vacation: booked
the road ahead
Check out recommendations for pleasure reading from English teachers and Harvard-Westlake community book groups.
The Class of 2011 is headed to 89 colleges in the fall.
D4-5
B6-7
the
hronicle C May 25, 2011
Harvard-Westlake School Los Angeles, CA Volume XX Issue IX chronicle.hw.com
Pipe project to slow traffic on Coldwater By Daniel Rothberg
printed wtih permission of Annelise Hansson
triple crown: Cami Chapus ’12 runs the 1600-meter race at CIF Finals on May 21. Chapus’ performance propelled the girls’ track and field team to its first CIF Championship in school history. Chapus won this race in 4:49 and claimed first place in two others, the 3200-meter and the 4x400-meter relay. see C1 for further coverage
INdepth
Growing pains
As it graduates its 20th co-educational class, the school has achieved excellence in almost every field, but not without cost. By Alice Phillips and Daniel Rothberg “She did not see it as a merger or even as an offensive takeover but rather as a rape.” When then-Headmaster of Harvard School Thomas C. Hudnut went to the North Faring Road campus to discuss the merger of Harvard and Westlake schools, he was met with a hostile crowd. A Westlake mother marched up and down the aisles of the Marshall Center carrying a sign that bore one word: rape. “Actually that embarrassed many in the audience to move them from hostility to indifference,” Hudnut said. Yet despite the initial outrage and a lawsuit against both Harvard and Westlake schools for violating their charters by merging, fewer than 10 students from both schools left before HarvardWestlake opened its doors in the fall of 1991, Hudnut said. But Harvard-Westlake’s challenges weren’t all thrown out in the chambers of Superior Court Judge Miriam Vogel.
71 students had not completed their community service by May 18 despite the published May 2 deadline.
A7
“What if half the faculty quit?” Hudnut said. “What if we couldn’t afford it? What if? What if?” Merging Harvard and Westlake meant reconciling differences in tuition ($8,350 at Harvard vs. $7,750 at Westlake), in facilities and in pedagogy. “There was some skepticism,” Chief Financial Officer Rob Levin said. “Are the girls just going to get steamrollered?” However, for those entrenched in merger drama, concerns and challenges like these were nothing more than a distraction from what the marriage could and would eventually achieve. “It was very clear at the time of the merger that they were trying really hard to prove themselves,” Chief Advancement Officer Ed Hu said. “As someone on the outside, I knew the quality of Harvard and I knew the quality of Westlake. I had a good sense that once the schools merged it created this see then and now, A8
INSIDE healing: Homeopathic medicine and Chinese herbal remedies serve as health supplements for some students.
B12
balancing act: Students who participate in arts and athletics must juggle their commitments when practices and rehearsals conflict.
C6
Construction to replace aging pipes on Coldwater Canyon Avenue will leave a 1,360-foot open trench on the street until Dec. 8, the Sherman Oaks Patch said. The construction, which will span from Ventura Boulevard to Avenida Del Sol Drive, is the first phase in a 1.3-mile project that was expected to begin next week and continue through May 2015. A recently-installed sign near the South gate alerts drivers about expect traffic delays beginning on May 30. “What we see as the remedy would be [to] give yourself an extra 15 to 20 minutes [to arrive at school],” Salamandra said Salamandra said that construction will immediately affect the Coldwater parking that is adjacent to the field. Construction may also affect pick-up and turning left into the school’s entrances since there is discussion of eliminating the middle turning lane, Salamandra said. The school will post information and updates during the construction in a tab on its website. “To keep the entire Harvard-Westlake community apprised of project developments, including potential lane closures and modifications to student pick-up [and] drop-off patterns, we will create a “construction update” tab on the school’s website,” Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said in an email to faculty. The project aims to replace a trunk line that was built in 1914, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said on their website. “This is all part of the 10-year Capital Improvement Program that is for replacing aging water infrastructure,” Department of Water and Power’s construction engineering supervisor Todd P. Le said to the Sherman Oaks Patch. “We are trying to make this the least disruptive as possible.” “They have guaranteed us that the access in and out of both driveways will not be restricted,” Salamandra said. “They may dig a trench across the driveway but what they can do is put plates over it so we can get in and out.”
Musician to give valedictory speech By Megan Kawasaki Jordan Bryan ’11, a varsity wrestler and jazz musician, was selected to present the Class of 2011’s valedictory address at commencement on June 10. Bryan was chosen from among the top-ranked stunathanson ’s/chronicle dents of the senior class by Jordan Bryan ’11 faculty vote. His selection was formally announced during the Cum Laude ceremony. “I do my best work during [wrestling] season,” he said. “When you do more, you do everything better.” Bryan was informed of his selection several weeks ago by Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts. Emily Kennedy, Executive Assistant to the Head of School, sent him an email asking him to meet with Huybrechts concerning graduation announcements, but the appointment was a decoy see bryan, D2
A2preview
The Chronicle Wednesday, May 25, 2011 Volume XX Issue IX
cami de ry/chronicle
strutting the catwalk: The audience applauds at the end of Fashion for Action on Saturday night as Sarah Seo ’12, left, and other students model
news A4 A5
donated designer clothing. The proceeds from the show are going to L.A. Youth Network, a youth homeless center in Los Angeles. For more coverage, see A16.
of f
beat
The Gay-Straight Alliance’s “Pride Day” on Friday will feature a scavenger hunt, a dressup day and a fundraiser for The Trevor Project.
Students to face-off in panini-making contest
After being phased out over the past three years, Japanese language will no longer be taught at Harvard-Westlake. Judd liebman/chronicle
A6
The school will continue to use the “Prom Pledge” system after an incidentfree prom this year.
features+a&e B1-3 B5
sports
B12
Eight seniors have created individualized projects ranging from computer science to the Civil War in the Independent Study program. Unbeknownst to most students, smoking alternatives like hookah and e-cigarettes are just as detrimental as the real thing. Scene Monkeys performed two improv shows on Friday in Rugby Auditorium.
allison hamburger/chronicle
C2
Alex Leichenger’s ’11 column says that while Harvard-Westlake builds outstanding athletic programs, the success comes with a cost.
C5
Boys’ tennis took on Palos Verdes in the CIF semifinals yesterday.
C7
Josiah Yiu ’12 won a statewide tournament in sabre fencing. daniel kim/chronicle
By Allison Hamburger In a battle of grilling panini, Chase Basich ’11 will face Gabe Benjamin ’11 in the quad today to determine once and for all who can makes the best grilled sandwich. The Panini-Off, as it has been dubbed, will require the competitors to make panini for other students during fifth through seventh periods. The tasters will then cast their vote for their favorite. The two students have discussed the possibility of a panini-making competition for a while. Over the summer, Basich ate a panini that Benjamin nathanson ’s/chronicle made. Gabe Benjamin ’11 “He said, ‘One time I should make you a panini because I make a good panini’ and we’ve been talking back and forth all year, ” Benjamin said. “I finally said, ‘Chase let’s do it, let’s see who makes a better panini.’” Basich said that Benjamin’s panini was very well-made, so he is a bit nervous for what the Panini-Off will bring. Benjamin has never tasted a Basich panathanson ’s/chronicle nini. Chase Basich ’11 “Chase has been talking smack all year about how he grills a mean panini, but I don’t know, I’ve never tasted one of his panini so I don’t know exactly what I’m up against but I think I also grill a mean panini so I’m pretty confident,” Benjamin said. Both competitors started making panini within the past year or two and received panini makers as gifts. “I used to have a moderate obsession with paninis but I didn’t make them myself,” Basich said. “I used to make real sandwiches but not with a panini maker but with whatever surface I had available.” Benjamin said that celebrity chef Tom Colicchio has influenced his interest, drawing inspiration from Colicchio’s cookbook “Witchcraft.” The Panini-Off victor will gain glory more than anything else, Benjamin said. “It will be very friendly, I don’t think it will be too competitive,” Basich said. “Anyone who wants to can stop by and get a bite, well two bites, by necessity.”
News A3
Chronicle
The
May 25, 2011
Library books to be housed in Chalmers By Daniel Rothberg
A temporary library will be set up in Chalmers East next year during the construction of the Kutler Center and the modernization of the Mudd Library, Upper School Librarian Shannon Acedo said. Silent Study will be housed in a temporary structure that will be constructed in the garden adjacent to the drama lab, Director of Campus Operations JD DeMatté said. A tree in the garden was cut down during Advanced Placement testing to make room for the structure. “It’s going to be an inconvenience, especially at some times of the year,” Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. The new Kutler Center facility will connect the third floor of Seaver with the library via a bridge. The Kutler Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and Independent Research, which is expected to open in 2012, is named in memory of Brendan Kutler ’10, who died in his sleep last in December of last year. Because the Chalmers venue is significantly smaller than the library, only 5,000 of the 20,000 library volumes will be brought to Chalmers. Students will not be able to access the remainder of the collection, which will be in storage, Acedo said. However, she believes most books will be accessible through interlibrary loans. The library has partnered with libraries at many other schools, including Brentwood School, Marlborough School Windward School. “We will be putting more emphasis on e-books and databases and interlibrary loan,” Acedo said. The librarians, who began packing reference books for the move last week, determined what books to bring to Chalmers by examining how frequently they were checked out and whether the books were used for class projects, such as history papers. Acedo hopes that the temporary library will also maintain a collection of classic works, whether or not they have circulated. “We are going to be looking at the shelves with an eye, if there is room, to have a standard core,” Acedo said. Huybrects said that it is possible that a portion of the third floor of Seaver will also close. “It is conceivable that for a short period of time, one small end of Seaver may be closed,” Huybrechts said. “But I think that [the construction workers] can probably do almost everything they need to do just by creating a hole in the wall, putting up a board, doing all the rest of the work and taking the barrier back.”
Eli Haims/chronicle
robo: Members of the Robotics Club watch as Julie Ko ’12, center, catches the minibot, which was ejected from the larger robot, as it descends the pole, during STEMfest. The robot was built for a robotics competition last March.
Students celebrate math, science, technology at annual STEMfest By Jessica Barzilay
and
David Lim
The annual STEMfest showcase Monday, May 23 during activities period was a “celebration of the role of science, technology and math in our lives” Committee Head and Math Department Head Paula Evans said. STEM is an interdisciplinary initiative promoting science, technology, engineering and math. “Students present their work, answer questions and encourage others to commit to excellence in STEM fields and especially commit to research” during the event, which was organized this year by students in the Topics in Calculus and Statistics class. Studies in Scientific Research classes, the Environmental Club and the Advanced Topics in Computer Science classes all participated in the showcase, Evans said. The new Harvard-Westlake Sports Medicine Research Initiative, which seeks to involve student researchers in the ongoing study on overuse injuries in high school athletes, was announced in a presentation organized by volleyball player Milena Popovic ’11. Student athletes have been invited this past year to join the study on overuse injuries in high school students, coordinated by Strength and Conditioning Coach Greg Bishop and run by sports medicine researchers at Los Angeles Children’s Hospital. Another addition to this year’s STEMfest was a booth helping students acquire summer internships run by Noor Fateh ’11 and Courtney Hazy ’11. There was a more comprehensive presentation on applying for internships third period in the Emory Room led by Chair of the Board of Trustees Chris Hazy (Steven ’00, Charissa ’03, Trenton ’05,
Courtney ’11). This year’s festival also emphasized the new theme of “harnessing the power of STEM fields for humanitarian issues” with a series of posters showing how technology can give young people a voice in government and with the involvement of the Environmental Club and Genocide Awareness Club, Evans said, all encourage political action on STEM issues. Many students are not aware of the program’s long-term projects and goals. The program was started in 2008 to increase students’ interest in and prepare them for careers in STEM-related fields. This effort comes on the heels of a recent national trend emphasizing interdisciplinary studies involving science. STEM simply formalizes the school’s commitment to something that has become a national issue and part of President Barack Obama’s platform, math teacher and committee Co-Chair Kevin Weis said. The STEM program’s reach extends far beyond the annual festival. Along with middle school co-chair Sandra Wolchok, Weis and the committee supervise all STEM-related projects at the school, like last year’s Newtonian Fluid walk during which students walked across a starch and water mix. In a less direct way, the Science Bowl, Math Club, Math Team, SSR classes and advanced science classes also fall under the STEM umbrella. The STEM program also hosted two guest speakers, Scott Becker ’05 and Jeremy Martin ’92. Both former students, the two lecturers shared with students the actual day-to-day experience of a professional career as a mathematician or computer scientist.
Wheelock organizes tree protests
Junior wins grant to study geology
By Jordan Freisleben
Xochi Maberry-Gaulke ’12 will take a two-week driving tour of Iceland as the winner of the Junior Summer Fellowship, learning about plate tectonics and how locals cope with the threat of natural disasters. She will also film and photograph nathanson ’s/chronicle Icelandic landscapes that she Xochi will incorporate into “visual field Maberrytrips” in her senior independent Gaulke ’12 study next year. The multimedia presentations, which may later be shown to geology students, may allow them to experience the land that they learn about, Visual Arts Department Head Cheri Gaulke (Marka and Xochi ’12) said. “She’s never been a huge science fan, but when she took geology in the 10th grade, she totally fell in love with it,” Gaulke said. “I think she really loves the way you can look out on the landscape and really read its story visually. She’s a very visual person, so I see it very connected to her kind of visual sensibility.” President Thomas C. Hudnut found MaberryGaulke’s proposal to be quite thoughtful, he said. “Xochi’s won because it was most closely related to course work here at Harvard-Westlake,” he said. “Geology is a field I am considering studying and pursuing as a future career, and this program will help me in that goal,” Maberry-Gaulke said. “I can’t imagine anything more interesting than a study trip to Iceland.”
The Jacaranda tree in the Rugby garden adjacent to the drama lab was cut down on May 7 in order to accommodate a temporary structure for silent study, Head of Campus Operations JD DeMatté said. The library, including the silent study area, will be closed for a year while construction on the Kutler Center, which will form a bridge between Seaver and the library, will take place. DeMatté said that the rest of the library will be put in Chalmers East. “We wanted to keep silent study fairly close and convenient for the faculty who work there,” he said. English teacher Martha Wheelock said that the tree should not have been cut down and that students and other faculty members should have been informed of the school’s decision. Wheelock and several of her students made posters criticizing the tree’s removal and put them around the Rugby courtyard. The poster reads “Who cut down this beautiful old tree,
By Rebecca Nussbaum
Daniel Rothberg/chronicle
Goodbye to Greenery: Jarred Green ’11 laments the loss of the tree outside Rugby. Students and faculty were upset when the tree was cut down to create room for a temproary silent study structure. destroyed nature herself — for just a temporary human building,” accompanied by a photo of the Jacaranda tree before it was cut down. “I would think that a tree, that’s probably 75-years-old, could have been spared — it was a beautiful species of a California Jacaranda tree and they could have found a better place for silent study,” Wheelock said. “I was just tragically saddened that something as permanent as a 75-year-old tree could be cut down for a temporary trailer-like building which probably could have been put somewhere else.” Wheelock said that the space was often used by English teachers to hold classes.
“It’s an invasion of that [unique] space that’s around where kids can sit on the grass and do poetry,” she said. “[English teacher] Jeremy Michaelson [held classes there], and I have done that in the past.” “I’m not an advocate for cutting down trees,” DeMatté said. “We worked very hard to find another place for the room, but honestly, it was the only flat space we could find on campus.” “This is really a very human thing,” Wheelock said. “We damage things for improvements without asking Mother Nature if she has any voice in it when we have been taking so much [from Mother Nature] to be thankful for — I just feel passionately about it.”
A4 News
The
Chronicle
May 25, 2011
Admission yield falls 3 percent By Daniel Rothberg
Allison Hamburger/chronicle
Flash Mob: Members of the Gay-Straight Alliance dance in the club’s flash mob during break on May 18. After the dance, the club hosted a panel in Ahmanson where faculty members spoke about their experiences coming out.
GSA Pride Day to include scavenger hunt, fundraiser for Trevor Project By Allison Hamburger
The Gay-Straight Alliance’s Pride Day this Friday will include a scavenger hunt, a rainbow dress-up day and a fundraiser for the Trevor Project (a hotline to prevent suicide among gay youth) GSA co-president Gabe Benjamin ’11 said. Students are encouraged to dress up in bright colors, and face paint will be available, Benjamin said. There will also be sidewalk chalk in the quad so students can write or draw on the ground. The club is inviting GSAs at other local private schools to participate in the campus scavenger hunt on Friday. Benjamin said that the club is still determining what the fundraiser will entail. To promote Pride Day, about 20 GSA members performed the dance from the YouTube video “Double Dream Hands” in the quad, drawing a large crowd of spectators. The club aimed to emulate a flash mob, a group of people that perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse. The dancers then led spectators to Ahmanson, where a panel of four gay and lesbian teachers discussed how they and others have dealt with their sexual orientation in an often less than receptive society. “The point of the flash mob was to be visible on campus, and a lot of people saw us so that was successful,” Benjamin
said. Technology Integration Specialist Jennifer Lamkins, math teachers Jeffrey Snapp and Bill Thill and humanities and English teacher Martha Wheelock told the audience their respective coming-out stories in a panel moderated by Benjamin and co-president Danielle Strassman with the club’s faculty advisers Cheri Gaulke and Nancy Popp. Wheelock said that her parents first learned of her sexual orientation when a photo of her holding a sign that read “Mother Nature is a lesbian” was published in Time magazine. Wheelock identifies herself as a “humanist,” someone who loves everybody. Snapp said that coming out as gay was not a specific event but rather a progression. “It was a journey towards honesty,” he said. The homophobia at the all-boys Catholic high school Thill attended made coming to terms with his sexual orientation difficult. “I had to work hard to self-censor every movement,” Thill said, though his large physical stature aided him. Thill ultimately came out to other teachers at a school he worked at, but was fired. “They were tolerant, but not accepting,” Thill said. Lamkins said that she has many coming-out stories. The first time she told a student that she was a lesbian, he was accepting, but she has lost jobs and friends in the past, she said.
The school’s yield decreased this year to about 81 percent from 84 percent last year, forcing the school to admit about 20 students off the waitlist, Associate Director nathanson ’s/chronicle of Admissions Davin Davin Bergquist Bergquist said. The school used a more conservative model to determine how many acceptances to send out this year after a higher than expected percentage of admitted students accepted HarvardWestlake’s invitation to enroll last year. “Last year we predicted a certain amount and it was actually much much higher,” Bergquist said. “This year we were just extraordinarily conservative and we did go to the waitlist.” Last year, no students were taken off of the waitlist due to the high yield, Bergquist told The Chronicle in August. Bergquist said that the school generally waitlists about 100 students. “The Middle School has an enrollment cap and that’s a finite number,” he said. “We can’t go over that number or we get in really big trouble with the city. That necessitates having a very large waitlist.” About 44 percent of the newly enrolled students are students of color, Bergquist said. “That’s really diverse and that continues to get larger every year,” he said. “Last year, it was 42 percent.” In addition, newly enrolled students represent 94 different zip codes, 60 neighborhoods in Los Angeles and 102 different sending schools, Bergquist said. Bergquist also said that several students will be moving to the United States to attend Harvard-Westlake. Two students will be moving from Canada, one will be moving from India and another student will be moving from Japan.
12 to depart from faculty By Wendy Chen
At least a dozen teachers are being hired to replace those leaving this summer to retire, take other jobs or pursue higher education. Upper school chemistry teachers Christopher Dartt and Stephanie Quan will leave their jobs. Dartt taught Advanced Placement Chemistry and Honors Chemistry. He is moving to Seattle, where his wife accepted a job with Microsoft. He hopes that he will be able to continue to teach, but if not, he would consider returning to the chemical industry. Quan, who currently teaches chemistry, will purse a graduate degree at UCLA. Upper School English teachers Heath Moon, Martha Wheelock and Geri Harding will also be retiring. Harding taught AP English Literature and AP English Language. Besides teaching English, Harding was also a part of the faculty development committee and ran the independent study program. Wheelock, also Head of the Upper school Humanities Department, taught Gender Studies and Ethics in addition to English. After retirement, Wheelock wants to give back to the international community of women and to teach girls in Africa or possibly South America. Moon will read and study philosophy and art history. He will also work part time teaching or tutoring. Kyoko Tomikura, who taught Japanese, will be leaving the school be-
cause the Japanese program will end this year. Tomikura, who knew the program was being phased out when she was first hired, is a part time student at California State University, Northridge. After graduating, she would like to teach Japanese in the United States or move back to Japan and teach the language to foreigners. Upper school dean Canh Oxelson has accepted a position as Horace Mann School Director of College Counseling. He will still be available to the rising seniors in his charge. Angela Loyd, who works for upper school computer services, will be moving to Austin, Texas so that she can be closer to her family. She hopes to find a similar job to the one she currently holds in Austin. Four teachers at the Middle School will be leaving their jobs as well. Jordan Ethé will give up his job to take care of his young son Cassius while his wife Hilary Ethé ’00 will return from maternity leave to teach AP Environmental Science at the Upper School. English teacher Katy Cooper will be moving to Denver with her husband, who is going to be the film commissioner for Colorado. Chinese teacher Xiaomei Mu and French teacher Stéphanie Portal will also be leaving the school. related coverage
Profiles of longtime upper school teachers who have announced their retirement, pages A10-11.
Saj Sri-Kumar/chronicle
chair for the chair: Visual Arts Department Chair Cheri Gaulke, right, and visual arts teacher Nancy Popp, center, listen to Ernie Wolf III ’68, left.
Alum donates Nigerian tribal chair By Evan Brown A Harvard School alumnus donated a beaded tribal chair to the school, intended for use by the chair of the Visual Arts department. Ernie Wolfe III ’68 (Ernest IV ’10, Russell ’12) discovered the chair when visiting the village of Yoruba in Nigeria. Wolfe said he bought the chair with the intent to donate it to the school. Wolfe said he can tell that the beads, which are red, white and black, are African-manufactured because of their differing, irregular sizes. In African culture, the beads covering the wicker skeleton indicate the owner’s level of wealth and act as “ostentatious symbols of authority or status.” They became popular in the 1960s. This chair
was also part of the first generation of African chairs that used padding, a mark of European influence, he said. Also, the geometric patterns indicated a contemporary influence as opposed to classic naturalistic patterns. Wolfe believes, based on the rounded back and open arms, that the chair was “constructed maybe 10 years ago.” Wolfe has an art gallery in West Los Angeles, which showcases art objects with practical uses and contemporary African paintings. He has traveled to Africa roughly “four dozen times since 1973.” The plaque on the back of the chair reads: “The Art Department Chair Person’s Chair. A Gift from the Wolfe Family. Diane, Ernie III ’68, Ernest IV ’10, and Russell The Only ’12.”
May 25, 2011
News A5
The
Chronicle
Department ends Japanese program
Final Curtain
By Saj Sri-Kumar
Eli Haims/chronicle
“Since u been gone”: Alex Scharch ’11 and Noah Weinman ’12, from left, performed at Monday’s Coffee House. Students and faculty sang, played instuments, danced and read poetry during the event, which was hosted by the Community Council.
71 students fail to complete annual service requirement By Maddy Baxter
and
Eli Haims
Seventy-one upper school students who failed to complete their community service by the May 2 deadline still hadn’t fulfilled the requirement by May 18, Head of Community Council Gaby Cohen ’11 said. Of the 71, 16 were seniors, 33 were juniors and 22 were sophomores. The Community Council extended the service deadline to May 23 in an effort to give students who did not fulfill their service requirement time to participate in an event that would allow them to. Students who complete their community service before May 23 will not be subject to punishment. As a punishment for not completing the service requirement before the extended May 23 deadline, students will have to complete double the requirement. Instead of doing a half day of handson service with at least three other members of the community, they will now have to complete eight hours of service with the same conditions. Additionally, Assistant to the Head of Upper School Michelle Bracken will not allow sophomores and juniors to register for the 2011-2012 school year and get their books next year until they complete their service. Seniors who do not complete their service by graduation will not officially matriculate and their transcripts will not be sent to colleges at the end of the school year. They will be allowed to walk at graduation but will receive a blank diploma holder. To encourage stduents to complete the requirement, the Community Council hosted four events on the last weekend prior to the May 23 deadline. Students participated in packing and handing out lunches to the homeless at the Ocean Park Community
Center, making care packages for soldiers with Operation Gratitude, helping the Scene Monkeys at Activities for Retarded Children and a gardening event at Los Angeles Family nathanson ’s/chronicle Housing. Gaby Cohen ’11 All four events were filled to their maximum capacity, according to an email sent to students from the Community Council. A record-breaking 96 students attended the Operation Gratitude nathanson ’s/chronicle event on April Daniel 30 at the United Rothberg ’11 States National Guard Armory in Van Nuys, Head of Community Council Daniel Rothberg ’11 said. The mass participation was the largest in Community Council history and surpassed attendance earlier nathanson ’s/chronicle this year, which Jessica had never reached Barzilay ’12 20 students at previous events. “The recordhigh attendance can largely be attributed to the impending Community Service deadline,” said Jessica Barzilay ’12, one of two Community Council liaisons to the event. Since the May 2 deadline has passed, Community Council will not organize any more events for the students who have not completed their service.
Japanese will no longer be taught after the current school year. The school began to phase out the program, which was cancelled due to declining student interest, in the 2008-2009 school year. The class of 2011 was the last class offered the option of taking Japanese I. “It’s an issue of declining numbers that nathanson ’s/chronicle aren’t holding steady and the growth of other Kyoko Tomikura languages,” Upper School Foreign Language Department Chair and Latin teacher Paul Chenier said. Caroline Maeda ’12, the only junior enrolled in Japanese, said that she wants to continue her study of Japanese next year even though the school does not offer it. “I’ve looked into taking classes at [California State University, Northridge], but I’m not quite sure yet if I can manage to fit it in with my Harvard-Westlake schedule,” she said. Chenier said he regrets that future students would not be able to take Japanese. Japanese teacher Kyoko Tomikura said that despite the cancellation of the program, she has still seen significant interest from students who want to learn Japanese. “I’m so sad that I can’t teach them,” she said. “It’s very difficult for me to say ‘sorry’ because I know that the students really want to study Japanese.” Japanese was added to the school’s foreign language department along with Chinese in 1996. Until recently, students were only able to take those languages starting in ninth grade. In the fall of 2008, the first year that students could no longer enroll in Japanese, the school expanded Chinese program, allowing students to begin taking Chinese in seventh grade. Chenier said that the cancellation of Japanese was not directly caused by the expansion of Chinese. The last language cancelled by the school was Russian, which was phased out in the early 2000s. Like Japanese, Russian suffered from dwindling enrollment. “With the changes in Eastern Europe in [the] mid-1990s, the interest for the ‘language of the enemy’ dwindled and the program enrollment started to plummet, especially after the school started offering Chinese and Japanese,” Psychology teacher and school counselor Luba Bek, who used to teach Russian, said.
A6 News
May 25, 2011
The
Chronicle
inbrief Teachers name directors for next year’s film festival The directors of next year’s film festival will be Olivia Chuba ’12, Jamie Ember ’12 and Roz Naimi ’12. They will organize the festival and “The Day After,” when the filmmakers participate in workshops. Two of the directors will coordinate the evening film screenings and the other will manage “The Day After,” Chuba said, but they have not yet determined who will work on what. Juniors in Video Art or Cinema Studies could apply for the position and were interviewed by Faculty Advisers Cheri Gaulke, Kevin O’Malley and Ted Walch. —Allison Hamburger
Kiva picks entrepreneurs to give business loans Kiva club chose five entrepreneurs from around the world to donate to with the money raised from their Jamba Juice fundraiser. Rosalina Dela Cerna from the Philippines, Claudia Janeth from Mexico, Gregorio from Bolivia, Elizabeth Akroms from Ghana and the Baktyan Usupakunova’s group from Kyrgystan were each given $25. This money will used for fertilizer, clothing retail, a dairy cow, ground nuts to make paste, and marketing goods, respectively. —Allana Rivera
Spectrum staff wins write-off competitions Staff members of the middle school news magazine, the Spectrum, received Excellent and Superior ratings in the Junior Education Association’s Middle School WriteOff Awards. The staff, with adviser Stephen Chae, chose submissions for the contest from past issues. “The award recipients and the whole staff were very excited about how well we did,” Chae said. “I am so proud of all of those kids.” — Megan Ward
sade tavangarian/chronicle
Teen Royalty: Prom King Max Sheldon ’11 dips Prom Queen Christine Kanoff ’11 during a slow dance to “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey. The two of them were voted King and Queen by the rest of the senior class after a series of elections.
Huybrechts calls pledge ‘a keeper’ By Daniel Rothberg No misbehavior at the May 14 senior prom has been reported to the school, Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said last week. Prom-goers were required to sign a pledge of good behavior prior to purchasing a ticket for the event. The pledge was created after faculty concern about misconduct at a non-school sponsored semiformal afterparty in February put the prom in jeopardy. “I’m so pleased that the prom was a success, that students had a great time, behaved responsibly and had a lot of fun,” Huybrechts said. “I’m really happy that the class of 2011 staged a successful prom.” The pledge stipulated that students receive a minimum of a one-day suspension if they were found to be intoxicated at prom, occupied a room at the Renaissance Hotel during prom weekend, planned or attended an afterparty at a nonresidential venue or if alcohol or drugs were found in their
limo. “A few limos [worth of students] might have gotten together to individually do something, but there was no giant afterparty like there has been in the past,” Head Prefect Melanie Borinstein ’11 said. “I think that because the pledge had such specific punishments laid out…people realized that it would be taken seriously if they did do something wrong.” “I think the pledge is a keeper,” Huybrechts said. “From speaking with students and their parents, I think a lot of them were gratified to know what the limits were. They knew what they could do to have fun without breaking the rules.” related coverage A collage of photos from the Class of 2011’s prom at the Renaissance Hotel can be found in the senior supplement.
Latin teacher wins grant for archeology excursion in Britain
Chinese Cultural Club holds end of year party Chinese-American families celebrated the 2010-2011 school year at the annual end of the year party held by the Harvard-Westlake Chinese Cultural Club May 22. HWCCC president Valrie Lee Oser (Thomas ’13, Alexandria ‘16) passed the presidency on to Suzy Li (Bradley ’12, Kevin ’14). Cynthia Torres (Spencer ’10, David ’14) moderated a panel of students, who answered questions from academic and social life. —Catherine Wang
Malicious attack brings down computer network The attack that brought down the school’s computer system on Tuesday April 26 was malicious and was run by one or more computers connected to the Wi-Fi network that was set up for student-owned computers, Director of Computer Services Dave Ruben said. While the network shut down for approximately two hours, Ruben said that the school’s secured files were not breached but only rendered inaccessible. After the attack, the school shut down the Wi-Fi network that provided internet to student-owned computers. Ruben said that he hopes to restart the network once he feels that the school has made the network safe from attack. —Saj Sri-Kumar
D12
By Keane Muraoka-Robertson and Megan Ward
Printed with permissionof Marilyn shield
Les Champions: French teacher Marilyn Shield, Luis Gomez ’13, Patric Verrone ’13, Micah Sperling ’12, Elle Wilson ’13 and Rebecca Moretti ’13, from left, received awards at the National French Contest on May 14.
27 place in French competition By Allana Rivera
and
Wendy Chen
Twenty-seven upper school students achieved high honors in the National French Contest, a test also known as Le Grand Concours, which over 99,000 students in the United States took this year. National rankings in each of the five levels were assigned based on the number of mistakes a student made on the test. The highest scoring students received first place rankings, those who made more mistakes received second place rankings, and so on. An unlimited number of students could theoretically recieve each ranking. Students who ranked first nationally received gold medals, while students ranking second and third received sil-
ver medals. Additionally, bronze medals were awarded to students ranking fourth through tenth. All national winners received a Lauréat national certificate. Most preparation for the optional test was done in class. Most claimed that while it wasn’t extremely difficult, it wasn’t easy either. “It was a good test: challenging, but not crazy hard,” Patric Verrone ’13 said. “Once I learned that I placed high it boosted my confidence as a French speaker and encouraged me to learn more,” Rebecca Moretti ’13 said . The contest is held every year by the American Association of Teachers of French. Any student can take the test he/she registers through with their teacher.
