated Inglewood in the CIF Championship game. But now, the Wolverine basketball players faced their biggest challenge yet. The La Verne Lutheran Trojans, led by 6’9” Grant Jerrett, stormed into Taper Gym and played with intensity, purpose and a sense of urgency. The Trojans quickly opened up a 9-0 lead in the first quarter but were only up by six at the half. The third quarter started as the first one did, with the Wolverines scoreless for the beginning minutes. But then, forward Damiene Cain ’11 played ag-
gressive defense to spark the Wolverine offense, which scored 14 unanswered points to close out the quarter. All Wolverine momentum was halted by the break between quarters. La Verne capitalized on the pace change and came out of the break with more intensity. The beginning of the quarter was again a disappointing display of lackadaisical defense and a sloppy offense. The Trojans quickly extended their two point lead to a 20 point margin after the Wolverines air-balled layups, missed foul shots, failed to box out and gave up easy baskets. It wasn’t the same Harvard-Westlake team that closed out the third quarter. This late run was too little too late, Cain said, and the Wolverines lost the game 61-45. see basketball, C7
Girls’ water polo defeats Los Osos, 10-7; claims school’s first CIF championship By David Kolin
Alex leichenger/chronicle
honor the champs: President Tom Hudnut hands (from left) Sydney Cheong ’14, Abbie Neufeld ’12 and Kristen Lee ’12 CIF Championship patches after their 10-7 victory.
A balanced attack against Los Osos helped the girls’ water polo team to its first Division IV CIF Championship in school history. Second year Head Coach Robert Lynn led the team to a 10-7 victory at the Woollett Aquatic Center. Camille Hooks ’11 attributes her team’s success to the preparation and teamwork that it has built throughout the course of the season. Lynn reviewed key tactics and strategies before each game with the girls for an hour in order to spark their
memories and prepare them. At the beginning of the season, the team was extremely offense-oriented and had a weak defense, Hooks said. “The offense came naturally to us early in the season, but it took a lot more work to get better at the defense,” Hooks said. “Improving our defense while retaining our offensive power made a big difference.” Ashley Grossman ’11 was player of the year for Division IV girls’ water polo, but teamwork turned out to be the most important aspect in the final game rather than having one
dominant player. Five different players scored the Wolverines’ first five goals against Los Osos. “If they wanted to double team Ashley, then another player would come up big with a shot,” Hooks said. “Then, they’d feel like they had to guard her, and someone else would be free, and she would score.” The biggest change to the team in the past couple of seasons was getting a new head coach two seasons ago. Last year was a big adjustment period because it was the girls’ first year see water polo, C4
C2 Sports
Facts
The
&Figures
-3 0 9 10 47
March 23, 2011
Chronicle
Where are the fans?
The round score recorded by Charlie Benell ’12 in the boys’ golf team’s win over Alemany on March 15, the lowest round recorded by the team thus far.
Shawn Ma
Combined number of hits allowed by baseball pitchers Brandon Deere ’12, Connor Dillman ’11, Jack Flaherty ’14, and Matt Ward ’11 in a 12-0 shutout of Malibu March 16.
Goals scored by Will Oliver ’11 setting a school record for goals scored in a single lacrosse game. Cory Wizenberg ’11 also had a school record of six assists in the Wolverines’ 17-4 win.
School records in track and field held by Lauren Hansson ’11, including two set last week in the 800 meter medley at Oaks Christian and 100 meter race at Triton. Cami Chapus ’12 broke two meet records at Triton.
Margin of victory for JV softball in the three most recent games of its debut season, excluding a game Tuesday that occurred after press time.
game of themonth
Track & Field
Illustration by Austin Lee
“There is a game tonight right?”
S
ince the beginning of the winter sports season, the fan conduct rules have been a main point of contention between students and faculty. Student fans, mainly the Head Fanatics, have argued that the strict regulations prevent them from having an impact on the game. While I partially agree with this, I believe that the fans themselves haven’t done a great job this year, even if they are better than last year’s terrible fans. For most of our games, even playoff games and league championships, the stands are more than half-empty, with only a select few fans attending regularly. And an even smaller group of these fans actually make noise and participate in chants. The first issue is fan attendance. We got sizeable crowds for the two games against Loyola and the season opener. Three games out of fifteen total home and playoff games. If I weren’t on the team, I would want to help in whatever way I could, namely attending at least home and playoff games and being as loud as possible. I, along with the rest of the team, was truly surprised by the small number of fans that attended our CIF semifinal game vs. Damien at Calabasas High School. The fans from Damien arrived en masse and showed the type of enthusiasm typical of a win-or-go-home game between two talented teams. While the fans that showed up at the game supported our team
when April 8 and 9 where Arcadia By David Kolin
and
Judd Liebman
The members of the track team who have qualifying times will be able to attend the 44th annual Arcadia Invitational. The week before the meet, the acceptances will be released. The meet includes every high school track and field event. Many of the best track teams in the state and some of the best teams in the nation participate in the event. The competetive environment at the meet presents athletes with a chance to run personal records. Most Wolverines will only run on relay teams instead of individual events due to the high caliber of atheltes in attendance. The athletes or relay teams that qualify for the meet will be placed in the open, seeded or invitational heats.
