September 2009 by The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

Crackdown

Living the dream

No talking or texting indoors

Aspiring musicians follow the beat of their own drums

The

Out of the park

B12

Austin Wilson ’10 Getting ready for The Show?

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Harvard-Westlake School • North Hollywood, CA • Volume XIX • Issue 1 • Sept. 9, 2009 • chronicle.hw.com

Cafeteria halts sale of soda, candy By Chelsea Khakshouri

photos by allegra tepper AND cANDICE nAVI/chronicle

Hot summer night: Friday night’s season opening football game was replaced by a scrimmage after Franklin forfeited because LAUSD said the air quality was too poor to play. Fans got free burgers and fries from the Carl’s Jr. truck the school hired for the game. See page C1 for coverage.

School signs 30-year lease for Valley tennis courts By Alice Phillips

Harvard-Westlake is funding a $1 million project to construct eight lighted tennis courts on land the school is leasing on the Los Angeles Valley College campus. Construction will begin this fall. “I’ll be hiring the team I want and supervising the project from start to finish,” Director of Campus Operations James De Matté said. The tennis teams currently practice at Studio City Golf and Tennis; however, the courts are threatened because the land may be converted into a planned development. In response, De Matté and his team began investigating a more secure court situation in the form of a 30 year lease and a possible 10 year extension with Valley College, with whom the school has long had a mutually beneficial relationship, Head of Tennis Christopher Simpson said. “This is one of the few times when we have a threat to our programs and we have to respond,” Chief Financial Officer Robert Levin said. “We had an opportunity to get long-term access at Valley College, which was approved by the [Harvard-Westlake] Building and Grounds committee and the Board of Trustees.” “Rule number one is we don’t build anything

unless it’s either paid for in full or we have a pledge,” Levin said. “Rule number zero is we are committed to our programs, be it academics, athletics, performing arts, etc. Normally we ask: what can we afford to do? But there are also times when we ask: what can’t we afford to not do?” Christine Hazy, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said that the need for new tennis courts has been on the table in board meetings for several years. “Advancement was in the middle of a huge fundraising campaign [for the middle school renovation] so finding money for a tennis court was difficult,” Hazy said. “When funding from tennis alumni and parents of tennis players didn’t pan out, we realized we could use the reserve funding.” “You can’t run a tennis program without a competition space,” Vice President John Amato said. “If we didn’t make an attempt to get courts, [kids in the tennis program] would be disadvantaged.” “We’ve been able to have the success that we’ve had without any home court advantage,” Simpson said. “Hopefully people will come out and support us and the tennis community will fill those benches.”

and

Sammy Roth

The upper and middle school cafeterias will no longer sell candy and soda, Head of School Dr. Jeanne Huybrechts said. Instead, the cafeterias will sell power bars, juices and other healthier options. Huybrechts said the administration administraton made the change to help students maintain a healthy diet. “We care about our students,” Huybrechts said. “We want them to be intellectually challenged, and we hope to guide them to adopt healthy lifestyles.” Instead of Coke and Sprite, the cafeterias will now serve drinks like Minute Maid Light Lemonade, Hi-C Fruit Punch, orange juice and unsweetened ice tea, cafeteria manager Nipa Noonyamas said. To replace candy, the cafeterias will continue selling the healthier options that they introduced last year, such as Balance bars. Only baked potato chips will be offered. Many of these changes were suggested by dietitian and exercise physiologist Ellen Coleman, who the school hired as a nutrition consultant last spring, Huybrechts said. Coleman met during the summer with Vice President John Amato, Head of Athletics Audrius Barzdukas, Head of Middle School Ronnie Cazeau, Director of Campus Operations and Construction James De Matté and Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra, to discuss what should be served in the cafeteria. Coleman will spend time on both campuses during the year and might suggest more cafeteria changes, Huybrechts said. “Harvard-Westlake teachers and coaches are constantly reviewing and renewing their programs, evaluating what they’re teaching, improving curriculum, eliminating the equivalent of ‘junk food’ from their programs,” Huybrechts said. “We’re doing the same thing in the cafeterias—scrutinizing and evaluating it the same way we assess all courses, programs and services.” The cafeteria will also stop selling bottled water, Noonyamas said. Instead, the cafeteria has added filtered water machines where students can fill personal water containers. Filtered water spigots have also been installed throughout the Upper School. For

more coverage, see our

editorial, A9

INFOCUS

Administrators stay optimistic amid round of budget slashes By Sam Adams

Last June’s Lobster Bake, an annual celebration held at the end of the school year for faculty, staff and their families, had a problem: the lobsters were made of bread. Placed at every table at the request of Vice President John Amato, the faux lobsters served as a reminder of high times past that will return, hopefully, once the economy recovers. Until then, the partygoers would have to do without the crustaceans, instead being served hamburgers and hot dogs. The Lobster Bake was not alone. The annual faculty Holiday Party got the axe altogether, spouses were not invited to the year-opening banquet last week, and catering duties were switched from swanky restaurant Patina to the school’s own cafeteria staff.

The cutbacks in staff parties, a two-thirds reduction from last year, were just some of the money-saving steps taken by the administration to keep finances afloat amid one of the worst financial crises in the past century. Belt-tightening In a presentation to the faculty last year, Chief Financial Officer Robert Levin announced an initiative to cut $1 million from the school budget. Everybody would be involved, he said, in the search of items that could be cut, under the maxim that “all of us are smarter than any of us.” “We did some belt-tightening with respect to salaries for our most highly compensated employees,” Hudnut said, continuing that the athletic and facilities budget were also cut. The outcome of the search See FINANCES, A4

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Alumnus Trevor Roth ’92, COO of Roddenberry Productions, and Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry ‘92, son of the Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and currently the CEO of Roddenberry Productions, just released their new comic series “Days Missing,” the first comic book that Roddenberry Productions has produced in 14 years. Roth and Roddenberry met in seventh grade at Harvard-Westlake and were close friends all through school. When writing the main story line for “Days Missing,” Roth said that the people on the creative team tried very hard to “capture the brand” that Roddenberry Productions represented, referring to Roddenberry’s devotion to the use of multimedia. The concept of multimedia is the “utilization of all media vehicles available to you,” Roth said, for example,

courtesy of golden apple comics

offbeat

By Emily Khaykin

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es t ur fea

VIDEO: Preview of the documentary Austin Park ’10 filmed for his summer fellowship.

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“Gene Roddenberry originally started out with a TV series, but then expanded to movies, comic books, etc.” The new comic series “Days Missing” depicts and reveals the tale of the Steward, a non-human mystical being with the ability to travel through time. He interferes with human evolution by giving advice or planting ideas into people’s minds. “The Steward’s interactions with human beings can produce both good and bad results,” said Roth. The first issue of “Days Missing” came out Aug. 19, Gene Roddenberry’s birthday. “We thought it would be a nice tribute to him,” Roth said.

n hro

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sp o

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graphic by Candice Navi

new beginnings Spanish teacher Science teacher Hillary Anamaria Ayala Schwab and English teacher wed this summer. Jordan Ethe wed. Schwab now goes by the last name Ethe. Performing Dean Beth Slattery returns Arts teacher from maternity leave today. Lisa Peters got She had a baby girl, Ruby married. Jeanne Sampson, March 24.