Latin teacher Derek Wilairat will join archeologists in northeastern England for two weeks in July on an all-expenses paid Earthwatch expedition funded by a gift from Black Schlei Lindsley nathanson ’s/chronicle ’92. Earthwatch supDerek Wilairat ports research projects around the world in four areas: ecosystems, climate change, oceans and cultural heritage. Wilairat was chosen through an application process by the Earthwatch organization. Wilairat is set to stay near a Roman fortress in South Shield, a part of Hadrian’s wall, and take part in the “Unearthing Roman Britain” expedition. “A lot of [Earthwatch] programs are environmental, but this one is more of an archeological program,” Wilairat said. “The idea is to preserve the cultural heritage of important sites.” Wilairat, who called archeology a “sub-field of the classics,” will spend most of his days in the dirt going through and looking for artifacts and small cataloging details. “All the little details add up to the big picture and the archeologist can draw conclusions from that,” Wilairat said. Wilairat will work alongside professional field researchers in first archeological excursion. “I’m interested in Roman Britain, so I’m sure I will learn more about Roman history,” Wilairat said. “ And it just seems like a great, well organized expedition.”
May 25, 2011
News A7
The
Chronicle
inbrief
Social activist shares experiences
Genocide Awareness club sells treats to raise money The Genocide Awareness and Activism Club wrote postcards and sold baked goods this past week to raise awareness and money for two causes in Africa. On Wednesday, the club had students sign postcards to raise awareness for the conflict in the Congo over minerals needed in things such as cell phones. Friday, they held a cash-only bake sale with donated food and sold T-shirts to benefit the solar cooker project, a rape prevention effort for Darfur women who have been displaced to refugee camps in Chad. The T-shirts and bake sale raised $650 in cash. The club also accumulated $250 in IOUs for T-shirts. — Carrie Davidson
By Saj Sri-Kumar An activist spoke to the Gender Studies class about her career advocating for the Bedouin minority in Israel on Tuesday. Devorah Brous, who is married to Upper School English Department Chair Larry Weber, talked about her work, which helped the Bedouin people of the Israeli region of Negev overcome the obstacles they faced. “Some [of the Bedouin] people don’t have access to water [or] electricity when people across the street do,” Brous said. “Why is this distinction being made?” Brous said that the Bedouin people were originally seminomadic, until the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire and finally the Israeli government slowly tried to curtail the area where they could roam. More recently, the Israeli government has started confiscating property and demolishing Bedouin settlements, out of a concern that the country lacks sufficient land to allow the Bedouin to practice their semi-nomadic lifestyle. Brous feels that the government has failed to explore all options, saying that the government should try to establish contained agricultural communities that would allow the Bedouin people to let their livestock graze on the land, but still conserve land. Six years after she first arrived in Israel, Brous formed the organization Bustan in 1999 to help fight on behalf of the Bedouin people. Brous also talked about the problems she had to overcome as an unmarried woman without children in a male-centric culture. She said that many in the Bedouin community did not initially respect a woman who had no children, while many women felt threatened by her and thought that she might try to steal one of their husbands. In addition to talking about her own activist career, Brous spoke to students about the importance of activism over pro-
Board of Trustees changes address to Studio City Judd Liebman/chronicle
Activism: Social activist Devorah Brous spoke to Martha Wheelock’s Gender Studies class about her work on May 17.
tests and rhetoric, encouraging them to look into causes they feel strongly about. “Words have become cheap,” she said. “The issues that make us the best activists are those that come from the inside.” Since leaving Israel in 2008, Brous has worked with the organization Netiya to expand people’s access to food and reduce the pesticides used in growing crops.
Prefect Council pledges to resume attendance at FAC meetings after a 2-year long absence By Emily Khaykin After a couple of years of disconnect, the Prefect Council has decided to renew its relationship with the Faculty Academic Committee in hopes of improving communication between the students and adults of the upper school community. FAC is a body made up of department heads that makes curricular and education policy recommendations to the administration that might have an effect on students’ academic life. “The prefects always had an open invitation to attend the monthly FAC meetings,” upper school math teacher and Chair of FAC Kent Nealis said. “But over the years, I guess the knowledge of the invitation was lost somewhere with the changing members of the Prefect Council.” “Moving forward, I hope that having this relationship with FAC will expedite the transfer of information between students and adults on campus and in turn create a more effective and efficient framework for submitting, reviewing and reaching decisions on proposals and ideas originating from both FAC and the Prefect Council alike,” Head Prefect Chris Holthouse ’11 said. “Every council has different ways of operating,” Nealis said. “There was one year where the proposals coming from the council were particularly aggressive and ended with more of a hard compromise than the normal give-and-take between the Prefect
Council and FAC.” After the rift, Nealis said, members of the Prefect Council stopped showing up to meetings for a while. But this year, Nealis felt confident that renewing the relationship would be beneficial. “FAC wants to increase the amount of trust and openness between adults and students,” Nealis said. Next year’s Prefect Council hopes to get two seats on FAC, for which they would either rotate which prefects sit in or have two prefects who always attend the monthly meetings. “If the Prefect Council is a constant presence on FAC, we can keep more up-to-date on proposals and FAC’s point of view on certain issues,” next year’s Head Prefect Brooke Levin ’12 said. “And because the council will have a better understanding of FAC’s opinions on certain things, we will be able to create more effective and mutually agreeable proposals in the future.” A proposal that the Prefect Council recently presented to FAC included creating a communal testing calendar for all teachers in the school so they will be able to moderate the amount of tests students will have on one day. “The Prefect Council just wants to make sure that students have a voice in what FAC says, and we believe that participating in their meetings will help attain this goal,” Levin said.
Cantrell prepares Photo I classes for portrait project
nathanson ’s/chronicle
Kent Nealis
camille shooshani/chronicle
Proficiency: Japanese teacher Kyoko Tomikura presents the final senior language award for Japanese to Gabe Benjamin ’11.
The Foreign Language Awards assembly honored students who have excelled in advanced foreign language courses on Tuesday, May 17 in Rugby Auditorium. Senior awards were presented to Gabe Benjamin ’11 for Japanese, Austin Block ’11 for Spanish, Jordan Freisleben ’11 for French, Robby Goldman ’11 for Latin and Brian Harwitt ’11 for Chinese. Foreign Language Department Head Paul Chenier gave the ceremony’s opening remarks, calling the sophomores honored the “young Turks of the foreign language depart-
Photographer Heather Cantrell spoke to the Photography I classes on April 29 about portraiture to prepare students for their upcoming self-portrait project. Cantrell was invited to speak by photography teacher Nancy Popp, whom Cantrell met when she photographed her as a subject in her most recent show, Mirror Gaze. Cantrell showed the students select pieces from her six shows. — Maddy Baxter
Prefect Council posts 12 new Honor Code copies nathanson ’s/chronicle
Chris Holthouse ’11
Foreign language teachers present awards to students By Camille Shooshani, Catherine Wang and Elana Zeltser
The Board of Trustees has approved changing the city name in the school’s address from North Hollywood to Studio City, Director of Communications Jill Shaw said. Shaw said that currently, packages and visitors to the campus are delayed because shipping software and GPS systems associate the school’s zip code with Studio City rather than North Hollywood. “According to the United States Postal Service website, the actual city name for 91604 is Studio City,” Shaw said in an email. Implementing the address change will be cost neutral, she said, because the school will not order supplies with the new address until it has exhausted its current inventory. — Daniel Rothberg
ment,” the juniors “the god Atlas,” and the seniors the “elder statesmen” with “gravitas and authority.” Faculty representatives from each foreign language department — Chinese, French, Japanese, Latin and Spanish — called to the stage students who have “completed up to level four with success,” Chenier said. When students accepted their certificate, they marked their entrance into the National Honors Society for their language. Before receiving their awards, Chinese, French, Japanese and Spanish students stood up and pledged, speaking in their respective languages, to continue learning and perfecting their fluency.
As part of the Prefect Council’s goal to make the Honor Code more visible around campus, about six weeks ago prefects posted 12 typed and framed copies of the Honor Code. The Honor Code had already been posted in various spots on campus for years, but the Prefect Council noticed that they were old and going unnoticed. — Caitie Benell
Executive movie producer speaks to Video Art class The executive producer of the upcoming comedy “Beware the Gonzo” told the eighth period Video Art II class April 29 that the best stories come from personal experiences. Jenny Fritz ’91 also spoke of her time at Westlake and her transition from working as an agent to making the Tribeca Film Festival movie with director and writer Bryan Goluboff. “Beware the Gonzo” will be scrreened in Los Angeles and New York theaters in September. The Video Art II class watched the movie before Fritz’s visit. — Allison Hamburger
A8 News
The
Chron
Administration evaluates post-merger trajectory from THEN AND NOW, A1 whole mega-school.” At the time of the merger, Hu was working as the Associate Director of Admissions at Brown University. Hu would leave his post at Brown to begin working at the newly merged school as a college counselor in June 1994. Great expectations “Tom Hudnut’s focus over the last 20 years has been to build a school that is excellent across the board, like a Stanford,” Director of Admissions Elizabeth Gregory, who began working at Westlake School in 1970, said. Immediately following the merger, administrators sought to create a school that emphasized excellence in all facets of student life. “Stanford was able to play in the academic leagues with Harvard, Yale and Princeton and in the athletic leagues with Cal, UCLA and USC,” Hudnut said. “It was out there showing that you can pursue a variety of aspects of school life at a high level, and that’s what we wanted to do.” But excellence came at a cost. In order to achieve their vision, the newly merged school was saddled with the task of making resources equitable on each campus. “You had [choral director Jayne] Campbell [at the Upper School], but you had to hire a [Nina] Burtchell [at the Middle School] that wasn’t on the payroll before,” Levin said. “Every place you had one great person, you had to have two. Just to take the existing programs, each of which had been available to 700 or 800 kids and make it available to everybody, you had to double some things.” Even as Harvard-Westlake graduates its 20th class in June, the search for excellence is ongoing. “Five years ago, our baseball team had just come off of two consecutive seasons where we didn’t win a single Mission League game,” Head of Athletics Audrius Barzdukas said. “Now, we just won our first Mission League championship in school history.” However, the path toward excellence can be a double-edged sword. While the baseball team, like others, has finally seized tangible success, players have had to make sacrifices along the way. Recently, a baseball player told Head of School Harry Salamandra that he puts in more practice time than a professional ballplayer. “So it’s tough,” Salamandra said. “It’s not just in sports. It’s all around in other extracurriculars. If you look at what we’re doing on the stage, you look at our debate program, no matter what area we talk about at this school, we’re at such a high level already. It didn’t used to be that way. Unfortunately, there’s a
price you pay for everything. I do think too much scheduled time is not a good thing.” Vice President John Amato, who began teaching at Harvard School in 1978, believes a culture of excellence is more beneficial than not to HarvardWestlake. “Excellence is a good thing and mediocrity is a bad thing,” he said. “And if everyone is mediocre here and relaxed, I don’t want to be here.” Yet, as has proved true in the past, perpetuating a culture of excellence is no easy feat. “I’ve always said that maintaining excellence is as time-consuming and difficult and as much a challenge as creating excellence in the first place,” Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. Harvard-Westlake Inc. With construction work on the Middle School nearly complete, attention has shifted to perfecting facilities on the upper school campus. Administrators acknowledged the Upper School’s need for more field space, more parking space, new performing arts facilities, a student center and better classrooms. Field space is scarce in Los Angeles, but so is time available for sitting in Los Angeles’ traffic, Barzdukas said. “Include as many fields as possible in any master plan,” the Athletic Department said as part of a 2008 report, which outlined the infrastructural needs and desires of each upper school department. “Do anything and everything to reduce the need for transporting students away from the upper school campus to an offsite practice facility.” “Are there ways we can keep kids here?” Barzdukas said. “Whether that’s going up, down or sideways, how do we make that happen?” The Athletic Department is not the only group on campus lacking facilities. “Quite simply, Performing Arts has a shortage of just about everything,” Director of Upper School Master Planning John Feulner said. In completing the Middle School modernization project, HarvardWestlake built what Hudnut called “probably the best theater in Los Angeles,” the Saperstein Theater, but several administrators have noted the
“
1989
1990
1990-1991
Before the merger, tuition at Harvard was $8,350 and tuition at Westlake was $7,750.
say sub-par, but [Bird and her husband] made it into a livable place for the time that they were here. Our decision... was to remove both houses because it was just a burden.” More than 13 years after discussion began about building a bridge across Coldwater and an athletic field on the property, the school is still exploring options for the land in the long-term. “The school is eyeing that with the thought of how we can use it,” Feulner said. Feulner noted several possible impediments to a future project on the land, including the high-profile nature of such a project, the physical challenges posed by building on a mountainside and the logistical challenges of transporting students across Coldwater. “If you are going to use the land, you would have to build a bridge,” Feulner said. Our lifeline When Levin started working at Harvard, tuition was $5,600. If tuition continues to increase at the rate it has since the merger, attending HarvardWestlake would cost $160,000 in 25 years. “A major preoccupation for all of us in the administration is how to keep the school affordable,” Hudnut said. “If I were a public school educator, I would just wait until the day that private schools simply priced themselves out of existence and be there waiting to pick up the pieces. As long as people feel that public schools are not a real option, they are going to continue to pay high prices.” To achieve that goal, HarvardWestlake turns to fundraising. Hudnut said that Annual Giving donations keep pressure off of the tuition and are what has allowed financial aid to continue to grow.
In 1989, Harvard and Westlake announced plans to merge into a co-educational school. The milestones and setbacks below illustrate the growth of the school since the merger.
School hopes to build a bridge over Coldwater to access a proposed athletic field.
1991
A bridge to somewhere? In October 1997, Hudnut told The Chronicle of hopes to construct a bridge to a proposed athletic field on property across Coldwater Canyon Avenue. The athletic field was never completed. Today, the school owns about six acres of land on the opposite side of Coldwater from the campus, Feulner said. Up until last week, two homes sat on the land, one of which was the residence of physical education teacher Amy Bird. “We didn’t want squatters,” Director of Campus Operations JD DeMatté said. “It was a fair house at best. I want to
nathanson ’s/chronicle
October 1993
Westlake parents and trustees file a lawsuit to block the merger.
shortage of adequate performing arts facilities at the Upper School. “The bottom floor of Chalmers is pretty grim,” Hudnut said. Also high on the administration’s wish list of future projects is a new student center. “The lounge used to be as big as all of what’s there now, plus all of the deans’ offices,” Huybrechts said. The 2008 construction report identified the desire for a student center that would “foster ‘one-stop shopping’ for general student needs.” “Until we work out a few central ideas and get a number of fundamental questions answered, which takes a considerable amount of time, we can’t plan out the campus,” Feulner said.
Excellence is a good thing and mediocrity is a bad thing and if everyone is mediocre here and relaxed, I don’t want to be here.” —John Amato Vice President
Looking Back December 1989
Jeanne Huybrechts
on the world scene: President Thomas C. Hudnut meets with Chinese educators at a summer 2010 conference of the World’s Leading School Association in Beijing. Hudnut’s visit to China is an example of the school’s focus on its global presence.
1992 1993
October 1995
New Munger Science Center opens.
1994 1995
1996
February 1998
April 2001
School purchases ranch in Mexico for second campus plans never come to fruitio Property is sold in 2006.
Annual Giving reaches almost $2.1 million. School sets capital campaign goal of $35 million in five years.
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
February 1997 September 1991
The co-ed Harvard-Westlake opens for business. The merger was agreed upon in October 1989.
Feldman-Horn Center for the Arts opens at the start of the second semester. It was supposed to be completed for the beginning of the year.
October 2
giving re million.
nicle “I think in this day and age, whether we are in a campaign publicly or not, we are always raising money,” Hu said. But fundraising can only go so far. Hu said the only true path toward longterm financial sustainability is through endowment. “We’ve been lucky,” Hu said. “We’ve always had people to support us when needs came along. But long-term, we do need to build our endowment more.” Several years ago, the Board of Trustees voted to increase the endowment for the first time. When the decision was made, Harvard-Westlake’s endowment was about 117th in the nation for private schools. “It was the result of some really thoughtful, tough examination of the realities out there and recognition that we have to put more attention toward endowment,” Hu said. The way of the future Remaining attuned to changes in education is paramount to the success of the school, administrators said. One way in which they hope to stay on the cutting edge is by capitalizing on new technology and implementing it into school life. “Obviously [technology] has changed, and the school has tried to keep up with that in the hardware it buys and the size of the computer services department,” Huybrechts said. Since the merger, the school’s technology spending has risen dramatically. At the time of the merger, the school employed only one technician in the computer services department. Now, the school spends $2 million each year on hardware and software in addition to paying 13 salaries, Levin said. Despite that growth, he believes that the technologically efficient option is not always the most beneficial option. “How do you be on the soccer team efficiently?” Levin said. “You need a coach! You spend hours a day with that coach and she changes your life. That is never going to be efficient.” Though Huybrechts believes that technology is a valuable tool, she said it will never replace teachers. “We will never be able to replace the human interaction element of teaching,” Huybrechts said. “That is always going to be there. However, I think we have not even begun to imagine the ways technology could be used to augment person-to-person interaction.” There may be a day when students all have a personal computing device, whether it be a laptop or a tablet. “There will be a sweet spot when just enough books are online and the price of the gadget is low enough that we will be able to do it without a significant cost to students,” Huybrechts said. In addition to technology, administrators see a need to place more emphasis on character development. “I’m not sure that we’ve had a real focus on that,” Hu said. “It’s not a huge deficit but, our focus has been on achievement.” Since assuming the Head of School position in 2006, Huybrechts has made a concerted effort to focus on character
2004
“
I feel more confident and more comfortable offering our help to middle school number 12 in beijing than i necessarily do to another high school in Los angeles.” —Thomas C. Hudnut President of School
development, creating the Character Education Committee and a yearly theme to promote ethical behavior. “I don’t think it has ever been done poorly here,” Huybrechts said. “It’s just to make sure it was given the same sort of attention and focus as pure academics.” Along with these character development programs, Hu said there is more to be done. “That effort is in its toddler stage,” Hu said. “It’s gotten more recent focus and I would like to see it grow. I think it’s important for the insititution to have that developed better.” Head of Middle School Ronnie Cazeau emphasized the need for a better support network on the middle school campus. “We could be more supportive of students who struggle,” Cazeau said. “Other than the deans and a few kind and gracious teachers, if a kid is really struggling here, it can be a depressing place to be.” Cazeau attributes this, in part, to the large size of the school. “It’s harder because it’s easier to hide here,” Cazeau said. “Sometimes it takes a while to catch that kid who is feeling bad.” Since the merger, Cazeau has felt that the school is attracting different kinds of students. “We are not just a school for highly academic kids. We are a school for kids who excel at different areas,” she said.
2002 Annual eaches $4
2006
“My goal is to keep it a place where all kids can thrive.” The world is flat Harvard-Westlake is continually developing an international presence, particularly in Asia, Hu said. Of the newly enrolled students this year, several are relocating to Los Angeles to attend Harvard-Westlake, including one student from India, one student from Japan and two students from Canada, Associate Director of Admissions Davin Bergquist said. However, the school’s endeavors to enhance its international reputation were hindered by the downturn in the economy in the past few years. “We were probably sidetracked a little bit during the recession because we were thinking of doing some actual alumni activities out there,” Hu said. “That’s derailed us for a couple of years. We’ll probably get that back on track. Certainly we have been thinking about how we establish our foothold or continue an active connection with alums in Asia.” Those endeavors have come in myriad forms, such as the GunterGross initiative, the involvement in the G20 group of independent schools and Huybrechts’ upcoming summer visit to South Africa to meet with school administrators there. “We are going to visit several schools in South Africa and Botswana, one of
“A target on your back” Harvard-Westlake’s prominence on the private school scene, despite giving students widely-acknowledged benefits in the world of college admissions, has never come without cost. “We are newsworthy, like it or not,” Hudnut said. “When a bunch of kids get in trouble for cheating at HarvardWestlake, it hits the front page of the second section of the Los Angeles Times. Where else can you say that?” Despite the difficulties of maintaining a strong reputation with increased notoriety, Hu believes that strong reputation is integral to the school’s desire to remain excellent in the future. “If we didn’t have [a good reputation], we couldn’t even think about these ambitious things,” Hu said. “We’ve taken a long time to build that up. It’s in a great place but any little thing could bring that down. The challenge is also to maintain that and continue the kind of quality and excellence people associate with the name.”
daniel rothberg/chronicle
Construction report outlines physical and technological wants and needs of every department.
2005
nathanson ’s/chronicle
which is Oprah’s school,” Huybrechts said. Despite language or cultural barriers, Hudnut said that establishing these international relationships can be less politically fraught than domestic ones. “You don’t need to go to Bogota or Beijing or the Transvaal in South Africa to be helpful,” Hudnut said. “There are places you can be helpful here in Los Angeles, but the culture of public education in the United States at the moment is sufficiently hostile to independent schools such as HarvardWestlake that almost any effort I can think of, or any initiative we might undertake, would be seized on as an example of noblesse oblige. I feel more confident and more comfortable offering our help to Middle School Number 12 in Beijing than I necessarily do to another high school in Los Angeles.”
Six acres and a bridge: The school demolished properties across Coldwater and is eyeing the land for future use. In order to use the land, a bridge would have to be built, according to Director of Upper School Master Planning John Feulner.
2008
n New s, but on.
News A9
2007
2008
March 2009
Harvard-Westlake hosts G20 conference for group of international educators.
2009
September 2008
2010
New Middle School opens after just over two years of construction. The total cost of the project was $125 million.
Summer 2011
March 2011
Head of Upper School Jeanne Huybrechts will travel with a delegation to South Africa and Botswana to learn about global education.
Tuition passes $30,000. The rise is mostly due to an increased spending on technology.
2011
2012
2013
2014
Jan. 25, 2012
Targeted opening date for the Kutler Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and Independent Research, which will bridge the library and Seaver. all photos from chronicle archives Source: Chronicle Archives, Rob Levin, Jeanne Huybrechts Graphic By Eli Haims
A10 News
May 25, 2011
The
Chronicle
Saying farewell
Among the teachers not returning to the Upper School are three retiring English teachers and an advanced chemistry teacher.
After finishing a film on suffrage, Wheelock wants to teach girls abroad By Austin Block
candice navi/chronicle archives
women’s rights: Gender Studies teacher Martha Wheelock introduces actress Geena Davis at her 12th Women’s History Month assembly in 2010.
Martha Wheelock didn’t want to be a teacher. Her father was a teacher, and she did everything possible to do something different. She tried to join the Peace Corps. Then she did social work. She was a psychologist. But then she had a realization. “I did all sorts of things because I didn’t want to be a teacher like my father, and then I just felt like everything I was doing in life was learning, and I was excited about it, and if I read a book … I’d want to share it with somebody and have a discussion about it,” Wheelock said. So she started to teach. And she loved it. “My dad used this expression that he felt he had ‘chalk in his blood,’ and no matter how many times I’ve wanted to retire or quit, it’s like this bloody magnet,” she said. “How many professions do you get to go home and to think about what [a student] said in ethics class about x or y or z? One kid said something today just fascinating about ‘The Things They Carried’ that I’d never even thought about, and I mulled that over all night long... I’ve never been unhappy going home. I’ve never said ‘oh crap, I’ve got to go to school.’” Fourty-seven years after she took her first teaching job, Wheelock, who teaches English, Ethics and Gender Studies and is the adviser of the Environmental Club, has decided to leave the classroom. She intends to fulfill what she feels is her obligation to the international community of women. “I think I’m leaving when I recognize a great line from Susan B. Anthony: ‘no woman has the right to die until she’s done something for womankind,’” Wheelock said. “And of course I’ve made a lot of films about women and women’s history, women’s issues and women’s ethics … but now I feel like I have to go and practice this. That wonder-
ful singer, [Ben Harper], has a new album. It’s called ‘Give Till It’s Gone.’ Isn’t that great?” Wheelock wants to teach girls in Africa or possibly South America. “If you educate one girl you are empowering a much broader base … the girl comes back to the mother and teaches her how to read,” she said. “I was supposed to go into the Peace Corps right when I got out of college and I got mononucleosis. I was supposed to go to Tanganyika, [now part of Tanzania] … it’s been burning a hole in me.” Wheelock plans to apply for the Peace Corps, which she was told by a former member needs a few older members who “know how to teach and how to work with young people.” First, however, she wants to complete a film she is making for the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in California. She hopes to recruit Harvard-Westlake students to shoot reenactment scenes of the suffrage movement 100 years ago. Dani Wieder ’12 will write a scene. Screenings are scheduled for Sept. 18 at the Autry Museum and in Sacramento on the actual anniversary date, Oct. 10. After the movie is released, Wheelock said she will then travel around the state “presenting the film and discuss[ing] more about California’s role in suffrage and now.” Although Wheelock, who has been at Harvard-Westlake since 1998, is excited to move on, she said there is much she will miss about teaching. “It’s been a real treat really being able to teach, really being able to discuss, to have not only the class size that allows everybody to have his or her own ideas expressed but to have such enlightened and eager students. I’m really sad to leave my students,” she said. “I just really hope students stay in touch with me. We can do Facebook, we can do something like that. I’m really open to continued connection.”
Moon plans to read, study art history in retirement By Austin Block
“
i was kind of a rebel.”
English teacher Heath Moon may be the only high school dropout to ever teach English at Harvard-Westlake. In the early 1960s, Moon was a —Heath Moon rebellious teenager. Bent English teacher on painting and writing nathanson ’s/chronicle poetry, Moon, a year older my element …. the only frustration than the rest of his classmates, dropped out of high school that I have with teaching is that I and enrolled in an unaccredited haven’t had the time to feed that hunger ... and I want to go back “experimental college,” he said. “I’ll always remember the very to do that. That’s one of the really first class I took at that place. It main reasons I want to retire. Even was in an old Victorian house and before I started college I was readthe first class I took was a class on ing, I started for example, a sysPlato’s Republic, and that’s what I tematic reading of the major works in English literature, starting with wanted to do,” Moon said. He later took night courses at Chaucer.” In retirement, Moon wants to a community college, and at age 22 he enrolled in a four-year col- read extensively, study art history lege, filled with a “driving hunger” in a “consistent and disciplined to learn. Moon was so passionate way,” go to lectures at art museums about learning that after graduat- and return to studying philosophy. ing with a bachelor’s degree in phi- He said he will also work part time losophy, he went to graduate school teaching or tutoring. Although he is excited about and earned his doctorate. “I was kind of a rebel. My ex- his studies, Moon said he will miss perience as a student has been dif- teaching at Harvard-Westlake. He ferent,” Moon said. “[For people said the best part about teaching at like me,] education is not an issue Harvard-Westlake was interacting of practicality or of an avenue to- with the students. “I’ll miss the students terribly. wards a career. It’s a kind of deep inner hunger ... You just want to The decision to retire has not been know, you want to sink your teeth easy, in fact, rather painful, and into the great works that have been last week when I taught my eighth created, and come hell or high wa- period class, I realized, because I’ve ter, it doesn’t matter if you’re going been blocking this out, ... that was to spend your life doing whatever, my last Harvard-Westlake class that’s what you have to do. Teach- and I went home just monstrously ing is just sort of a natural out- depressed,” he said. “I don’t only love teaching students, I love [how] growth of that.” Moon’s hunger for knowledge is we tease each other, and there’s undiminished. Now, after spend- this back and forth going on ... I’ll ing six years at Harvard-Westlake miss the students. But I’ll have and 25 years teaching English and new students. If someone wants to working as an administrator at the have a baby in the English departPilgrim School, Moon is retiring to ment you’ll see me around...I’ve just loved it here. It’s been an absolutely feed that hunger more fully. “I love working a classroom, it’s heavenly job.”
jessica barzilay/chronicle
experience: Geri Harding has taught seventh through 12th graders in her 24 years at Westlake and Harvard-Westlake, although recently, she has taught AP senior courses.
Harding foresees traveling, volunteering By Jessica Barzilay Several years ago, a high school student greeted English teacher Geri Harding with an unusual request: to participate in class discussion while reclining on a yoga mat. The student recently graduated from medical school. “All that reclining must have agreed with him,” Harding said. “He certainly learned a lot.” Over the course of her 24 years at the school, Harding has seen it all, from the overly relaxed student to the 1989 merger between Harvard and Westlake Schools to a rapidly evolving interface between teaching and technology. She retires in June after teaching students of every age, helping to coordinate the independent study program and working on the faculty development committee, which is responsible for organizing teacher grants and trips. Born in Adelaide, Australia, Harding did not anticipate a future as a high school English teacher while a teenager herself. In high school, Harding was a part of the Royal Academy of Dance training program. She went on to earn a conservatorium degree and taught performing arts. Enrolling at University of California Los Angeles in order to obtain a formal college degree, Harding had planned to go into law. However, with two young children and a passion for her English courses, Harding decided to pursue an English
degree instead. She studied medieval, Renaissance, nineteenth century American and nineteenth century British literature in her PhD program. After working in a community college for a few years, she transitioned to Los Angeles public schools for a period before her children’s high school counselor recommended her to Westlake School for Girls. Harding said that the relationships she formed within the school were the most significant aspect of her experience. “I will miss the kids the most—just watching them grow, being with them, learning from my students,” Harding said. Faculty friends have also expressed their fondness and respect for the former English department head. “I’ll miss Ms. Harding’s great wit and sense of humor, her marvelous articulateness- and exquisite accent- and her unbending dedication to our profession: the art of teaching effective reading and writing,” English teacher Jeff Kwitny said. “One of the things I’ve always wanted to do as an English teacher is to teach kids to really read a book and create the world of the book in their own head,” Harding said. In the upcoming years, Harding looks forward to pursuing many of her hobbies. She plans on enjoying time at home, volunteering at her grandchildren’s schools and travelling abroad.
May 25, 2011
News A11
The
Chronicle
School uses standardized hiring process to fill 12 teaching positions By Chloe Lister Harvard-Westlake receives “hundreds of resumes” from potential teachers each year, Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. The school acquires these resumes in three main ways: A candidate will send his or her resume to Administrative Assistant Pat Nolte at the school, Huybrechts or another faculty member meets a good candidate at a job fair or someone already at the school recommends a person for the position, who the school then contacts, Huybrechts said. Huybrechts has attended three job fairs this year, one of which was held at Harvard-Westlake. The job fairs are mainly organized by agencies Cal West and Carney Sandoe, which have candidates that the agency has accepted and then tries to match with specific schools when they hear of an opening, English teacher Jill Turner, who was interviewed by President Thomas C. Hudnut at a job fair and was hired by the school through Carney Sandoe in 2006, said. After resumes have been received, they are filed by Nolte, and when a vacancy opens up, they are read by various staff members. “I look through them, the department chair looks through them, sometimes [Head of Upper School Harry] Salamandra looks through them, and then we pick the best and start making
calls,” Huybrechts said. The department chair contacts the shortened list of candidates, and, if there are any applicants that the chair is sure he or she wants to meet, the chair sets up a full-day interview. The chair also calls candidates he or she is less sure of to arrange for a shorter interview to decide whether or not he or she wants to then invite him or her back for a full-day one. Usually, two or three people per position are invited for full-day interviews, Huybrechts said. Over the course of that day, the candidate meets with every member of the department they wish to join, Huybrechts, a dean, Salamandra and Hudnut, if he is available. Mathematics department chair Paula Evans has been department chair for the past nine years and has helped hire seven members of the math department during that time. “In the math department, we work as a team, so when we hire someone we need to know that person is comfortable working as a team,” Evans said. “When we bring someone in, we want to know that they’re working authentically with us, as a peer, and being open to new ideas and willing to work with students outside of the classroom.” “Anyone coming in here who is going to be here for any substantial amount of time is going to be able to work with everybody,” Palmer said. “They already had an idea of who I was and where I
was coming from, so it was more of a matter of gauging my personality.” “I got to talk about myself, and who doesn’t love talking about themselves?” Palmer said. The Middle School follows the same process in hiring teachers. After the full-day interview, all the interviewers’ impressions are emailed to the head of the campus, and the head of campus, department head and director of studies decide whether or not to recommend to Huybrechts that the candidate should be hired. This year, 12 teacher positions were open, which is relatively low. Although there were only six last year, for many years the school hired 20 new staff members each year, Huybrechts said. Huybrechts said that if there is an alum applying for a position, “it is taken into consideration, but it counts for less than you might think. “I think it’s wonderful that there are alums working at the school,” she said. “However, they have to be just as qualified for the job as any other candidate. They have to really be the best person for the job.” History teacher Francine Werner ’68 was first hired by Westlake School for Girls in 1973 and said that the headmaster had been very reluctant to give the position to an alumna. “What he made me do, that no other candidate had to do, is student teach,” Werner said.