This Month in Wolverine History March 2002 By Micah Sperling For the first time since 1997, the boys’ basketball team wins the CIF Southern Section Division IV—AA championship with an 80-62 win over El Segundo High School. Bryce Taylor ’03 led the team with 29 points. Craig Weinstein ’02 scored 18 points, and Bobby Weinberger ’03 added nine. The team held a 42-23 halftime lead and never looked back. The Wolverines advanced to the state semi-final game before falling to San Diego Horizon High School, 77-63. Harvard-Westlake won the quarterfinal game over Serra on a buzzer-beating baseline jumper by Ed White ’05. In the game against a much larger Serra team, the Wolverines relied on their outside shooting and screen-setting to overcome the size discrepancy.
the best that they could, I admired Damien’s fans more, who traveled almost quadruple the distance to attend the game, and players from both teams notice their impact. Even at the games that many people do attend, the support of the crowd, measured by chants and loudness, has been inconsistent. For the game at Loyola, once our team started losing, the crowd completely shut up. Many sat down and began to use their phone rather than watch the game. While the basketball team was struggling on the court, the fans did nothing to try to rally the team. But throughout the boys’ basketball game against Loyola at home, we saw how great our fans could be and how much of an impact they could have; it was tangible in the game’s atmosphere. Hundreds of Fanatics screamed their support for our team and participating in a back-and-forth with the Loyola crowd. It seems to me that fans might underestimate their own power. They have the ability to give any sports team a boost: they inject confidence, a certain swagger that makes all the difference in games. The more fans and the more enthusiastic they are, the better. Boys’ basketball is the most attended sport, so improving fan attendance is even more important for the less popular sports. It’s up to the Fanatics and other students who aren’t regular fans to become more than just fair weather fans and expand the sports they support.
College Bound Spotlight: Max Heltzer ’11, Football: UCLA Varsity quarterback Max Heltzer ’11 has been granted walk-on status to play football at University of California, Los Angeles next season. Heltzer, who is ranked 414th in the country and 92nd in the state for high school quarterbacks by Maxpreps.com, had received several letters from UCLA after his junior year as varsity quarterback. He attended the Bruin prospect camp last summer, and after UCLA had signed their top quarterback recruit, Heltzer was able to meet with Head Coach Rick Neuheisel, who gave him the walk-on opportunity. “He was very honest and sincere and made me feel comfortable and excited about the opportuDaniel Kim/chronicle nity,” Heltzer said. “I
was overcome with excitement and couldn’t believe that next season I could be wearing a UCLA uniform and running out of the tunnel at the Rose Bowl, a dream come true.” Neuheisel, who was a walk-on quarterback himself for UCLA, gave Heltzer advice on joining UCLA as a preferred commit. Neuheisel stressed to Heltzer the importance of always being prepared and ready if his name were called to step up and play. Along with UCLA, Heltzer’s top choices were the University of Washington, Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania. However, when offered a walk-on spot on the team he couldn’t turn it down. Although he grew up a USC Trojan fan, UCLA had always been one of Heltzer’s top choices to play college football, and he is elated to be playing in the newly created Pac-12 conference next season. “I’ve always felt I could compete at the highest level and now have the opportunity to do so,” Heltzer said. “I will be as prepared and ready as I can be.” -Michael Aronson
Other commits << Courtney Hazy ’11, Field Hockey UC Davis
nathanson ’s/chronicle
Courtney Hazy ’11
Daniel Edelstein ’11, Lacrosse Michigan
>> nathanson ’s/chronicle
Daniel Edelstein ’11
March 23, 2011
Sports C3
The
Chronicle
Schorr to fence for national team By Nika Madyoon
Daniel Kim/chronicle
Shifting the tide: Captain Nick Duckwiler ’11 swims in the 100-yard butterfly at Zanuck Swim Stadium at a March 17 swim meet against Notre Dame. The Wolverines won 140-30.
Swim teams win opening league meets, boys’ team starts unbeaten By Judd Liebman After opposite starts to their seasons, both the boys’ and girls’ swimming teams won their first league meets against Notre Dame March 17. The boys’ team routed Notre Dame 140-30, and the girls’ team won by the slim margin of 93-77. The boys’ team is undefeated so far with a 4-0 record and a 1-0 record in league, but the girls’ team lost its first three meets of the season. The boys’ slimmest victory came against Agoura High School in the team’s first meet of the season. Although the girls’ team has not started with as much success as the boys have, the girls are defending league champions and expect to win the Mission League again, captain Catherine Wang ’11 said. “The boys have been exceeding expectations this year, but the girls are struggling just because of numbers,” Patrick Edwards ’11 said. The teams are under new control this year after former Head Coach Darlene Bible stepped down before the season. Cheyne Bloch, who now coaches
both the girls’ and boys’ teams, was assistant coach to Bible, now program head, last year. Because Bloch ran some workouts last year for the team, there hasn’t been much of an adjustment period. “There isn’t a huge change,” Edwards said. “The only difference is that we just don’t see Bible out on the pool deck.” The boys’ team is short-handed this year because many boys’ water polo players who are promising swimmers have decided not to compete this year. Among those who are not participating is Sam Ruddy ’11, who had a chance winning the Division I CIF, Wang said. Among the promising young swimmers are Andy Liu ’14, Henry and John Copses ’14 and Sydney Wong ’14. These freshmen will look to captains Edwards, Jelyca Ormond ’11, Nick Duckwiler ’11 and Wang for leadership this year. The boys’ team’s biggest meet of the year is against Loyola tomorrow. Winning this meet is vital to achieve the team’s goal of winning league, Edwards said.
Baseball wins first league game against Alemany By Judd Liebman
Erin Sugarman/Vox
Strikeout: Star prospect and UCLA commit Lucas Giolito ’12 prepares to pitch against Malibu.