English Department Head Laurence Weber got married. Staff accountant Ann Ardthayukti got married.

graphic by Candice Navi and sammy roth

Sept. 9, 2009

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By Kelly Ohriner

Today is Day One of a new five-day schedule at the Upper School. When a school day is missed due to a religious or national holiday, the schedule picks up afterwards with the next day of the cycle. For example, if Wednesday is a Day Two, and school is closed on Thursday, then Friday will be a Day Three. As a result, no class will be missed. This schedule is modeled after the Middle School’s six-day rotation. “It’s much less disruptive for students when classes are taught in sequence,” Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. The idea of the five-day rotation was first suggested 10 years ago, but the faculty turned it down then. Last year, however, the faculty came to a consensus, decided that a five-day rotation would be a service to students. The only drawback that Huybrechts sees that the schedule could possibly pose is the difficulty some teachers will face if they teach at both the Middle School and Upper School campuses. These teachers will have to balance the different schedule rotations on the two campuses. Junior Prefect Christine Kanoff said that the school should have kept the old schedule, in which classes met based on days of the week. “I prefer the old schedule because it was routine,” Kanoff said. “You knew what was going to happen. The new schedule requires you to check your planner consistently.” Although Kanoff said that the old schedule was easier, she made it clear that in the new schedule, Days One through Five will generally fall on the same days of the week for long stretches of time. This will only be changed a few times a year, primarily due to three-day weekends. “It’ll be fine,” Science Department Head Lawrence Axelrod said. “It’ll just take some getting used to.” Wednesday breaks have also been changed. Whenever there is no Monday break, there is a Wednesday break, Director of Student Affairs Jordan Church said. Church and other faculty members felt that many Monday breaks were taken up by assemblies and that the students needed a guaranteed break once a week, he said. “You will have a break once a week no matter what now,” Church said. more coverage, see our

editorial, A9

courtesy of the american association of physics teacherS

Alumni win in Olympiads By Sammy Roth

New schedule goes into effect

For

http://www.math.uni.wroc.pl

Olympians: Rebecca Jacobs ’09 (left) won a silver medal at the International Linguistics Olympiad in Poland. Josh Oreman ’09 (right) won a gold medal at the International Physics Olympiads in Mexico.

For the second consecutive year, Josh Oreman ’09 and Rebecca Jacobs ’09 won medals in the International Science Olympiads. Oreman earned a gold medal at the International Physics Olympiad in Mérida, Mexico, and Jacobs won a silver medal at the International Linguistics Olympiad in Wroclaw, Poland. Both alumni were the top United States finishers in their Olympiads. Claresta Joe-Wong ’10 was one of 20 finalists in the U.S. Chemistry Olympiad, but she was not chosen to attend the International Chemistry Olympiad. Oreman won a gold medal at last year’s IPO, but he still managed to improve on his 2008 performance. Last year he placed 36th overall; this year he finished 11th out of 315 students from 70 countries. “It’s a lot of fun and a really valuable experience,” Oreman said, “and you learn a lot even when you’ve done it before.” Oreman qualified for the 24-student U.S. Physics Team by scoring well on olympiads at the school and national level. After attending a study camp in May at the University of Maryland, Oreman was chosen as one of five students to attend the IPO. Dr. Antonio Nassar, who taught Oreman’s AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism class two years ago, said he was not surprised that Oreman qualified for the IPO for the second consecutive year. “He is one of the most spectacular students of H-W of all times,” Nassar said, “he certainly can win a Nobel Prize in Physics if he focuses assiduously on a longterm career in physics.” Oreman said that already having participated in the IPO made him more prepared the second time around. The IPO consisted of a five-hour written test and a five-hour laboratory exam. Because the 315 students at the IPO had trouble entering the written exam room at the same time, they were forced to enter in groups. The exam started before every student had entered the room, Oreman said. “I was in the last group of students to enter so I had 15 minutes less than I should have,” he said, “but

I didn’t really feel like it would have made much difference.” Jacobs also improved on her performance at the ILO. Last year she received a bronze medal, and this year she won silver. Eighty-six students from 18 countries participated in the competition. “I was incredibly happy with my performance this year,” Jacobs said. “There were only two gold medals awarded, so a silver medal indicates a very high score.” Jacobs became interested in linguistics when she read, “The Language Instinct,” by Steven Pinker. Her dean, Rose-Ellen Racanelli, encouraged her to participate in the ILO last year. Jacobs qualified for this year’s ILO by placing eighth in the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad. The ILO was made up of individual competition and a team competition. Jacob’s four-student team, one of two U.S. teams, won the team competition. “I’m particularly pleased with the fact that my team placed first in the team competition,” Jacobs said. “According to one of the judges, we did better on the team problem than the test-solvers did.” Jacobs described the questions on the linguistics Olympiad as “logic problems.” Generally, she said, students are given passages in languages that they do not know, alongside English translations, and asked to produce more sentences or find patterns in those languages. For example, one problem called for students to translate numbers from Sulka, a language spoken by about 3,500 people in Papua New Guinea. As one of 20 finalists in the U.S. Chemistry Olympiad, Joe-Wong attended a study camp at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. She said she was not too disappointed that she did not get to go to the international Olympiad, considering that only four of the 20 students could be chosen to go. She added that she might be more likely to make the international team next year, should she choose to compete. “I probably would [have a better chance next year], because it wouldn’t be as overwhelming,” she said.

Rule restricts phones to outdoors By Nicki Resnikoff

Cell phones will not be banned on campus this year as had been planned; however, the rule that cell phones may not be used for texting or talking in school buildings, including halls and the cafeteria, will be enforced more strictly. The policy banning all use of cellular phones, approved by FAC in April 2009, will not go into effect. “The policy will remain the same as written in the student parent handbook, but there will be more policing and more awareness,” Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. The Courtesy section of the Student/Parent Handbook dictates that “cellular phones and pagers are not to be used in any building. Phones that ring in classrooms will be confiscated.” At the April FAC meeting, the general consensus was that the use of cell phones on campus was a big

“

Teachers were feeling the policy was not being enforced or complied with.”

—Jeanne Huybrechts Head of School

problem that was getting worse. According to the minutes of the meeting, the main concerns were that students would be able to text each other to cheat on tests, that students can be clumsy while texting as they walk, a lack of face-toface contact, and students texting during class. “Teachers were feeling the policy was not being enforced or complied with,” Huybrechts said. The committee recommended, with 10 out of 16 members in favor, that cell phones be banned from 8 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. each day.

Huybrechts addressed FAC at the May meeting to discuss why she disagreed with the recommendation from the April meeting, according to the minutes. “I went to see if there were other options,” she said. “I understand that kids sometimes need to communicate.” According to the minutes from the May meeting, FAC ended up discussing enforcing whichever policy, and trying to find alternatives to banning cell phones entirely. One concern was the role of cell phones in safety and the danger of overnight confiscation. “We could do a better job of enforcing the existing rule, and the problems might go away,” Huybrechts said. According to the minutes, Huybrechts and FAC discussed “ways to communicate the rule, the need for serious deterrents, and incentives for teachers to enforce the policy more consistently.”