Hiring Teachers: at a glance Administrators will use an expanded version of the chart below to fill the 12 positions for the 2011-2012 school year.
1 Position opens 2 Find candidates
Teacher Recuritment Agencies:
>> Cal West and Carney Sandoe School administrator meets
>> candidate at job fair >>
Candidate sends their own resume directly to the school
3 Department head >> Reads resumes
Shortens list to favorites and
>> schedules interviews
4 Interview
Local favorites and candidates
>> from across the country meet various faculty members during full day interview
Local candidates get short
>> on-campus meeting
5 Decision
>> Interviewers recommend
hiring to Jeanne Huybrechts Huybrechts phones candidate
>> offering the job
source: pat Nolte graphic by rebecca nussbaum
Dartt to move to Seattle By Eli Haims
eli haims/chronicle
science savvy: Jeffrey Sperling ’11, left, and Chris Dartt laugh together during an AP Chemistry end of the year party. Dartt taught one AP Chemistry section and three Honors Chemistry sections this year.
“I had no plans to ever become a teacher... it wasn’t something that I had even considered,” said chemistry teacher Chris Dartt, who will be leaving at the end of the school year to move to Seattle. Dartt began his teaching career seven years ago when the biotechnology startup company that he was working for “was sort of running out of money.” The head of the company thought that Dartt would make a great teacher and suggested that he look into it. Dartt submitted his resume to the Polytechnic School in Pasadena to “keep [the head of the company] happy.” “Without me knowing it, the headmaster at the Polytechnic School sent my resume to [President Thomas C.] Hudnut and I got a call the next day for an interview here and I got a job offer the next day after that,” Dartt said. Dartt currently teaches Advanced Placement Chemistry and Honors Chemistry though he has taught regular Chemistry in the past. “It sounds a bit cheesy but [what I’ll miss the most is] hanging out with the students
because in both the classes I teach, honors and AP, there’s a pretty big relationship and interaction between the students and the teacher,” he said. “He knows so much about chemistry,” Jack Petok ’11, who had Dartt for two years, said. “He complements the prescribed curriculum with his vast knowledge of applied chemistry and chemical engineering, putting concepts that seem esoteric in practical context.” Dartt hopes to continue teaching in Seattle, where he is moving because his wife was offered a job. However, he said that there are not many private schools in Seattle, and those schools do not have very many available positions for chemistry teachers. He would also consider entering academia if he was able to focus on teaching as opposed to doing research and writing papers or reentering the science industry, he said. Three students in Dartt’s fifth period Honors Chemistry class bought Dartt a chinchilla as an end of the year gift. “Dr. Dartt’s fifth period class truly loved having him as a teacher, and we felt the need to buy him the greatest, most hilarious present ever,” Carla Sneider ’13 said.
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 IX May 25, 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.
Rachel Schwartz and Jean Park/CHRONICLE
Support unfashionable action
H
arvard-Westlake is so supportive of student endeavors. It wants us to succeed to the best of our abilities. It wants us to make a difference in our community. It is so committed to supporting us, it is willing to subsidize a charity fashion show run by teenagers.
Maybe it’ll fund an imported car expo next year, too. But don’t worry. All of the proceeds (less the cost of setting up the show, providing electricity to the exhibits and cleaning up the trash) will go to charity. No brainer, right? Not so much. Fashion for Action had a table at the clubs fair, as did tens of other clubs. But are those tens of other clubs reaping the same benefits as Fashion for Action? Maybe none of the other clubs have asked. Maybe none of the other clubs would take advantage of those benefits. But, maybe, just maybe, some of the other clubs would like to. We have nothing (NOTHING) against raising money for charity. Absolutely nothing. But when HarvardWestlake subsidizes countless overtime hours worth of set-up, countless kilowatts worth of electricity, and countless hours worth of lost opportunity (such as the volleyball practices or physical education classes that would otherwise take place in Taper), a high level of scrutiny ought to be applied. Why is Harvard-Westlake is willing to put on Fashion for Action, a student-run fashion show, at significant cost to the school yet will not shell
out enough to enable other student-run charitable organizations to raise money via ID charges at bake sales in the quad? While the offices and processes involved in setting up for Fashion for Action and in processing ID card charges are undeniably different, it is odd. Shouldn’t the school fully support all student efforts to be charitable? Fundamentally, the Genocide Awareness and Activism bake sale wants to accomplish the same thing that Fashion for Action wants to accomplish: supporting charity (or at least, their proceeds go to the same ends). While it is inevitable that selling expensive donated duds will rake in more money than homemade cookies, a high school should not support fashionable charity by providing a gymnasium while it supports epicurious charity by providing a folding table. By providing the venue, manpower, parking, security and electricity to a fashion show, Harvard-Westlake has unnecessarily lent a stamp of approval in an era when ritzy events have been frowned upon as excessive. This is a school, not a national NGO. Let’s not leap for flash when substance can be achieved elsewhere.
Seniors, use your free time
A
t this time of year, we, the members of the senior class, get bored. Our APs have ended, our schedules are empty and our brains go to mush. We come to school when we feel like it and have nothing to do but sit in the quad. So that’s exactly what we do.
We sit and sit and sit and sit until we’re sick of sitting. Then we sit some more. Instead of just sitting some more, we should do something meaningful with this time. The transition period between high school and college is a really important time in all of our lives, and the school should encourage seniors to take some time to reflect, to take a step back from their own lives and to think about what they value and what they want out of life. That reflection could come in the form of an openended senior capstone project, like those students do at Brentwood and Wildwood, for which students could do almost anything they want. It could come in the form of a sincere, thoughtful written reflection, possibly similar to the junior year personal essay. If teachers were willing, the school could even offer small, fun free-form discussion seminars. Teachers and students could come up with initial topics of discussion, but there would be no limits to how the conversations would flow. The sole goal of the seminars would be to allow teachers and students to talk, to connect and to think. We must make it clear that we do not endorse forcing an incredibly time-consuming project on any senior. We do deserve a break. This is the end of six years of hard work, and it is not only nice but important to, for once, be able to spend time with friends, catch up on sleep and let all of our stresses fade
away. That’s why these projects should be optional and open-ended. Seniors should be able to put as much or as little time into them as they choose. Some will get really into it. Others won’t even participate at all. And that’s OK. But the school does have a responsibility to encourage some healthy reflection. And even if students aren’t interested in doing something intellectual, maybe the school could promote communal activities, things that bring the senior class together. While planning should remain in the hands of students, the school should facilitate the organization of senior dodgeball tournaments, community service trips, and other fun activities. There are only about two weeks left in the HarvardWestlake experience for the current senior class, so it’s too late for us to adopt most of these ideas. But it’s not too late for us to embrace the spirit of those ideas. In the next two weeks, class of 2011, do some exploring and do some thinking. Do something new or interesting or thoughtprovoking. Go audit a class you were always interested in but never had the chance to take. Think about what matters to you. Think about what doesn’t matter to you. Maybe even write a bit. And on the last day of classes, come to the quad to celebrate the final moments of your high school career. We and the rest of the senior class will be there. You should be too.
May 25, 2011
The
Chronicle
Opinion A13
Speakers make us smarter Allison Hamburger
W
We already know that big issues exist, and though more awareness can only help, the speakers’ interest itself can be far more valuable.
hen I hear that we have a guest speaker, my first instinct, like many of my classmates, is to groan. A foreign schedule, a prolonged day and uncomfortable plastic chairs just don’t seem to add up to a pleasant experience. Yet my first instinct is odd, as it usually proves false. I enjoy the assemblies a great deal, despite the minor annoyances. These speakers are captivating, but not because of their significant accomplishments or endeavors to aid a particular cause. Though such qualities are worthy of appreciation, history and the media are full of equally accomplished figures. Our gain instead is the way our visitors speak. They are, for lack of a better word, well-spoken. Obvious? Perhaps. I am sure the school aims to bring in well-spoken individuals, since they are, in fact, speaking. But in a world where Snooki writes best-sellers, it is nice and even kind of exceptional to hear from truly intelligent, successful people who are passionate about their work, whatever it may be. Listening to speakers gives students a rare opportunity to look beyond typical learning, to see that there are innumerable ways to affect this world. We already know that big issues exist, and though more awareness can only help, the speakers’ interest itself can be far more valuable. Not surprisingly, we seldom spend valuable classroom time cultivating interests that are not set by the curriculum. In the midst of grades and assignments, it is easy to lose sight of why we learn: because knowledge is exciting. Our speakers epitomize this idea, whether they are an artist, entrepreneur or journalist. Not all of the speakers have been beyond incredible, but I cannot say that I have not gotten something out of each one. The stories can be interesting. The dramatic causes can be inspirational. But if neither applies, we at least get the chance to break from our everyday schedule and listen to someone really smart.
The Interrogation Room ANABEL PASAROW AND RACHEL SCHWARTZ/CHRONICLE
What really happens on the Honor Board?
H
Judd Liebman
ave you ever seen the movie “21?” The main character cheats in Las Vegas and gets taken down to the basement for a talk with the pit boss. Take “talk” in more of a figurative sense, as the only work his mouth does is keeping his broken teeth from falling to the ground. He has done something wrong, and the pit boss is going to get the truth and punish him, no matter what. Minus the blood and use of force, this is what I picture when I think of the Honor Board. The Honor Board, at least in my mind, happens in a dimly lit room, except of course for the token bright interrogation light, with a panel of teachers and students on one side, and the defendant on the other. And yes, I do mean defendant because the Honor Board to me is no less than a court. Except that in court, the defendant actually has a lawyer on his side to help. Intimidation is at the heart of the purpose and usefulness of the Honor Board. From what I can tell, the administration wants us to think of the board in the scariest way possible. And as if this isn’t enough, the decision to post the Honor Code all around school adds to the insanity. Have you ever read the Honor Code? It’s more vague than the Elastic Clause in the Constitution. Any time you work with a partner now, you have to think. “Am I letting my conscious be my guide?” Everywhere I go, I am slapped in the face by the intimidation of this thing. If I somehow break the Honor Code, which I will never know because of its vaguness, I am automatically guilty until proven
innocent, which is not the usual verdict. I am scared of the Honor Board and the power the Prefects have to make lifechanging decisions. To help fix this problem, the administration and the Prefect Council should work to make the Honor Board clear to students. It may be hard for those involved, but the Prefects should strive for complete transparency. The board should no longer be an intimidation tactic, and it should transform into a something that everyone on campus is comfortable with. The Prefects have some explaining to do. They have tried to tell us what goes on in that cold, dark room, but they have failed miserably. I want to know everything. And I mean everything. Can I bring my parents? How about a lawyer? How long will the meeting take? Will I have time for my homework, and if not, will I be excused from doing it? What’s the seating arrangement? I want to know whether or not the defendant is on the stand being cross-examined by the faculty and Prefects or if the process is just a series of conversations. They should either take minutes and release them, or take a mock case and present it to the entire school. Harvard-Westlake is great because of the trust and integrity upon which this institution was built. There is no need to use intimidation tactics to remind students to behave and work honestly. If the people in charge want to keep the Honor Board, that doesn’t bother me, as it seems to work in doling out punishments. However, everyone on campus needs to be confident that they know exactly what will happen should they get in trouble.
Junior year lives up to its reputation
Y
ikes, you’re a junior. That’s killer. This is the typical reaction I get when people ask me what grade I’m in. And they are right. Everyone hears about the myth of junior year. No sleep. Red Bull. Piles of history reading. SATs. ACTs. APs. Varsity sports. Going into this year, I thought it was just that: a myth. A mere exaggeration. Sure, some students would get overwhelmed, but not me. I’m capable, I don’t procrastinate and I can handle junior year. Spoiler alert (this is for you sophomores): it is not a myth. I repeat, it is not a lie. Junior year is rough. Classes are more demanding than ever before, and loading up on
Rebecca Nussbaum honors and AP classes makes for a tough workload. Top that off with standardized testing and you’ve got yourself an intense academic environment. I used to get coffee every once in a while on a whim. I finished my schoolwork on time and liked to be asleep by midnight. But this year, there were plenty of 3:30 a.m. bedtimes, and Jonny at Starbucks and I have gotten to be good friends. “Hi Becky, grande iced coffee?” he asks me rhetorically with a smile. I’ve developed the ability to nap in any place at any time. Chairs, couches and floors will all do if I’m tired and need to recharge. I, a vir-
gin napper 12 months ago, now have a sophisticated philosophy as to the duration and time of day of the ideal nap. There’s the 15 to 20 minute catnap, the standard 40 minute nap and the two-to-three hour “I have a history test tomorrow so will nap now then study for as long as I can” nap. Library-goers have probably seen me catching some much needed z’s on the couches by the magazines during free periods. With unrelenting work and pressure, junior year is like a marathon, and you’re expected to sprint all 26.2 miles of it. However, now that the finish line is within view, I’m able to see some positives of the year. Doing your English reading will
make tomorrow’s quiz easy. Practice taking derivatives and your math test won’t surprise you. But my year of certainty is over. Entering senior year, we begin the college application process, and no matter how qualified we may be, admission to no school is guaranteed. Goodbye to the “a implies b” of junior year, and hello to the uncertainty of senior year. I can’t help but feel apprehensive and hope that what I’ve done this year is enough. But, no matter — my grades are what they are. I wave goodbye to junior year, proud to have made it through, and quietly cross my fingers that my efforts were enough.
A14 Opinion
May 25, 2011
The
Chronicle
Encourage semester classes
W When I look back on my high school years in a decade or two, it will not be the math or foreign language classes that I will remember, but it will be the ones that have had an impact on me in more than an academic sense.
Eli Haims
e are presented with unique opportunities at Harvard-Westlake to take any number of semester-long classes ranging in topics from electronics to psychology to Contemporary American history. However, it seems that these opportunities are not being taken advantage of to the extent that they should be. One of the benefits of these classes is that they tend to be less workintensive than yearlong classes. In Contemporary American History for example, which I took first semester, our average homework assignment would be to read 30 or so pages a week, while this could easily be the same amount assigned nightly in a traditional history course. It is in this relatively low workload that lies the key - we can venture outside our comfort zones without fear of being overwhelmed. At the Middle School, I was very reluctantly convinced to take Intro to Journalism. Not only did I enjoy the class, but journalism has become my most important extracurricular activity. As I was signing up for classes for my junior year, my initial schedule contained two semester long electives, both in subjects that I am comfortable in, however, due to scheduling conflicts, I had to change both of these classes. One of them remained in a subject which I was very comfortable in, while the other, psychology, was something that I had ever done before. When I look back on my high school years in a decade or two, it will not be the math or foreign language classes that I will remember, but it will be the ones that have had an impact on me in more than an academic sense. Not surprisingly, these classes have all been semester long electives. We are all working in a constantly competitive environment when it comes to college admissions and may be reluctant to jump head first into an academic situation that we are totally unfamiliar with. Semester classes are the perfect oppurtunity to test the waters and they should be taken advantage of more than they currently are.
NOELLE LYONS AND JEAN PARK/CHRONICLE
Consider before you chop
F
or those of you who don’t know, the library will be under construction next year as the new Kutler Center, named after the late Brendan Kutler ’10 who excelled in the interdisciplinary studies that the center will foster, will be beside the library with Seaver. However, this will make it impossible for students to use facilities such as the Silent Study room, and as such a temporary building will be erected to use for the duration of the construction. What is both saddening and frustrating, though, is the fact that this new building will be located right outside of Rugby where, until very recently, an old and majestic tree stood. For as long as even the oldest teachers can remember, that tree stood through good and bad, scandals and awards and remained a constant place to relax and think. Countless teachers have elected to transplant their studies under the shade of that old tree, which has stood for nearly 50 years through the Harvard school years and the merger. It has provided a level of peace and order in
Get rid of AP classes
I
s there really only one way to teach college-level French? Are there really only two types of college English classes? Well, no. Then why do so many high schools pretend that the answer to those questions is, in fact, “yes”? Like many other schools, HarvardWestlake teaches in line with the curriculum of the College Board’s Advanced Placement Program. This curriculum only serves to restrict what teachers can teach in class, preventing them from teaching what they think is more pertinent material and forcing them to teach things they may find unnecessary. Should a teacher want to teach more material than is on the AP exam, very often they don’t have the time. In Harvard-Westlake’s AP Spanish Language, one out of every four
Alex Gura what sometimes can be a very stressful environment. When we as alumni come back to reminisce about our high school experiences, we will want those places and things that tied us to this campus to still be around for us to cherish. The corners that we laughed in, the classrooms that we learned in, and the special areas that we found and enjoyed are certainly different for every student, but they mean just as much as the people we met and the experiences we had. These constants are often taken for granted and not truly appreciated until they are gone, and we recognize the empty space that now is only a warm memory. Often, though, we console ourselves by saying that what has been destroyed is making way for a new, better place, like the cherished middle school campus that was completely renovated and now has become foreign to older students. However, there is a certain amount of frustration that comes when something that one holds dear is cleared away for something that will soon be forgotten.
On the contrary, I have no objection to students taking the AP exams even if they aren’t in courses geared toward the test.
Saj Sri-Kumar classes is dedicated to practicing the speaking section of the exam, where students have to learn how to hold a conversation with a recording, a skill that they will never use again. That time could instead be used for learning more about Spanish culture or learning more useful vocabulary, but unfortunately there’s no time for that. I can see the value of teaching AP courses in a public school district where the district wants to make sure that all students are taught the same material. But at an independent school, we don’t face the same constraints. We have great teachers that are likely better judges of what material students here should learn than a committee that has to balance the interests of all schools in all regions of the country. Moreover, unlike oth-
er schools, Harvard-Westlake doesn’t need AP exam scores to demonstrate to colleges that its courses are at the proper level; the school is wellknown for having rigorous courses and a class designation of “honors” or something similar would certainly suffice. I’m not saying that students would have to be prohibited from taking the AP exam. On the contrary, I have no objection to students taking the AP exams even if they aren’t in courses geared toward the test. Students might have to look over some material that wasn’t covered in class, but that’s a small price to pay for better classes with more interesting and more useful material. Eliminating AP courses would also allow more time for teaching and would reduce the workload of many
courses. As it stands, AP courses have to cover all of the material by the end of April to prepare for exams during the first two weeks of May. Afterwards, AP classes (with a few exceptions) simply end. If we eliminated the AP designation from many of the courses, teachers would have up until the end of May to teach. Courses would become more relaxed in pace as the material could be spread over a longer period of time, and students would be less stressed as a result. Of course, eliminating AP courses would not be easy to do at first. Courses would have to be redesigned and the administration would likely have to deal with strong parent criticism. But if the school has the courage to eliminate AP classes, the benefits will soon become apparent.
quadtalk
Opinion A15
Chronicle
The
May 25, 2011
If you could choose to build one thing on campus, what would it be?
“Our school should build a bigger cafeteria so that it will be less crowded during passing periods.” —Austin Sherman’12
“i think we should build a starbucks on campus. it would be really convenient.”
—Emily Wallach ’11
Dear Chronicle,
Letter to the Editor
While we sometimes complain about some obscure typo, disagree with an opinion column or balk at the use of our less than flattering school pictures (which, unfortunately, are probably reproduced at the end of this letter), in the end, you deserve a big thank you. As students, we spent most of our time these last six years worrying about our own personal lives, while you tirelessly worried about the lives of over 1,600 people. Sure, winning national awards must feel pretty good and obviously earns you recognition, but we think it’s about time that you hear it from us, your fellow classmates. So thanks Chronicle. Thanks for coming up with interesting topics for articles and even more interesting ways of presenting them. Thanks for listening to endless interviews (which may or may not make any sense) and making them fit in a coherent article. And thanks for spending countless hours during layout producing a paper that is enjoyable to read. Thanks for being there for these past years taking photos, polling the school community and informing us of what our fellow students were up to as well as campus happenings, writing our collective history as it unfolds. Trite as it sounds, you’ve recorded memories for us. We both remember the first time we were quoted in News, and the spread on bromances. The lunch table debates Opinion has sparked over community service and the honor board and Sports’ spotlight on the athletic prowess of our fellow Wolverines. This issue also has the
P.S. Sorry for stressing you out further by sending this in two days before your deadline! We know only a dream team like you could pull it off.
DON HAGOPIAN/chronicle
Jasmine McAllister ’11
DON HAGOPIAN/chronicle
Austin Lewis ’11
bynumbers Senior Free Time
140
83
—Ben Vigman ’13
49
jean park/Chronicle
makinggrades The Chronicle evaluates recent campus developments.
A D
Thanks, Austin Lewis and Jasmine McAllister
The Chronicle polled 324 students who weighed in on what the senior class should do with the rest of their senior year.
“if we could build any building on campus, I think it would be great if we could build A NEW THEATER.”
Prom goes off without a hitch due to the success of the prom pledge.
traditional Senior supplement and we can’t wait for nostalgia to ensue come Wednesday morning. In the past, senior columns have often presented advice to underclassmen, and although we are not writers for Chronicle, we would like to take this opportunity to offer some advice of our own. Readers, respect and appreciate the hard work and effort that is put by the Chronicle staff in making this publication so great. This short letter to the editor took us almost half a day to write, so imagine how hard it must be to consistently create such a remarkable paper every month. Anyways, here’s to you, Chronicle. You’ve forever etched a spot in our hearts. In belizio-regular 8.5, of course.
C F
The Community Council extended the May 2 community service deadline to May 23.
School shuts down lounge for third consecutive week for makeup AP exams.
The Japanese program was phased out because of lack of interest and now the number of languages offered has dwindled to four.
47 5
What should the school encourage seniors to do in the time after APs? Nothing at all. They need a break. Plan senior class events like dodgeball tournaments and community service trips. Participate in optional, free-form discussion seminars with other seniors and faculty members. Write a reflection piece, possibly similar to the junior year personal essay. An optional, open-ended senior capstone project for which students can do almost anything they want.
The Chronicle polled 315 students who weighed in on the school’s involvement in Fashion for Action.
Charity Fashion Show
115 69
68 32
31
Should Harvard-Westlake provide resources for Fashion for Action?
Yes, but only as much as it provides resources to other student clubs. No, it should not, because it is not the school’s place to host student-run fashion shows. Yes, it should, because it benefits charity. Yes, it should, because it is a student-run event. No, it should not, because it perpetuates a bad stereotype about the school.
Results based on an online poll e-mailed to Harvard-Westlake upper school students through http://www.surveymonkey.com.
May 25, 2011
Modeling for a Cause
exposure
A16
TV star hosts fashion show featuring student models and clothes donated by over 30 designers to benefit homeless youth shelter
By Maddy Baxter Fashion for Action was hosted Saturday May 21 by Ian Harding from ABC family’s “Pretty Little Liars.” The charity fashion show featured 23 student models and over 30 designers. All of the proceeds will benefit the Los Angeles Youth Network, a homeless youth shelter in Los Angeles. LAYN’s mission statement is to “empower abused, neglected and homeless adolescents to become self-sufficient.” After Fashion for Action Chairs Emily Wallach ’11 and Rebecca Ressler ’11 and Harding spoke, two screens projected a video about LAYN before the fashion show started. Sam Horn ’11 and Justin Chernick ’11 were DJs for the event. When the runway show was over, Kathryn Gallagher ’11 and her band performed four songs: Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” Janis Joplin’s “Piece of my Heart” and her original songs “Damaged” and “You and Your Ego” while the boutique sale was being set up. The boutique and auction sold clothes from the participating designers who donated clothes for the event. Refreshments were also served. Last year, the fashion show was not held. However, Wallach and Ressler have remained involved in Fashion for Action for the last three years, so this year, Wallach and Ressler, assisted by Griffy Simon ’11 and Jacob Swanson ’11, decided to bring the fourth Fashion for Action back to Taper. “We thought it’s our senior year, why not?” Wallach said. Former runway model Carly Church, wife of Director of Student Affairs Jordan Church, helped train the models in posing and walking the runway prior to the show. She brought two friends and models, KayCee Stroh and Brenden Hulbert, to help the students practice. “It all happened really fast and the model trainers were so good,” model Sarah Seo ’12 said. “We had two dress rehearsals right before the show so it just felt like another runthrough except there were a lot more people.” “I think it was amazing and I am proud to be part of such a successful event,” Wallach said. The committee will not know how much money the event raised until later in the week.
photos by cami de ry
1
2
3
4
CAMERA READY: Casey Jarvis ’11 strikes a pose (1), Drew Tuttle ’11 hands a flower to Sarah Seo ’12 (2), Alex Goodwin ’12 and Marka Maberry-Gaulke ’12 on the runway together (3), Gil Young ’13 and Sophia Penske ’13 strike a similar pose (4), Austin Sherman ’12 takes off his jacket as Tess Hatch ’11 looks on (5), Kathryn Gallagher ’11 performs both original music and songs by Katy Perry and Janis Joplin (6), first model of the night Anna Wittenberg ’13 walks the runway (7).
7
6
5
Eatures F the
Chronicle Volume XX Issue IX May 25, 2011
In their own
bubbles
Through independent study projects, eight seniors delved into topics not offered in the curriculum, ranging from the emperors of Rome to Elton John. More coverage on B2-3.
Designing for the environment By Mariel Brunman, Jamie Chang and Gabrielle Franchina
W
hen Jackson Foster ’11 spent a semester at the High Mountain Institute in Colorado during his junior year, he was exposed to and inspired by the sustainable and environmental life style. Now a senior, Foster took on an independent study to experiment with his environmental and artistic interest. “I designed and hand-drafted plans for a family style house that runs 100 percent on alternative energy,” he said. “Everything is sustainable: from where it gets its water, to having waterless toilets, and woodfire heating instead of air conditioning, and it is all solar energy. There is a well in the back, so it doesn’t get its water from the Department of Water and Power. It wouldn’t be connected to any company underground to get its energy.” Foster conducted his independent study with his mentor, Alex Kolmanovsky, the set designer at both the middle and upper school campuses. Foster met Kolmanovsky during his sophomore year after getting involved in set design in school productions.
Blueprints: Jackson Foster ’11 sketches designs for a sustainable house that would use alternative energy as part of his architecture independent study with set designer Alex Kolmanovsky. Allison hamburger/chronicle
Foster had previously drawn three-dimensional designs, and that eventually led to his interest in physically building his ideas. Before Foster could start executing designs for the self sustainable house, he had to do extensive research. Although Foster started the process expecting very art and design based assignments, he had to research math and science extensively to expand his understanding of architecture. “I enjoyed doing the math and science re-
search too, but it wasn’t what I expected originally,” he said. After all of the research, Foster started to hand draft the plans for the house. “I like the artistic part, but it’s meticulous and takes a lot of time too,” he said. Although Foster has no interest in building sustainable housing as a career, he found the experience rewarding. “If I ever found myself settling down in a house, I would like to live in a house with sustainable or alternative energies. I couldn’t see myself anywhere else,” he said.
Creating a ‘Portrait of Women’ By Evan Brown
o x
L
d ay Gr
on
st in Fe
/v in e
Los Angeles Women: Laura Silverman ’11 combined her knowedge of journalism and interest in gender studies as she created a magazine about women for her independent study.
aura Silverman ’11 designed and wrote a magazine called “Portrait of Women of Los Angeles 2010” with “approximately 20 profiles on different women who have worked or lived in Los Angeles and come from very different backgrounds and have different lifestyles,” she said. Silverman not only took a journalism class last summer at the University of Southern California, but is also a member of the yearbook staff—two things that inspired her independent study. “I learned so much this past summer at USC. I learned how to write a proper profile, how to develop appropriate questions for the interviewee and how to interact with people as well as conduct a thorough interview. I also learned how to cope with being rejected by people who hate being interviewed,” she said. After visiting the Middle East the summer after 10th grade, Silverman chose to focus on women because she found that they are treated differently there, and “it inspired me to study how women in the U.S. live and exercise their rights.” Silverman knew she wanted to apply for a senior independent study because “there wasn’t a class that focused only on women,
where I could go out into the world and do my own research,” she said. To contact the women she hoped to interview, Silverman had to email representatives or press advisers for some women involved in government. Fortunately, some interviewees had a personal connection to Silverman, or were suggested by other women she had interviewed. Another important component to this project was finding a mentor. Silverman chose Martha Wheelock because she was her “English honors teacher last year, and she has always been really fun to work with. She is an inspiring woman, and she teaches gender studies,” she said. Silverman produced “a copy for [all 18] interviewee and nine for the SISP committee, one for Wheelock, and one for the library, and one for me,” she said. In her magazine, Silverman placed a headshot and several pictures of what each woman does on a page. Despite all of her hard work, Silverman feels that her decision to apply for a senior independent study was a sound one. “This project has helped me interact with all different types of people. That will help me in any situation in life, and this project has also helped me become a better writer. I have learned how to manage my time, and also how important it is to be independent and achieve your goals.”
Cracking the code By Megan Kawasaki
source code: Charlie Stigler ’11 researched the theories behind computer science with his mentor, math and computer science teacher Jacob Hazard during the first semester.
e in st Ju
c e/ od go
h
e l ic n o r
When Charlie Stigler ’11 proposed his independent study topic, he intended to further his knowledge of computer science, but his project goes beyond that. Stigler studied compiler design, a topic the small tech-savvy population at school knows little about. “It’s like a translator program, which allows computer programmers to write in simple language and have that translated into complex results in the computer,” Stigler said. A compiler turns the code that programmers write into a “machine code,” which the computer can easily process. “For example, a compiler turned the source code that programmers at Microsoft wrote into the actual Internet Explorer application found on any Windows computer,” Stigler said. With this project, Stigler aims to become more knowledgeable about the philosophy behind compiler design and to apply that philosophy to create his own compiler for a fake programming language. Stigler’s interest in computer science first arose at the end of his freshman year. “I had to deal with system security on my
personal computer and started reading about the computer security and cryptography subfields, which eventually broadened into an interest in the wider computer science field as well as programming,” Stigler said. Since then, he has written software and has done more research on the theories behind computer science. Stigler skipped a year of the usual computer science curriculum, taking the final course offered at school in his junior year. The work of his independent study equates to what is done in a standard-level undergraduate compiler class at a university such as Stanford University or Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “My early edge in computer science would be useless if I idled and took a year without covering any real material,” he said. “I chose compiler design because it’s a field with a lot of really interesting problem solving,” he said. Selecting compiler design was also a “pragmatic” decision for him. He looked into a topic that was upper level, not that reliant on math and similar to what would be presented in a standard university computer science course. Between the two that fit the criteria, compiler design and computer vision, “compiler design seemed like the exciting choice” and one of the more unique aspects of computer science, he said. “It’s considered by many to be a dying and useless art, which seems to be my thing,” he said.