With a plethora of strong pitchers and young hitting prospects, the boys’ varsity baseball team has started its season with more wins than it did last year. With a 6-2 overall record going into league play, the team’s start has been tepid, Head Coach Matt LaCour said. “Our infield defense has improved significantly and is a strength of ours as well as our pitching staff. We are rather immature offensively. That needs to mature as we continue through the season,” LaCour said. The pitching staff, led by Giolito, has stifled opponents thus far, holding opposing teams to just 13 runs in eight games. Against Malibu, Brandon Deere ’12, Conor Dillman ’11, Jack Flaherty ’14 and Matt Ward ’11, combined for a complete game no-hitter, leading the Wolverines to a 12-0 victory in their second game of a
double-header on March 16. Lucas Giolito ’12 threw an 82-pitch three-hitter against Calabasas in Harvard-Westlake’s 1-0 win in its first game of the season. “The pitching staff has made tons of improvements since last year,” Giolito said. “Overall, we are doing a better job throwing strikes and we are generating more outs because we have a great defense behind us that is making great plays.” He sees the pitching staff ’s improvements as paramount to the team’s success. The team’s first league game was against Alemany yesterday. The Wolverine’s first goal is to win league, but they hope to advance further in CIF play than last year, when they were knocked out in the second round by Glendora. “Expectations for the year are that we will play and practice as hard as we possibly can, other than that the other stuff will take care of itself,” LaCour said.
Raymond Schorr ’13 will represent the United States at the Fencing World Championships in Amman, Jordan on March 30. Schorr, a silver medalist at the Junior Olympics and the second rancked fencer for his age group nationally, has been fencing for Nathanson ’s five years. He practices five days Raymond a week for two hours each day, Schorr ’13 stretching, warming up, doing footwork and fencing during each practice. In order to represent the U.S., Schorr had to hold his spot as number two in the nation. “There is no better feeling than beating someone and doing it by yourself without anyone’s help,” Schorr said. Schorr described winning silver at the Junior Olympics as “an unreal experience.” “Not only was I fencing the best fencers in a higher age group (under 20), but in order to make it to the final bout I beat the number one guy in my age group,” Schorr said. In addition to winning a silver medal in the U-20 group, Schorr also fences for the U-17 national team. Although he participated in the Junior Olympics several times over the course of the past five years, Schorr said he never accomplished much in the Junior Olympics until now. At the Fencing World Championships, Schorr will have to compete for one day but will cheer for the other members on the team as well. He has been working “doubly hard” to prepare and has been put on “an intensely rigorous schedule” by his fencing coach. “We are all excited and nervous too,” Schorr’s mother, Shu-Mei Shih, said. “I am really nervous for Jordan because this is the first time I will actually be representing my country,” Schorr said.
Saber team win 1st in team tournament By Jamie Chang
and
Micah Sperling
The boys’ saber varsity A team and the middle school girls’ and boys’ saber and epée teams all won first place in the team tournament on March 20 at Chaminade Middle School. The boys’ saber A team consisted of Hank Gerba ’12, Josiah Yiu ’12 and Michael Leuchter ’11. “The varsity A team was confident entering the tournament and dominated throughout most of the tournament,” Yiu said. During the first round, the A team tied 4-4. Yiu won the tie breaking bout 5-1 pulling the A team to a victory. In total, the A team lost six bouts out of the 18. The boys’ epée varsity A team lost to Vista Mar by one bout and finished in fifth. The girls’ epée varsity A team played the other teams in a round robin and finished in third place. The boys’ epée varsity B teams placed in second and third. Previously in the foil team tournament, the varsity A team lost to Chaminade in the finals to place 2nd.
Boys’ volleyball suffers early difficulties By David Gobel Although the boys’ volleyball team had a difficult start to the season, the Wolverines have rebounded with a strong league record and a 4-1 record in the Dos Pueblos Tournament. Currently the team has a 7-11 overall record and a 2-1 league record. “After a week and half it came to fruition,” Head Coach Adam Black said. “We limited hitting and passing errors and had success in the Dos Pueblos Tournament.”
Players David Burton ’11 and Damiene Cain ’11 both had time overlaps with basketball that prevented them from playing. They both returned once the basketball season ended. However, Spencer Eichler ’11 has been out periodically with a nagging shoulder injury, and Chase Klein ’13 recently suffered an ankle sprain. The team began the season with many competitively fought games. However without many key starters, it lost eight out of its first nine games, including a 3-0 loss against Thousand Oaks,
the ninth ranked team in Division I. Regardless, the team has had some key league wins against Notre Dame and Chaminade. Recently, the Wolverines won four straight matches in pool play in the Dos Pueblos Tournament to take the 1st place seed. However, the Wolverines lost a heartbreaker to a talented Bell Prep team 1-2 in the semifinals of the tournament. The Wolverines played Loyola at home on Tuesday after press time. They will play Crespi at home tomorrow.
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C4 Sports
March 23, 2011
The
Chronicle
Liao places 2nd in US national team qualifier By Meagan Wang
David Kolin/chronicle
Lone warrior: Daniel Edelstein ’11 tries to maneuver around the Loyola defense. The Wolverines defeated their rivals 17-4. Will Oliver ’11 set a school record for most goals, and Cory Wizenberg ’11 set a school record for assists.
Unbeaten lacrosse routs Loyola By David Kolin After defeating rival Loyola for the first time in a few seasons, the lacrosse team holds a 5-0 overall record and a 2-0 league record. The lacrosse team crushed the Cubs 17-4. Against Loyola, Will Oliver ’11 broke a school record, leading the team with nine goals. In addition, Cory Wizenberg ’11 set a school record of six assists during the same game. “I score goals because my teammates are generous with the ball,” Oliver said. “I really owe my nine goals to all of them because it’s not a one man show.” At the half of the Loyola game, the Wolverines were winning 12-2. The Cubs attempted to rally and scored two goals. However, the Wolverines squelched their momentum and scored five more goals in the second half. Head coach Matt Lewis used to coach at Loyola. He has been focused on beating the Cubs since the beginning of the season. “It has been interesting to have a new coach because
we struggled with our coach last year, and we lost some motivation and our work ethic decreased,” Oliver said. “Our new coach came in, and we immediately clicked. We love him. He’s ready to go to bat for us and we’re all ready to go to bat for him.” Oliver and his teammates also prefer Lewis’ coaching style to that of their old coach Mark Haddad. “[Lewis is] a much more relaxed guy which is interesting for us because most teams need to be pushed,” Oliver said. “For us, the less we are pushed around, the more we push ourselves. It’s been a really nice shift.” “We relate to our new coach more, and he knows what he is talking about,” Evan Meister ’12 said. “Our offense is better because the plays we’re running are more efficient.” The team’s coaching has improved considerably from last year according to the players, but the team also has a strong freshman class. There are five freshman players on varsity this year. The team has won every game this season by at least a three point difference.