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Veteran staff member wins annual Marion Hays award

Sat. Oct. 3 3 - 9 p.m.

By Neha Nimmagadda

Gerson Roche was rewarded for his loyalty with the Marion Hays Award in front of faculty and staff last Tuesday. Roche is a long time employee at the HarvardWestlake middle school campus, a place he considers “the best place to work.” The award is given annually to faculty and staff who show “loyal and dedicated service to the school; friendliness, good humor and encouragement; patience and thoughtful consideration for all members of the school community,” according to the award citation. The award is given in memory of Marion Hays, a teacher, dorm head and assistant headmaster at Harvard School from 1944 until 1970, and his wife Babe. The award is given by their sons and includes a letter and check for the recipient. “This honor is given to someone who lives his or her life much like Marion Hays did and gives back to the school the same way Marion Hays did,” Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. Roche is a maintenance worker at the Middle School. He started working at Harvard-Westlake when he was just 18 years old. Huybrechts and President of Harvard-Westlake Thomas C. Hudnut chose Gerson for the award this summer after considering all faculty and staff. “For almost 40 years, he has given loyal and dedicated service to our school,” She said. “He seems always to be on campus. I’ve seen him at 6 o’clock in the morning and late at night, always upbeat, and always willing to do whatever is asked of him.” Huybrechts made special reference to Roche’s good spirits and character. “His very special gift to our school...is his big heart,” she said. “He models for our students what it means to be a good person, when, every December, he initiates the school toy drive, sets up the little holiday house, encourages students to donate toys, then transports the donated gifts to his church to give to

alan sasaki

dedication: President of School Thomas Hudnut presents Gerson Roche, maintenance worker of almost 40 years, with the Marion Hays award. children who might not otherwise receive toys for Christmas,” Huybrechts said. “I feel really grateful because the school means a lot to me and for 40 years, I have been able to put food on the table in my house because of the school, so me and my family are really grateful,” Roche said. “The most important thing is that they treat me well and they love me and of course, I love them.” “The description of the award fits him to a tee,” Huybrechts said. “He’s been at the school for almost 40 years. He’s given so much to the school. He’s very kind hearted and he works very hard. He epitomizes, for us, ‘the good man’ and he is a wonderful role model for both adults and students on campus.”

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Administrators take stock of finances ‘Administrators’ from A1

was a total of $1.4 million deemed not wholly necessary. The eagerness to help with the reductions led to a result that Levin considers “better than we could’ve dreamed.” The largest reduction came from the physical plant and maintenance, and several projects that were either deferred or cancelled, among them the annual repaving of school driveways. “You know what? We can deal with gray driveways for a year,” Levin said. To further cut costs, the administration reduced the annual increase of faculty salaries from an average 5 percent to 3 percent. Some administrators, including Hudnut, requested that their salaries be frozen for the year. Financial raid When the economic crisis hit last fall, the school was inundated by financial aid requests. In a normal year, Director of Financial Aid Geoffery Bird estimated, about five returning students request aid. This past year, that number increased almost six-fold. “If you run into trouble, your parents run into trouble paying, we’re going to help you even if you’re a C student,” he said. The financial aid budget was expanded to take in these new requests. However, its budget was spread so thin that the school admitted fewer financial aid applicants into the class of 2015, cutting the number by a quarter from years past. “No school can just take anybody they want,” Bird said. “Need-blind admission is BS. You can’t just take a bunch of penniless people because they’re smart and talented. We’ve got more money than almost all day schools, and we look very hard at these candidates; they’re real stars.” Director of Admission Elizabeth Gregory thinks this year will be low on aid as well, but that it could then return to regular levels. An emphasis on financial aid is something that almost everyone in the school community

believes in, Bird said. The past three senior class gifts have been donations to the fund, and there have been more endowed scholarships. “There are fewer people around now that want to build a fancy building with their name on it,” Bird said. “This is bringing out a different class of donor, the kind of people who say this is crucial now that my school steps up to the plate and is reflective of the community and respond.” Signs of hope After receiving what Levin believes to be an American day school record – $6.6 million in the 2007-8 year – Annual Giving managed to take in over $6 million despite the faltering economy, a feat that Levin described as “unbelievable, otherworldly and astonishing.” The number was lower than prerecession estimates; the school had expected $6.8 million in donations. “Secretly we were thinking $7 mil could happen,” Levin said. “Then we get into last fall and the world basically melts down.” Administrators hope that Annual Giving will return to previous levels as the stock market begins to stabilize. “Numbers of people are both psychologically and financially affected by the vicissitudes of the stock market,” Hudnut said. “The stock market had a nice run up in the last few months, so if the fall doesn’t bring any nasty surprises the way it did a year ago, I’m optimistic about this year’s fundraising and the climate surrounding it.” If Hudnut’s predictions do not pan out, Levin believes that the school will be able to hold out. “We had a series of good years that were ridiculously good,” he said. “Everything that could bounce right did, and all at the same time. We put our acorns away for a rainy day.” “We take a longer view of things,” Levin said. “We don’t get happy in the morning because the world’s getting lighter and upset in the night because it’s getting darker.”

Sept. 9, 2009

School prepares for H1N1

The

By Catherine Wang

Adedoyin Oyekan’s ’10 experience studying at Oxford University this summer was very different from what she expected. Oyekan became one of the 300,000 people around the world to get swine flu. Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, commonly known as swine flu, has already caused 3,000 deaths after first being detected in Mexico in April. Swine flu is a highly contagious virus with genes similar to the flu viruses found in pigs. It is transmitted through human contact and bodily fluids. Symptoms, which can last up to a week, are similar to that of the seasonal flu: fever, sneezing, sore throat, diarrhea, coughing, headache, shortness of breath, and muscle or joint pain. The Centers for Disease Control says that the swine flu is relatively mild in healthy people, with cases resulting in death generally only occurring to those with asthma, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, or a weak immune system. Children, teens, pregnant women and health workers are also vulnerable. Keeping Schools Safe The CDC recommends that those with flu-like symptoms stay home for seven days or 24 hours after symptoms subside and no medication is being taken, whichever is longer. Only if the outbreak becomes threatening to the welfare of the community should schools consider closing. Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said that the school will follow the Department of Education and CDC guidelines. The school has been vigilant about monitoring the status of the outbreak and will be cautious in the coming year, she said. The school will communicate to parents any updates regarding swine flu first via email and then by every possible

C hronicle

Swine Flu Symptoms One step the school is taking to prepare for H1N1 is educating students about symptoms. Symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of the seasonal flu. They include: Muscle or joint pain Shortness of breath Sore throat Headache Coughing Sneezing Diarrhea Fever If you have these symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control recommends staying home until 24 hours after symptoms subside and you are no longer taking medication. SOURCE: THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL GRAPHIC BY MICHELLE NOSRATIAN

means of communication, Huybrechts said. Hand sanitizers will be installed around campus, especially in the cafeteria, and the school will display posters about good hygiene. Teachers and deans will be more proactive about making sure students cover their noses and mouths when sneezing or coughing. In addition, the school has a close connection with two epidemiologists, who are “one phone call away,” Huybrechts said. Forty-five million shots of the new swine flu vaccine will be available before the end of October. The vaccine will likely be given in two shots, three weeks apart and will take about two weeks to reach full effectiveness. Huybrechts said the school will “wait and see” as to whether they give out the vaccine to students when it becomes available.