Investigating ethics on campus
e
“As students get older, it seems they become less and less supportive of the Honor Board,” Austin Block ’11, who did a Senior Independent Study on the condition of ethics at Harvard-Westlake, said. “Eighty one percent of sophomores, approximately, were in support of how the Honor Board does its job, whereas only 59 percent of seniors were.” After taking humanities teacher Martha Wheelock’s ethics class as a junior, Block decided that he wanted to continue his study of ethics but was unsure of what exactly he wanted to look into. One idea that he had was to research current issues with moral implications, such as abortion and the death penalty, and the other was to look at ethics at Harvard-Westlake, which he eventually chose. While Block said that he thought that the project on current issues would have been interesting, he said “there was no concept of expanding [his] personal horizons.” To do the research required for the paper, which he is required to produce for the class, Block interviewed numerous teachers and a few students, and he also asked English teachers to give their students a
survey. “I really think the most valuable components of the paper are the interviews,” he said. “There were a lot of really brilliant people who care and have some great insights into what we can do the improve the ethical climate in our community, what is it now, and where we could most use improvement.” Block’s paper consisted of four sections. One defines ethics and the ideal Harvard-Westlake community, the second describes the Honor Board, the Honor Code and academic dishonesty, the third discusses community service and social responsibility and the fourth gives an idea of a school community. moraL dilemma: With the help of humani“I’ve realized that the main service that my ties teacher Martha Wheelock, Austin Block ’11 paper can provide is not revolutionary ideas of conducted interviews to gauge the view of ethics my own: A because I don’t have any, B because I ic n in the Harvard-Westlake community. o r don’t think revolutionary ideas are a lot of time the h c / r best ones,” he said. “I think that the main service that ge ur b this paper provides is that it brings together the ideas m Ha son and the views and the insights of a lot of really bright A l li people who really care.”
l
By Eli Haims
Taking a closer look at the American Civil War By Nika Madyoon
He proceeded to examine the outcomes produced by these campaigns in terms of the 1864 reelection campaign of the Union. During the first semester, Ruddy spent his time researching and writing the introduction of his research paper. A decision to change the subject of his paper slightly during second semester set him
back a little, as he was forced to spend more time researching when he had originally planned to be While the American Civil War represents only writing. With the help of history teacher Kenneth a small fragment of all of the history that students Neisser, who advised Ruddy over the course of his are required to learn in their junior year, for Sam independent study, Ruddy produced a paper that Ruddy ’11, it was much more. Ruddy spent about was 48 pages long. seven hours per week this school year exploring the Ruddy took more than just an increased knowlCivil War, which usually takes no more than a few edge of the Civil War away from his experience. class periods for United States History students to “I was really surprised to find out how subjective cover. historiography can be,” Ruddy said. “There is probRuddy, whose favorite subject has always been ably even less of a distinctive answer in an analytical history, had wanted to do an independent study in essay concerning history than there is in an English that discipline ever since he found out about the Seessay.” nior Independent Study program. It was not until He explained that the point he deemed the he learned about the Civil War in his 11th grade “turning point” of the war was actually a little bit history class that he knew exactly what he over a year after the battles of Vicksburg and would do his study about. Gettysburg, which most textbooks cite as this “The book’s explanation about why the “turning point.” North won the war seemed too simple to “It’s so easy to interpret facts in comme,” he said. pletely different ways and there are always Ruddy chose to investigate “how the new facts to be found that can completely failure of Confederate nationalism at change your view of the war,” he said. the grassroots level” affected the war’s While the experience was “grueling at outcome and focused specifically on times,” Ruddy said that overall it was “fun, the turning point of the war. He coninteresting and extremely rewarding.” centrated on what he decided were the “I would recommend taking an indethree most critical campaigns during the pendent study to anybody who is seriA NATION DIVIDED: While studying the Civil War in-depth war—the Atlanta Campaign, the Shenanously interested in pretty much anything,” this year, Sam Ruddy ’11, with history teacher Kenneth Neisser, doah Valley Campaign and the Battle of Ruddy said. “There’s no better way to get discovered how subjective the retelling of history can be. Mobile Bay, all of which “occurred at the a chance to explore what you’re passionate low point of Union morale,” Ruddy said. about in school.” allison hamburger/chronicle
May 25, 2011
Features B3
The
Chronicle
Musician deconstructs styles of songwriters By Rebecca Nussbaum “Writing songs was the easiest part of any of it,” Kathryn Gallagher ’11 said. During the first semester, Gallagher studied the music of Bob Dylan, Elton John, Carole King and Joni Mitchell with the help of performing arts teacher Shawn Costantino in her music production and songwriting independent study. Gallagher began her study of each artist by writing an essay on his or her songwriting style. She then focused on one song and transcribed it using a music composition software called Sibelius. “I went through six or seven drafts of every song,” Gallagher said. “Once you write it out you have to check it over, and it’s like, ‘ah, I messed up one note or one measure,’ so you’ve got to do it all over again,” she said. Gallagher found transcribing to be extremely challenging because she was just learning to read and write music, she said. “It was tough in the beginning,” she said. “I was still doing ‘every good boy deserves fudge.’” As a self-taught musician, Gallagher said the course made her a better technical musician. “Mr. C really stressed rhythm on me,” she said. In addition to transcribing one of each artist’s songs, Gallagher composed an original piece in the style of the artist. “For Elton John, I did kind of a piano heavy, power pop ballad, and he used a lot of names in songs so I did that,” she said. “I noticed the pat-
terns in their songwriting and adopted them.” Studying diverse types of artists helped to broaden Gallagher’s writing style, Costantino said. By the end of the semester, Gallagher developed a portfolio with four original and four transcribed songs, Costantino said. “Usually when I write a song, I record it into my phone and play it to my band or to my mom, but with this, now I literally have sheet music. I have more tools to communicate with other musicians,” she said. “I have a binder that says ‘music and lyrics written by Kathryn Gallagher,’ which is rad.” Gallagher thinks that the independent study made her a smarter musician, which she hopes will help her as a popular music major at the Thorton School of Music at the University of Southern California and then later as a professional musician. “I get that the chances [of succeeding in the music industry] are slim at times, but this is something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said.
note by note: As part of her research, Kathryn Gallagher ’11 composed her own songs in the style of musicians such as Elton John, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, guided by performing arts teacher Shawn Costantino.
rebec
ca
e cl ni ro h c / um sba nus
Uncovering propaganda from the past By Arielle Maxner
politics of art: Erin Landau ’11 researched how Roman emperors used art to influence public opinion with the help of Dr. John Johnson. ie Mar
ru lB
o r h /c an nm
e
May 25, 2011
l
The
Chronicle
ic n
While many look upon the years of the Roman Empire just in reference to its military might, Erin Landau ’11 worked with history teacher John Johnson to research a different aspect of the Roman Empire: the political uses of Roman art and architecture. “I decided to study this because I love the classics,” Landau said. “My year studying with Dr. Johnson was one of my favorites at Harvard-Westlake.” Landau studied how art and architecture under three Roman emperors (Trajan, Hadrian and Augustus) was utilized as propaganda. Some of the pieces she looked into were Trajan’s forum and Trajan’s column. “The column is especially significant because it has friezes all along its sides which depict Trajan’s
War,” Landau said. Given that most Romans were illiterate, Trajan used the column to describe the nature of his wars to the Roman people, giving them a biased sense of the war, Landau said. In the case of Augustus, the emperor after the “infamous Caesar,” Landau said, public works projects were essential in showing the people the good he was doing for Rome, along with trying to convince them that he was not a dictator like his predecessor. “[Augustus’] most important piece was the Prima Porta,” Landau said. “The breast plate of this statue essentially deifies Augustus and solidifies his dynasty. It was used to convince the public of his status as emperor.” The project culminated with Landau writing three separate fifty-page papers, each one addressing a different emperor.
Senior explores religion in the works of J.D. Salinger By Lara Sokoloff “I love writing English essays,” Mary Rose Fissinger ’11 said, and that love is what inspired her to do an independent study. Fissinger has worked with English teacher Jeremy Michaelson to produce an extensive paper analyzing the theme of religion in J.D. Salinger’s “Franny and Zooey.” Fissinger was inspired to do an independent study after writing her final essay on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” in her 11th grade English III Honors class. “I spent a ton of time on it and made it perfect,” she said. “I just worked really hard on it and it was really long, and I remember thinking that I had even more to say.” “I thought if I could pick a book I really love, spend as much time as I wanted on it and write a really long paper that just said everything I wanted to say, that would be amazing,” Fissinger said. Fissinger approached Michaelson, her English teacher at the time, early in the second semester of her junior year about doing an independent study. Fissinger knew she wanted to concentrate on American authors in the 20th century but was not entirely certain what her specific focus would be, she said. She and Michaelson compiled a reading list of possible novels she could write on, and over the course of the summer and the first semester of her senior year she read a series of American novels including Fitzgerald’s “The Last Tycoon” and William Faulkner’s “Absolam Absolam.” She decided on “Franny and Zooey” while writing one of her college essays, she said. “One school asked me to write about my favorite book,” she said. “I just started writing about Franny
and Zooey, and I just realized I had to do my indepen- ten pages a week and turn her work into Michaelson dent study on Salinger.” for editing. The majority of the work was individual, Fissinger “It was hard…you have to do a lot,” she said. “But and Michaelson said. Towards the beginning, Mi- it got to the point where it was really fun, where I chaelson provided more direction, assigning readings didn’t want to stop working on it.” and encouraging Fissinger to keep a journal of notes Holding the end product and feeling the weight on the novels she read. They met weekly, discussing of her 36-page paper is what Fissinger enjoyed most Fissinger’s thoughts and possible direction for her about the project, she said. study. “It felt great,” she said. “I’m so happy with it. I “I might ask some pointed questions in light of kept making random English teachers hold it so they some of the ideas she has just to make her think could see how heavy it was.” about things she hasn’t considered,” Michaelson said. “I try to be helpful, but it’s an independent study, so the onus is on the student. You try to guide, but with a light hand.” Fissinger said she chose to focus on religion because it was what had struck her most when she first read the novel in sixth grade. “It just made me re-evaluate my faith when I was this sixth grader,” she said. Fissinger focused on Salinger’s message that “you don’t necessarily have to find religion in traditional means,” she said. “The wisdom and comfort with yourself and motivation to be good that religion usually provides doesn’t have to come from the Bible … you don’t have to look up to someone like Je“franny and zooey”: Mary Rose Fissinger ’11 explored the role sus or Buddha, but you can of religion in J.D. Salinger’s novel “Franny and Zooey” with the guidance find that in the people around of English teacher Jeremy Michaelson for her independent study. you in very tangible ways.” Once she began to write, allison hamburger/chronicle Fissinger would write five to mariel brunman/chronicle
B2 Features
B4 Features
May 25, 2011 Celiac disease is an inherited autoimmune disease that severely limits food choices for those affected by preventing them from consuming gluten. The
Chronicle
living
gluten-free
By Justine Goode
foods processed from wheat and related species, school can be difficult, as there are very few including barley and rye. It gives elasticity to gluten-free foods available. McClain brings food Looking at a slice of bread, the familiar starchy dough, helping it to rise and to keep its shape, from home to eat during the day, though she rectangle appears innocent enough. Most peo- and often giving the final product a chewy tex- says the cafeteria is aware of her allergy and ple don’t even think before biting into a peanut ture. does its best to accommodate it. butter and jelly sandwich or buttering a piece of If a person with “ T h e toast. This was the case for chemistry teacher Celiac disease were kitchen staff Krista McClain until two and half years ago, to eat gluten, they is great and when she had her gall bladder removed. Soon would eventually knows of my after the operation she found it had triggered destroy and flatten allergy, so I know exactly what Celiac disease, an inherited autoimmune disease the microvilli that they always a delicious cupcake which produces a gluten allergy. Now, whenever line the small inteshelp find me McClain wants to consume a sandwich, pasta, tine, affecting their things to eat made of pure flour cupcakes, or any other food containing wheat, ability to absorb if it is availtastes like, and there barley, rye or malt, she must find gluten-free nutrients propable,” said are days I really miss substitutes or else risk a severe allergic reac- erly. Reactions can McClain. tion. range from anaphy“It’s diffieating it.” “When I eat gluten, a few hours later I lactic shock (which cult because —Krista McClain am very sick to my stomach, there is severe ab- McClain’s mother there isn’t dominal pain and distention, and I often have experienced), difmuch I can science teacher nathanson’s/chronicle nausea and vomiting,” McClain said. “Depend- ficulty breathing, eat,” said ing on how much I have eaten, I can barely move nausea and stomTrujillo. “I for the rest of that day.” ach pain. The inability to receive nutrients can stick to eating a lot of rice and meat.” “I have a little immediate reaction, but over be especially dangerous for growing children. It At home, McClain stocks her cabinets with time I start to get really sick,” Gabby Trujillo ’12 is common for Celiac disease to go undiagnosed foods safe for her consumption, purchasing said. “I started eating things this past summer for long periods of time, or in some cases for- gluten-free products at stores such as Whole that I shouldn’t have and spent a lot of time ever. Foods, Trader Joe’s and Henry’s. She eats lots of making trips to the hospital and being out of “It’s a hard diagnosis to make, because some- rice, corn and potatoes, as well as substitutes for school this first semester.” times the tests that are done are not accurate,” products typically containing gluten (like pasta One out of every 10,000 live births is diag- Zaritsky said. “To make the diagnosis, doctors made of brown rice instead of flour dough). Eatnosed with Celiac disease, Dr. Karen Zaritsky, a often have to take a biopsy of the stomach. It ing out is trickier, she said. Los Angeles pediatrician said. There is no treat- can have non-specific symptoms so some people “Most times I tell the waiter about my alment for the chronic disorder besides lifelong live with Celiac disease and don’t even know lergy who then informs the chef,” McClain said. adherence to they have it.” “Most restaurants have the chef speak to me a strict gluTrujillo was unaware of about what I can eat off their menu or they speten-free diet. her gluten allergy until af- cifically prepare a dish.” If McClain ter her freshman year. Having gone through most of her life without it’s difficult accidentally “After ninth grade over an allergy, McClain still views her aversion to because there consumes the summer, I was getting gluten as an inconvenience. isn’t much i can gluten, she really tired and dizzy, and “On a daily basis I have to look at ingredients, tries to take getting really bad stomach think about what to eat that is not exactly what eat. digestive enaches and headaches,” she I ate the day before, be aware of new dishes that zymes and said. “Finally in October I am trying, and try to create tasty new dishes —Gabby Trujillo ’12 eat lots of rice I saw a doctor who told and desserts for me to enjoy,” she said. and potatoes me I was allergic to gluThough finding ingredients and recipes has nathanson ’s/chronicle to break up ten, dairy, citrus and nuts, become easier over time, there are some things the gluten, among other little things.” that substitutes can never truly replace. though there is nothing to do for the pain. Since their diagnoses, McClain and Trujillo “I know exactly what a delicious cupcake “I just wait it out,” she said. have gradually learned how to deal with their made of pure flour tastes like, and there are Gluten is a protein composite that appears in allergies both at home and at school. Eating at days I really miss eating it,” McClain said.
“
“
”
Gluten-free products only beneficial for those with Celiac disease By Rachel Schwartz
and
Michael Rothberg
Although “gluten-free” seems to be a new trend for health-food fanatics, with shelves of stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods stocked with products labeled to indicate they are gluten-free, the restrictive diet seems to have no benefit for those who do not suffer from celiac disease, experts said. Only a small percentage of the population is allergic to gluten and in some cases the sickness is so mild that it has little to no effect on the way patients must eat. “The body’s immune system attacks the small intestine when gluten is eaten. The immune system is supposed to just fight off viruses and
bacteria, but sometime it turns on the person’s own body,” Los Angeles Family Practitioner Dr. Gene Oppenheim said. The disease is fairly uncommon, and it usually takes between six and seven years before an accurate diagnosis is reached since the symptoms can vary so greatly in category and severity. If one has an intense case of Celiac disease, they must keep to a very limited diet, since gluten is ubiquitous, and avoiding consumption is the only cure. “Gluten is a type of protein found in wheat, rye, and other grains. This includes common foods such as pizza, bread, pasta, cookies, cold cuts, breaded foods, eggs, cereals and some yogurts,” Oppenheim said.
ACADEMIC PREP SERVICES FINALS
ARE
C O M I N G UP.
THIS
YOUR CHANCE YEAR TIAL
TO
MAXIMIZE
AND
IMPROVE
YOUR YOUR
IS
LAST OF
THE
POTEN-
GRADES.
CALL OR EMAIL NOW!
CHUCK KOTON
(310) 441-2230 Chuckkoton2010@yahoo.com ACADEMIC PREP SERVICES 2330 WESTWOOD BLVD. (207) LA, CA 90064
“In the internet age, web sites develop and like-minded or like suffering individuals share stories, ‘research,’ and treatments,” Oppenheim said. According to nutritionist Vicki Nussbaum (Rebecca ’12, Susan ’10), a gluten-free diet can help treat the symptoms of ADD or ADHD, while some people don’t respond well to glutenfree products. “A disproportionate number of foods that have gluten in them are nutritionally empty and even unhealthy,” said Nussbaum. “Eliminating them from your diet can induce weight loss. However, if you substitute them for equally unhealthy gluten-free products, it does no good nutritionally.”
May 25, 2011
The
Chronicle
Features B5
Students use alternatives to smoking such as e-cigarettes, mistakenly thinking that they are less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Smoking Alternatives: just as bad or even worse
1
Smokeless Tobacco: also known as chewing tobacco, oral tobacco, spit or spitting tobacco, dip, chew and snuff
>>
causes esophageal cancer, oral cancer and pancreatic cancer in addition to heart disease, gum disease and oral lesions other than cancer, such as leukoplakia
>>
2
Hookah: smokers absorb higher concentrations of toxins in comparison to cigarette smoking
>>
smoke contains nicotine, carbon monoxide and carcinogens and may contain more amounts of tar and heavy metals than cigarette smoke
>>
3
Electronic Cigarettes:
>>
provide inhaled doses of nicotine by way of a vaporized solution
>>
contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals
>>
the Food and Drug Administration unsuccessfully tried to ban e-cigarettes Source: www.webmd.com Graphic by olivia kwitny
By Olivia Kwitny As Harry* ’13 was sitting in a Mel’s Diner booth around midnight, ordering a cheeseburger and vanilla shake, he reached down into his pocket to grab his electronic cigarette to show his friend. “I jokingly started the e-cig in the restaurant and took a big hit. It wasn’t like it was a real cigarette, right?” Harry said. An electronic cigarette is a battery-powered device that provides inhaled doses of nicotine by way of a vaporized solution. Although some think they are less harmful than traditional cigarettes, the Food and Drug Administration’s preliminary findings in 2009 showed that ecigs contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals. “These devices dispense a vapor that contains nicotine, which is the addictive chemical in tobacco smoke,” pulmonologist Dr. Ron Greeno (Tyler Greeno ’12), Chief Medical Officer of Cogent Healthcare, said. “They are not approved by the Federal Drug Administration for safe use to dispense nicotine (while nicotine gum and lozenges have been). At least one study showed the vapor to contain toxic and carcinogenic chemicals leading the FDA to issue a warning against their use until they can be studied further.” “The e-cig is fun because you can smoke it anywhere legally, even indoors,” Harry said. “But I don’t do them that much because I’m starting to learn that they are bad for you.” “Level of safety or risk has not been determined yet but is being studied,” Greeno said. According to WebMD Health News, cigarette smoking causes one in five deaths in the United States each year. People who have tried, and failed, to quit smoking by using conventional approaches, such as the nicotine patch or counseling, or non-conventional approaches, such as acupuncture, are now beginning to look past the mainstream methods in the direction of alternatives. However, these alternatives, which include e-cigarettes, can be just as bad as the cigarettes themselves, the National Cancer Institute claims. With more than 50 million americans smoking, seven million of those people have turned to smokeless tobacco, according to WebMD Health News. Smokeless tobacco, otherwise known as chewing tobacco, is a tobacco that is chewed or sucked rather than smoked. Nicotine in the tobacco is absorbed through the lining of the mouth. However, smokeless tobacco is no safe alternative. There are at least 28 chemicals that cause cancer that have been found in smokeless tobacco, according to the National Cancer Institute. Of these 28 chemicals, the most harmful ones are tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which are formed during the growing, curing, fermenting and aging of tobacco. Smoking tobacco can cause oral cancer, esophageal cancer and pancreatic cancer in addition to heart disease, gum disease and oral lesions other than cancer, such as leukoplakia. According to the National Cancer Institute, users of smokeless tobacco can become addicted. In fact, the nicotine stays in the blood stream longer than it does for cigarettes. A panel of experts convened by the Na-
tional Institutes of Health stated that the “range of risks, including nicotine addiction, from smokeless tobacco products may vary extensively because of differing levels of nicotine, carcinogens and other toxins in different products.” Another alternative people turn to is water pipe smoking, otherwise known as hookah. With a variety of flavors, such as apple, mint, cherry, chocolate and coconut, it is not a surprise that usage has been on the rise. However, in an attempt to escape the health hazards of nicotine, people are wrongly assuming that smoking hookah is a safer way to go, WebMD Health News indicates. “Hookah is a social thing. It’s fun to get a group of friends together and meet at the Gypsy Cafe in Westwood. My favorite flavor is a mix of blue mist and white peach. Part of the appeal is trying new flavors,” Susie* ’11 said. Water pipe smoke contains nicotine, carbon monoxide and carcinogens, and may contain more amounts of tar and heavy metals than cigarette smoke. Hookah smoking has been linked to lung cancer, heart disease and pregnancy-related complications. “Smoking tobacco with a hookah is no safer than smoking cigarettes and in fact has some additional risks. The water in the hookah does not filter out any of the toxins and carcinogens (cancer causing chemicals) in the tobacco. In fact it has been shown that hookah smoke has higher levels of certain harmful chemicals like carbon monoxide than cigarettes. In addition if hookah pipes are shared there is the added risk of infection,” Greeno said. “I like hookah [because] it’s social and I go out with friends to do that. And there are so many flavors,” Harry said. Due to the mode of smoking, puffing, and the length of smoking sessions, hookah smokers absorb higher concentrations of toxins than cigarette smokers do, the Center for Disease Control states. “It causes lung cancer and emphysema. [Hookah] is also a leading cause of heart disease and stroke,” Greeno said. The charcoal used to heat the tobacco produces high levels of carbon monoxide, metals and cancer-causing chemicals. Even after it has passed through water, the smoke produced by a hookah contains high levels of toxic compounds, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals. In addition, irritation from the tobacco juices can increase one’s risk of oral cancer, the CDC states. As a safer alternative, Greeno states that “the combination of behavioral therapy aided by a ‘quit smoking product’ increases the chances of quitting smoking from about five percent with no product to 30 percent with a product. Safe and effective alternatives include nicotine patches, nicotine lozenges, nicotine gum and nicotine inhalers. Some pulmonologists also use certain antidepressants or other medications but those who need a prescription from a physician need to be under a doctor’s care with the treatment tailored to the patient.” * names have been changed
Graphic by Arielle Maxner
B6 Features
The
Chro
histor trag papericbal lan edych
er pt
nr
ivet
n
ra t
a
is tle bel Prizella a s y l na tiperspective per sat i o re e m e t p n h o l o a i t t g t c i f on n o is
Bo
ry k o o o l o g h y t b e-ubaszaonnKindle phislohortprsotori
sum literatu boome r rr ea
e
gua a a c k h y p a ge r g n o o No v bi
wscriutsisnigoninspuirtahtion i o a g r o d n i n t c i i f s novelmyste d historic al
lAm library publishsophby se c er iograp k try memoir
poe
hy
Parents sign up t By Allison Hamburger For the past 10 years, about 50 parents have had an annual tradition of joining President Thomas C. Hudnut to discuss literature. They each read a book that Hudnut has selected and then meet to socialize and discuss the book. And it is all for a good cause. The book club began because of Hudnut’s remarks on his summer reading at the first Parent Association meeting of the year. “People professed that to be interesting, and someone suggested that I should start a book club in the spring, so we started putting that into the auction that was part of the Annual Event,” Hudnut said. The book club is now listed in the Party Book instead, which fundraises for financial aid. The annual book meeting has been hosted at the Sokoloff family’s home (Teddy ’15, Lara ’12, Emma ’09, Zack ’07) every year. This year’s meeting, on May 12, centered around “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand, which was very popular among the parents, which is not always the case, Hudnut said. Previous selections include “A Matter
1 3
2 4
5
6
7
8 10
11 12
“Did she get hit by the car yet?” Melissa Flores ’12 asked as she walked into class. Her first period English class had just started reading “The Great Gatsby,” but as usual, Flores was already ahead of the reading assignment. “My whole class turned and was like ‘What? Who got hit by a car?’ and I realized our class hadn’t read that night’s assignment yet,” Flores said. For Flores, she finds it easier to finish a whole week’s worth of reading assignments during the weekend before or to just finish the book whenever she has time. “I like to read my English books over the weekend because I need the time I would spend reading the books during the week to do my other homework,” she said. “I also get really absorbed into the books, so usually books like “The Great Gatsby” I just can’t put down.” Other than occasionally giving away an event that happens later on in the book, Flores
13
7
14
"A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again" David Foster Wallace A collection of non-fiction writing covering topics from the excess of cruises to television’s impact on literature.
Summer Reading English teachers Jeremy Michaelson and Lisa Rado recommend reads for students who have free time.
graphic by arielle maxner
4 6
"A Visit from the Goon Squad” Jennifer Egan Follows three characters in the music industry in New York at different points in their lives.
"Catch-22" Joseph Heller
Depicts the nonsensical nature of war through the observations of Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces bombardier.
G bo bu bo ev st w th
qu pe sa cl 10
er I gr cu to
w
a T ai
B ty
Students find time By Claire Hong
9
of W
8 9
only vanc “S week read crea Flor Jo book Flor mer star duri “I for t Ha s O Engl read “I scho ing t discu M othe
10 11
"The Long Ships" Frans G. Bengtsson A boy is abducted by Vikings and forced to row on a dragon-prowed ship.
"The Yiddish Policemen’s Union" Michael Chabon An alternative history detective story set in a Jewish refugee settlement in Alaska.
12 14
Features B7
onicle
ound by ies Books
Students and faculty use free time to read or participate in book clubs
to discuss books with Hudnut
f Justice” by Charles Todd and “The Spies of Warsaw” by Alan Furst. Co-chair of Party Book Beth Kleid (Emma Graham ’15, Tyler Graham ’15) attributes the ook club’s yearly success to the book choice, ut also to Hudnut’s reputation of leading the ook club well. Party Book initially posted the vent without Hudnut’s book selection, which till drew many people, she said. Kleid works with Hudnut and Sheryl Sokoloff to organize he event. “He’s really great because he asks insightful uestions, elicits great comments and involves eople in the discussion,” Kleid said. Hudnut aid he did not have much experience with book lubs prior to the first Harvard-Westlake one 0 years ago. “I’ve never been an English teacher, nevr taken an English course in college. In fact, don’t know anything about leading a book roup,” Hudnut said. “But I’m able to lead a disussion about the book and place it in its hisorical or philosophical context.” Sokoloff said that there are many parents who return to the club year after year. “I think they like to come and see Tom in very personal, smaller setting,” Sokoloff said. The Party Book was created two years ago and ims to build community, Kleid said. “I think it’s one of most successful [Party Book events] because it brings a lot of different ypes of parents together … for an intellectual
reason, and you also get to learn about people in a different way,” Kleid said. Hudnut hopes that parents enjoy the evening and the discussion. “It’s a chance for all of us to get to know each other a little better in an informal setting, with a common topic for discussion, in a nice setting provided by some very thoughtful people,” Hudnut said.
Books read in Hudnut’s book club
3
"The Spies of Warsaw" Alan Furst
13
"Unbroken" Lauren Hillenbrand
A French military attache to Poland protects a German spy who has relations with a woman in Warsaw.
A biography of a World War II hero and former Olympic track star who was a prisoner of war.
"A Matter of Justice" Charles Todd Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard investigates the murder of a universally hated victim.
e in busy schedules to read
y sees one other drawback to reading in adce, which are the weekly reading quizzes. Sometimes the details get muddled as the k progresses, and the time between when I d the book and a reading quiz happens inases. The smaller events become more vague,” res said. osh Ha ’12 also believes reading the English ks in advance is beneficial, though unlike res, he first reads all of them over the sumr so he feels prepared when the school year rts. He first began reviewing school material ing the summer of his sophomore year. I read the English books so I can get a feel them before I have to analyze them in class,” said. Once school starts, however, Ha reads each lish book again, keeping up with the nightly ding assignments. I read them more analytically during the ool year,” Ha said. “I try to think of overarchthemes and apply what we’ve learned in class ussions to the books when I read at home.” Many students try to find the time to read er books outside the school curriculum.
"Cloud Atlas" David Mitchell Contains six stories, starting in the ninteeth centry South Pacific to a post-apocalpytic future.
"Invisible Man” Ralph Ellison An unnamed African American narrator considers himself socially invisible.
"Continental Drift" Russell Banks Explores the relationship between globalization and the phenomena of continental drift.
"Swamplandia!" Karen Russell Follows the decline of a family in a self-made fantasy off the coast of Florida.
Flores loves to read in order to expand her knowledge and interest in writing although she has had fewer opportunities to read as her schedule continually becomes busier each year. “[Reading] exposes me to different ways of thinking and different genres and styles, and I can take those styles and apply them to my own writing,” she said. “This year, it’s been very difficult to find time to read books, but I still try and fit in smaller things like poetry rather than actual novels.” Despite her limited time, Tate Castro ’13 still manages to find time to read most nights during the school year. She reads an average of three books every week. To maximize the amount of time she can spend reading, she carries a Barnes & Noble Nook wherever she goes. “I do find that sometimes as the year goes on, I don’t have as much time to read, but I have a Nook so I take it everywhere I go so I can read whenever I have time to, like on the bus to games or during frees,” she said. “I’ve always liked to read, and it’s a good way for me to relax after school.”
Teachers lead book clubs By Hank Gerba
and
Victor Yoon
“Got to pay the bills,” English teacher Lisa Rado said, referring to her decision four years ago to start moonlighting as the moderator of a book club, Rado's book club meets once a month and is made up of professional women from around the Los Angeles area. “They're ages 45 to 55 and most of them are mothers, so they have different life experiences than a student would have. It's really fun to see how someone comes to a book at that age,” said Rado. For each book club meeting, Rado prepares a three hour seminar, along with questions and background information on the book and author. Because the club reads a new book every month, she only has three hours to spend on a book, as opposed to the three or four weeks she would be able to spend on a book if she were teaching her English class. However, Rado enjoys the challenge that this method of teaching brings. Additionally, being part of a book club brings other benefits. “I have a 94-year-old friend. She can barely walk and she still has a book group. I think book groups keep you excited, young and engaged,” Rado said. Rado's favorite experience with the book club was when the group came together to discuss David Grossman's “To the End of the Land.” “Everyone came in and said that they loved the book and couldn't put it down,” Rado said. “I’ve been in charge of two book clubs over the years,” performing arts teacher Ted Walch said. “The first was a group of 60-year-old women who called themselves the Belvedere Babes. God, I love those women.” The members were mothers at
nathanson ’s/chronicle
Ted Walch
the Branson School where Walch taught. “The environment of the club brought some of those women back to what they were in high school: there were those who flat out admitted that they hadn’t read the book, and then there were those who clearly hadn’t read it but tried to pull off,” Walch said. Though the club doesn’t meet anymore, Walch travels to San Francisco annually for a reunion. When former English teacher Stephen Bellon decided to retire from his book club, he asked Walch to fill in as moderator. The club had been meeting monthly for close to 20 years and was organized as a couples club. “That group was sharp, they loved literature and were very serious about the club. You really had to prepare yourself to seem competent. There was one meeting I couldn’t attend and the group actually asked me to seal my final word in an envelope so they could read it at the end of the discussion,” Walch said. The club read fiction only, but ranged from light reading to books which required heavy analysis. Walch’s favorite book that the club read was “The Duel” by Anton Chekhov. “You would’ve thought that I passed out gold bricks after they read that one,” Walch said.