Tiffany Liao ’12 placed second in the National Qualifier for the United States Taekwondo team on March 12. This competition determines who will continue onto the Nathanson ’s National Team Trials in Tiffany Liao ’12 May, which is the final step to make the U.S. Taekwondo Team. Liao will advance to the Trials, which will decide whether or not she makes the U.S. Taekwondo team. Liao entered the National Qualifier as a duo team with Ryan Lien, a freshman at Pasadena City College, as her partner. Although they both trained individually, they also practiced together almost every day since November. Liao spent many hours working on her technique, flexibility and stamina. “I had to do a lot of quad strengthening exercises, but it all paid off,” she said. Liao and Lien entered the qualifiers in the black belt and above division in the “poomsae” category. This category focuses on form and technique. “We didn’t know what forms we were going to be doing until the week of, so that was kind of stressful … of course the forms that we were assigned were our weakest,” Liao said. The judges of poomsae look for presentation, fluidity between different moves and synchronization between the pairs. The five judges gave Liao and Lien a score of 4.6 out of 10 possible points. “A score of 6.1 is considered amazing…most of the other teams scored below 2 points,” Liao said. The team that placed first scored 5.3 and the third place team scored 2.3. “I was surprised that we got second, because we were cramming in a lot of training[...]I’m really excited for the trials in New York,” Liao said.
Tennis starts season undefeated in league By Austin Lee
Charlotte gordon/Vox
First Singles: Matt Wagner’11 prepares to serve. The team is 9-3.
The boys’ tennis team scored three wins at the Dana Hills tournament Friday and Saturday, but lost against Saratoga in the finals, bringing its overall record to 9-3 and league record to 3-0. The tournament had a different format than typical high school tennis. Each match consisted of five singles sets and three doubles sets. The team won three matches in the tournament, including a very close match against Northwood which went into a tiebreaker. The Wolverines won by six games in the tiebreaker. However, the team lost against Saratoga in the final round even though it started off the match 2-1, winning two of three doubles sets, but then losing all five of the singles sets.
“The finals against Saratoga were pretty heartbreaking,” co-captain Matt Wagner ’11 said. “They were a very strong team that we weren’t expecting to beat, but after going up 2-1, I think we were all feeling like we were about to take the championship.” The team has had a relatively successful season thus far, losing only to University High School, the favorite for this year’s CIF championship, Palos Verdes and Saratoga. The loss against University was expected, as University is the favorite to repeat as the CIF Division I champions. The match served more as a measure of how well the team would do against a top-seeded team. “They will be the team to beat for the next years to come,” Head Coach Chris Simpson said. “It was important to see how our players would fare this early in
the season.” However, in the match against Palos Verdes, the team missed a big opportunity to win, as the team entered the final round tied at 6-6. It was not until that last round that the team dropped 5 sets, losing the match 7-11. “Our loss to Palos Verdes probably should not have happened,” Wagner said. “We lost a ton of close sets throughout the day and we were feeling pretty confident about our chances going into the final round.” The team’s upcoming games against Peninsula April 20 and Santa Barbara April 25 will be key in determining the team’s seed for the playoffs. The team played against Notre Dame on Monday but the score of was not available at press time. The Wolverines will play Chaminade later today at California State University Northridge.
Teamwork brings first championship from WATER POLO, C1 with Lynn. Lynn has different coaching techniques than their previous coach. “[Lynn] is very technical,” Bella Gonzalez ’12 said. “He makes sure that you do everything right, so [sometimes] we’ll practice one thing for our practice until we get it right. He’s a perfectionist on techniques in water polo.” Lynn, who played professionally in Europe, was able to impart knowledge upon his players that their previous coach hadn’t provided. He was able to provide a new perspective of the game. “[Lynn] had a totally different
philosophy for the game,” Hooks said. “It took us a little while to adjust to his coaching style, but once we did we were better for it.” Lynn won Coach of the Year for Division IV girls’ water polo. The Wolverines were favored to win in the CIF finals this year. Their attempts to win the championship have been squelched the last three years. The key to the girls’ success was their teamwork. They had formed bonds outside and inside of the pool, so they trusted each other with making big plays. “This year, everyone decided to put the team before them-
selves,” Hooks said. “Even if they wouldn’t score as much or play the position they wanted, everybody put the team first.” The team’s experience in playoffs helped them prepare for the final game. The team lost to St. Lucy’s last year in the second round of CIF. “We’ve been in this situation before, and we’ve been working towards this goal for years,” Hooks said. “We’ve had a lot of experience in playoff games, and I think it finally paid off because we made winning CIF our goal. Also, because we had a really strong team bond we trusted each other to make the plays.”
Alex Leichenger/chronicle
First Timers: Bella Gonzalez ’12 celebrates with her teammate after the Wolverines’ championship win.