Junior starts chapter of national charity By Jessica Barzilay

A team of students led by Jason Mohr ’11 has formed a HarvardWestlake of Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter. The chapter consists of an executive group of sophomores and juniors who came together to improve substandard living conditions in Los Angeles. The chapter is planning a 5 kilometer walk to raise awareness that will take place on Oct. 10. Mohr has been working with the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate to organize the chapter and plan the event since Oct. 2008. Proceeds from the walk will be used to help build 24 houses in the project to provide housing for residents of Los Angeles. Mohr had volunteered with Habitat for Humanity since the summer of 2008 and learned about the opportunity to start a high school chapter through his volunteer work. After speaking with the local affiliate, Mohr sought approval to form the school organization from Chaplain J. Young and Director of Student Affairs Jordan Church, and secured history teacher Leslie Rockenbach as supervisor. From there, Mohr worked with Rockenbach to draft a 40-page contract that outlined the basic structure of Harvard-Westlake’s Habitat for Humanity chapter. Melanie Borinstein ’11, Jordan Gavens ’12, Gabi Kuhn ’12 and Cami de Ry ’12 make up the rest of the executive team. The group’s first official effort took place last spring, when they set up a table in the Quad selling Dollar Chocolate Bars. They successfully raised $500.

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How to protect yourself To prevent the spread of germs, people should wash their hands frequently, according to the CDC. Sneezes and coughs should be covered and people should avoid touching their eyes, noses and mouths. Although most experts suggest that a child see a doctor if he or she becomes sick, going to the emergency room should be a last resort. Those that have swine flu are recommended to avoid crowds to avoid spreading it. The CDC does not recommend “swine flu parties,” gatherings where healthy people purposely come into close contact with a person who has the virus in order to get the sickness as a way to develop natural immunity. Experiencing a worldwide pandemic Oyekan caught a cold as soon as she arrived in Oxford. “I felt weak and tired,” Oyekan said. “I could not determine if I was hot or cold and I kept getting goose bumps.” Fearful that she was getting swine flu, since roughly 20 other students had it, Oyekan tried using pain relievers, throat lozenges and over-the-counter cold medicine, none of which seemed to help. She began to miss classes because she could not focus. Oyekan wanted to take Tamiflu, a prescription flu medicine, but the program office refused to give it to her since she did not have a fever. Finally, she paid 30 Euros to visit a doctor, who confirmed that she had the swine flu. After taking Tamiflu, Oyekan experienced temporary relief, but soon started having coughing fits. “It was the horrible cough reserved for commercials and movies, but this was happening to me in real life,” Oyekan said. “Whenever I coughed it felt like my chest was about to be shattered with a sledgehammer and my brain was being crushed.” Over one weekend, Oyekan’s aunt was supposed to take her to London. As they were leaving, Oyekan felt as if her body “was on fire.” She went to the program office to have her temperature measured, and found out it was 101.66 degrees Fahrenheit. Oyekan’s aunt decided to take her to London anyway. She started vomiting, so she was rushed to the emergency room, where she continued to throw up. There, she was diagnosed with swine flu and given a stronger dose of Tamiflu. She took it for seven days and took pain reliever for two weeks. “I got better after that and that was the end of swine flu for me, hopefully,” Oyekan said.

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do-gooders: Jason Mohr ’11, Brandon Zeiden ’11 and Melanie Borinstein ’11 sell chocolate to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. “Because there is so much to be done, anyone who wants to get involved is greatly appreciated,” Mohr said. Mohr said he hopes to recruit students at the Activities Fair Sept. 23 to participate in the five kilometer walk. “The idea of the event is great for the Harvard-Westlake community, but also for the community at large,” Mohr said.

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inbrief Alum raises college funds for Palestinian

School hires different yearbook photographer

This year, photos will be taken by Cliff Kramer of Nathanson’s Photography. Rabbi Emily Feigenson recommended Nathanson’s to yearbook advisor Jen Bladen. She was familiar with the company’s work from her children’s elementary school, Warner Avenue Public Elementary. This year, photos will be taken in the grassy area outside of Rugby, rather than in the lounge. This will allow Kramer to use natural light as well as flash, Bladen said. “Almost all of our photography is outdoor and on location,” Kramer said. “We want to get nontraditional shots by circumventing the traditional sit-down and smile photos.” Bladen said that Kramer will take however many photos necessary to get a good picture, and parents will receive multiple proofs to choose from. Families can also order digital copies. — Nicki Resnikoff

Rado invited to sit on doctoral committe

English teacher Dr. Lisa Rado will sit on the doctoral committee of West Virginia University student Erin Johns Speese. Rado has published works on modernist early 20th century literature, Speese’s area of interest. After reading her works, Speese requested Rado’s presence on her doctoral committee, a position which high school teachers are rarely chosen for. “I was stunned when I received the e-mail. It was very flattering, and something I never expected I would get to do as a high school teacher,” Rado said. Rado may have to participate in the panel via Skype, a video conferencing website which seems like the most logical way for Rado to be in the same virtual place as Speese and the doctoral committee, Rado said. — Lara Sokoloff

Chinese teacher to have classes on both campuses Chinese teacher Bin Bin Wei will teach classes on both campuses for the first time this year. In the past, Wei has only taught at the Middle School. Wei will teach tenth grade Chinese II classes this year, alongside Chinese teacher Dr. Qinru Zhou. At the Middle School, Wei will teach Chinese IB and I with new middle school Chinese teacher, Xiaomei Mu, who will teach Chinese IA and IB. — Sanjana Kucheria

By Hana Al-Henaid

Joey Katona ’06 is currently raising money for the Omar Dreidi Scholarship Fund, which he founded in 2006 to help his Palestinian friend Omar Dreidi pay for college. To date, Katona has raised about $60,000 for the fund. Dreidi was accepted to Earlham College in 2006 with a partial scholarship and a work study job; however, he needed additional financial support. During the spring of 2006, Katona visited Dreidi at his home in Ramallah, where they discussed college plans. Upon learning about Dreidi’s situation, Katona volunteered to raise the extra funds himself, he said. “It didn’t seem right to me that I could attend university wherever I chose simply based on the favorable situation into which I was born and Omar could not,” Katona said. “At first, I planned to raise far less money - about half of what I ended up raising - from just a handful of family friends. The fund obviously exploded, and I now have a network of about 75 individual and family donors.” Katona and Dreidi met as teenagers during the summer of 2004, when they both attended an international conflict resolution camp in Maine called Seeds of Peace. The camp brings together Palestinians, Israelis and youth from six other countries to “help young people from regions of conflict develop the leadership skills necessary to advance reconciliation and coexistence,” according to the Seeds of Peace mission statement. As of September, Katona still has to raise $26,000 to ensure that Dreidi graduates in May 2010.