Books read in Walch’s and Rado’s book clubs "The Duel" Anton Chekhov
Ex-Muscovites live in the Caucasus, all with different motivations.
"To the End of the Land" David Grossman
A woman walks across Israel to avoid the possibility of finding out her son is dead.
Curtis ’07 alums meet to discuss books with mothers By Nicole Gould In third grade, six Curtis alums started a mother-daughter book club. Now seven years later, Anna Witenberg ’13, Natalie Markiles ’13, Diane Wald ’13, Gracen Evall ’13, Miranda Van Iderstine ’13, Nicole Gould ’13 and Shannon Barry ’13, who goes to Marlborough School, still meet every other month to discuss the books they read with their mothers. Each family rotates hosting the book club and choosing the book. The book club lasts about two hours. “Book Club has changed a lot since it started. We used to do art projects, vocabulary quizzes, and answered questions about the book. Now, we usually just hang around and talk, more often than not swim, and then talk about the book for the rest of the time,” Markiles said. The books they chose in third grade
nathanson ’s/chronicle
Lisa Rado
are very different from the books they choose now. In third grade some of the books they read included “No Flying in the House,” about a seemingly normal girl Annabel Tippens, who discovers she is half fairy, and “Number the Stars.” Now they read books like “Zeitoun” by Dave Eggers, “Sold” by Patricia McCormick, and “Go Ask Alice.” “Sold” is the account of a 13 year old girl in India sold into the sex trade by her father. “Go Ask Alice” is the anonymous diary of a shy, innocent girl, who is sucked into the heartless world of drugs because of her need to be accepted. “I like book club because it’s a great way to get into different genres and discuss your thoughts and opinions about a book. It provides a really supportive environment that allows for great discussion. Book Club fosters involved reading and analysis that otherwise wouldn’t happen by reading a book,” Van Iderstine said.
Books read in Curtis mother-daughter club
1
"Go Ask Alice" Anonymous
2
"Sold" Patricia McCormick
5
"Zeitoun" Dave Eggers
The diary of a 15-yearold girl who became addicted to drugs.
A series of vignettes from the eyes of a Nepalese sex slave.
A man floats through New Orleans in a canoe after Hurricane Katrina to help survivors.
B8 Features
May 25, 2011
The
Chronicle
alternative
In addition to over-the-counter medicine, some students use holistic remedies for treatment.
therapy
By Megan Kawasaki
oughly diluted, sometimes to the point that the original substances are in extremely minute quantities, and dosages are generally one or two pills each day, homeopathy is not considered suitable treatment to most doctors. The American Academy of Clinical Homeopathy, however, claims that the remedies are successful and work by energizing the body to achieve a healthy balance. As another alternative treatment, some students take average herbal medicines, which have been around for 5,000 years, according to the Institute of Chinese Herbology. These kinds of remedies are meant to treat the bodily imbalances that cause illness. Justin Ho ’12 is no stranger to Chinese medicines and has used them from a young age. He takes them whenever his parents feel that he is deficient in vitamins or important nutrients. “The Chinese medicines aren’t to fix, they are to supplement my health,” Ho said. A remedy that he often uses is homemade ginseng tea, a potent brew that is said to lower blood pressure nathanson ’s/chronicle —Justin Ho ’12 and increase energy. According to the NCCAM, ginseng root also contains ginsenosides, active compounds that have anticarcinogenic and antioxidant properties. “Drinking ginseng tea burns as it goes down, but my mom and grandma always seem to see a definite difference, so I just go with it,” Ho said. “I don’t feel anything different, but it could be because the changes are gradual.” Chinese medicine is not Ho’s preference when it comes to treating illness. He said that his parents often remind him to take his treatments and that he tends to take Western medicine more often. Jeffrey Bu ’12 and Danni Xia ’12 also take Chinese medicines, and both feel improvements in health after taking them. Bu sticks to one specific treatment at the urging of his parents: an herbal tea derived from the isatis root, or ban lan gen, which he says is meant to alleviate throat pain and discomfort. His parents prepare it for him, and it often turns out to be what he can only describe as a “brownish liquid.” “It’s not supposed to cure the sickness or anything. It lasts for a couple of hours, maybe — just temporary relief,” Bu said. “Usually, I might drink a couple of cups a day.” Xia has been treated with a variety of herbal remedies. Having lived in China for most of her childhood, she is familiar with a myriad of traditional treatments. “The herbal teas like rose, ginger, pang da hai (boat sterculia seed) help to regulate body temperature,” Xia said. “They are pretty effective, more for regulating than treating, but important nonetheless.”
P
icking up a cup containing two tiny, white pills, Gus Woythaler ’12 studied them for a moment before popping them into his mouth, tasting the faint flavor of sugar as they dissolved under his tongue. Despite not feeling sick at all, Woythaler was taking medicine from his doctor. Unlike conventional pills, these were homeopathic remedies, alternative, controversial medicines that deal with psychological and bodily ailments. According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, homeopathy was developed in Germany around 200 years ago and is one of many active holistic medicinal practices. It claims to fend off illness by strengthening the body’s immune system with small doses of diluted substances. The medicines are composed of entirely natural ingredients and are believed to remedy numerous bodily sicknesses, ranging from headaches to lingering joint pain. To obtain his homeopathic remedies, Woythaler regularly visits Linda Johnston, board-certified in classical homeopathy. “It’s almost like a therapy session,” Woythaler said. “She asks me if I have any dreams that I remember that I can share with her, and when I do, she always asks me how I feel during the dream.” He and Johnston discuss any physical or emotional problems he has had since his last visit. After a thorough talk, Woythaler receives one or two homeopathic remedies to deal with the most significant ailments. “I only take them when I visit the doctor,” Woythaler said. “Normally I get two remedies, but I’m not told what the remedy is or what is in it. I just take them right then and there.” The process is typical for him, since he visits Johnston up to four times a year. His mother’s interest in homeopathy encourages his visits to Johnston’s office, but Woythaler does not generally find the remedies to be helpful, he said. In most cases, he does not take any kinds of medicine at all. The exception is when he is feeling very acute symptoms, in which case he takes over-the-counter medicine or antibiotics. “Since my dad is a doctor, he can just prescribe me anything if I’m feeling really sick,” Woythaler said. The success of homeopathic remedies is often attributed to a placebo effect, where patients feel they are getting better despite not taking effective medicine, according to an article written by Stephen Barrett, M.D., who denounces homeopathy as being “quackery.” Since the medicines are so thor-
“
The Chinese medicines aren’t to fix, they are to supplement my health.”
Herbal and Homeopathic Remedies While some students use conventional medicines, others use holistic medicines, such as lemonin and herbal oil.
Eagle Brand Medicated Oil: Chinese herbal oil for muscle pains and itches
Hyland’s Homeopathy: natural remedies for physical ailments
Megan Kawasaki/chronicle
Boiron Homeopathic Medicines: medicines for acute health conditions such as allergies or coughs
Lemonin: Chinese herbal medicine for colds and headaches graphic by megan kawasaki
May 25, 2011
IA
C O LU M B
The
Senior superheroes reveal their identities
MIT
NA MO
PO
BARNARD
AMHE
HARVARD
TUFTS JOHNS HOPKINS
T RS PRIN CORNELL
NORTHWESTERN
UPENN YALE
EM
Y OR
N TO CE
DARTMOUTH
RD
BA
BU
PE
RICE GEORGETOWN
USC NYU
BROWN EMERSON
CARNEGIE MELLON
STANFORD
Stakes COLGATE
DUKE
PP ERDIN EU
OBERLIN
KENYON
CLA
B OS
TO N
Features B9
Chronicle
COLLEGE
Chapter 9: Our superheroes share their final decisions and give advice on handling the college process senior year.
By Catherine Wang CAL STATE
“
Feldstein will be attending Wesleyan University.
parents, but for other people it could be their deans or friends too.
Intended Major: Double major in theater and psychology
Biggest regret: NotM touching my regular applications until I had to.
Most excited to: Live on the East Coast. Best advice given: Stick up for what you want in your decisions. For me, I had to stand up to my
Beanie Feldstein
IDDLEBURY
Advice for underclassmen: Calm down because everything works out in the end and everything happens for a reason.”
Madison: the Performer Allison Hamburger/Chronicle
“
Jeffrey Sperling
Sperling will be attending MIT. Intended major: math or physics Best Advice: Start and try hard to finish all of your college applications over the summer. Not only do you overestimate how much free time you have during the fall (you still have a workload comparable to junior year) but you underestimate how much time it takes to revise your application essays.
Carter:
Most excited to: Test my mettle at MIT by taking all of the
the Brain
hardest classes there. Of course, I’m always excited to meet new people, people who are interesting and unique, yet who are likeminded in their passion for math and science. But most importantly, I like to keep an open mind about what to expect next year, since I realize that my most memorable experiences may be in situations I least expect them. Biggest regret: Not finishing my Common App over the summer.”
Allison Hamburger/Chronicle
“
Popovic will be attending St. Mary’s College of California.
group. I’m really excited for the volleyball part too.
Intended Major: kinesiology
Advice for athletes: Be proactive when emailing coaches. Don’t wait for a coach to email you. Also, school comes first. So don’t just settle for the sport. Find a school that you fit in with both academically and athletically, and then pursue it. Ultimately you need to find a school where you can see yourself without that sport. Be persistent when talking to coaches, and be open to all opportunities and schools that have your major. The best thing is to actually go visit the school to see what it’s really like in person.”
Best Advice: Don’t feel pressured because other people are making decisions — it is better to wait and everything will fall in place. Did the college process turn out the way you expected? This is what I always wanted. This was my goal. Most excited to: Start over in a new
Mileva Popovic
Alexis: the Athlete Allison Hamburger/Chronicle
“
Raphael Osorio
Osorio will be attending Tufts University.
Aiden: All-around
Intended major: undecided Advice for underclassmen: If you don’t want to be disappointed, really keep your mind open. Don’t put all of your attention on one competitive school. I liked the way I approached the college process. I never focused on one school completely. I kept my options open, which prevented me from feeling distraught by any admissions decision.
Aiden: All-around
Best advice given: It doesn’t matter where you go to college. I heard that a lot from my teachers. They em-
phasized that your work ethic and motivation are more important. Most excited to: Meet people and live in the city of Boston. Did the college process turn out the way you expected? Not really. I kind of figured in ninth grade I wanted to go to Harvard and apply to every Ivy League. As I progressed through, reality hit me and even though those are great schools, I don’t have to go there. My mindset changed, I was no longer shallow and only wanted to go to the most competitive school ever.”
Allison Hamburger/Chronicle
“
Sir will be attending NYU (Tisch School of the Arts). Intended Major: film and television Biggest regret: I honestly don’t [have any.] I’m glad everything turned out the way it did. Advice for artists: Don’t start last minute especially if you’re doing an art portfolio, because you have an application and an extra task. People told me to get started on my creative resume earlier. I got started early and it wasn’t that stressful for me.
Advice for film kids: Start working on a project that you love and are passionate about, because it will show. The colleges see hundreds and hundreds of films, so let them see something that shows you as a person and a filmmaker. Most excited to: Focus on what I’m passionate about. It’s great taking video art classes here, but at NYU I will be able to put all of my creative effort into film. It’s going to be super fun to learn about something I’m truly passionate about. I’m excited to be around people like me, people that like music and like film.”
Jacqueline Sir
Zoe: the Artist Chloe Lister/Chronicle ILLUSTRATIONS BY MELISSA GERTLER
B10 A&E
The
Chronicle
May 25, 2011
Ending on a high note
A year of jazz comes to a close with the sixth annual Jazz Festival and a performance at Typhoon restaurant. By Mary Rose Fissinger printed with permission of jordan bryan
printed with permission of jordan bryan
swing town: Advanced Jazz Combo members Ernie Zaferis ’11, Brooke Levin ’12 and Noah Weinman ’12 performed for an audience of students, parents and restaurant-goers at Typhoon Restaurant at the Santa Monica Airport on Saturday night, top. Max Quilici ’12 played guitar for the performance.
and
Catherine Wang
The audience that packed Typhoon restaurant at the Santa Monica airport Saturday night cheered as the members of Jazz Band took their places in the front of the room for their last performance of the year. The band played two 40 minute sets of five songs each. The Advanced Jazz Combo kicked off the first set with “Within You, Without You” by George Harrison, followed by four songs performed by the entire jazz band. The second set started with the Jazz Explorer’s performance of “Home Fries” by Joshua Redman and concluded with the fast-paced “Cut ‘N Run” by Gordon Goodwin. “It was blazing fast, and everyone was playing their absolute loudest, so it was so exciting and so much fun,” Jazz Explorers bassist Hank Adelmann ’11 said. “We picked the final song to have something extremely challenging to work on,” jazz teacher Shawn Costantino said. Andi Ardidi ’14 replaced Jazz Explorers saxophonist Alex Scharch ’11 for the night, as Scharch was in Florida celebrating his uncle’s 95th birthday. Costantino substituted for Scharch in the Jazz Explorers’ performance of “Home Fries,” commenting afterwards to the crowd that he was proud it was so difficult to replace one of his students. “I know I’m doing something right,” he said, smiling. The venue is located on the second floor of the Santa Monica airport restaurant complex. Dim lighting, wood furnishing and a menu that consists of everything ranging from brown rice to Taiwanese crickets characterized the restaurant. “We’ve never played there before. It was super exotic,” Adelmann said.
Playing at a restaurant differs from playing at a regular show, Costantino said. “Playing in a restaurant is different because it is a paid show in a professional level musical environment. The students know that they have less room for mistakes and have to really be on their A plus plus plus game, which they all were,” Costantino said. However, most musicians prefer the restaurant venue to the standard show in Rugby auditorium. “I like restaurants more because they feel more professional,” Advanced Jazz Combo trumpet player Noah Weinman ’12 said. Costantino believed it to be a wonderful culmination to the Jazz band’s year. “The show was amazing. I’m so proud of the students and I think they played better than ever,” he said. This final show came just a week after the 6th annual Jazz Festival, which took place in Rugby on Sunday, May 15. The festival featured the jazz group “Kneebody,” which led an afternoon workshop for students before taking the Rugby stage at 7 p.m. Organized by Jazz Explorers Adelmann and Jordan Bryan ’11, all the proceeds of the festival went towards Inner City Arts, an organization that funds education in the arts for students in low income areas. The founder of Inner City Arts also spoke at the festival, as he has done for the past few years. About 40 students from Brentwood School, Colburn School, Windward School, New Roads School, Crossroads School and Harvard-Westlake attended the workshops and performance, raising about $1,500, Bryan said. “It was a little under-attended, but the energy in the room was amazing. It was definitely one of the best jazz festival performances of all time,” Adelmann said.
A&E B11
Chronicle
The
May 25, 2011
pirate songs: Performing Arts teacher Mark Hilt conducts the “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme in a pirate hat, above. Leah Shapiro ’13 plays the French horn while the orchestra performs “Scherzo” at the concert, right.
Bittersweet Symphony
photos by Arielle Maxner
Symphony members perform the “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme and selections from Haydn and Saint-Saëns in the year’s last show.
By Arielle Maxner
Conductor Mark Hilt donned a feather-ornamented pirate hat for the finale of the last symphony concert of the year, which featured the theme from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Opening with chamber music, the orchestra performed in Rugby Auditorium on May 18 as soloists and in small groups, but not as a whole until the final piece. “We had fun playing ‘Pirates’ in the end,” pianist and percussionist Danni Xia ’12 said. “It’s a popular and exciting piece, ending the year with a bang.” The Harvard-Westlake Percussion Quartet played two pieces, one of which was a composition by Hilt. The other piece was a rhythmic Brazilian work. Traditional classical music was played as well, with excerpts of
Haydn, Saint-Saëns and French music by Charles Gounod. Many had the opportunity for solos in performing selections from Saint-Saëns’ “Carnival of the Animals.” To introduce each selection, Hilt recited poems and prose about the animals that inspired the pieces. He commented on the personification of the animals and their attributed traits, describing the perception of the lion as an intimidating king and the association of the tortoise with a slow but steady march. Hank Adelmann ’11 played a solo on the bass in “The Elephant,” or “L’éléphant,” and James Myerson ’11, despite being sick, played “The Swan,” or “Le Cynge.” “I really liked playing in small chamber ensembles in the concert because it gave me a more intimate musical experience, different from playing in an orchestra,” Xia said.
Senior soloists to sing farewell By Jessica Barzilay
Printed with permission of Cheri Gaulke
Film festivities: Jamie Feiler ’12 poses with her parents at Newport Beach Film Festival, where her film “TADAA” was honored as best documentary.
About 30 seniors in the upper school choral department will perform solos in the optional Senior Solo Night on May 31. The concert, featuring songs of each individual’s choice, allows seniors one last chance to showcase their talents. Most of the singers, enrolled in Chamber Singers, Jazz Singers, Bel Canto or Wolverine Chorus, have been preparing throughout the year. Katrina Okano ’11 has been training with her personal voice coach to perform Katherine McPhee’s “Terrified.” Kelsey Woo ’11 has also been anticipating this night since 10th grade.
“It’s definitely been on my mind all year and ever since I started choir at the Upper School,” she said. For her performance, Woo will sing “Someone Like You,” the same song she performed in the ninth grade solo concert. She will also harmonize in a quartet, “Like Breathing,” with Beanie Feldstein ’11, Ben Platt ’11 and Max Sheldon ’11, all of whom have journeyed through the upper school choral program together. “I think it’ll be really special to hear people who don’t usually sing by themselves. It’ll also be really sentimental since we all love each other so much and it’s our last time singing together,” Woo said.
Five festivals award student shorts, documentaries, class projects By David Lim Student films were accepted into local and national film festivals this month where they won several awards. Five festivals accepted the work of filmmakers from the Video Art classes and the Summer Film Camp, which also included non-Harvard-Westlake students. Video art teacher Cheri Gaulke and art teachers Kevin O’Malley and Nancy Popp guided the students through the submission process. “These festivals are highly competitive,” Gaulke said. “What it means is that we have one of the best youth film programs in the country.” At the Newport Beach Festival earlier this month, “TADAA,” a film about “building a connection between teenagers and adults with developmental disabilities” at a volunteer program, won
best documentary. Video Art II students Jamie Feiler ’12 and Nora Kroopf ’12 filmed the documentary as an independent project in the summer. Many of the films that received awards were made during the Summer Film Camp, run by Gaulke and animator Rachel Johnson. “SEE,” produced at SFC by Molly Cinnamon ’14 and Miranda Kasher, who attends Milburn Senior High School, won multiple awards at the Newport Beach Festival and the Westport Film Festival in Connecticut. SFC and Video Art projects also won awards at the local South Bay Film Festival and CineYouth Festival. “SEE” and the Video Art II project “If Cell Phones Ruled the World” were admitted to the Los Angeles Film Festival, which is a qualifying festival for Film Independent Spirit Awards.
An Industry Leader since 1980 REMEMBER Start Driving immediately upon completion of Driver Ed. DRIVER ED. & TRAINING STARTS AT 15 NOT 15 1/2 Safest Driving School in Southern California since 1994 CALL ABOUT OUR SPECIAL! Outstanding, Informative, and Educational Drivers Education Classes Our fleet of cars are safe, fun, easy to drive, and mostly new or late models. We offer the only computer based On Line Driver Ed. Our Instructors are Professional, Friendly, Patient and EXPERIENCED EXPERTS! Certified by the For the past 30 years private one-on-one Lessons with the same INSTRUCTOR! Driving School Tens of thousands of well Trained graduates AK YOUR FIRENDS WHO THE BEST IS! Association of California To be the best! Train with the Best! At Dollar Driving School Location Woodland Hills: 22311 Ventura Blvd. #119
Named #1 Safest Driving School in S.CA for over 10 years per the National Safety Council START NOW! Enroll Today on the web www. dsac.com/dollar
CALL FOR DETAILS! (310)
275-0189 (818) 264-0555
B12 Features
The
Chronicle
May 25, 2011
photos by Allison Hamburger
Playful primates: Hank Doughan ’12 talks into his shoe as he sits on the stage, top left. Lucas Foster ’13, Nick Lieberman ’11 and Max Sheldon ’11 dance with each other, bottom left. Jack Usher ’11 and Nick Lieberman ’11 point towards
Monkey see,
monkey do
By Elana Zeltser
T
The Scene Monkeys brought laughs through their performances of characters ranging from a secret vegetarian to a two-toed rhino to Rosa Parks during their final improvisational comedy shows on Friday, May 20. Drawing their inspiration and ideas from audience suggestions, the cast of 14 acted out a scene about fears of skydiving, put on a musical about coping with college roommates and danced a ballet about a flounder in need of a friend. One Monkey was convicted of dancing too hard in a Wal-mart changing room with a toothbrush, while three others were members of a penguin mafia. They also performed short sketches in the styles of Shakespeare, Vaudeville and Dr. Seuss. The entire show was accompanied by Nick Healy ’13, who improvised piano melodies to fit each scene. “I look at what the actors are doing, and I start to think what emotion they’re conveying and try to transfer that emotion to music. Sometimes though, it’s fun to go completely against what they’re doing so that they can reveal something totally different and make it more
Showcasing their skill By Anabel Pasarow
T
he Senior Art Show will begin on May 31 at 5 p.m. in Feldman-Horn Gallery, showcasing work from all senior artists. Students can choose whatever work of their own they want to display in the gallery. Each student has the same amount of wall space to display their work. There will be an awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m. and senior videos will be shown at 6 p.m. in the Art History room. “It is going to be a great show with close
Ben Platt ’11 and Mariana Bagneris ’11, while Platt looks back with confusion, top right. A group of Scene Monkeys pose together in the game Tableau, middle right. Natalie Markiles ’13 catches an invisible object from Jack Usher ’11, bottom right.
After rehearsing since November, Scene Monkeys brought laughs to a packed Rugby audiorium last Friday with two improvisational shows. entertaining for the audience,” Healy said. While the Scene Monkeys usually rehearse every Friday, they began practicing two or three times a week in preparation for the show. “I think the shows went great. We don’t really get a lot of rehearsal time, so it is based on our own commitment to try hard and everyone really brought their game and surprised me,” Ben Platt ’11, who has been in the troupe for three years, said. The Scene Monkeys also performed during the Playwrights Festival in April and at the Hollywood Improv on Mother’s Day, but according to Scene Monkey Lucas Foster ’13, they are “most comfortable on Rugby stage. It was nice having a lot of the student body there,” Scene Monkey Lucas Foster ’12 said. The audience was encouraged to stay for both the 5 and the 7 p.m. shows, and the Scene Monkeys rounded out their last one of the night with a charity song benefitting people inflicted with the pain of getting gum stuck on the bottom of their shoes. “I really enjoy the moments when you know that a scene is working, and your friends and fellow improvisers are 100 percent with you,” Foster said.
Senior artists from AP Studio Art, Drawing & Painting III and Photography III will be displaying some of the work that they have completed in class in Feldman Horn Gallery. to 60 seniors participating,” said visual arts teacher Kevin O’Malley. In the show, Brandon Zeiden ’11, who is taking Drawing and Painting III, will be displaying a few pieces from his concentration. “My concentration is inconspicuous evil. It was kind of random really. The concentration came to me. I hadn’t thought of it before,” Zeiden said. He used colored pencils for his medium, which is different from the paint and charcoal that he normally uses for art assignments. Jacqueline Sir ’11, who is taking Drawing and
Painting 3 as well, is showing three pieces at the show. Her concentration was at first about conformity and self-identity, but it shifted to being more about the class of 2011, inspired by artist René Magritte. She still maintained the theme of self-identity throughout. Sir used acrylic as her medium. “For this project we had a lot of freedom and less instruction than we have had in the past,” Sir said. The art show will begin after the George Steinmetz exhibit is taken down from Feldman-Horn.
ports S
Sports Science Trainers and administrators visited an Olympic training center in Colorado to collect research for the school’s own sports medicine facilities.
The Chronicle Volume XX Issue IX May 25, 2011
C7
Star runners lead girls’ track to 1st CIF team championship By Julius Pak
printed with permission of Annelise hansson
run hard, turn left: Lauren Hansson ’11 runs the 200-meter dash at CIF finals on May 21. She got fourth in the event with a time of 24.97.
For the first time in school history, the girls’ track and field team won the CIF Division III Championship. The girls’ team’s performance also earned five of its members a place at the CIF Masters Tournament on May 27 in six events. The top nine finishers in each event, regardless of division, advance to Masters. Additionally, the team broke three school records and captured four event championships at Finals. Coming back from a 63-60 second-place finish to Great Oak at CIF Finals last year, the girls’ team defeated San Luis Obispo by fourteen points at Cerritos College. Great Oak competed in Division I this season. After contributing to a seventh place finish by the 4x100-meter relay team, Hilary King ’11 took fourth place in the long jump event, jumping 18’1.75”, for the
team’s first qualification to the Masters Tournament. In the 1600-meter event, Cami Chapus ’12 simultaneously captured the division championship, qualified for Masters and broke the school record that she already held. Chapus captured her second division championship later in the day by winning the 3200-meter event, which qualified her again to Masters. Like Chapus, Lauren Hansson ’11 once again broke her own school record, but in the 400-meter event through a second-place finish. Amy Weissenbach ’12 recaptured her division championship in the 800-meter event, improving upon last year’s time by just over five seconds. Her performance in that event, as well as her third-place finish in the 1600-meter event, qualified her to Masters. see track and field, C6
Safe at 1st By Judd Liebman In both 2005 and 2006, the baseball team under former Head Coach Tim Cunningham did not win a game in the tough Mission League. The league hasn’t gotten any easier in the past five or six years, yet the Wolverines have just captured the elusive league title for the first time in school history. In his five years as program head, Head Coach Matt LaCour has slowly but surely built an empire. He transformed a program with a team that could not win a game in league into one that boasts a 10-2 Mission League championship. The change didn’t come because of an increase in veteran presence but from a change in mentality. In fact, this year, the team is extremely young compared to the past. “LaCour is more hard-nosed and has more of a ‘let’s get it done’ mentality, while Cunningham was more relaxed,” outfielder Wes Peacock ’11 said. “[Cunningham] was still a good coach, but LaCour’s mentality meshed better with Harvard-Westlake’s competitive atmosphere.” Despite the team’s youth, it managed to sweep all but two season series, losing only to Alemany and Chaminade in league. The program LaCour built has worked to develop players like pitcher and outfielder Jack Flaherty ’14. Although he came to the school in ninth grade, Flaherty worked over the summer with the team to sharpen his skills and get familiar with the program. Flaherty, the number two starting pitcher, has dominated the Mission League, enjoying a 1.92 regular season ERA and a .309 batting average. “The coaches here have really helped
me a lot,” Flaherty said. “They have worked on everything from my swing to having a plan on the mound.” Lucas Giolito ’12 and Flaherty are a lethal one-two punch in the pitching rotation. Giolito, a UCLA commit, has commanded the batters this year, leading him to a 1.22 ERA with a 7-1 record in the regular season. Flaherty’s youth doesn’t affect his play, LaCour said. “[Flaherty] is really inexperienced in high school, he’s not necessarily inexperienced on the baseball field,” he said. “He’s played a lot of baseball. He’s a mature baseball player, he knows where to be. So, no, I’m not really surprised [with his play].” see baseball, C5 The heart of the team: Head Coach Matt LaCour, above, has built the baseball program into a force to be reckoned with in the Mission League. His team just won its first league title in school history. His coaching techniques have developed various young stars, including pitching phenom Jack Flaherty ’14, left.
judd liebman/chronicle
judd liebman/chronicle
Field hockey star competes for spot on USA squad, teammates play in national tournament By Luke Holthouse In an attempt to retain her spot on the US Under-19 National Field Hockey Team, Adriana Crovo ’11 played in the Women’s National Championship in Washington, DC. This weeklong showcase is the official tryout for all US National and Developmental teams and features the best women’s field hockey players in the country, including top college players and current Olympic team members. Crovo was invited to this year’s tryout since she is a current member of the U-19 team. She joined the
team last year after attending a series of developmental camps and junior national tournaments. Crovo traveled with the team to Chile last year to play a series against the Chilean U-19 team. Crovo also competed in a series against Canada last year. She hopes to make the team again because it would allow her to further develop as a player and help her potentially make higher level U.S. teams in the future. “I think I’ve been so lucky to have had the training and coaching that I’ve had and I really want to stay on this course,” Crovo said.
Crovo, who will play for the University of Michigan next year, would potentially miss a week or so of school if she made the U-19 team, but said that it would not be a significant issue for her college career and she would play for both teams. Crovo, a goalie, led her team to the CIF semifinals this year. Three other members of this year’s field hockey team will compete at field hockey Nationals this summer. Kristin Lee ’12, Taylor Lee ’13 and Elana Meer ’13 will go to the USA Field Hockey Training Center this June for training camp.
INSIDE
batter up, batter down: The girls’ softball team’s first playoff run ever came to an end with a first round loss.
C2
early exit: After a perfect season, the lacrosse team lost in the first round of the playoffs in a nailbiting game.
C4
C2 Sports
Facts
The
Chronicle
&Figures
0.1 .434 1 4 5
Seconds left when Agoura scored a game-winning goal in the first round of CIF playoffs, ending the lacrosse team’s undefeated season.
Sophomore Arden Pabst’s batting average, the highest batting average of the starters on the varsity baseball team.
The number of freshmen in school history who have broken the twominute mark in the 800-meter event, now that David Manahan ’14 has run a 1:58.60 at CIF preliminaries.
The number of “bagels,” or complete sweeps the varsity boys’ tennis team achieved this season. Two of them were 18-0 victories over Notre Dame and St. Francis.
The number of lacrosse players who were chosen for First Team All-League out of a total of 10 total players on the All-League team. Attackman Cory Wizenberg ’11 was named “Player of the Year” in Mission League.