March 23, 2011
The
Chronicle
Sports C5
JVRoundup
Lacrosse goes on winning streak After an opening loss to Westlake, JV lacrosse bounced back with an away win at Crespi and home wins against Peninsula and rival Loyola. The Wolverines hold an overall record of 3-1 and a league record of 2-0. Then defeated its rival Loyola 6-2 this past Saturday at home. “Beating Loyola was huge,” midfielder Blake Nosratian ’13 said. “We are happy with the win, but we want a sweep.” The team will play Loyola away to finish the league season April 21. —Michael Aronson
Boys’ tennis wins 6 early games The JV boys’ tennis team started its season with a win against Brentwood 18-0 and two subsequent wins. However, the team lost to University 15-3, after which the team remains undefeated for an overall record of 7-1 and a league record of 3-0. “Everyone on the team pulled through and minimized their mistakes to win when we needed a win,” Jon Chu ’12 said. The team played Notre Dame on Monday and Chaminade yesterday, but results were unavailable at press time. —Ally White Daniel Kim/chronicle
Charging the Basket: Skylar Tsutsui ’11 gets fouled while she drives to the hoop in the team’s CIF championship game against Anaheim Canyon. The girls lost the game 66-45, but reached state regional semifinals.
Girls’ basketball loses in CIF finals, regional semifinals of state After losing to Anaheim Canyon in the final round of CIF, the girls continued on to win the first two rounds in state. They then lost to Rialto in the regional semifinals. By Chelsey Taylor-Vaughn After a season of constantly being labeled as underdogs, the girls’ basketball team fell 66-45 in the CIF Championship against Anaheim Canyon March 3. The Wolverines advanced to the quarterfinals of state playoffs against Rialto on March 12, but lost by 16 points. The game was close up until the Knights pulled away after the half. The Wolverines made an effort to close the gap in the third quarter but lost momentum to the Knights halfway through the fourth. The turning point came after a 16 point streak by the Knights, the Wolverines were only able to answer with two points. “I was looking forward to winning after months of hard work and seeing the tears in my teammates’ eyes during the last few minutes hurt,” co-captain Skylar Tsutsui ’11 said. It was painful to keep on fighting and playing while our shots weren’t going in while their’s were.” Critics said this year would be a “rebuilding year” for the team, Natalie Florescu ’13 said, but eventually the critics labled the team “the little engine that could.” “We might be small compared to other teams but the thing that sets us apart is that we have heart,” Tsutsui said, “we could have given up at the beginning of the season but instead, we all came together, pushed each there to work hard and never gave up.” After defeating Yosemite in the first round of CIF 66-54 on March 8, the girls went on to play Inglewood
at home on March 10, and won 61-52. After emotions from the losses faded away, the players were able to look back at their season with a sense of joy and happiness. “Yes, we didn’t win it all, but there is so much more I’ve gotten out of this season and from my friendships with my teammates that I wouldn’t change anything,” Florescu said. “In the end, things happen for a reason, but if we could’ve done something differently I’d have to say having more trust in one another,” Tsutsui said, “if we had [trust] like we had last year, I feel our defense would have been ten times better.” “At the beginning of the season, I don’t even think anyone on our team would have thought we would get as far as we did, but as the season went on, we kept working hard in practice, kept pushing each other in games, and this dream became something we believed in and we made it a reality,” Florescu said. With the season’s end both the seniors and underclassmen have high hopes for next year’s team. Both Tsutsui and Florescu believe that the team will just need to work hard and maintain the heart that they had this year for next year’s team to go far. “I don’t know what our team will look like next year, but I know our principles won’t change. We’re still going to be a team that runs and gets up and down the floor and plays pressure defense that frustrates other teams out of their minds,” Florescu said.
Boys’ golf wins four straight matches By Daniel Kim The boys’ golf team has a four game winning streak in the start its season with an overall record of 4-1. The Wolverines beat St. Francis and Alemany both times that they played each team. “We have a very young team this year, led by junior standout Charlie Benell,” Head Coach Scott Wood said. “We have had great performances as well from junior Max Goodley, sophomore Michael Aronson, freshman Bakari Bolden and senior captain Ernie Zaferis.” The team also participated in the Chaminade Invitational March 7
and placed fourth, shooting 425. “Before a big tournament, we are pretty loose as a team,” Wood said, “all the hard work has already been done, so it’s just a matter of relaxing and getting yourself into the space where you can perform your best on that given day.” Benell shot 78 and finished in second place. Chaminade won the invitational shooting 408, with Santa Barbara in second with 416, Servite in third with 423 overall. “It [Saticoy Country Club] is a very tough course,” Wood said. “The low individual score for the entire event was 77.” The team’s only loss came in its
first season match against Notre Dame. The Wolverines finished that match with eight strokes over Notre Dame. “I see the team being very inexperienced and having some small ups and downs this year, trying to figure out their identity,” Wood said, “but I also see them working very hard, competing for a league championship, and peaking at the end of the season for the playoffs and making a run toward the CIF Team Final and hopefully beyond.” The team played Chaminade Tuesday but the score was not available at press time. It will play Chaminade again Friday.