School installs alarm system By Spencer Gisser

A new system of alarms has been installed at both the Upper School and the Middle School. The alarms are essentially tornado warning systems that have been reconfigured and redesigned to work in the context of an academic environment. When activated, the alarm at the Upper School can be heard from Mulholland Drive to Riverside Drive. “The system’s sound will be able to penetrate even our soundproof rooms,” said Jim Crawford, the Director of Security at Harvard-Westlake and the head of CJL Security Inc. The alarms can be activated both by panic buttons at pre-designated locations on each campus and cellular phones. The alarms are 300 pound battery-operated electronic sirens that the school has purchased from the Whelen Engineering Company Inc., an emergency warning company founded in 1952. The alarms that the school has installed can broadcast “clear, uniform and powerful 360 degree warning instantaneously throughout their coverage area,” according to the Whelen web site. The school’s Whelen alarms have also been programmed to issue vocal commands. Members of school security will run several lockdown drills throughout the year to familiarize students and faculty with the operation and sound of the new alarm system, Crawford said.

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courtesy of Joey katona

Seed Money: Joey Katona ’06, (right) and his friend Omar Dreidi pose after a soccer game at Earlham College. Katona founded a scholarship program on behalf of Dreidi in 2006. In the event Katona raises more money than that, he may establish a non-profit organization to support similar educational pursuits, he said. “I am very much still raising funds,” Katona said. “The media coverage that we have received over the last 3 years has really helped. “ Although he initially believed most of the contributors would come from a few family friends, the majority of the donors contacted him after reading articles in local college papers and online. Katona was also featured as a “Hero Among Us” in September’s PEOPLE Magazine. “Right now, I’m most concerned with raising enough money to ensure Omar graduates,” Katona said. “Hopefully the PEOPLE article and follow-up press will help make that a reality.” For more information on the Omar Dreidi Scholarship Fund, e-mail josephkatona@gmail.com.

Weis earns national mathematics award By Neha Nimmagadda

Weis decided to direct this $2,500 grant to HarvardUpper School math teachWestlake’s Science, Technoler Kevin Weis was one of 32 ogy, Engineering and Mathteachers nationwide who reematics committee, which ceived a Math Hero Award he will head this year. from the Raytheon Company The STEM committee this summer. “seeks to improve students’ Contest winners received interest in, and preparation a $2,500 grant which is in- don hagopian/chronicle for, careers in related STEM tended to be used by the winfields, including teaching,” Kevin Weis ners’ schools in science and Weis said. math related projects and “The committee supports another $2,500 which is intended for a school curriculum and co-curricular their personal use. programs that afford students opporThe award is part of Raytheon’s tunities to participate in individual MathMovesU program which was and guided research in STEM fields,” started in 2005 to promote math and he said. science in schools, according to JenAccording to Weis, the purpose of nifer Chan, Manager of Community the STEM committee is to familiarize Relations for Raytheon Company. students with the work of scientists, The program was “designed to computer scientists, engineers and help students of all ages remain in- mathematicians. terested in math and science through “The money was supposed to be programs that inspire, enlighten and spent on math- and science- related even entertain,” said Chan. stuff anyway,” Weis said. “I figured Teachers are nominated by stu- the STEM committee would be the dents, parents and faculty. This year’s perfect group to distribute the monrecipients were chosen from 107 ey.” nominees. Since he has been appointed the “Recipients are selected from a head of the STEM committee, Weis pool of highly qualified finalists,” she hopes to direct the money into projsaid. “A committee reviews the nomi- ects that he mentioned in his first esnation and information provided on say for the Math Hero Award. the finalist’s application to make the Prior STEM activities include the selection.” STEM-Fest at the end of last year, The nominated teachers had to where students from Antonio Naswrite three essays to be considered by sar’s Studies in Scientific Research the selection committee. They wrote one about how they class and other classes presented would use the $2,500 grant for their their work in a poster session. One project that Weis hopes to beschool. The second was about the innova- gin this year, using the $2,500 grant, tive techniques they use while teach- is an official annual math and science speaker series. ing math. “Dr. Nassar does this unofficially The third was about how they share their techniques with other already and has brought to Harvardfaculty. Westlake some amazing scientists, “Scholarship Management Ser- but I would like to see something ofvices looks for effective and creative ficial, and I think it would be great if methods the teachers and volunteers we could provide the speakers with a use to teach math to students and to small honorarium,” Weis said. make learning math fun,” Chan said. Weis plans on putting some of the According to Chan, the innovative $2,500 in savings for a down payment plans the teacher or volunteer has on a house and using the rest to buy a for using the school’s matching grant bicycle so that he can start biking to is an important part of the selection school in the morning. process.

Sept. 9, 2009

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inbrief

School hosts ACT on upper school campus

eMILY KHAYKIN/chronicle

under fire: Several teachers help demonstrate the various ways to take down an attacker in case of an on-campus shooter. The security office hosted a demonstration of the A.L.I.C.E. techniques in Rugby auditorium then staged a simulation of an attack.

Teachers simulate A.L.I.C.E. defense against gunman attack By Emily Khaykin

Security guard Mark Geiger was pinned to the floor last Thursday by a pile of teachers pounding at his head. Geiger had stormed the room where the teachers were cowering in an exercise teaching them how to fight back to protect themnselves and their students if there were a shooter on campus. The training in how to use the A.L.I.C.E. (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate) system was demonstrated to the upper school faculty in the morning and to the middle school faculty in the afternoon. “The training was first done with the prefects last year. It was our test run,” Crawford said. Encouraged by the successful simulation with the prefects, Crawford extended the training program to the teachers. “My goal is to eventually get all the teachers and students at Harvard-Westlake trained,” Crawford stated. A classroom has been set up directly behind St. Michael’s Church that will be used to train students. Originally used by Ryan Navi ’09 for the HW exchange, the room has since then been transformed into an exact replica of a regular classroom; complete with desks and school supplies from the lost-and-found. There are also two speakers and cameras in the corners of the room. “We hope to start training students sometime this year,” Crawford said. The teachers first attended a presentation in Rugby that taught them different techniques to use against an intruder. For example, one technique was dubbed the “Swarm Technique,” in which all of the teachers were told to jump the

gunman all at once. After the presentation, the teachers were grouped and separated into different classrooms for a simulated attack. Each time Geiger would try to enter the classroom, the teachers were instructed to employ a different technique they had learned during the presentation. The first time, the teachers learned how susceptible they were to attack as they heard the blank shots from outside the classroom and hid under their desks, completely helpless as Geiger easily entered the room. Geiger fired blanks that emitted the smell of gunfire, then announced to the teachers that they were all dead. The teachers took a more offensive approach the second time by working together to quickly stack desks up against the doorway. And as Geiger opened the door, he was startled by the yells and screams of teachers coming at him, in addition to a flurry of thrown tennis balls and orange juice bottles that eventually forced him out of the room. The third and final time around, as Geiger opened the door, a a group of teachers jumped him, knocking him to the floor. One teacher even threw a few punches before a security guard ended the simulation. Even though the faculty was supposed to experiment with different techniques every time, one group of teachers opted to jump the gunman both the second and third times. The A.L.I.C.E. system is intended to help the students and teachers be active and aggressive against a terrorist attack instead of passively allowing the gunman to take control of campus. The Prefect Council trained for A.L.I.C.E. in early 2009.