May 25, 2011
‘Program building, Harvard-Westlake style’ It was my first time at baseball’s sparkling new O’Malley Field, and the impact hit immediately. This surely wasn’t the dilapidated Franklin Field of my memories, with its funky dimensions and decidedly Little League feel. No, this was the big-time. After all, it’s a high school stadium named after Peter O’Malley (Karen ’93, Brian ’95), a.k.a. the Dodger owner from better days. Then I started watching the game, and the Matt LaCour intensity blazed over me as quickly as a Lucas Giolito ’12 fastball crossed home plate. The Wolverines were playing Loyola in a crucial late-season game for the league title, which they would eventually claim over Chaminade for their first in school history. Freshman phenom Jack Flaherty ’14 was on the hill, watched by a coaching staff that featured P.C. Shaw, a former assistant coach for a College World Series runner-up, and LaCour, whose defection from area powerhouse El Camino Real to Harvard-Westlake in 2006 was one of the most high-profile coaching moves in school history. The big names. The flashy facilities. Its program-building, Harvard-Westlake style. Not many schools have three Olympic gold medalists as track coaches either (four until Johnny Gray left before last season). Then there’s the daily grind required on the path to excellence. Baseball is a year-round commitment in the fullest sense. Even at the JV level, players rarely spend any time away from the field. In the process, the school has gotten its wish. The baseball program is run like a professional team, and the glory of Mission League titles and CIF championships will be a mainstay for many years to come. We’ve seen a similar course of development in most of our varsity teams: Major venue renovation, high-profile coaching hires, yearround training. But in the school’s fascina-
Alex Leichenger
tion with Los Angeles Laker-esque program development, it seems to have dropped just one element of understanding: it’s still high school. Giolito may be bound for the major leagues, but how many others are? We all love watching and playing for winning teams, but somewhere along the way, it seems winning and an emphasis on personal development have become irreconcilable. It’s almost as if the focus of our athletic program revolves around burnishing the reputations of athletic department employees, i.e. paid adults, over improving the experience of every kid on the roster. Of course, some kids are just more talented than others. But on high school teams, every athlete should feel he or she has value, not just that they are cogs in a victory machine. The athletic department philosophy has been very simple on this matter. If you can’t handle year-round training before you’re old enough to move out of your parents’ house, just quit the team. Who cares if you love playing the game? If you don’t love every single second of practice, you’re not worthy of wearing the uniform of this school. And it’s not as if many other athletic options are available for these quitters. We don’t have intramurals. We don’t have organized athletic events for non-athletes. We barely have even have P.E. If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. That’s it. Frankly, it doesn’t seem anyone cares if you ever play your favorite sport again. Honestly, I think the athletic department is a little worried that if it provided any alternatives, athletes would flee our hypercompetitive teams in droves. That would certainly be an issue for our carefully constructed and manicured reputation of sporting excellence. Baseball won its first Mission League title, and that is certainly a spectacular accomplishment. But under the current model, who is really reaping the benefits?
Softball wins wildcard game, loses in 1st round By Elana Zeltser
vox ’97
Unstoppable: Jason Collins ’97 drives for a layup against St. Augustine. The team won the game by 29 points.
This Month in Wolverine History May 1997 By Micah Sperling After leading the varsity boys’ basketball team to two consecutive state championships, Jason and Jarron Collins ’97 graduated, leaving two seven-foot-tall holes in the Wolverine starting lineup. Under the Collins twins, the team set records for the longest season winning streak in school history (26 games), the longest home winning streak (36 games), and the lowest point total for an opponent, holding Cimmarron-Memorial High School to only 28 points. Jason Collins held school records for most rebounds in a game (25), most blocks in a game (8), most points in a season (717), and best field-goal percentage (74%). The Collins twins were instrumental in the complete turnaround of the basketball program. When they were freshmen, the team’s record was 5-20; in 1997, it finished the season ranked fourth in the nation by USA Today after a CIF championship win.
After winning the CIF wild card playoffs 5-1 against Arcadia on May 17 at Los Angeles Valley College, the varsity softball team was eliminated from the first round of CIF playoffs last Thursday by Warren High School in a 9-0 away loss. The wild card game to qualify for the CIF bracket was a home game at Los Angeles Valley College. “We played really well it and it was nice to have a home game because we got a lot of support from a bunch of fans,” Leah Shapiro ’13 said. The team’s subsequent loss is just inspiration for them to work harder and do better next year. “This was the first time in six years that softball made it to CIF and so it was also the first time for all of us on the team, but since we won the wild card we know that we can improve next year and make it farther than the first round,” second baseman Ashley Wu ’13 said. Head Coach Joe Aranda and assistant coaches Garry Fetman and Jaclyn Aranda led the team, finishing off the season with an overall record of 12-10 and a league record of 5-5. The team started off the season in March with a four game winning streak. It defeated Glendale in two consecutive away games, and then Bell-Jeff and San Marino at home. The team did not, however, beat Chaminade, which was its biggest competitor, team captains Emilia Louy ’11 and Jennifer Plotkin ’11 said. With the closing of the season, Wu attributed the team’s successes to its closeness. “We’re all really close friends during school as well, and on the field we back each other up so if someone makes a mistake it’s no big deal,” Wu said.
daniel kim/chronicle
good release: Shortstop Chloe Pendergast ’13 throws to first base during a game against Chaminade. The Wolverines lost 3-1.
JV Roundup The JV softball team started its season with a four game win streak, but finished off the year with eight consecutive losses.
Last Match: 0-13 loss vs. Alemany Overall Record: 4-9 League Record: 0-8 “Even though our team didn’t come away with a lot of wins, we had a great time together and learned a lot.” —Gracen Evall ’13
Nathanson ’s/chronicle
Gracen Evall ’13
May 25, 2011
The
Chronicle
Sports C3
Players make crossover moves
quicktakes
By Michael Sugerman
The varsity girls’ soccer team went to the Children’s Hospital Cancer Ward to deliver blankets as a community service project on May 21. “This is the fifth year that we’re doing this,” Head Coach Richard Simms said. “We took two of the fleeces, put them together, tied them, and designed the edges of the blankets back in January during the soccer season.” Around 75 girls were involved in the project, which started in January. About half of the varsity team went to the hospital and delivered the 50 fleece blankets they made. —Daniel Kim
They jog up the court, aware of their teammates in the paint. They run up the field, arms open wide, waiting for the ball to fall into their tentative hands. They then decide to sprint around the track with all of their might and speed. Whether they play the sports they do to be with their friends, for fitness, because of coach encouragement or simply because of their own enthusiasm, multiple senior athletes strayed from their main sports and developed skills in others this year. “It is good to play all the sports that you can for as long as you can,” basketball Head Coach Greg Hilliard said. “Limiting yourself and specializing too early is just missed opportunity. The athlete must decide what he can manage. It is our job as coaches to make that work for them as much as we can.” Hilliard’s enthusiasm to get as much out of high school athletics as one can was surely absorbed by senior athletes, as reflected in their participation in multiple sports. Some athletes decided to participate in multiple sports to stay in shape for others, or perhaps improve their athleticism for other sports. Varsity football and basketball player Noor Fateh ’11 considers football to be his “go-to” sport; however, he participated in the track program for the first time this season. Fateh considered his best events to be the 400-meter and the 4x400-meter relay. “This year, some of my friends were doing track, and since I hope to play college football, I figured I should participate to stay in shape,” Fateh said. “It turned out to be a good decision.” The same goes for Nick Firestone ’11. A varsity football and basketball player, he, like Fateh, considers himself to be primarily a football player; however, this year he ran the 100-meter and the 4x100-meter relay. “I saw track as a way to improve my speed and endurance,” he said. David Burton ’11 is primarily a basketball player, but has played volleyball since his freshman year. Burton joined the team to increase his vertical jump and continue to enhance his athleticism. “[Basketball and volleyball] are defensively similar in that both utilize athleticism and height to jump high, use height to one’s advantage, and block,” he said. Many athletes were encouraged by coaches to participate, in many ways following Hilliard’s mantra that high school athletes should not limit themselves. Firestone said that coaches had asked him multiple times if he was interested in doing track, as did Fateh, who said that track coaches very publically were enthusiastic about his participation in the program. Burton said that volleyball coaches, seeing his height as an advantage, encouraged him to play. Damiene Cain ’11, a starting varsity basketball player, was also encouraged by coaches to play volleyball in his sophomore year. Coach enthusiasm further enhanced his
“
Girls’ soccer team donates fleece blankets to Children’s Hopital
Middle school faculty-student softball game ends in tie
daniel kim/chronicle
Dual Athlete: David Burton ’11, like Damiene Cain ’11, plays both volleyball and basketball. desire to play, and he joined the team. Head Track Coach Jonas Koolsbergen explained an overall perspective on why coaches are enthusiastic about the participation of other varsity athletes. “Whenever athletes play multiple sports they bring skills, training and experiences that are a valuable addition to what we do,” Koolsbergen said. “They as individuals involved with us become better athletes on a total level. They have tremendous new experiences. They become faster. They get better control over their bodies and their athletic gifts.” Koolsbergen said that football and basketball players Fateh, Firestone and Lewis Dix ’11 voiced that they wished that had started track earlier; they felt they would have become successful track athletes had they joined the track program sooner. Most athletes’ participation was in part determined by team camaraderie. Although Fateh was not a starter on the varsity basketball team, “they were my second family away from home,” he said. “I knew I was going to be with my boys, my brothers.”
Limiting yourself and specializing too early is just a missed opportunity.” —Greg Hilliard Head Basketball Coach
Boys’ volleyball falls in CIF opener By David Gobel After recovering from a slump during the middle of its season to make the CIF playoffs, the boys’ volleyball team fell to fourthranked Newport Harbor in the first round of CIF. The Wolverines finished their season with an overall record of 10-17 and a league record of 5-7. “We had a passing average that just wasn’t good enough to give us the opportunity to win games, and so we addressed that, and focused on it because we needed to get past that,” Head Coach Adam Black said. “But we did [overcome], and that gave us the chance to win games. However, the season wasn’t long enough for us to take care of everything else [the team needed to work on].” After losing four games in a row, the Wolverines were tied with league foe St. Francis, who had defeated them earlier in the season. The Wolverines broke
their losing streak with a 3-1 win against Notre Dame, then suffered a narrow loss to Crespi. Finally, the Wolverines punched their ticket to the CIF playoffs by defeating Alemany 3-0 on Senior Night. In the first round of the playoffs, the Wolverines lost to Newport Harbor, a very talented squad that had a 24-9 regular season record and were undefeated in league. “We passed well, we didn’t make a lot of hitting or serving errors, so I think that we did what we needed to do,” Black said. “But at the end of the day, Newport Harbor has guys that play volleyball a lot, and in the match they simply played a little better than us.” This year, the team will lose four of its six starters to graduation: Spencer Eichler ’11, Damiene Cain ’11, David Burton ’11 and Matthew Goldhaber ’11. Even with the loss of four players, Black is not too concerned.
“What we have to do is just go to what we have, which I think is some good guys, and just train them up,” Black said. “Hopefully we can get them playing a lot of volleyball before the season starts, and then go to battle with them when the time comes.”
JV Roundup The JV boys’ volleyball team rounded out its sesaon with a four game winning streak.
The annual middle school faculty-student softball game between the students and the faculty was held on Friday, May 20 at the Sprague Athletic Field at the middle school. The student team consisted of the members of the middle school softball teams while the faculty team played about 20 members of the Harvard-Westlake faculty and staff. Physical education teacher Lew Roberts presided as the umpire for the game when it started at 3:15 p.m. By the start of the ninth inning, the game seemed to be over as the faculty and staff were winning 15-10. However, the students pulled together and managed to score five runs in the last inning to equalize the score. The game ended in a draw 15-15. The softball game is a Westlake School tradition that is more than 30 years old. The faculty had won for five years straight prior to this game. —Daniel Kim and Ally White
Athletic department exploring possibility of a drum line The Athletic Department and performing arts teacher Mark Hilt have been discussing the possibility of a drum line here at the Upper School. “We’ve spoken with a couple of students about their interest in participating to kind of gauge and see if we could get enough kids to do it,” Head of Athletics Audrius Barzdukas said. Discussion about a drum line started a little more than a year ago, Barzdukas said. However, it is only recently that the idea has started to pick up speed. “Mr. Hilt has sent us a list of drummers that would make up the drum line and has put us in contact with the drum line coach,” Barzdukas said. “Things have kind of accelerated.” “There have been discussions about a drum line but nothing has been officially decided,” Atheltics Director Terry Barnum said. —Daniel Kim
Official fan behavior policy will appear in student handbooks For the first time ever, the Sports Council’s new fan behavior regulations will be in the Student-Parent handbook that all Harvard-Westlake students receive at the beginning of the year. Sports Council Chair and science teacher David Hinden says that it is necessary. “Including these regulations in the Student-Parent handbook is a key part of the Sports Council’s mission,” Hinden said. Over the past few years, fan behavior at games, especially that of Fanatics, has been one of the things the administration has sought to change. At the Loyola basketball game, for example, several fans wore “Beat Boyola” t-shirts with a picture of two boys holding hands. —Micah Sperling
Overall Record: 10-6 League Record: 9-3
nathanson ’s/ chronicle
“We had a good season because of our strong teamwork. We grew as a team through hard work. — Eric Dritley ‘13
Source: hw.com/athletics
Valid on Driver Ed (classroom or online)/Training package. Coupon must be presented at sign-up to receive discount. 1093 Broxton Ave #218, Los Angeles, CA 90024 One Coupon per student. Expires 9/2010 Call 310-824-4444 or email us at www.westwooddriving.com or start your Driver Education online now at www.310driversed.com!
C4 Sports
May 25, 2011
The
Chronicle
photos by daniel kim/chronicle
shock loss: Midfielder David Kinrich ’11 clears the ball down the field in the the team’s May 3 CIF playoffs first round loss to Agoura, left; Defenseman Alec Caso
Lacrosse suffers last-second playoff loss to Agoura By David Kolin After finishing its regular season undefeated, the lacrosse team lost to Agoura 11-10 at home in the first round of CIF playoffs May 3. The team had played Agoura once before at home during the regular season and won 8-6 on March 24. At the conclusion of the season, the Wolverines’ overall record was 13-1, and their league record was 8-0. The Wolverines trailed Agoura 10-6 with eight minutes left in their first playoff game, but they managed to rally back after a timeout and score four more goals. “We hadn’t been playing our game the entire game, and then we were just like ‘we got to pick this up,’” midfielder Daniel Edelstein ’11 said. The teams remained tied with only one minute left. With the time about to run out, goalie Matthew Mantel ’12 fought for the ball behind the net and, after managing to get possession, heaved the ball upfield. The ball was intercepted by an Agoura player, who scored on an empty goal with 0.1 seconds left in the game.
’11 gets pushed off the ball in the same game, right. Agoura broke the deadlocked draw with a last-second goal past Wolverine goalie Matt Mantel ’12.
“We didn’t stick to what got us to a 13-0 record,” Edelstein said. “We kind of changed up what we did to play against Agoura. I think we just got away from what got us 13 wins in a row.” “I think everybody expected to beat Agoura and then have a big match-up against Mira Costa in the quarter finals,” Edelstein said. “I wouldn’t say we overlooked them, but I don’t think we took Agoura as seriously as we should have.” Against Agoura, the Wolverines were charged with nine penalties while Agoura only had one penalty. “The officiating was pretty lopsided and pretty suspect, but you can never really blame the referees,” Edelstein said. “I wouldn’t blame the referees, but it was definitely a big factor in that game.” This season, the lacrosse team beat rival Loyola both at home and away. At home, the Wolverines crushed the Cubs 17-4. However, the team’s second game against Loyola was far closer. The Wolverines managed to win by one goal after three overtimes and captured the Mission League title. The Wolverines beat Palisades 8-4 on April 28 even though many players on the team expected it to be a tough matchup. Cory Wizenberg ’11, an attackman, won “Player of the Year” in the Mission League. He had the most points of anyone on his team with 42 goals and 36 assists. Wizenberg believes that a sense of family helped the team have one of its best seasons in school history. “The game is set up so that one extra pass will get you the goal, instead of just one person going for the goal, so I think playing for the team instead of play-
ing for yourself [helps],” Edelstein said. This season was Head Coach Matt Lewis’ first coaching the school’s lacrosse team after it was announced at the end of last season that Coach Mark Haddad would not return this year. “He promoted discipline and being a family and just playing for the person next to you, not for yourself, and just prepared us better [than last year’s coach] day in and day out,” Wizenberg said. Edelstein and Wizenberg predict that future seasons will be as successful if not more so because of the strong freshman class. “If everybody just keeps working hard, there is no reason there would be a big drop off after this year,” Edelstein said.
After starting its season 0-2, the boys’ swim team won three of its last five meets. The girls’ team struggled this season, going 1-6. “I feel like we’ve done really well and we’ve all improved as swimmers.” — Blaise Ormond ’12 nathanson ’s/chronicle
“Losing our second meeting with Loyola was tough. We would have liked to sweep them but at least we beat them on our own field.” — Blake Nosratian ’13 nathanson ’s/chronicle
By Daniel Kim
By Michael Aronson
JV Roundup
After beginning its season 3-1 with wins against Peninsula, Crespi and rival Loyola, the JV Lacrosse team finished 5-5, losing its last three games, most significantly against the rival Cubs 6-9.
Golf wins Mission League Tournament
Swimming ends season at CIF Masters in Irvine The younger than last year’s swim team showcased their ability to compete collectively throughout their season according to boys’ captain Patrick Edwards ’11 and girls’ co-captain Catherine Wang ’11. After winning its first four meets, the boys’ team finished its season with an overall record of 6-2 and a league record of 3-2 and the girls finished with an overall record of 2-6 and a league record of 2-3. The boys started their season with two blowout league wins against Canyon 118-52 and Notre Dame 140-30. Edwards took a lead-
JV Roundup
daniel kim/chronicle
backstroke: Shanshan Heh ’12 swims at the League Finals at Los Angeles Valley College. She qualified for CIF Masters May 17 in butterfly. ership role on the young team and was satisfied with how they swam. “As a team, I think we came together when we needed to most even though it was difficult because swimming is such an individual sport,” Edwards said. Wang was disappointed with the team’s finish considering they had been at the top of their league for the past few years. “After beating Notre Dame we went downhill,” Wang said. “We lost several seniors after last year who were a large part of our team.” In the league finals at Los Angeles Valley College on May 5, Wang won the 200-yard Individual Medley, Shannon Heh ’12 won the 100yard butterfly event, and Kassie Shannon ’13 won the 50-yard freestyle race. The boys’ team placed 41st and the girls’ team finished 42nd with a total of five swimmers who qualified for the CIF Masters. At CIF, swimmers needed to
place in the top 16 in their event to move on to CIF Masters. The 4x200-yard freestyle boys’ relay team of Patrick Kang ’12, Mitchell Oei ’11, Max Quilici ’12, Eusene Lee ’12 placed 15th to move on to the masters meet. Heh just barely qualified for the Masters, finishing 16th in the 100-yard butterfly. At the Master’s meet in Irvine, Nick Edel ’13 took Oei’s spot on the relay team. It finished ninth out of 24 in the final meet with a time of 1:28.70, coming close to the team’s previous best time of 1:28.61. “I was excited about getting a spot on the team to compete in Irvine. Being that I’m only a sophomore, it was a real honor to swim in the Masters meet,” Edel said. Heh was the only girl swimmer for Harvard-Westlake in the meet and she finished 13th of 24 swimmers in the final race with a 100 butterfly time of 59.49. Overall, Heh finished 13th out of 51 entries in her event.
The boys’ golf team finished its season with a first place finish at the Mission League Tournament in Griffith Park. The tournament was a two-day tournament from May 3 to 4. “I think the team played really well,” Charlie Benell ’12 said. “We played well as a team and I think it showed in our scores.” The team placed fourth in the Mission League with a record of 6-6 but beat out Chaminade and Loyola in the tournament. The team did not advance to Divisionals however, as only the top three teams advance. “It’s disappointing that we didn’t advance to the second round, especially since we had for the last 5 years or so consecutively,” Head Coach Scott Wood said. “But I’m not disappointed in the guys’ effort and improvement. We shot a great score to win league. Sometimes you fall short.” Bakari Bolden ’14 and Benell placed second and fourth in the individual tournament, respectively. They were two of the seven players chosen to advance to the CIF Regionals May 16. Bolden advanced from the Regional shooting a 74. Benell shot a 78 and missed the cutoff for the CIF Individual Final by one stroke.
JV Roundup Steven Chen took on the role of coach and led the team to its first win in the last meeting of their season against Chaminade. “I was happy that we beat Chaminade because it saved us from a winless season.” — Daniel Belgrad ’13 nathanson ’s/chronicle
May 25, 2011
Sports C5
The
Chronicle
Daniel Kim/chronicle
strong returns: Jackson Frons ’12 returns a shot from the Trabuco Hills singles 1 player in the first round of CIF playoffs on May 11. The team advanced to
the semifinals, playing Palos Verdes yesterday. The Wolverines were represented in Individuals by the doubles pair of Jeffrey Bu ’12 and Harrison Kalt ’13.
Boys’ tennis wins league, reaches semifinals for 3rd straight year By Austin Lee The boys’ tennis team emerged victorious in the CIF quarterfinals last Tuesday, defeating Corona del Mar 10-8. It played against Palos Verdes in the CIF semifinals yesterday. In its CIF run, the team defeated Trabuco Hills 14-4, Calabasas 15-3 and Corona del Mar 10-8. The team dropped only four sets against Trabuco despite
JV Roundup The JV boys’ tennis team proceeded through league undefeated in another successful season, and had only one loss overall against University.
Overall Record: 16-1 League Record: 10-0
nathanson ’s/chronicle
Jeremy Soeharto ’13
“We had a really strong season and everyone worked their hardest. Everyone accomplished and lot and improved.” — Jeremy Soeharto ’13
source : www.hw.com /athletics
competing with some players missing and others resting. The only players to lose were freshmen who were substituted in order to gain experience from the match. “The key is getting the experience for our younger players that will make us tougher next year,” Head Coach Chris Simpson said. In the second round match against Calabasas, the team started off strong and increased its lead every round, or six sets, reaching 10-2 by the end of two rounds and continuing in the third and final round with another five wins. “I liked the way our guys stayed tough in the first round of matches against Calabasas,” Simpson said. “We had to be cautious not to be overconfident, and we did just that.” In their match against Corona del Mar, however, the Wolverines had a rough time, barely escaping a tie. After the first round of the match the score was tied at 3-3, but the team had lost all three of the doubles sets, an ominous sign for the rounds to come (the team had been worried about Corona del Mar’s doubles prowess prior to the match). However, the team gained a large lead during the second round, winning five out of six sets and sweeping all three of the doubles sets.
In the last round, Corona del Mar made a large comeback, winning four sets of six. However, singles player Jackson Frons ’12 and the doubles team of Harrison Kalt ’13 and Matthew Wagner ’11 both managed to win their sets, allowing the team to hold on to their lead and win the match. The team faced the number two seeded school Palos Verdes in CIF semifinals on Tuesday after press time. The Wolverines lost in their previous game against Palos Verdes 7-11, but should have won, as the team dropped many close sets, according to cocaptain Matthew Wagner ’11. In CIF individuals, the team was represented by the pair of Jeffrey Bu ’12 and Kalt, the pair who won the Mission League doubles title. They played at the sectionals on Friday at Carpinteria High and Cate High and advanced to the final round of the sectionals, but lost in the next round against their final opponents. “Individuals was a great experience,” Bu said. “I had the chance to play doubles, which is something pretty new for me and this year’s tennis team. Harrison and I had a lot of fun and were really excited about winning league individuals and advancing so far in regional individuals.” The team also won League Finals with a perfect league record. The Wolverines were crowned champions of the Mission League yet again and extended their streak of consecutive league wins to 124. “That is the number two best all-time record in any league in the CIF,” Simpson said. “We are chasing the 191 consecutive win record set by Santa Barbara many years ago.”
Baseball claims first Mission League from BASEBALL, C1 Giolito’s early season offensive worries for his team have been quelled by explosive hitting by his young teammates. Catcher Arden Pabst ’13 has risen to his starting role, hitting .434 with 28 RBIs in only 76 at-bats in the regular season. Pabst’s break-out year comes after playing in the Harvard-Westlake program since he was a seventh grader at a different school, he said. “I was in the Harvard-Westlake program with the [club baseball team the] Rats, so I have been with the program for a while,” he said. “I am familiar with the program and I know what I need to do. I know what kind of program we are.” “The sophomore class has been exposed to our coaching staff and our training regimen from the day they entered seventh grade, and the success that they have had on the field this year can to a large extent be attributed to the process we have had in place over the last four years,” LaCour said. “Both at the middle school and on the club level, these players have been trained to play at a high level.” Six years ago, this was not the case. Head of Athletics Audrius Barzdukas said the mentality of LaCour’s program is extremely different than it was. “[Six] years ago, we came off a season when we went [winless] in league,” he said. “On senior ditch day, we only had four kids show up to practice.” LaCour’s method has brought a lot of talent to the team this year, Barzdukas said. The younger players have shined this year, as underclassmen hold the two highest batting averages among the starters with Pabst and Joe Corrigan ’13 (batting .369). “Our baseball program is a true program,” Barzdukas said. “It is as well integrated philosophically in terms of coaching and communica-
tion from seventh to 12th grade as any program that we have.” “They’ve been through our gambit from the beginning,” LaCour said. “Our guys know what’s expected as soon as they walk on to the field in ninth grade.” With a deadly pitching staff and dangerous bats, the team has moved into the second round of the CIF playoffs against Arroyo Grande after defeating Valencia 5-0 on Thursday. Behind Giolito’s six innings, the team shut out the Vikings, only giving up three hits. Giolito’s eight strikeouts were followed up by reliever Connor Dillman’s ’11 1-2-3 seventh inning with two strikeouts and a forced groundball. Even though he wasn’t on the mound, Flaherty made his mark on the game, batting 2-3 with two singles. “Zero errors today, that’s huge,” a giddy Giolito said after the game. “If the defense makes good plays behind me, only good things can happen.” Giolito, who was a young prospect himself last year, doesn’t think age has affected his team’s play. His team is playing so well, he said, because of an increase in focus. “We had a good team last year, but our team this year is really close, we’re clicking together,” he said. “Every batter is taken really seriously; every pitch is taken seriously. There is a lot of focus.” The first Mission League isn’t the end for LaCour and company this year, as Division II CIF playoffs pose a big challenge to the fifth seeded Wolverines. “There is no doubt that we will sit back when this is all over, that we will say ‘hey, that was special,’” LaCour said about the league title. “It’s been really a good year, but it’s not over because we have high goals,” Pabst said. “We’ll see where it goes from here.” If the Wolverines defeat Arroyo Grande, their next game will be Friday.
Judd Liebman/chronicle
Solid hit: Jason Garfinkel ’11 makes contact in the game against Loyola. Garfinkel has a batting average of .267.
JV Roundup Despite missing a league title by only one game, the JV baseball team progressed well over the course of the season.
Overall Record: 17-6
League Record: 8-4
“If we had won that game [against Loyola], we would have won league. It was a tough loss.” — Hans Hansen ’13 nathanson ’s/chronicle
Hans Hansen ’13
source : www.hw.com /athletics
C6 Sports
The
Chronicle
May 25, 2011
Performing arts conflicts take students from athletic practices By Robbie Loeb
Mary Rose fissinger/chronicle
Daniel kim/chronicle
dual responsibilities: Brooke Levin ’12 plays both saxaphone for the Jazz Combo, top, and point gaurd for the girls’ varsity basketball team, bottom.
Before the volleyball game against Loyola, Head of the Performing Arts Department Rees Pugh interrupted practice and insisted that setter Stephen Carr ’12 leave to rehearse for a One Act play in which he was co-starring. Pugh told Head Coach Adam Black that at this school, performing arts rehearsals take precedence over sports practices. Without a backup setter, Black laced up his shoes and had to set up for the rest of the practice. The typical Harvard-Westlake student is constantly juggling athletics, arts and academics. It is rather common that a student is committed to sports teams, plays and concerts, and all at the same time. “Conflicts are going to exist,” Athletic Director Terry Barnum said. “We are an ambitious school, and we try to do a lot of things very well. All we can do is try to work together as best we can to try to minimize those conflicts.” “It affects every performance, all the time,” Jazz teacher Shawn Costantino said. “There’s never a performance where there’s not a kid rushing back from [either] volleyball, basketball or baseball.” Several years ago, the Student Athlete Advisory Council proposed guidelines for students who find themselves torn because they are forced to choose between sports and performing arts. The proposal, which can be found in the student handbook, advises students to notify appropriate faculty in a timely manner in order to work towards a satisfactory resolution. It ranks which activities should take precedence over others, to help students make decisions. Playoff games, final dress rehearsals and concerts supersede league games which supersede practices. The proposal’s purpose was to give students help in choosing between performing arts and athletics “Since then, it has morphed into a weapon more than a tool,” Barnum said. “I think it has helped to avoid conflict, and I also think the coaches and the performing arts faculty have done a great job of working together to try and minimize the number of conflicts that may arise as well.”
Printed with permission of Annelise hansson
speed demon: David Manahan ’14, left, races Will Conway at CIF finals in the 800-meter run. Manahan ran a 1:58.26, the top freshman time in the state.
Freshman ranks 9th in nation for event class, 1st in state from Track & Field, C1
Weissenbach sustained a hip injury earlier in the year during the cross country season. “It felt great,” Weissenbach said. “It was the first time that I felt like I’m back from injury. It was the first time I felt fast in a while.” Chapus, Hansson and Weissenbach joined KC Cord ’11 in the 4x400-meter relay to win that race and break the third school-record of the day. The record that had been broken was one of the few that had not been broken this year. Hansson and Weissenbach had teamed up with Jennie Porter ’10 and Zaakirah Daniels ’10 at last year’s state meet to set the record. Two members of the boys’ team competed at CIF Finals. David Manahan’s ’14 seventh-place finish made him the fastest freshman in the state and the ninth-fastest in the nation. Ben Gaylord ’13 placed fifth in pole vault. The qualifiers to the Masters Tour-
nament will compete at Cerritos College on May 27. All entrants in the Masters Tournament will compete in the same division. The top performers in Masters from each event will advance to State Prelims at Buchanan High School on June 2. “I still can’t believe it right now, it’s overwhelming,” King told the LA Daily News. “We all felt like we had to do it this year for the coaches because they’ve been working so hard. This was definitely our year.”
JV Roundup After a shaky start, the girls’ track and field team topped out its season winning half its meets. The boys’ team finished winless in league.
Overall Record: Boys: 1-6 Girls: 5-3 League Record: Boys: 0-6 Girls: 4-2
Source: Jonas Koolsbergen
“Sometimes I get into arguments with people because I’m very passionate about jazz, and if I have to go up against a lacrosse coach and he’s passionate about lacrosse, he doesn’t want to give up his player for a big game because it’s important to him and it’s important to me, so we do some head-butting but I don’t think it’s malicious,” Costantino said. Teachers and coaches feel like they are always “pulling on the same kid,” Costantino said. He said that both performing arts and athletics want what is best for their respective programs, and that is where conflict and frustration arise from. “I think the coaches and the performing arts faculty find it frustrating when their key performers can’t be there,” Barnum said. “That’s part of being at Harvard-Westlake and trying to be excellent. I think it can be damaging to a team, particularly if it’s a key member of the team, and it’s a practice right before a big game, or even if it is a game, that sometimes students have to miss. Team cohesion is such an important part of being successful in athletics, and any time you’re missing a part of your team, it’s going to hurt the team cohesion and the strategy for winning that particular game.” “I am sure it is frustrating when these sorts of conflicts arise, but the frustration is never directed at me,” jazz saxophonist and basketball player Brooke Levin ’12 said. “In my case, I have found that Head Coach [Melissa] Hearlihy and Costantino are extremely respectful of each other’s programs and do everything to help me juggle the schedule.” Levin finds that balancing her responsibilities takes compromise and communication. She neither lets basketball take precedence over the arts, or the arts over her athletics, she said. Instead, she balances them evenly. “Hopefully, at the end of that resolution, the person that is most happy is the student, because that’s who matters most in these situations,” Barnum said. “It’s ultimately up to the player. That’s the thing that I think gets lost a lot of times when there are conflicts. We have to encourage the students to be open and honest with everyone that’s involved.”