Softball starts undefeated JV softball currently holds an undefeated overall record of 4-0. The team has not yet played any league game, but is scheduled to play its first contest away on March 24 against Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy. The team defeated Taft on at the Lincoln Tournament at Poly High School with a score of 11-2, which was the last game they played. “We’ve been doing really well.,” Emily Plotkin ’13 said. The team’s latest game was on Tuesday against Los Angeles Baptist, but the score was not available as of press time. —Bo Lee
Swimming defeats Notre Dame After losing its first two meets of the year, the JV boys’ swim team is on a two-meet winning streak with home victories over Canyon and Notre Dame, improving the team’s overall record to 2-2 and its league record to 1-0. The girls’ JV team is 1-3, suffering a 113-38 loss to Canyon before picking up its first win, a league victory over Notre Dame. Both teams will look to pick up another league win against Flintridge Sacred Heart at Loyola High School tomorrow. —Micah Sperling
Golf hopes to avenge Loyola loss After beginning its season with a 200-213 loss against Loyola, the JV boys’ golf team has a record of 0-1. Jacob Weiss ’13 and Danny Belgrad ’13 are working to win spots on the varsity squad. “I’ve been playing and practicing every week leading up to the season to possibly play a varsity match later in the year,” Belgrad said. The team has four more matches in its five match season with two against Chaminade and one more match against their rival Cubs on April 11 at Griffith Park. —Michael Aronson
Volleyball with 2 wins, 5 losses As it approaches the midway point in its season, the JV boys’ volleyball team sports an overall record of 2-5, 1-2 in league with victories over Chaminade and Oaks Christian. “Our strengths definitely include having a deep bench full of talent,” Hugo deCastroAberger ’13 said. “Our team consists of mostly freshmen which, at first, I thought was going to be a big issue for our success, but it turns out that the freshmen have a lot of talent and will definitely have a huge impact on the future.” The results of the game against Loyola were not available at press time. The team’s next game is Thursday against Crespi. —Robbie Loeb
Chronicle
The
C6 Sports
March 23, 2011
Softball retains winning record By Michael Sugerman and Chelsey Taylor-Vaughn
Photos by abbie neufeld
run and jump: Will Tobias ’12 takes the baton from Danilo Dragovic ’11 in the 4x400-meter relay (left). Tobias, Dragovic, Judd Liebman ’12 and Ben Saunders ’11 won the race. Akosa Ibekwe ’13 competes in long jump (right).
Track and field breaks school, meet records at Oaks Christian, Triton Invitational By Julius Pak Despite starting the season with two losses, the track and field team defeated Oaks Christian March 16 and broke multiple records at the Triton Invitational Saturday. “We’ve actually been getting a lot of personal and school record,” Lauren Hansson ’11 said. “Individually, a lot of us are working really hard and doing impressive work for this early in the season.” After breaking her ninth school record in the 800-meter medley at Oaks Christian to help the girls’ team win 83-52, Hansson broke her tenth school record with a time of 12.53 seconds in the 100-meter at the Triton Invitational. “Usually when I cross the finish line after setting a record I can’t really believe it,” Hansson said. “I’m mostly just bewildered after breaking records individually... [When] we work so hard and give everything we have for a relay and break a record it’s the most incredible feeling of teamwork.”
Cami Chapus ’12, no stranger to breaking records in cross country, broke the school record in the 1600-meter. Chapus also broke Triton Invitational meet records in the 1600 and the 800. She finished 7.8 seconds faster than any other in the 800-meter category. In the 1600-meter category, her record-winning time was almost fifteen seconds ahead of all others. Hansson also took first place in the 400-meter. Madison Morency ’12 took fourth place in that event. In the 1600-meter, Yasmin Moreno ’13 and Lizzy Thomas ’14 took eighth and tenth places, respectively. Elena Crowe ’12 tied for eighth place in pole vault. The 4x800 relay team placed third.` The boys’ 1600-meter relay team edged out Los Alamitos to win by half a second. Aaron de Toledo ’12 placed third in the 1600. Drew Tuttle ’11 tied for third in high jump. Jamias Jones ’12 and Ben Saunders ’11 both took tenth in the 400 and the 800, respectively. “[We] have been doing everything right this year,” Hansson said. “I have really big goals and I’m just trying to do everything right so I can achieve them.”
The varsity girls’ softball team has started of its season with a 6-4 record, after losing several seniors and revamping the program. With several additions of club players, Head Coach Joe Aranda was forced to make a JV team. Left fielder and one of the three captains, Jennifer Plotkin ’11, identified the team’s biggest competitors as Alemany and Chaminade; she pointed out that Chaminade is always a difficult opponent, especially this season, as the team has one of the best pitchers in the league. Plotkin described the team’s defensive strength, and also pinpoint their main weakness: offensive consistency. “We need to work on staying focused and keeping the momentum on our side,” first baseman Tate Castro ’13 said. “In order to beat them, we’re going to have to put out our best pitching, hitting and defense. We can’t lose focus during any part of the game or else they will take advantage of that,” Lauren Li ’12 said. “As long as we play to the best of our abilities and force Chaminade to make mistakes, we’ll be in good shape.” After losing to San Fernando 2-0 on March 12 and Village Christian 10-3 on March 15, the team will work this season on becoming a true unit, Castro said. “I definitely expect our team to surpass what last year’s team had accomplished. Our school’s program is on the rise, and I think anyone that comes out to watch a game this season would be surprised by the amount of talent these girls have,” Li said. The team will commence league play on Thursday at Flintridge Sacred Heart High School and play its first home game against Alemany on Tuesday, April 12 at Los Angeles Valley College.
Wolverines Eat Pizza From Mama’s and Papa’s !!!
March 23, 2011
Sports C7
The
Chronicle
The last teacher-coach Once many academic teachers doubled as varsity head coaches; however, their ranks have now dwindled to one.
By Alex Leichenger Erin Creznic is the last of a dying breed at Harvard-Westlake. In the mornings and afternoons, she goes by Ms. Creznic as an English teacher on the middle school campus. When her day in the classroom ends, she drives to the Upper School, she steps onto Ted Slavin Field with her field hockey players and becomes Coach Creznic. Creznic is the only person at the school who holds the dual titles of full-time teacher and varsity head coach. But there used to be many, many more in the assistant and head coaching ranks. Science teacher Jim Brink used to coach baseball. Middle School English teacher Jennifer Dohr coached tennis. History teacher Greg Gonzalez coached football. History teacher David Waterhouse coached basketball and tennis. Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra also coached tennis. French teacher Geoff Bird coached cross country. Math teacher Kanwaljit Kochar was a golf coach, and Chief Financial Officer Rob Levin a football coach. Math teacher Jacob Hazard was on the baseball staff, and history teacher and current JV assistant Larry Klein was a varsity basketball
Teacher-coaches by the numbers The percentage of varsity coaches who teach academic courses at local private schools.