Two teachers receive 1st Innovation Awards By Jean Park

Physics teacher Karen Hutchinson and Middle School math teacher Darin Beigie were the first teachers to ever receive the Innovative Award. This award was a “big surprise” event for both teachers, Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts said. The Innovation Award will be given to teachers who formulate creative ideas that help both students and teachers. Hutchinson, who mentors the robotics team and assists the rocketry team, said that she “worked over the summer to change how [to] teach AP Physics B. Instead of lecturing during class, I would like to have students work on problems, show more demon-

strations, and do more lab-type activities.” “With my fellow physics teachers, I recorded a series of short videos, each a mini-lesson in physics,” Hutchison said. “Students will watch these podcasts as homework and hopefully learn from them as they would during a lecture in class.” Beigie customized his curriculum guide to improve how the lessons in Pre-Algebra and Algebra I are taught. He expanded and enriched the courses to step beyond the textbooks’ standards to match his own. Huybrechts said she was very grateful for both the teachers’ input and hopes that this new award will inspire other fellow teachers to be innovative.

For the first time ever, the American College Test will be administered on the Upper School Campus on Sept. 12 and June 12. “Over the years, we’ve seen a rise in the number of students who are interested in taking [the ACT] and it’s always nice for students to be able to take their standardized tests in a familiar environment,” Upper School Dean Canh Oxelson said. The administration began contemplating offering the ACT exam on campus after sophomores were given the option to take the PLAN, the ACT’s version of the PSAT, last year. However, the school is only hosting the SAT twice out of the six possible national test dates. “Fortunately, if a conflict does arise, both the ACT and SAT are offered numerous times throughout Los Angeles County,” Oxelson said. “Students will always have other test date options.” —Michelle Nosratian

Computer services revamps school website

Members of computer services have been working on remodeling the Harvard-Westlake website for nearly a year. However, the changes were not made until this summer so that the whole website could be changed at once, instead of section by section. Nearly 15,000 pages have been updated and new functions added to make the site more useful to students and faculty, said Director of Computer Services David Ruben. — Claire Hong

Students access schedules on hw.com parent portal Harvard-Westlake sent out student schedules and conflict cards online this year. In past years, the school printed roughly 950 schedules, conflict cards, labels, and stuffed envelopes. This year students and parents simply had to type in their usernames and passwords at hw.com to view the students’ schedules from any computer, which was more convenient for students still on vacation. “It saves money on postage and the other supplies necessary to stuff and mail the schedules,” said Michelle Bracken, Assistant to the Head of Upper School. —Maddy Baxter

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Teacher, alumnus perform in play By Michelle Nosratian

Courtesy of adam howard

in character: Adam Howard’s ’93 character (left), and Dan Fishbach’s ’94 character (right), debate a drug deal in “Search and Destroy.”

English teacher Adam Howard ’93 and former Head of the Performing Arts Department Dan Fishbach ’94 performed side by side in playwright Howard Korder’s “Search and Destroy.” The play ran from July 10 through Aug. 23 in Hollywood. “Search and Destroy” tells the story of Martin Mirkheim, an ambitious man who will let nothing—not even the $47,000 in taxes that he owes the state of Florida— stop him from becoming “the biggest threat there is” in the entertainment industry. “The dark plays are often the fun ones because we get to really step outside ourselves as actors and explore territories that are outside our typical moral comfort zones,” Howard said. “[The play] is more of a warning piece: that ambition can get us all in the end, but that weakness can

have just the same effect.” In his journey to secure power and success, Mirkheim seeks help from a shady businessman named Kim, played by Howard, and Kim’s drug-dealing friend Ron, played by Fishbach, both pawns in his scheme to become a big-time filmmaker. When faced with interpreting Korder’s character for himself, Howard had to look deep within himself for similarities. “I couldn’t relate to Kim directly, so I approached him with a mixture of my own desire for adventure coupled with good old fashioned imagination,” Howard said. “Who wouldn’t want to play a narcissistic businessman who not only wields a gun at one point, but also gets bludgeoned to death at play’s end?” Fishbach will direct Howard this October in “Private Eyes” at the Raven Playhouse in North Hollywood.

‘Potter’ screening raises $65,000 By Anabel Pasarow

A screening of “Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince” at the Warner Bros. lot for Harvard-Westlake families and their guests raised $65,000 for financial aid. More than 500 people attended the viewing July 9, six days before the film premiered. The event featured an exhibit that displayed props from various Warner Bros. movies. A room was devoted to Harry Potter with props from the first five movies, including the famous “sorting hat” for guests to try on. The hat told guests which Harry Potter house they were in: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw.

soundbytes

Fire evacuees describe the experience of evacuating their homes. “The moon is orange. that part is Weird because it’s just so surreal.” —Shannon Acedo Head Librarian “The whole thing was really scary but I’m so glad the firefighters kept the fire away from the Streets.” —Joyce Kim ’11 “It wasn’t that bad for Us, But we know people who had it a lot worse.” —Marisa Berger ’10 all photos by don hagopian/chronicle graphic by daniel rothberg

• CATERING

•FINE FOODS

Before the showing, Alan Ball, Director of Annual Giving, and Jill Shaw, Director of Communications and Alumni Relations introduced the Warner Bros. Vice President of Production Sarah Scechter, who then introduced President Tom Hudnut. Many Harvard-Westlake students who attended the screening brought their friends from other schools. A small majority of the attendees dressed up as characters of the movie and competed in a “craziest costume” contest. Twenty attendees won prizes. “The enthusiasm of students, parents, grandparents, and alumni was amazing.” Ball said.

alan Sasaki

sorting ceremony: Students, dressed as characters from Harry Potter, pose at a screening to raise funds for financial aid.

Massive wildfires force students, teacher to evacuate homes

By Daniel Rothberg

The Station fire, which has so far consumed more than 150,000 acres and destroyed 76 homes, forced at least three students and one teacher out of their homes in August. “It was definitely surreal,” evacuee Joyce Kim ’11 said. “I never thought I would have to evacuate in my lifetime and pack up all of my things.” According to the Los Angeles County Fire Department Captain, the Station fire is the largest in the modern history of Los Angeles County, with flames reaching lengths of 300 to 400 feet. Kim, who lives in La Cañada, found out that there was a fire on the morning of Aug. 27, but thinking it was not going to be a big deal, went out with friends. Later that evening, Kim received a call from her mother telling her to return home. After packing the car, the family evacuated their home that night. Although the Kim family decided to leave before it was mandatory, they were still in the area when authorities called for mandatory evacuations. Policemen with megaphones walked up and down the street and knocked on doors when mandatory evacuations began, Kim said. Only a few miles away from Kim,