Athletic group visits Olympic training facility
Fencers place 1st in state tournament By Meagan Wang
By Vivien Mao A delegation from Harvard-Westlake visited the Colorado Springs United States Olympic Training Center to help get ideas on new technology for a new Scholastic Institute for Sports Science and Medicine at HarvardWestlake. This new addition to the school will allow students, parents and faculty from the Harvard-Westlake community to research sports science. Vice President John Amato, Head of Athletics Audrius Barzdukas, Athletic Director Darlene Bible, Athletic Director Terry Elledge, science teacher David Hinden, Chief Advancement Officer Ed Hu and Director of Sports Medicine Milo Sini went to Colorado to speak with biomechanic scientists, who study movement using highspeed cameras to recreate 3-D pictures while the athlete is in motion, and sports psychologists, who research the mental effect of sports on an individual, and to see the advances in sports medicine already happening. The three main facilities they visited were the Recovery Center, where athletes go after practice to recover, the Sports Medicine Complex, where research is tested, and the Exercise Physiology Laboratory, where the research happens. Hinden ran on a zero-gravity treadmill in the Recovery Center, and the rest of the group looked at the Center’s hydrotherapy rooms, saunas, and use of massage. They also watched athletes give blood samples to be sent to the Exercise Physiology Laboratory, where the levels of oxygen in the blood after a workout would be tested. “We wanted to look at a state of the art facility to get some ideas,” Barzdukas said. “We visited all their high performance facilities and saw metabolic carts and blood gas analyzers. The instruments can help assess how a body uses energy. A parallel between the Olympic training center and Harvard-Westlake is that in both places you have smart people who are always analyzing and thinking about making things better. It was exciting to see that same energy in both institutions.” The fundamental framework for the new institute has
Wolverines Eat Pizza From Mama’s and Papa’s !!!
Sports C7
Chronicle
The
May 25, 2011
Courtesy of Darlene Bible
Innovations: David Hinden learns about sports technology at Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center. been solidified into three goals: care, research and education, Barzdukas said. Barzdukas said that there are no concrete plans as of yet to revamp Taper gymnasium for the research. “There are no blueprints, no plans, no anything,” Barzdukas said. “We are still in the process of discussing it. That is part of the long-range plan, but it is still not completely solidified.” Students will be helping with the research. The institution will also try to incorporate parents who specialize in sports medicine. Currently, Harvard-Westlake is conducting a study with Los Angeles Children’s Hospital Dr. David Skaggs (Jamie ’15) and Dr. Lee Pace correlating activity levels between injuries. There is also a study with Dr. Aurelia Nattiv and Dr. Michelle Barrack from the University of California, Los Angeles Department of Sports Medicine on bone mineral density. “We already have a number of projects under way,” Barzdukas said. We’ve even already completed a study on knee injuries and one of overhand-throwing with [the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic]. It’s already happening.”
Josiah Yiu ’12 won the California State High School Fencing Championship May 15 at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena in the 16-20 age group junior sabre category. Michael Leuchter ’11 placed third in the same category. This was the first year that the fencing team sent representatives to the tournament. The mens’ sabre team, consisting of Yiu and Leuchter, took first place in the competition. The womens’ sabre team, consisting of Molly Cinnamon ’14 and Sandhya Nadadur ’12, also took first place in the tournament. The tournament was an individual tournament. Team rankings were based on the combined scores of the fencers on the team. “It felt pretty good to win, especially to win for Harvard-Westlake,” Yiu said. Fencers were seeded in the tournament based on their rank and national rating. Initially, the fencers competed in groups of five to seven people. Based on the number of wins they earned and the number of touches they scored, the fencers were placed in a bracket, where they competed in direct single elimination. Yiu has been fencing for 10 years. He started competing locally when he was eight years old and then nationally only a year later. “My mom put me into fencing because she saw a movie with people fighting with swords and she thought fencing was a gentlemanly sport … and she wanted me to do it,” Yiu said. Since then, fencing has become one of Yiu’s biggest out of school commitments. He practices four times a week and also fences at the Avante Garde Fencers’ Club. Yiu competes nationally about every two months and competes locally at the tournaments his fencing club hosts or with his school team. He plans to continue fencing in college.
C8 Sports
May 25, 2011
The
Chronicle
Locked in: Camille Hooks ’11 lines up a shot in a scrimmage against St. Lucy’s. Daniel Kim/chronicle
the year in photos By Alec Caso
and
Austin Lee
Thrill of victory: Zena Edosomwan ’12 celebrates after defeating Loyola 81-74. Daniel Kim/chronicle
This year has seen the rise of new champion teams and the defense of old titles. The lacrosse team became undefeated league champions for the first time in school history and girls’ water polo team won the CIF championship after losing in the last six seconds three years ago. Girls’ volleyball defended its league champion title
and the boys’ basketball team defended its league title and continued to win CIF this year. Girls’ basketball attempted to defend its state title and made it to the second round of state. The baseball team has surpassed last year’s record by securing a league title as it proceeds into CIF playoffs for the first time in school history.
Rejected: Kellie Barnum ’11 (left) and Amanda Hall ’11 block a shot by a Dos Pueblos hitter. Daniel Kim/chronicle
Read about the Athletes of the Year and more in our quarterly sports magazine
bigred
or online at chronicle.hw.com
Pitching Fire: Lucas Giolito ’12 winds up to pitch. He has been Harvard-Westlake baseball’s number one pitcher this year. Printed with Permission of Rick Giolito
Scooping through: David Kinrich ’11 drives past Stevenson defenders for a ground ball. Daniel Kim/chronicle
Driving in: Hilary King ’11 drives to the basket. Daniel Kim/chronicle
eniors S The Chronicle Volume XX Issue IX May 25, 2011
On the Road When we took the on-ramp for Interstate Harvard-Westlake, we could only see as far as the next bend in the road. The Chronicle recaps the Class of 2011’s long and winding journey.
D6-7
Ingrid Chang/chronicle
D2 Supplement
The
Chronicle
Brownstein Fellow plans gap year of travel, immersion By Mary Rose Fissinger
Here’s the plan:
The Brownstein Fellowship Selection Committee named Catherine Wang ’11 the 2011 Brownstein Fellow on May 5. As the recipient of the Brownstein Fellow Catherine Wang ’11 award, Wang will receive $10,000 to wrote in her proposal that she would be used towards her gap year, which she is taking before enrolling at Yale work, teach English and do community University in the fall of 2012. service on three continents. nathanson ’s/chronicle Named for Michael Brownstein ’99, the fellowship encourages travel Catherine Wang ’11 She will spend the first three months of her gap year and service to others in the form of doing a journalism internship in Shanghai, China. a gap year between high school and college. According to the application for the program, Brownstein was “a young man with a strong humaniWang next hopes to travel around Asia to countries tarian spirit and sense of social justice whose life was like Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Mongolia. tragically cut short in a June 2007 accident, but not before he lived his life to the fullest, passionately pursuing life-affirming experiences through extensive travel.” For a month, she will immerse herself in Buddhist Wang had not really considered taking a gap year culture in Nepal and teach monks English. until Gavin Cook ’10, the 2010 Brownstein Fellow, spoke at a senior assembly about how he spent his gap year. “I thought it sounded really cool and just decided to After coming back home for a month, she will apply,” Wang said. build homes and orphanages and do other Part of the application entails detailing an itinercommunity service in South Africa. ary and budget for the proposed gap year. Wang plans to spend the first three months, starting in SeptemShe will spend six to eight weeks in Italy, where ber, in China participating in a journalism internship she hopes to participate in archaeological digs. in Shanghai. The internship is coordinated through Projects Abroad, an organization recommended on the Brownstein application. Zack Witten ’08, the first Finally, she will live on an Indian reservation in the Brownstein fellow, participated in the same internship United States and do more community service. during his gap year. After she leaves China, Wang wants to find time to graphic by Austin block travel around Asia to countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Mongolia. “I wanted to live in homestays and be nomadic and Her itinerary is subject to change once she actually everything, but now I’m not really sure how realistic starts her gap year and finalizes her plans, she said. She that is because getting visas is really hard,” she said. may end up eliminating some elements of the itinerAfter China, she will spend a month in Nepal doing ary and extending others, depending on how everything Buddhist immersion. In exchange for boarding, meals goes. She is also considering working for a campaign and being entirely immersed in a Buddhist lifestyle, she and getting her pilot’s license. will teach the monks English. The committee is being very lenient with the money, Then Wang plans on coming home for a month be- she said. fore going to Cape Town for six to eight weeks. There “They basically told me I could do whatever I want she will work on building homes and orphanages and with the money,” she said. “When I put my itinerary toother community service activities. gether I had really put no thought into a gap year so it “Even though I’m into community service, I’ve never was really me just spilling ideas onto a word document. done a long term project like that,” she said. Now I really have to think about what I want to get out When looking for projects that fit this criteria, Wang of a gap year.” looked online for the location that seemed most excitHowever, she is certain she will go to China. ing to her. “I want to continue learning Chinese…even though “I’m a big fan of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and he’s I’ve been five times there’s always more to learn,” she from South Africa, so I picked South Africa,” she said. said. Next, Wang plans on travelling to Italy, where she “I think it’ll really push me out of my comfort zone will spend another six to eight weeks, hopefully going and challenge me,” she said. “Especially the unknown on archaeological digs. aspect. No matter how much I plan for the gap year, Her itinerary concludes with a month during which there will always be things I didn’t expect so I’ll have to Wang plans on living on an Indian reservation and do- think in the moment.” ing community service. She anticipates being fully prepared for college at the “When I was making the itinerary I was just think- end of the gap year. ing of really random things that you’re like ‘Oh I wish I “I’ll know more about what I want to get out of Yale. could do that if I had time,’” she said. It’ll give me more direction,” she said.
1 2 3 4 5 6
Bryan named valedictorian upcoming events from bryan, A1 to get Bryan to her office. “I was really surprised,” Bryan said. “I was a little in awe of the whole thing. You can’t know that it’s going to be you. You realize that you’re in some top portion of the class, but I was not anticipating it.” He said that he has very little experience writing speeches, so he has resorted to watching online videos of famous orators such as Winston Churchill for inspiration. “The first thing I did was go on YouTube,” he laughed. “I’m probably setting the bar a little high for myself, but it’s good to see.” Bryan attributed his success to help from friends, family and teachers. “I don’t feel like I did this on my own, that’s for sure,” he said. “I took hard classes, but classes that a lot of other people were taking. I don’t know if I did anything that extraordinary.”
5/26
>> senior transition day
5/31
>> upper school awards ceremony >> senior art show >> senior solo night
6/7-9
>> senior retreat
6/10
>> faculty/senior breakfast and commencement Source: hw.com graphic by Mary Rose Fissinger
May 25, 2011
inbrief Senior Class Gift raises $8,100 for financial aid The yield for this year’s Senior Class Gift has surpassed the Office of Advancement’s goals, raising $8,100. This year’s senior class voted to support the Alumni Scholar Endowment, one of the main sources for Harvard-Westlake’s financial aid. “This year’s Senior Gift effort is actually doing quite well, and it is not yet over. Gifts are still coming in, and we are on target to have another record year,” Chief Advancement Officer, Edward Hu said. The record senior giving from last year was $8,348.12 with 79 percent class participation, and the Office of Advancement expects this year’s results to surpass the record with over 80 percent participation. “Director for Alumni Giving Greg O’Leary has worked very closely with the leadership from the Student Alumni Association and other senior class leaders to help achieve the goals of the Senior Class Gift. They have done a terrific job and I really appreciate their efforts on behalf of the school,” Hu said. —Michael Rothberg
150 students to attend third senior retreat Approximately 150 seniors have signed up to attend the third annual senior retreat June 7-9 in Big Bear at Camp Cedar Lake. A committee made up prefects began making plans in September. With faculty and staff approval, the committee organized activities like hiking, swimming, arts and crafts, dances and talent shows. “I tell them what we have done in the past and they make it their own. It is student-run and I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Upper School Dean Jon Wimbish said. The student organizers are Chris Holthouse ’11, Melanie Borinstein ’11, David Olodort ’12 and Katie Lim ’13, but any seniors interested in planning the trip were allowed to join, as well. —Elana Zeltser
Parents plan Grad Night for evening of graduation Grad Night is scheduled to take place at 7:30 p.m. on June 10 after Senior Commencement Ceremony. The event is put on annually by parents on the Grad Night committee. This year, students and their parents had to sign a release form before the event. Seniors received an online invitation, informing them that they should be be dropped off at the school’s main entrance in comfortable attire and that they should leave their cell phones at home. The seniors will then be taken by bus to a surprise location. They will be accompanied by parent chaperones and CJL security guards. The event will last until 6 a.m. the next morning. —Megan Ward
Students to honor faculty at graduation breakfast On graduation day, seniors and faculty from both the Middle School and the Upper School will have breakfast at Sportsman’s Lodge at 8:15 a.m. before commencement begins at 10:30 a.m. Faculty and seniors must park their cars at Sportsman’s Lodge. They will either walk or take shuttle buses to the upper school campus down the street and must pick their cars up by 1 p.m. At the breakfast, several student awards will be presented, including the George Edwards Coleman Award, which is presented to the student who the senior class votes to have “best served the school and his or her classmates.” Three faculty members from each campus also receive Senior Faculty Tribute Awards. Students voted on these awards as well wrote comments about the teachers they voted for. A student with an especially thoughtful comment was chosen to introduce each teacher. —Austin Block
May 25, 2011
Supplement D3
The
Chronicle
Rock star, author speak at luncheons for seniors, parents By Austin Block and Sade Tavangarian Sitting in the dining room at Bel Air Country Club, senior boys and their fathers watched a video of Paul Stanley (Evan ’12), the former lead singer of the rock band KISS, smashing guitars, performing in front of thousands and discussing his second career as a visual artist. When the montage ended, Stanley encouraged seniors to believe in themselves, to find a pursuit they feel passionate about, and to disregard anyone who tells them that something they really want to do is impossible. Stanley was the guest speaker at the annual senior boys’ event, a luncheon held on Saturday May 7. “Our first criteria [in finding a speaker] was we wanted somebody that was affiliated with HarvardWestlake in some way and he was a dad there,” said Esther Peacock (Wes ’11), who organized the event along with Jennifer Lerner (Josh ’11, Nicole ’13) and Wendy Garfinkel (Jason ’11, Jordan ’14). “We also wanted it tailored to the boys as well as the dads, and there were lots of people that could impart a message as far as your future and things like that or a lot of businessmen that would have something good to say to the kids, but we also wanted somebody with some element of fun because we just didn’t want someone that would only appeal to the dads,” she said. “Paul Stanley [is] not only a tremendous talent but he’s such a good businessman because he parlayed his talent into an incredible business. He’s also funny … he overcame a tremendous handicap as well [partial hearing loss from birth]… He was just a great allaround choice.” During the first hour of the event, seniors and their fathers took pictures, chatted and watched a magician perform before sitting down for lunch at noon. Chaplain Father J. Young gave a benediction and Vice President John Amato welcomed the fathers and students with a short speech. After lunch, they watched a
montage created by Ray Dillman (Connor ’11) of photos of the senior boys. In total, 248 people attended the event, including Amato, Young, and Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra. Over 150 senior girls and their mothers filled up the Luxe Hotel courtyard in Brentwood on the same afternoon. At the MotherDaughter Luncheon for senior girls and their mothers, the girls and their mothers sat down for a 45 minute montage of pictures from seventh through 12th grades. “It was sentimental to see the slideshow of pictures from when we were so young. I enjoyed my time with my close friends and their moms. It was funny to see how similar some girls looked to their parents. It was almost like going to a twenty year reunion and seeing an older version of ourselves,” Gaby Cohen ’11 said. Guest speaker Jane Buckingham spoke to the girls about her career as the host of the Style Network’s show “Modern Girl’s Guide to Life.” She is also the author of the “Modern Girl’s Guide to Life and the Modern Girl’s Guide to Motherhood.” Currently Buckingham works as president of the Intelligence Group, a marketing consulting firm she founded that uses traditional and nontraditional techniques to determine tomorrow’s trends. She spoke about the rapidly changing generation that the senior girls are going through and how to be a powerful, young woman in the business world. “I thought we all bonded with our mothers really well. The keynote speaker was interesting because she had an inspirational demeanor,” Celine Pourmardi ’11 said. “It was fun to see how the mother and daughters looked alike. I especially liked how Beanie Feldstein ’11 and her mother wore matching outfits,” Becky Wolke ’11 said. “It was really cool because it felt like a milestone in my HarvardWestlake career. I’d seen friends go with their moms and it was finally our time!” Emily Wallach ’11 said.
Freshman 101 Basic Car Care Walt Werner
Essential skills like changing tires will be taught in this double-length seminar, which satisfies the two-seminar requirement for the day.
Sex in College for Females Sheila Siegel, Michelle Bracken, Darlene Bible Students will learn the dynamics of sexual relationships, plus health and safety information.
Sex in College for Males Ryan Wilson, Jordan Church, Terry Barnum Same as above.
Dorm Room Dinner Parties and Beyond! Melissa Kahn ’99
Students will explore the keys to cost-efficient and effective dorm-room party planning.
Art as a Tool for Independence Eliza Pfister ’99
A professional artist will teach collage art to experienced art students.
printed with permission of esther Peacock
printed with permission of esther Peacock
Printed with permission of kelsey woo
Fun with mom and dad: Senior boys dress up for a funny photo at the FatherSon luncheon, held May 7 at the Bel Air Country Club (top). KISS guitarist Paul Stanley (Evan ’12) speaks at the Father-Son event (bottom left). Kathryn Gallagher and her mother, Paula, pose for a photo outside the Mother-Daughter luncheon at the Luxe Hotel.
Continuing an annual college preparation tradition, seniors will take two periodlong seminars from the selection of 13 below tomorrow. The names of the faculty or alumni teaching each course and course descriptions are also listed.
Basic Sewing and Keeping Your Hell is other people...if you let them: An Introduction to Clothing Wearable Lisa Peters This hands-on seminar will teach how to repair torn or Existentialist Philosophy stained clothing.
The Great Six Books: Exploring the Big Questions Heath Moon
Students will grapple with weighty abstract questions posed in literature.
Psychology of Flirting and Attraction Luba Bek
Taught by the school pyschologist and open to only non-psychology students, this seminar will include a “dating game.”
Simona Ghirlanda
Students will explore questions that could encourage them to take philosophy courses in college.
Quick, Easy Meals to Make in Your Dorm Room Kathy Neumeyer
Students will learn to cook with standard dorm room equipment and without a kitchen.
Managing Money in College Rob Levin, Jono Wagmeister ’09
Cost-calculating and finance management will be taught by the Chief Financial Officer and an alum.
What to See On Your Next Trip to Western Europe Dorm Room First Aid - Know What Katherine Holmes-Chuba to Do This seminar will introduce students to some of Europe’s best ancient sights and modern cultural activites.
Sandee Teruya, Milo Sini, Harry Salamandra
Students will learn to handle minor and serious first aid emergencies.
May 25, 2011
Chronicle
The
D4 Matriculation List
changing lanes
The Class of 2011 is headed toward 89 interchanges, 44 of which are the destinations of two or more seniors. Eight of us have pulled over until fall 2012.
Will Aalto Champlain
Justin Calabrese Cornell
Nick Duckwiler Columbia (Fu)
Matthew Goldhaber Michigan
Cheryl Ikegami USC
David Abergel Emory
Natalie Camacho USC
Daniel Edelstein Michigan
Jessie Goldman U. Penn
Luna Ikuta RISD
Hank Adelmann Rice
Patricia Capiral USC (deferring)
Chelsea Edwards Penn State
Robby Goldman Pomona
Daniel Iyayi Cornell
Annelise Alexander Emory
Matthew Carney U. Penn
Patrick Edwards Wash. U., St. Louis (Olin)
Danny Goliger Skidmore
Evan Jackson Princeton
Anmol Amin Michigan
Julian Casillas La Verne
Spencer Eichler Southern Methodist
Ryan Gould Michigan
Alexander Jaffe Harvard
Mariana Bagneris Princeton
Alec Caso Maryland
Lily Einstein Haverford
Jarred Green Skidmore
Casey Jarvis Cornell
Sarah Baik Declined to state
Ben Castillo Emory
Conor Eliot Colgate
Joseph Green USC (Viterbi)
Lauren Jones Tufts (deferring)
Adam Bailey UVA
Lily Cha School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Jonathan Etra Deferring
Kody Greenbaum Wisconsin
Adel Kamal U. Miami
Elizabeth Evashwick Lafayette
Ashley Grossman Stanford
Joshua Kang Vanderbilt
Nick Farmer USC
Riley Guerin Deferring
Christine Kanoff Dartmouth
Noor Fateh Hofstra
Chanah Haddad Richmond: The American International University in London
Rachel Katz U. Chicago
Sahar Bardi Boston University Kellie Barnum Boston College Arielle Basich Stanford Chase Basich Stanford Katherine Belgrad Cornell Gabe Benjamin Swarthmore Sara Best Sewanee Errol Bilgin Bard Austin Block Stanford Melanie Borinstein Yale Henry Braun Vassar Justin Bretter San Francisco State Jordan Bryan Stanford Jordan Bunzel Vassar David Burton Georgetown Andrea Bustamante UC Berkeley Jordan Butler Michigan Kelley Butler Emory Damiene Cain Colorado, Boulder
Ingrid Chang Wash U., St. Louis Alexander Chen Occidental Justin Chernick USC Robin Chon Willamette Elizabeth Christman UCLA Matthew Chupack Columbia Anne Cohen Johns Hopkins Gaby Cohen NYU (Gallatin) Justin Cohen U. Penn Kirstin Cook Carleton KC Cord Dartmouth Adrianna Crovo Michigan Will Davidson Colorado, Boulder Lucy Davis Stanford Ellie Diamant Davidson Connor Dillman Emory Lewis Dix Morehouse Danilo Dragovic USC Ben Dreier Cornell (Engineering)
Stefani Feldman USC (Thornton) Beanie Feldstein Wesleyan Gaby Figueroa UC Davis Josh Fine Eugene Lang Emily Firestein Bucknell Nicky Firestone U. Miami Sarah Fiskin Cornell Mary Rose Fissinger Boston College Jackson Foster RISD (deferring) Jordan Freisleben Columbia Kathryn Gallagher USC (Thornton) Graham Gallaher Wash. U., St. Louis Sunndy Gan Cornell Jason Garfinkel Vassar Melissa Gertler UC Berkeley Jonathan Glassman NYU
Amanda Hall Bucknell Rachel Hall Kenyon Lauren Hansson Duke Andrew Hartford Michigan Brian Harwitt Cornell Tess Hatch Michigan Courtney Hazy UC Davis Max Heltzer UCLA Christina Higgins UC Berkeley Tori Hill NYU Christopher Holthouse Harvard Alex Hong Michigan Camille Hooks Princeton Sam Horn U. Penn Andrew Hotchkiss Villanova Hanna Huang U. Chicago
Hannah Kaufman Tulane Courtney Kelly Dartmouth Liz Kelly Elon Ashley Khakshouri UCLA Emily Khaykin Carnegie Mellon Daniel Kim Cornell Joyce Kim USC Lorenz Kim Michigan Hilary King San Francisco State David Kinrich Michigan Alanna Klein Cornell Alex Knight Duke Ben Kogan Columbia Natalie Kram Emory Ben Krause Wash. U, St. Louis Ethan Kudrow U. Chicago
USC 22 Michigan 21
May 25, 2011
Matriculation List D5
The
Chronicle
Kevin Kusemanegara Chapman
Caity Murphy College of William & Mary
Lael Pollack Reed
Kayj Shannon Princeton
Xavi Villalta Carnegie Mellon
Olivia Kwitny Notre Dame
James Myerson Georgetown
Milena Popovic St. Mary’s
Max Sheldon NYU (Tisch)
Jono Wachter U. Penn (Wharton)
Erin Landau Dartmouth
Alison Nadel U. Penn
Mileva Popovic St. Mary’s
Brian Shultz Columbia
Matt Wagner Boston College
Esther Lee Colorado, Boulder
Lili Nanus McGill
Celine Pourmoradi NYU (Liberal Studies)
Alex Siegel Tufts
Julia Wald Trinity
James Lee Michigan (Ross)
Ethan Neale Vanderbilt
Elizabeth Pratt Michigan
Laura Silverman George Washington
Emily Wallach Emory
Mathew Lee Brown
Paige Negoro Tufts
Rebecca Ressler Brown
Caroline Sim NYU
Catherine Wang Yale (deferring)
Sophia Lee Cornell
Alice Newman Oberlin
Eric Richardson NYU
Griffy Simon Williams
Matt Ward Michigan
Sue Lee UCLA
Mitchell Oei University of Rochester
Arlill Rodriguez Case Western
Jacqueline Sir NYU (Tisch)
Spencer Ward Michigan
David Lehoang USC (Bac./M.D.)
Kelly Ohriner NYU (Steinhardt)
Fredel Romano USC
Nicolai Sisteron NYU
Richard Weisman Wisconsin
Alex Leichenger Wash. U., St. Louis
Katrina Okano Cornell
Anna Romanoff USC
Eric Slotsve Wake Forest
Timothy Weston Puget Sound
Mandy Leiter George Washington
Will Oliver Colorado, Boulder
Stephen Rosen Michigan
Sam Sobel Kenyon
Terell Willard Baylor
Josh Lerner Colorado, Boulder
Max Olshansky Michigan
David Sohmer American University of Paris
Eli Wininger USC (Marshall)
Michael Leuchter Wash. U., St. Louis
Kevin On U. Chicago
Hannah Rosenberg Camberwell College of Arts, London
Jake Sonnenberg Stanford
Cory Wizenberg Colorado, Boulder
Austin Lewis Stanford
Jelyca Ormond Johns Hopkins
Katie Speidel Santa Clara
Adam Wolf Vanderbilt
Nick Lieberman Columbia (deferring)
Jordan Orringer Michigan (Ross)
Jeffrey Sperling MIT
Becky Wolke Emory
Jenny Lin MIT
Raphael Osorio Tufts
Ben Sprung-Keyser Harvard
Colette Woo Columbia
Adrian Lindo Cal State Long Beach
Vivek Pandrangi Wash. U., St. Louis
Charlie Stigler Columbia
Kelsey Woo Boston College
Emilia Louy Kenyon
Jean Park Maryland
Danielle Strassman Barnard
Kyle Woo Boston College
Haley Lucitt Johns Hopkins
Katy Park Brown
Danielle Strom Michigan
Bryn Woollacott Maryland
Noelle Lyons USC
Maguire Parsons Cornell (Hotel)
Ben-Han Sung Stanford
Tiana Woolridge Princeton
Shawn Ma Cornell
Advai Pathak Colgate
Jacob Swanson Claremont McKenna
Jeremy Work Brown
Stephanie Maldonado Brown (PLME)
Wes Peacock Emory
Sadé Tavangarian Claremont McKenna
Rae Wright Wisconsin
Danny Marenzi Boston College (Business)
Brooke Pechman George Washington
Jamie Temko Brown
Tabi Yoo Wesleyan
Ethan Mark UC Santa Cruz
Emma Peterson Columbia
Skylar Tsuitsui Carleton
Jessica Yorkin USC
Alex Markes Brown
Jack Petok Stanford
Drew Tuttle U. Penn
Ernie Zaferis USC (Marshall)
Michelle Martinez UC Merced
Alice Phillips Stanford
Jack Usher Brown
Greg Zalevsky Cornell
Jasmine McAllister USC
Matin Pichvai Declined to state
Alex Valdez Columbia
Brandon Zeiden Wash U., St. Louis
Jordan McSpadden Wesleyan
Riley Pietsch USC (Cinematic Arts)
Jason Mohr Cornell (Hotel)
Ben Platt Columbia
Roy Murdock Babson
Jennifer Plotkin MIT
Ellery Rosenfeld Brandeis Connor Ross Michigan Daniel Rothberg USC Sam Ruddy U. Penn Danielle Salka Yale George Sandler Vanderbilt Anna Sarnoff Skidmore Ben Saunders Georgetown (SFS) Alex Scharch USC Katharine Schreier USC Josh Schwartz U. Penn Kevin Schwarzwald U. Chicago Zach Scott Rice Emma Sczudlo UC Santa Cruz Molly Segal University of Richmond Kenny Seifert Michigan Chelsea Shannon Stanford
Cornell 16 Stanford 12
Robert Vega Declined to state Alex Velaise Dartmouth Melissa Victor Wheaton
The above colleges are printed as reported by the senior class. Some members of the class declined to state their college choice.
Columbia 11
Cross-town
traffic
Chroni
The
D6 Supplement
It was a long commute from getting ou taking the freeway from North Faring t years the Class of 2011 spent together a made for quite a journey.
8th Grade – Residential Streets In eighth grade, we worked toward the 50 hours of practice we needed to complete to get our licenses. We began driving around at, not tentatively below, the speed limit, familiarizing and internalizing the cross-streets, and shortcuts around the Harvard-Westlake neighborhood in the process. Students parked themselves in Dean Paul Mastin’s office all day, listening to his stories, playing finger football and wasting hours of potentially productive time. Early in the year, we journeyed to Pali Camp, where some of us almost froze in the lake before the “Gilligan’s Island” game we were playing was cancelled. The outdoorsmen of our grade braved the desert, arriving in Joshua Tree to meet the hippy
7th Grade – Learners’ Permits And so it started. Of course like all great endeavors, it started with baby steps. With our learners’ permits, we cautiously joined the traffic of students on North Faring Road. Like all new drivers, we rode our brakes a little too much before we felt comfortable at the 35-mile per hour speed of the scary eighth and ninth graders, one of whom sported an amazing, unbelievably full, bushy beard. As we nervously looked around the old Administration building and Reynolds Hall, trying to figure out our Middle School drivers’ handbook, we learned that we can only become better drivers and more accustomed to the rules of the HarvardWestlake road through experience behind the wheel. Sometimes we broke those rules and were swiftly handed detentions by frowning seventh grade
dean Josh Budde. Other times we went above and beyond the rules of the road and returned someone’s lost wallet to a dean. But despite our benevolent efforts, getting “kudos” was about as rare as a Los Angeles driver yielding the right of way. As new drivers, we stuck to the wide boulevards like the Fire Road as we slowly and gently got accustomed to Harvard-Westlake life. We read assignments that never exceeded 20 pages a night, played four-square outside the library and participated in fun programs like Fast Start, which taught us where the school’s gas pedals and brakes were. On retreat, we bonded with people we had never met before, played mini-golf in the dark, went to the beach and were denied the chance to actually get in the water and giggled nonstop about the Sunndy Gan falling in the shark tank incident.
10th Grade – The Interchange We merged from the 405 coming from West L.A. onto the 101 to take us to Coldwater Canyon. The transition, though relatively smooth, came with a lot more stairs, intensified and once again, we were the compact cars on a campus full of 18-wheelers. Once again, we had the new campus jitters and all of the big trucks made us a little scared at first to change lanes. The big trucks got pleasure out of pelting the little cars with water balloons as we tried to get from class to class. We were introduced to our deans who would serve as our personal navigation systems for the
next three years. We laughed as our classmates were forced to put condoms on bananas in Choices and Challenges classes. We went to Friday night football games, bought Fanatics shirts and joined in on upper school spirit. In the beginning of the year, we applauded our fellow sophomores when they took the stage of Rugby for the first time in the fall musical “Into the Woods.” And at the end of the year, we revved our engines in preparation for the upper school adventures in the years to come.
11th Grade – Traffic Jam The frustration of bumper-to-bumper junior year didn’t seem to end. With no end in sight of the constant gridlock of APUSH, AP Physics B and grueling standardized testing, we were getting pretty down. In the endless lines of cars were our never-ending essays, tests and as our commute seemed long, our tension and stress were very high. What should have been a one-year-long junior year commute felt more like five and all of that time intensely focusing behind the driver’s seat zapped us of every bit of our youthful energy. Junior year was rush hour at its worst — everyone was trying to get somewhere, but unfortunately a lot of our efforts led to aggravation as opposed to any positive results. Our off-ramps were nowhere in sight and the hours of sitting in the same overwhelming mass
Supplement D7
ronicle
ting our learners’ permits to Faring to Coldwater. The six gether at Harvard-Westlake
Streets naturalists with nothing but a backpack of the essenitals. Back on campus, Dylan Ellis unforgettably snorted wasabi in the Reynolds Hall “grotto.” Despite being awkward 14-year-olds, we were forced to stand up in front of our classmates in public speaking and learn about all of those funny body parts and what exactly drugs were in human development. We have memories of some particularly traumatizing videos to prove it. For Physical Education, we donned our unisex uniforms and chose between paddle tennis, badminton, and the like. When it rained, we packed into the Marshall Center gym to play dodgeball. And when the school days ended, we couldn’t wait to get home and update our Myspace profiles.