Loyola....................67% Crespi....................31% Alemany.................21% Oaks Christian.........19% Flintridge SH..........9.1% Marymount............8.3% Harvard-Westlake...4.2% Sources: loyola.edu, crespi.org, alemany. org, fsha.org, mhs-la.org, hw.com, oakschristian.org Graphic by Austin Lee, alex leichenger and julius pak
assistant. Track and field coach Jonas Koolsbergen and former softball coach and current athletic director Terry Elledge both used to teach history. Now Creznic is the only varsity head coach still teaching, but it is no accident that the teacher-coach title has become nearly extinct at the school. Head of Athletics Audrius Barzdukas believes it is almost impossible to find someone who has the time and ability to prepare for both scintillating classroom lectures and an intense high school athletic schedule. “Our take on it is that it doesn’t really have to do with the word faculty or coach … it has to do with answering a question,” Barzdukas said. “When you stand up in front of that class, whether that class takes place on a field or in a classroom, do you know what you’re talking about?” For some coaches, that means numerous hours during the week spent watching game film, diagramming strategies and running practices, not to mention the games themselves. Creznic acknowledged that field hockey is different from most sports because she does not have to scout opposing teams as extensively. But based on his own experience, Gonzalez, who coached freshman football from 1994-2001 and varsity from 2002-2004, does not believe it is impossible to prepare for both the week’s game and the next day’s class. “There’s this belief that there just isn’t time [to be a teacher-coach],” Gonzalez said. “But if I had 50 guys on the team and 15 of them were going to be signed to play Division I football, I don’t know if it would matter if I was teaching high school history or not.” For Gonzalez, becoming a high school football coach fulfilled a lifelong dream. He ran track and played receiver, cornerback and kick returner at Cantwell High School and later at Columbia University before becoming a sportswriter for The National and Los Angeles Times. “One of the things that took me back to coaching and teaching was, when I was covering the California Angels, I was flying from Detroit to L.A. … and I was looking down out of the window, and I saw little glowing pearls, these little strings of pearls, and they were all high school football stadiums,” Gonzalez said. And I sort of just longed for a time when I could get off a plane and get down on those fields.” Gonzalez said that doubling as a teacher and a coach strengthened his relationship with players. He recalled
Daniel Kim/chronicle
Multi-tasker: Erin Creznic teaches English at the middle school and coaches varsity field hockey in the fall and middle school field hockey in the spring. instructing future Stanford long snapper Brent Newhouse ’03, at the time a Wolverine offensive lineman and AP Art History student, to “assume a contrapposto pose” in pass protection. “Knowing what they were doing in the classroom helped me relate to them,” Gonzalez said. “It helped me understand what it was like. Not that I made it any easier on them, but when I asked them to come in and lift weights at 7 in the morning or 6:45 in the morning or to watch film on their optional time, I knew exactly what the hardship entailed.” For Creznic, seeing the different sides of kids as students and athletes can be helpful in both teaching and coaching. “It’s great when you have a really quiet kid in class, and you don’t know why she’s so shy, but she’s one of the most tenacious out on the field,” Creznic said. “You just get to see a different side of the students. And I think it’s also valuable because if I have a student that’s really quiet in class but see how aggressive she is out on the field, I can kind of jokingly encourage her to act more like she does on the field.” Klein, a boys’ basketball assistant for four CIF championship teams from 1998 to 2008, believes that private schools originally established a tradition of finding “renaissance men” adept in the classroom and on the field. “Certainly athletics have changed since then, and maybe we’ve reached a point where just perception-wise, that that can’t be given a go,” Klein said. “But I don’t think it’s been proven that you can’t have a smattering, x-percent of your people, who still create that bind within the community that ties the community together.” At the very least, Klein said, it would be beneficial for varsity teams to have assistant coaches who are also full-time teachers, as he was for many years. Gonzalez, whose daughter Bella ’12
Boys’ basketball falls three wins shy of first state title since ’97 victory from BASKETBALL, C1 “We should have started off as strong as we finished [the third],” Cain said. “The team we lost to was a good team, and we played hard, but we just didn’t have a good start to the game.” “They were a good team, so down the stretch, if you don’t make good plays, you’ll lose,” forward Josh Hearlihy ’12 (14.5 points per game) said. “Mentally, we weren’t in it.” This loss capped off Cain’s Harvard-Westlake basketball career, as it eliminated the Wolverines from state play. The Wolverines were only one of many CIF Champions to be defeated in the early rounds of state play, Head Coach Greg Hilliard said. “We peak for CIF champi-
onships and try to hold on for state,” Hilliard said. “We always shoot for CIF, and we accomplished that goal.” In addition to his own play, Cain thinks that even though the team didn’t have the individual pieces it has had in the past, the team play was better than he has ever experienced. “This was the best season that I have been a part of team wise,” he said. “We weren’t that talented compared to other years, but we played really well together.” Although the captain expected big things out of his team, he acknowledges that onlookers did not have the same confidence. Cain expected to win the Mission League and to win the CIF Division IIIA Southern Section Championship, but Cain did not know
what to expect of the team’s run at the state title. “We had such elation of getting over that hurdle [the CIF Championship] that everything else seemed like gravy,” Hilliard said. Although the team achieved Cain’s goal of winning Mission League, it had to share its crown with rival Loyola, with which the Wolverines split two-game the season series. Hearlihy attributed some of the team’s five losses, which accompanied 29 wins, could be attributed to shooting slumps. Hearlihy was held to only seven points in the Wolverines’ final game, and much of the offense went through Zena Edosomwan ’12 who led HarvardWestlake scorers with 14, but Edosomwan’s offense was irritated by Jerrett, La Verne’s