•TAKE OUT

Alex Valdez ’11 was also in the process of leaving her home. Before the Valdez family began evacuating, they called the Sheriff ’s office to see whether or not they had to evacuate. The Sheriff ’s office told the Valdez family they were asking for voluntary evacuations but would not begin mandatory evacuations until later that night or very early in the morning. Knowing they would need to leave anyway, the Valdez their her home in La Cañada at around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 27. Valdez brought belongings that she felt were valuable, such as her own artwork that she had drawn in elementary school and middle school. Across the canyon from Valdez, Head Upper School Librarian Shannon Acedo, a resident of Altadena, received an e-mail Aug. 28 from her community’s Fire Safety Council, advising members of the community that they should expect to evacuate. “Friday night was the big anxious night,” Acedo said. “We kept waiting for the word and you could see the fire really close by.” Acedo described the next morning as very quiet because some people had voluntarily evacuated. Nonetheless, Acedo learned of evacuations in the morning and left her home with her son on Saturday. Marisa Berger ’10, a resident of

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Altadena, was also forced to evacuate her home. Unlike Kim and Valdez, Berger left during a mandatory evacuation of her neighborhood. Berger’s family found out they had to evacuate by checking online for frequent updates regarding the status of the fire. The Berger family evacuated midday Aug. 28. Kim, Valdez, Acedo and Berger were all able to return to their homes before the end of summer break.According to Berger, when she returned home, her lawn was covered with ash and her house smelled. Additionally, Berger noted that a mountain behind her house that had once been full of trees was now bare. When Valdez returned home, she said that her bed was covered in ash, due to a window above her bed that does not shut fully. Some students also hosted family members, whose homes were threatened by the fire. Jacqi Lee’s ’10 family took in her grandparents, uncle and cousins for two nights Additionaly, only hours after returning to their own home, the Kim family took in family that had evactuated. “It was hard because my grandparents were really thrown off,” Lee said. “We weren’t really sure what condition their house was in.”

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opinion Harvard-Westlake School

Volume XIX

Issue 1

Sept. 9, 2009

Opinion A9

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3700 Coldwater Canyon, North Hollywood, CA 91604 Editors in Chief: Sam Adams, Hana Al-Henaid Managing Editors: Sammy Roth, Allegra Tepper Executive Editor: Michelle Nosratian Presentations Editor: Candice Navi Multimedia Editor: Jamie Kim Business Manager: Neha Nimmagadda Ads Manager: David Burton Assistants: Jordan Gavens, Victor Yoon Chief Copy Editor: Ellina Chulpaeff Copy Editors: Spencer Gisser, Ester Khachatryan, Catherine Wang

Step away from the Skittles

JOYCE KIM/CHRONICLE

e are choosing the hard right not the easy wrong, we understand that just because we can doesn’t mean we should and that character not circumstance makes the person, but this has gone too far. This is the Pixie Stick that broke the camel’s back. We want our candy.

A ban on soda and candy in both campuses’ cafeterias has been adopted for the students to learn the “self discipline necessary for a healthy lifestyle,” according to a letter sent out to parents by Head of Middle School Ronnie Cazeau, Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra and Head of Athletics Audrius Barzdukas. At Harvard-Westlake, Cazeau and Salamandra strive to “empower” and “enable” their students—or, that’s how the mission statement reads. Yes, overall, the school does do an excellent job developing selfreliance in its students. We are trusted to be able to manage our time from seventh grade on during free periods and we are repeatedly told that, every year at Harvard-Westlake, our responsibilities and our academic maturity increase. We are deemed old enough for free condoms at school, but not old enough to make decisions about our lunches. This new campaign against all that is sweet tosses out the idea of building self-reliance. Apparently, we are so incapable of making the right dietary choices that all temptation must be removed. In the real world, temptation is lurking all around. Working under the premise that this policy is to instill “self-discipline for a healthy lifestyle as we become citizens of the world,” should we assume the world is without candy and soda, and if so, how are

we supposed to learn self-discipline when there is nothing for us to discipline against? It is undeniable that upping the healthy options in the cafeteria is a good idea; however, eliminating all other choices implies that we cannot be trusted to make the right decisions. The new restrictions on our food choices are equivalent to putting restrictions on free periods; a student cannot be trusted to do his or her homework, so he or she must forcibly be placed in the library. It would be a rousing success to be sure. We understand the administration’s goal to promote a healthier lifestyle. However, in a school with such a rigorous curriculum, we deserve some candy and soda. Balancing an in-class essay, math quiz and an AP Biology test in one day warrants a Snickers bar and a Diet Coke. We propose a compromise. If the school wants to help us be healthier, there should be an increase in healthy choices in the cafeterias, alongside the unhealthy choices. Limiting our lunch choices does not breed a student ready to take on the dietary traps of the world with discipline, but will only result in sugarstarved teenagers. As the old proverb goes, you can lead a horse to water, but if it really wants soda, you can’t make it drink.

Waking up to a new schedule

his morning, at least 800 alarm clocks sounded, prompting more than 800 Harvard-Westlake upper school students to roll out of bed, bleary-eyed and tired. For most of those students, it will be the first time in roughly three months that their alarm clock rang at such an early hour, or went off at all.

Things were unquestionably better last week when at least the sun was out to greet us when we awoke, the daily routine moved at a considerably slower rate and we held fewer responsibilities. But this morning, after more than 800 hands reached out from under the cozy covers and shut off the incessant ringing of their alarm clocks, students and faculty were thrust back into a routine that they abandoned in early June. It is the first day of school. It is Day 1, in more ways than one. Last spring the administration decided to implement a rolling schedule that runs from Day 1 through Day 5, replacing the Monday through Friday schedule. To add to the confusion that will inevitably ensue, not one week during the school year does a Day 1 fall on a Monday. Not surprisingly, there will be a lot of whining that accompanies sudden or seemingly unnecessary changes, as students and faculty struggle to remember yet another important detail about the

first day. There will no longer be a definite reliable day of the week when a student knows he or she can leave school early to meet an appointment. However, as Plato famously posited, necessity is the mother of invention. While the schedule change may seem inconvenient and unnecessary to someone who does not understand the need that made the change essential, it is pretty easy to understand why the administration chose to implement a new schedule. Class time will be spread out more evenly; for example, Monday classes will not get shortchanged because of the three day weekends that occur throughout the school year. Just like waking up earlier to the unpleasant sound of an alarm clock, going to sleep earlier, and setting aside hours for homework or sports, the new schedule will simply have to become just another change to which we become accustomed. Eventually, it will become so integrated in our minds that we no longer give it a second thought.

News Managing Editors: Nicki Resnikoff, Michelle Yousefzadeh Section Heads: Emily Khaykin, Alice Phillips, Daniel Rothberg Assistants: Jessica Barzilay, Maddy Baxter, Hank Gerba, Sanjana Kucheria, Marissa Lepor, Rebecca Nussbaum, Hunter Price, Lara Sokoloff, Saj Sri-Kumar Opinion Managing Editors: Anna Etra, Erin Moy Section Heads: Kelly Ohriner, Jean Park Assistants: Eli Haims, Vivien Mao, Anabel Pasarow, Nick Pritzker, Shana Tavangarian Features and Arts & Entertainment Managing Editors: Drew Lash, Lauren Seo Features Section Heads: Jordan Freisleben, Olivia Kwitny, Mary Rose Fissinger, Emily Wallach Features Assistants: Evan Brown, Melanie Chan, Lauren Choi, Camille de Ry, Allison Hamburger, Claire Hong, Megan Kawasaki, Chelsea Khakshouri, Ryan Lash Arts & Entertainment Section Heads: Ingrid Chang, Matthew Lee, Sade Tavangarian Arts & Entertainment Assistants: Justine Goode, Noelle Lyons Sports Managing Editors: Jack Davis, Alex Edel Section Heads: Austin Block, Ashley Khakshouri, Alex Leichenger Assistants: Sofia Davila, David Gobel, David Kolin, Tiffany Liao, Judd Liebman, Austin Lee, Julius Pak, Chelsey Taylor-Vaughn Photography: Lauren Li, Chloe Lister, Nika Madyoon, Lauren O’Neil Web Designer: Jake Staahl Adviser: Kathleen Neumeyer The Chronicle is the student newspaper of Harvard-Westlake School. It is published eight times per year. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the senior members of the Editorial Board. Advertising questions may be directed to Business Manager Neha Nimmagada at (818) 481-2087. Publication of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product or service by the newspaper or the school.