9th Grade – Licensed After two years of sticking to wide streets and intersections, all of our middle school driver’s experience took us to the onramp of the freeway: the beginning of high school. In the same comfortable environment, we weren’t so nervous about getting on the 405. The first week of our journey on the 405, we’ll never forget when Julian Casillas (yet we knew him as Toby) made his dramatic jump from the terrace and broke his ankle. Our early time on the freeway was filled with adventures during Retreat as we ambushed our friends in canoes on the Colorado River and rode down in our groups to watch the sun rise early in the morning. Of course merging onto the freeway allowed for a whole new crop of cars — 75 of them
who would join the community and become our closest friends. The freeway wasn’t all fun and games — we all had some unpleasant experiences with formaldehyde pigs and a lot of highway construction as they were getting ready to tear down the Administration building and kept cutting into the Senior Garden and Fire Road to accommodate the newer, fancier freeway on North Faring. But, with any freeway comes the risk of much more accidents — and we certainly had our fair share of them while some of the drivers got major tickets (DUI’s to be exact) and had their licenses suspended for the remainder of their ninth grade year.
12th Grade – The Straightaway The traffic persisted up through the first semester as college applications and a very heavy course load made gridlock the worst ever. Suddenly, once the semester exams were over and all college apps were in, the roads suddenly cleared and it was smooth sailing for the rest of the year. We went from a dead stop to coasting at 80 miles per hour. Bumper-to-bumper was replaced by long lunches out with friends during fifth and sixth period and Senior Ditch Day on April 20. As our off-ramp drew near, we were getting excited and anxious for our various destinations
ahead, with some tinges of nostalgia that our six year commute was coming to an end. As we were coasting along just enjoying the final stretch of the ride, we changed our shift from “Drive” to “DGAF.” The short-lived party planning duo, Sick Pawdays, threw a few parties before the chaos of semiformal afterparty brought their ride to a sudden halt. Several of us sped on to Indio in April to go to Coachella, not caring that we’d be missing days of classes and tests. However, the school was conciliatory and excused their absences.
of cars made us wearied, burnt out and haggard. The traffic raised our tension even more as we got our first look at the drivers’ manual from hell, or more commonly referred to as the college stats book. While schoolwork and SAT prep kept us busy all week, we learned to unwind on the weekends. There were more all school parties where we bonded with people from other grades and each other. Sometimes people even got into character for the events— Rebecca Ressler’s Halloween party and Riley Guerin’s Gatsby-themed party come to mind. When the year ended, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief and eagerly looked towards the joy of second semester year that we had seen manifested so completely in our older friends.
Art by Ingrid chang
D8 Supplement
The
Chronicle
Finding a second home among friends
6 realizations I came to in high school Ingrid Chang
Mary Rose Fissinger
M
y high school career in 400-600 words. A daunting task, which is mostly the reason I’ve waited until the morning the paper has to be finished to write it. I got here at 7:50, even though I don’t have class until 10:15, so I could force myself to get it done or else face the wrath of adviser Kathy Neumeyer one last time. Despite the (now familiar) ridiculous situation of being back in Weiler a mere 8 hours after I left it the night before, I’m happy I came. It’s proving the perfect place to write the all-important Senior Column. It is undoubtedly the place on campus where I have spent the most time; calling it my “home” would be entirely accurate. I am often other places: classes, the track, the quad, the cafeteria, but I am just visiting them. I come home to Weiler. There’s no place I feel more comfortable than at a Weiler computer (preferably one of the coveted island ones) with a large cup of coffee by my side. If Weiler is my home, then the Chronicle staff is my family. Once a month, I spend over 30 hours with them over the course of four days. They know how hard I can work, how long I can procrastinate, how good or bad my jokes can be (usually bad, if you ask them), how long I’m willing to argue with Daniel Rothberg, how stupid I’m willing to look in order to be comfortable during the long hours here (certain outfits come to mind), how many cups of coffee are enough (if the number exists, I haven’t hit it). The fact that as of tomorrow, my Chronicle career will officially be over kills me. However, Chronicle is not the only family I’ve become a part of these four years. It would be a horrendous injustice to my high school career to fail to mention my cross country team, my first family here. We’re infamous for our closeness, and frequently referred to as a cult. It’s not really surprising, though. Note to readers: struggling through 12 mile practices together in August heat
is a sure-fire way to produce true friendships. Try it sometime. And then there’s my math class. We all, for some reason that most people (ourselves included sometimes) will never comprehend, actually wanted to take the legendarily difficult Precalculus Honors 10 class. We are few enough in number that we’ve been together all three years at the Upper School—through Precalc, Calc BC 11 and now the lovely reward that is Advanced Seminar in Mathematics Honors. Another great way to make friends: take Suzanne Lee’s Calculus class with them. See numbers on the top of your quizzes that you always thought of more as your dad’s age rather than a grade you could receive on a math quiz. I don’t mean to highlight the difficult times. True, cross country practices and double period Calc tests weren’t always fun, exactly, but I wouldn’t give them up for anything. They and the people I shared them with have defined my time in high school and me by extension. When I leave for college in the fall, I will be leaving multiple homes and several families. But I give them those labels for a reason: they will always be there for me when I return, symbols of where I’ve been and what I can do.
T
hese may be obvious to you. Chances are, you are in or have already been through high school and these sound like no-brainers. Or you may completely disagree; everybody’s experience is different. But the one thing that most people can probably agree on is that high school is a weird bubble of altered reality, and you will never live through anything like it again. Here’s what I learned from it. Your teachers are not out to get you. You will encounter at least one teacher in high school whose class you just do terribly in, regardless of how hard you try. The teacher will drill you and give quizzes every day and call on you in class while you’re sitting there with a blank stare, and you will resent them for it. But believe it or not, their sole purpose is not to give you a hard time. If you retained any bit of information from those countless quizzes, their purpose was well served. Really, they have better things to do than pick on kids. High school is not a means to an end. Every day of your life is open-ended; an infinite number of chances are opened up with every decision you make. HarvardWestlake is not a machine that rushes you through a whirlwind of tests and term papers and
The unofficial H-W bucket list
I
’ve never been good at writing anything sentimental. Some people are. Some people can write words that tug at your heartstrings and leave you feeling happy and nostalgic and sad all at the same time (see Mary Rose Fissinger’s column, above). Right now would be a pretty convenient time for me to muster up such a skill. But unfortunately, I can’t. So instead, I’ll share my Harvard-Westlake bucket list, filled with the things I’m glad I did and the things I wish I had figured out sooner. Go to (at least) one Loyola game. I’ve never been athletic. In elementary school, I always dreaded going to P.E., and with the exception of a minor flirtation with field hockey in seventh grade, I’ve generally managed to stay away from most athletic activity. (P.E
requirement: second period yoga and a season of managing lacrosse. Minimal coordination required. Done. ) And yet, I went to more sporting events my senior year than I did in all of my previous years combined and had the best time. Which reminds me. Buy a Fanatics shirt. Otherwise you’ll feel really awkward being the only person without one when you show up in Taper. Get more sleep. Just do it. It’s good for you. Go to the psychic at the bottom of Coldwater Canyon. It was a bit pricey, but so much fun. And take it from me and Alison Nadel ’11, she’s creepily accurate. We’re going back for a second reading next week. Think of a good senior prank. Or else you’ll go down as the class that
May 25, 2011
spits you out at a top ranking college. Students here tend to have a complete preoccupation with getting into the best schools. There are an infinite number of experiences to be had and people to meet, and a single college decision is neither a finite end nor the end of the world. So even with graduation approaching in a couple weeks, the end of high school is starting to seem more like a progression into the next phase than an actual end. Everything continues. You will get over yourself. You probably thought you were pretty cool when your mom dropped you off at the Avalon in 8th grade to see Circa Survive, or [insert X band here]. Well at least I did. It’s the exclusive feeling of hearing something first. The more obscure the better, and bonus points if the group has a name that no one can pronounce correctly or if they’re from outside the United States. But eventually you drop your pretensions. You start to do things for yourself rather than for the show of it. You stop judging people by first impressions. It would be impossible to know someone by a first impression anyway, when during these six years of high school people are changing their clothes, hairstyles, musical tastes and personalities at a shockingly rapid rate. During a time when people are just figuring themselves out and sometimes making a fool of themselves in the process, a little leeway for judgment needs to be given. People constantly continue to change, for better or for worse, and I’ve found that first impressions usually don’t mean much. The time does not matter. ‘Will I be late to class?’ ‘How many hours do I have left to finish this paper?’ were questions that often interrupted my thoughts. I couldn’t pay attention to what was going on around me when I was constantly watching the clock. But I found that when I stopped keeping track, I was able to enjoy myself in the present. Time is indifferent to me; it goes on regardless of whether I want it to or not. So why should I not be indifferent to time? Of course I still need to operate on some sort of structured schedule and I still feel the urge to check the time every now and then, but now I don’t wear a watch.
Joyce Kim ziptied backpacks as faculty and deans cut them quicker than they were tied. Join Peer Support. All the cool kids are doing it. Seriously. Family means different things for different people, and to me, the A-team will always be family. There is no other place on campus where I have felt more welcomed and loved. I legitimately feel all warm and fuzzy inside when I think about them. I know — that’s really embarrassing. But it’s true. Plus, you get free pizza. Every once in awhile, stop. Easy enough. It doesn’t take much effort, and it’s pretty effective. Take a second to breathe, clear your head. Try it now, just for fun. See? So much better. Try new things. Cliché, I know. But so necessary. My junior year I
branched out of my comfort zone and decided to join the Chronicle staff, and I never would have guess that working on the paper would be the most demanding yet fulfilling experience of my high school career And finally, get to know as many people as you can. Including maybe a sophomore or two. You might be pleasantly surprised with the connections that come from the most unlikely people. As my six years at Harvard-Westlake draw to a close, I’m realizing the extent to which my friends and teachers have shaped who I am, and for that I am forever grateful. Looking forward, I am certain that everything I’ve learned from the people I have met at Harvard-Westlake will always stay with me.
May 25, 2011
Supplement D9
The
Chronicle
A letter of memories Olivia Kwitny
I
unsealed the letter. No, not the letter we seniors have been breathlessly expecting to receive in the mail all year, hoping it’s the acceptance letter to our dream college; no, not the letter from a sweet, doting grandmother or distant, withering uncle we haven’t seen in 12 years, telling us how proud they are of our accomplishments these past four years at that famous prep school located not far from decadent Hollywood—no, none of that. This particular letter, frayed at the edges and a bit grimy from postal handling, allowed me to shamelessly brush away the cobwebs that have blurred my view of the past four years and proudly peek through a peephole into the life of an immature, curious, still growing, 10th-grade self. As I read the passage describing the setting of this attempt at epistolary artistry, which was my algebra class with Kanwaljit Kochar, and another passage elaborating on the crush I had on a boy in the 10th grade, I came to the best part: I ended the letter with “Yes I’ve gone through some hard times, but as Luna said, “just be you.’” And so now, at 4:30 in the afternoon, as I recline on my couch at home, with my feet curled together cat-like on a pillow, living the “post-AP life,” I noticed myself tearing up. I know, I know—it’s just a letter, but the letter reminded me of my former sophomore self. I’m not the same person today, now that classes are over and done with, now that welcoming letters from my college flutter into my mailbox daily, like little, white, rectangular swallows arriving home to nest. And oh, yes, it’s time to ferret out a summer job to help pay for the winter clothes I’ll need next winter, when blizzards and tornadoes settle on my new college. And there’s the problem of routine, shattered: for the past three years, every day, Monday through Friday, I made my way down one of two flights of stairs that branch out like two carotid arteries from the campus’s knowing head (the administration building), feeling immersed in the school’s lifeblood; the other students and I are red blood cells carrying intellectual and spiritual oxygen to the many parts of the community—the community of Harvard-Westlake. Once I had arrived at the bottom of the stairs, I was borne into the body of the school—the “quad.” Just as circulating blood stops to replenish other cells with vitamins, protein, and other nourishment, I glide through the organelles of our student body; all of us contributing to a general sense of harmonious symmetry. Like Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “transparent eyeball,” I saw myself as a spirit-filled entity, moving through the human landscape of the greater Harvard-Westlake community, observing and learning and living. No one will be able to duplicate such an experience. Now as almost a Harvard-Westlake graduate, about to take that next step into the world of college, it is difficult, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said in Self-Reliance, to “trust thyself,” especially in a world that is comprised of influential parents, school, and institutions of society that bind a child to its constraints. It is obvious there will be overwhelming forces trying to influence who we are and how to be. And so I say to the class of 2011, sometimes we will struggle to be airborne, losing altitude at times, but I can surely say as long as we embrace the experience at Harvard-Westlake that has molded and shaped us into the person we are today, we will manage to continually soar.
Finding my place
W
Sade Tavangarian
hen I was 9 years old I decided I must go to Harvard-Westlake. I did not know anything prior about the school but I remembered riding the school bus in third grade and hearing the older kids talk about how they wanted to apply because it was so “cool.” I did intensive research throughout my final years of elementary school and finally the day arrived where I was applying for middle schools. I vividly remember receiving my application. I opened a shiny red locker folder to find a booklet describing different activities the students did. I was amazed to think how students could be involved in sports, debate, start a radio station, and learn new languages while maintaining strong academics. I walked confidently into my first class at Harvard-Westlake, math first period with Dwora Inwood in my Limited Too jeans, pink Converse shoes, black headband, and my “Trust me I’m a Lawyer” T-shirt. I wore shiny plastic glasses and snagged a seat in the front row ready to go. Little did I know I was getting onto the biggest roller coaster of my life. I had a rough time at the middle school, I struggled fitting in and my closest friends were the walls of silent study. I thought I could meet friends through sports teams but I got cut from the girls’ tennis and field hockey teams. I tried out for Mock Trial and made alternative witness which gave me minimal time to spend with teammates. I barely said a word to my classmates and teachers. For example, in my Civics class seventh grade, my history teacher wrote in my comment, “It would be nice to hear Sade speak more than once a semester.” I was incredibly awkward and didn’t know where I belonged until I was forced to talk in my eighth grade Human Development class by teacher Eric Walker. I began communicating with my peers and built up the confidence to join the Middle School Debate team. Luckily there were no cuts and I started to push myself out of my comfort zone to join all the activities I read in the catalogue prior to coming to Harvard-Westlake. In ninth grade I joined the school paper along with being a Lincoln Douglas debater and in Mock Trial, I started to get internships over the summer, I volunteered at a preschool for underprivileged children, and I was a student ambassador. When I came to the upper school I was drowning in extracurricular activities and didn’t know how to manage my time. I loved all my activities and felt like I belonged in a lot of different groups, but I struggled keeping my grades up. The biggest flaw I overcame was my confidence. I was always ambitious, but I never had the social confidence to interact with my peers and put forth my ideas. Now my friends would describe me as fearless. I will wear giant bows in my hair, start a dance party in the quad when no one’s dancing, and my history teachers tell me to hush up. I took a complete 180 degree turn from my seventh grade self and through the good and the bad times I don’t regret one moment of it.
Ringing it in Kelly Ohriner
I
don’t know exactly when or where, but in the midst of my mid April college tour, a ring fell off my finger. With my mom by my side, I was visiting schools I had been admitted to-not just schools I could add to a list of colleges I probably wouldn’t even end up applying to. Strangely enough, I had been looking forward to this trip. After all the stress and the tears of both joy and disappointment that revolve around the college process, it was rewarding to visit schools that accepted me, that after a careful dissection of my application decided that they wanted me at their college. I had an enjoyable time with my mom visiting schools across the country. Our trip went smoothly, which is surprising considering the many
different flights we took, traveling from one city to the next. It wasn’t until I arrived home that I realized something had gone wrong. A concrete tan line of a band stamped my ring finger on my right hand. I had lost my school ring, which I had received at ring ceremony in mid September. It was a strange feeling. I had been more or less indifferent to even ordering a school ring. However, when I got it, I put it on my finger and never took it off. I never really thought about it, it was just another accessory like my bracelets and earrings that I never felt the need to take off. However, when I looked down to see that my finger held nothing but an imprint of my school ring, I surprisingly felt depressed and later on, sentimental. It was different than just losing another ring or another brace-
let. It wasn’t until then that I realized my school ring meant more than my other jewelry.My school ring represented my high school years at Harvard-Westlake. From my first day in tenth grade feeling more anxious and nervous than ever to my days leading up to graduation, my school ring captured every piece of my Harvard-Westlake experience. From struggling in 10th grade Chemistry with science teacher David Hinden to losing my AP Government notes a few days before the mid-term, my experience has been tough and stressful at times. That’s not to say it hasn’t been incredible as well. I’ve met people who have kept my head up all these years and I know will always be there, raising my chin and telling me that despite hardships, something great is always left to come. I have the fondest
memories of this school. From sleeping in silent study to missing the bus everyday in tenth grade, it’s the little things that I’ll miss the most. My school ring captured all these moments into a piece of jewelry to wear every day and I lost it. Somewhere across the country, a flight attendant, a hotel maid, or maybe someone that just happened to be walking where I had once been, has found my school ring. They wear it without ever cheering on a fellow Wolverine, without ever reading a Chronicle, and without ever stepping foot on 3700 Coldwater Canyon. It is with this in mind that I am not upset or regretful of being unconscious of the fact that it slipped off my finger. They may have the ring, but I’ve experienced everything it represents which, to me, is invaluable.
D10 Supplement
May 25, 2011
The
Chronicle
Driving on with a goal in sight Emily Khaykin
N
o matter what the band Rascal Flatts says, life is most definitely not a highway. There is no straight path that leads to success, no formula which yields a correct answer. And there is no better place that exemplifies this better than HarvardWestlake. This year, especially, I have seen so many of my closest friends choose to follow their passions, whether it be creative writing, science, engineering, theatre, art, political science, math, or music (the list goes on). Last week, a close friend approached me and asked me about my thoughts on my future out of concern for theirs. And I shared with my friend that I thought that there was not one person at this school whose future I would ever be worried about. Even though at times we may crash, we need to have the courage to heal and continue on our journey down the road. We are all smart, intelligent people who will get where we need to be one way or another. When the subject of success is brought up, I believe that one must tread cautiously. The definition of “success” is long and varied and has a different meaning for each person. For example, to me, success is achieving my personal goals. That way, I am in control of my own choices and the road that I’m going to take. There are times in school, I believe, where everyone questions the road they’ve chosen. I know I have. But in the end, I have to remember to be who I am and not try to follow someone else’s path, one I was not meant for. And although I know many reading this paper will skip straight to the matriculation spread in this year’s senior supplement (don’t worry, I’ve done it too), everyone should remember that life is not all about gold stars and grades on papers. Years from now, when we all get our first jobs, your boss will never give you a letter grade on your presentation at a meeting or a smiley face sticker on your report of the company’s financial status. In the past 13 years of my school career, and out of the eight schools that I’ve attended in three different states, never have I enjoyed the school community more than I have at Harvard-Westlake. And so, my friends, I feel that there is no need to say good-bye because wherever our roads take us, our experience here together will always be a bridge that connects us. All I can say is drive safe and buckle up because you are in for the ride of your life.
When nothing actually is something
I
Jordan Freisleben
hate blank pages. In fact, I abhor them. Post-AP life is great, to say the least. I’ve been going out to long lunches with friends and I get to catch up on some much needed sleep. However, the lack of classes allowed me eight straight periods to glare at the blinking cursor on “Document1” and frustrate me to such an extent, I was tempted to throw something (don’t worry, I didn’t). I really hoped that when the time came to write my column, the insight and the prose would flow naturally and I’d write it smiling, with a hint of nostalgia. Instead, it’s driving me absolutely crazy and I don’t even know why. Why on earth does my senior column mean so much to me? Well, I’m supposed to write something heartfelt, witty
Thank you everyone, I’ll miss you
and succinct to completely capture the most defining years of my life. Sounds relatively doable, right? Easier said than done. Harvard-Westlake turned me into the person I am: the wry-humored, painfully curious, chatty and incredibly driven 18-year-old. Putting it into 500 words – perhaps that’d be enough to cover the life lessons I learned in English Literature this year, if I’m lucky. Then I thought about it and I realized, it’s the same reason why I couldn’t participate in Ditch Day or neglect my work during second semester senior year like everyone else. I’ve loved Harvard-Westlake. I’ve loved my teachers, and they’ve been my mentors and my second family – I had to write something that adequately honors them and illustrates everything I’ve gained from them. I want to highlight every funny moment I’ve had with my friends – when we’d talk in funny accents while walking to the cafeteria, when we’d sit in the couched area in the library and talk about which “Sex and the City” characters each of us represented and the countless times we’d burst out laughing sometimes for no reason at all. I’m frustrated with this because there’s no way that I can say all that I want to say and thank everyone who’s made my years so special here. I can’t choose whether to talk about the hours and hours and hours I spent transcribing interviews in Weiler, looking up AP Style Guide rules and hunching over editing pages. Or I could talk about how the Foreign Language department has adopted me, and that I’ve never felt as at home as I do when I’m walking to Spanish or French on the first floor of Seaver. Maybe the blank page that initially plagued me was, in fact, symbolic of how Harvard-Westlake turned me into the person I am. All of the analytic scrutiny and striving to be the absolute best version of myself are distinct products of my years here. I pored over this column more than I should have, wracking my brain to figure out which memories would best encompass my experience in the past six years. I look for reason in even the most minute aspects of my life and, beyond that, Harvard-Westlake has helped me learn to pursue my platonic vision of excellence, whether it was on a history test or merely making something out of a blank page.
People are nice here. people do things for a reason, and those reasons are almost always reasonable reasons...everyone genuinely cares about each other.
Austin Block
I
always get made fun of for being the happy columnist on Chronicle. I’m too bubbly, people say. Too optimistic. Too loving. I have too much faith in people in a harsh, cruel, angry, malevolent, unforgiving, directionless dog-eat-dog world. I should write a nasty column, they say, a sarcastic, withering attack on some unjust institution on campus. And I’ve tried to come up with something to criticize. But I just can’t do it. My columns always end up happy. But I’ve come to a conclusion. My
columns always end up happy because, at least for me, Harvard-Westlake has been an incredibly happy place. People are nice here. People do things for a reason, and those reasons are almost always reasonable reasons. I’m a member of a community where everyone genuinely cares about each other. So I’m going to write one last happy column, but I’ll keep it short. First, let me, with the minimal wisdom I’ve gained from six years at Harvard-Westlake, offer a few quick suggestions to the underclassmen:
1. Take some time to chat with people, even those you don’t know that well. One of the main things I’ve learned here is that everyone has a story to tell. Take a few minutes to chat with anyone on campus. It always feels good to make a connection. 2. Try something you haven’t tried before, even if it doesn’t sound appealing. If a lot of people really enjoy doing something, there’s a good chance you will too. 3. Do a little bit of writing, even if you don’t like writing. You would be surprised how fulfilling it can be to get
your feelings out on paper and write something you’re proud of. 4. Keep your head up, even when life feels awful. The world is not a harsh, cruel, malevolent, unforgiving place. Things will get better. I don’t have a lot more to say, so I’ll leave the rest of the page to Emily Khaykin ’11 and Jordan Freisleben ’11. To every member of the HarvardWestlake community, I want to say thank you. You have made high school the best time of my life. I will miss you all. Please keep in touch. Every single one of you means a lot to me.
May 25, 2011
Supplement D11
The
Chronicle
In school we trust
They taught us well Alice Phillips
Daniel Rothberg
I
t’s the ultimate coming of age tale. Four soon-to-be teens in the late ’50s embark on an adventure to find a boy’s dead body. The movie “Stand by Me,” which steals its name from one of my favorite songs and was adapted from one of my favorite short stories, follows the band of adolescents as they learn the value of trust, loyalty and friendship. Perhaps the film strikes me because my life is so far removed from the experience of the four protagonists. And not just in the transparent fact that I live in a sprawling city rather than in a rural Oregon town. The story is removed in the sense that it captures childhood in a way that is so different from my own childhood experience and that of my generation. Despite setting out to be a story about growing up, a fall from innocence, the film captures an innocence that I was told by a different generation I would remember fondly but honestly don’t remember at all. While it may be a function of my own life experience, I think it is also indicative of a transformed world. Growing up in the age of Osama changes everything. By the time I was turning 10, it had been two years since the looming towers had fell and months since the world awoke to “shock and awe.” The unconditional trust that bound the four together on the silver screen had become extinct, slowly usurped by uncertainty and tension. What could you trust? Surely, not the metal briefcase resting on the wall of a movie theater. Surely, not the man pacing in the park near my house on his cell phone. We all became Jack Bauer. But then I came to Harvard-Westlake and it was morning again in America…sort of. Harvard-Westlake is a school grounded in a strong belief in trust. Sure, Harvard-Westlake comes with its drawbacks. There are days when the pressure mounts, the competition turns divisive and my experience turns slightly sour. And sure, this trust is broken from time to time in the form of petty thefts and honor code violations. Overall, though, the system works. Where else can you leave your backpack in the quad with the comforting knowledge that nothing will be stolen? In a post 9-11 world, where we are accustomed to questioning everyone’s intentions, there is something uniquely special about a place so bound together by such a trust. It is a testament to the people here that this degree of faith in others can be maintained. And so I guess, in the end, some things never do change. In the final lines of the 1986 film, a now matured adventurer types into his computer: “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?”
1,300 to 3700
N
ine years ago, I sat on the field as my oldest sister graduated from Harvard-Westlake. I was a second grader at the time, and I was intimidated. I was intimidated by how tall her friends were, how old her friends looked and how confidently they walked in high heels. I was intimidated by their ability to understand “math-speak,” write multi-page essays and take multi-hour tests. But now it’s my turn. On June 10, I won’t be waking up early to save seats on the aisle, I’ll be walking down it. In the last nine years I grew taller, got older, learned Calculus, wrote essays and took tests. Yes, I’ve worked hard. We’ve all worked hard, a lot. But despite the stress, despite the 4 a.m. post-Chronicle “Mrs. Dalloway” essay, the 11th-hour history paper topic change and the fact that I will probably never own a pair of high heels, my deep, dark fears never came to pass. Why not? There are several answers to that question. My parents would be one obvious answer, but I’ve been told that teenagers wait until their mid-20s to get around to thanking their parents so that can keep. HarvardWestlake is the other, and a much more timely one at that. Harvard-Westlake deserves credit for teaching me how to write so I could criticize you bi-monthly in this very publication. And, more importantly, you deserve credit for taking the fear out of aging into adulthood. It wasn’t handholding, and I’m glad about that, but what I’ve always told prospective families at visiting days is true: Harvard-Westlake dishes out quite a lot by way of stress, but the school gives you the tools requisite to handle it. As a sixth grader, I didn’t appreciate the importance of a decision to come to Harvard-Westlake. I was excited about a change of scenery and a change of pace, but I had no clue how much the educational pedagogy of this place would change my life. When acquaintances find out where I go to high school, they always say something to the effect of: “You guys work so hard” or “Aren’t Harvard-Westlake kids always so stressed out?” When I respond, I answer yes. Because it’s true. Whether or not I’ve enjoyed every second of my six years here, I can say without a doubt that I wouldn’t be the graduating senior I am today without the work and the stress. This place pushes us, but it clearly pays off. I’ve never heard a Harvard-Westlake student walk out of an AP test complaining that it was harder than any test they’d taken in class. We walk out saying the tests were easier. We walk out relieved that we were so prepared. So thanks, Harvard-Westlake, not for making my life easier but for making it harder. Thanks for making term papers surmountable and standardized tests doable. In light of the previous 480 words, I should say that Harvard-Westlake has prepared me for things to come. But you know that sister who graduated from Harvard-Westlake nine years ago? She finished graduate school last week… and I’m terrified all over again.
I realized my four years here are characterized largely by memories of the commutes i have made to and from school.
CatherineWang
W
hen I’m stuck in traffic heading to or returning from school, I like to wonder what my life would be like if four years ago, I decided to attend Palisades Charter High School – the public school serving my neighborhood – instead of Harvard-Westlake. Without traffic, Harvard-Westlake’s Upper School is a 22-minute drive from my home, but since traffic never sleeps in Los Angeles, rides to school take anywhere from half an hour to three hours. On the other hand, Pali is a pleasant five-minute
walk from my home – with or without traffic. Looking back at my time at Harvard-Westlake, I realize my four years here are characterized largely by memories of the commutes I have made to and from school: sprinting to catch the bus every day at 7:07 a.m. in ninth grade, watching my knuckles turn white as I clenched the door handle of my carpool driver’s car – clinging dangerously to the curved roads of Mulholland Drive – in 10th grade and dozing off in the passenger seats of my friends’ cars in 11th grade.
Senior year proved to be the most tumultuous in terms of transportation. Before I got my driver’s license in October, every other sentence I spoke was: “can I get a ride?” Only a month after getting my license, I crashed my dad’s car – forcing social suicide upon myself: driving my family’s green Toyota Sienna minivan – complete with a “Swim Mom” bumper sticker and a customized family car window sticker. (Luckily, I am not fazed by judgmental looks.) Would I trade the approximately 1,300 hours I’ve logged in commute
time to and from Harvard-Westlake for rolling out of bed at 7:30 a.m. and picking up a Robek’s smoothie before my first period class every day? Never. Despite the increase in my carbon footprint and the decrease in my average number of hours of sleep per night that attending HarvardWestlake has caused, I believe that every trip made, every mile traveled, every step taken, has been worthwhile. Like Harvard-Westlake, the big destinations in life require time and energy to travel to.
Prom 2011
May 25, 2011
Supplement D12
save the last dance
The class of 2011 welcomed the last dance of their high school careers with open arms, initiating dance-offs and taking funny pictures.
D
onning their tuxedos (or in one student’s case, a motor cycle jacket), seniors headed to the May 14 senior prom, their last Harvard-Westlake dance. Upon entering the Renaissance Hotel, they voted for Prom King and Queen in the lobby, took couples photos and snapped crazy photo booth pictures with cartoonish hats and necklaces. After a dinner of chicken and potatoes, seniors and their dates took over the dance floor. Robby Goldman ’11 and Lorenz Kim ’11, who showed off their break-dancing talents at semiformal earlier this year, thrilled the senior class once again with an extended danceoff. Close to the end of the night, much of the
crowd watched Prom King Max Sheldon ’11 and Queen Christine Kanoff ’11 dance to Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together.” To finish off the dance, the seniors watched a student-made montage of pictures and video clips from their years at Harvard-Westlake. The montage featured photos of middle school retreats, ring ceremony and other class-wide events. There were also sections commemorating student couples and student groups like the girls’ water polo team, which won its first CIF title this year, the boys’ cross country team, which won CIF this year and the casts of several upper school plays. About 350 tickets were sold for the event. —Austin Block
courtesy of kellie barnum
courtesy of erin landau
Dance with me: (clockwise from far left) christine Kanoff ’11 and Max Sheldon ’11 share a dance after being named Prom Queen and King; Erin Landau ’11 pins a boutonniere on her date, Ben Dreier ’11; Robby Goldman ’11 takes his turn in an impromptu dance-off between him and Lorenz Kim ’11 in the middle of the dance floor; Kellie Barnum ’11 and Natalie Kram ’11 laugh together at Kanoff ’s house, where their limo group took pictures before the prom; Jeremy Work ’11, Sarah Baik ’11, Bryn Woollacott ’11 and Ben Saunders ’11 don several of the goofy accessories provided outside of the photo booth. courtesy of kellie barnum
courtesy of kellie barnum
courtesy of kellie barnum