started for the CIF champion girls’ water polo team, plays that role to an extent as the team’s Chef d’Equipe, assisting Head Coach Robert Lynn with administrative duties and parent communication. Though Gonzalez downplayed his impact as a “glorified team manager,” he pointed out that Lynn and some other Wolverine varsity coaches, like girls’ basketball coach Melissa Hearlihy, are able to establish excellent relationships with their players without also knowing them from the classroom. But Gonzalez and Klein agreed that it generally helps more than it hurts to have teacher-coaches, and sacrificing victories is not an inevitable consequence. “I think everybody’s coming from the same place—that the ethic of this school is to be the best, and the question is: What’s that conceptualization of the best?” Klein said. “And certainly, if you’ve seen me coach, it’s not about maximizing wins and minimizing losses because I’m a big believer that there’s a tangibility to success. But it’s a question of, can it be accomplishable in a way that enhances the whole of the school?” By the same token, Klein believes that successful coaches can also be strong educators. “[At] our rival school Loyola, their basketball coach [Jamal Adams] is an outstanding classroom teacher,” Klein said. “And that’s not speculation. I know him; he’s a super-sharp guy, Columbia grad, successful businessman, and he had a personal moment in his life because of tragedy in his family that he devoted himself to kids … and he’s a phenomenal teacher. Now again, that might be more anomalous than commonplace, but heck, we always pride ourselves at Harvard-Westlake of being the successful anomaly, that we strive to find the best. And in this case, wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds?
main inside defender. “Everyone goes through shooting slumps, and unfortunately mine came at a bad time,” Hearlihy said. “Because of [Hearlihy’s] ability to play so many positions, I used him up,” Hilliard said. “And by the end, he was playing on fumes.” Edosomwan was part of the focus of the Wolverine offense throughout the season because the Wolverines played smaller teams, so size was a big advantage, Cain said. Although the team’s strategy of pushing the ball inside to Edosomwan and Cain was effective, Hilliard said that it was the only option. Hearlihy said that many people are focusing on the team’s loss to Lutheran and not the bigger picture: the team’s CIF championship and Mission League title. And in Cain’s mind, the only thing left in this long season is designing his final CIF championship ring.
Cain wins Division III Wooden Award Damiene Cain ’11 won the John Wooden Award and Most Valuable Player Award of the Mission League. The Wooden Award is given to the best player of each division in the state. The boys’ basketball team plays in Division III. “I was so excited to hear that I had won,” Cain said. “I wasn’t expecting it at all. My parents were very shocked, but proud too.” Cain heard about the award through his coach, Greg Hilliard, but found out about the MVP award through Twitter. “My reaction was sort of surprised but at the same time, I was excited,” Cain said. —Noelle Lyons
The
C8 Sports
LAX Bros. By Alec Caso
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and
March 23, 2011
Chronicle
Starting the season with an undefeated 5-0 record, the lacrosse team’s offensive unit has been key to a blowout win over Loyola and multiple school records, including the best start to a season in school history. Cory Wizenberg ’11, Daniel Edelstein ’11 and Will Oliver ’11 fill pivotal roles in this unit and are the top scorers on the team.
Austin Lee
Q A
What’s your role as one of the offensive leaders of the team?
Edelstein: My role is to initiate most of the dodging from the midfield. My job is to draw the slide from the crease and move the ball to our attack.
Oliver:
I play crease attack and my job is basically to get open as often as possible. I help make sure we all know what offenses we’re running and I basically benefit from a lot of passing and a lot of the work everyone else does around me.
We played our best lacrosse game so far for four quarters against Loyola, but we haven’t reached our full potential yet. We still have to work on our clearing and faceoffs.
I think we played a great game against Loyola. We played together as a team with the common goal of winning instead of trying to individually get as many goals as possible. I think we need to work on ground balls and our clearing game but aside from that we played a very solid game.
As an offensive leader on the team, I find myself playing a role similar to point guard. Every one of us has a role suited towards our skill set, I enjoy passing and facilitating as well as scoring.
Wizenberg: I’m excited about how we played against Loyola. Having beaten them 17-4, it is tough to see a weakness through that game. With that said, there is always room for improvement, and we need to get better for the playoffs.
How do you feel the team operates as an offensive unit?
Oliver:
Q A
We operate very well as an offensive unit because we have more than one threat. On top of this, we are generous with the ball and play well as a team so we give defenses a hard time. Also, we are pretty deep with regard to players who can score, so we make defenses guard everyone equally.
How has the offensive unit improved throughout the season?
Edelstein: The offense has definitely gotten better throughout the season. We finally have all our pieces in place and are starting to click in Coach [Matt] Lewis’ new offense. It took a while for us to learn the new plays and schemes but we’re getting the hang of it now and only getting better.
Edelstein: Oliver:
Wizenberg:
Q A Q A
After playing Loyola this past Friday, how do you feel that the team can improve for future games?
How do you feel the new head coach Matt Lewis has reinvigorated the team?
Wizenberg: Coach Lewis has truly reinvigorated the team. His style of coaching is perfect for the type of players we have. He is an offensive minded coach but also is able to inspire the defense through his knowledge of the game. He knows “X’s” and “O’s” better than any coach I’ve had. He has us working together as a team and a family.
Daniel Edelstein ’11 Cory Wizenberg ’11 Will Oliver ’11 Alec Caso/chronicle