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Candice

Navi

My empty nest

“

leaving home may not be as easy as I had always assumed.”

This summer, I became an only child. My brother Ryan ’09 graduated in June and is now a freshman in college 3,000 miles away. I figured that things would not be too different with him gone. Even though our petty arguments would now take place on the phone and not in person, it would be like he never left. In fact, it would be better! I would get the car all to myself, listen to music in my room at whatever volume I please and finally watch “Gossip Girl” in peace. My dreams of having the house to myself completely changed once I arrived at his college and helped set up his dorm room. I hung up his clothes, from his Kobe jersey to his Gore-Tex winter coat and framed some pictures for his desk. I had to accept that this foreign place was to be his new home and the one back in Los Angeles would eventually become obsolete. Just yesterday, I walked by his room and peeked inside hoping to find it in its typical state of disarray. Again, my expectations were shot; his room was clean, a degree of clean that could only be achieved by his absence. Now that their son has left for college, my parents have become slightly needy. They constantly ask me questions at dinner, make hourly phone calls to see how and where I am and make excuses to spend as much time with me as possible. My father had been handling the recent changes pretty well until I discussed my Ring Ceremony dress. He laughed and said I had more than enough time to purchase or even think about a dress. When my mother and I pointed out that Ring Ceremony was actually in two weeks, my father became wide-eyed and was in denial that my turn to leave Navi household was just around the corner. He refused to believe I was a senior. In my mother’s case, she had done as much prepping for this milestone in her life as a mom could undertake. She attended many empty nest seminars and spoke to more experienced friends about when their children left for school. She always has her worn out copy of “Letting Go” in hand, complete with dog-eared pages. My parents constantly “suggest” that, when leaving for college, I choose to remain as close to them as possible, citing the perfect weather and, of course, the proximity to family. After seeing Ryan off, I’ve realized that leaving home may not be as easy as I always assumed. It will take us a while to adjust to the time difference when calling Ryan to probe him on all aspects of his life and arriving to school alone will be weird, but it is a necessary progression in all of our lives.

Umm...ready for this year?

have always heard mixed sentiments about junior year and when the last day of sophomore year came around, I was already feeling the anxiety. I decided that this summer I would attempt to balance spending time with friends with preparing for a hectic junior year. Over the summer, I attended the Brady-Johnson Program, which is a leadership development initiative at Yale University. The demanding twoweek program required 70 students to read eight thick books before the start of the program, entailed incredibly late nights in stuffy dorm rooms trying to finish a research and presentation project and included daily lectures and seminars on topics ranging from foreign policy to philosophy. Of all the things I learned in those two weeks, one of the most valuable lessons the program taught me

JOYCE KIM/CHRONICLE

One more chance

Anna

Etra

f you are sitting with someone who may need assistance, put your mask on first, before helping those around you. Our entire lives have been filled with lessons on teamwork, community, sharing and selflessness. This simple airplane instruction, typically ignored by frequent flyers, conflicts with all of the above. We are forced to choose between ourselves and others. Selfishness and selflessness. Individual and community. I am not going to take this opportunity to talk about how Harvard-Westlake has no community, but rather boast the not-so-new options that face us this year. We can revert to our primordial instincts, every man for himself, dog eat dog lifestyle, or we can choose to trust each other. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the definition of the word trust is “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” Obviously there are going to be people who betray our trust, and may not deserve it anymore, but it is up to us to give everyone else the benefit of the doubt. I have been in a situation where I have put all my trust in a single person and have been completely betrayed and disappointed. Although that caused a temporary lapse in my faith in people and ability to trust, I have moved on. I may be starting my senior column positivity a little early this year, but I am ready for people to stop lecturing about our

was to never say the word “um.” It seemed like the customary yet often forgotten advice given to novices of public speaking. I have learned that this seemingly trivial piece of advice applies to areas far beyond the realm of public speaking. At first, skeptical of the validity of this advice, I tried to investigate why I take the time to say “umm.” As I speak, it gives me time to think when I am on the spot. It opens up an opportunity to take a breath and relax before plunging back into a frenzied schedule. I wondered why people have always stressed the importance of skipping that short, yet effective break, which could permit a more fluid process of thoughts and ideas in one’s mind. I began to pay closer attention to the content of the speaker’s speech. All the professors displayed PowerPoint presentations and

Jean

Park

lack of community. Every prefect election the candidates talk about ways to rebuild our community. This goal cannot be achieved by dress up days, activity fairs or Jamba Juice in the quad. This requires each student to be willing to trust fellow Harvard-Westlake students. We always hear examples of random Harvard-Westlake students meeting in the real world and bonding over the fact that they went to the same school. If there is constant bitterness and seclusion within the school while in attendance, a student is not going to feel a connection to the school, and therefore to other students. Sitting in a meeting last week, our advisor, Kathy Neumeyer asked the Chronicle staff what we want to happen this year. I realized that I want to go to a school where people can depend on each other without fear of ulterior motives. I understand that we each have our individual goals and ambitions, but is not victory sweeter when it can be shared? Seniors, we have one more year to create a sense of trust that will stick with us for the rest of our lives. Sophomores and juniors, do not let yourselves be in the position of trying to get out the door as fast as possible. I want to graduate knowing that all of the people sitting in black and white next to me have my back. This year, I ask you to support people just because they go to your school. That is community. This year, when you have to choose, choose community.

“

The speakers who wasted no time to say ‘umm’ were far more dynamic.”

successfully crammed a four and a half hour long lecture into a mere two hour block, which included questions. I began to see that the speakers who paused to say “umm” became distractive. Although I know that these lecturers are without a doubt over-qualified professionals in their areas of expertise, taking the time to sound that involuntary “umm” took away from their credibility. I have ultimately realized that the supposedly inconsequential advice given to us was indeed valid. I began to see and hear that the speakers who wasted no time to say “umm” were far more dynamic in speech and tone. Also, the professors who refused to pause seemed more confident in their speeches and more knowledgeable to the audience. Of course, everyone eventually has his or her “umm” moments, but even learning to become conscious of those

instinctive “umm’s” is a goal reached by few. I admit when I first took a glance at my junior year schedule, opened my heavy box of textbooks and walked back onto the HarvardWestlake campus for Locker Day, I had that involuntary “umm” moment. It takes time to adjust to a demanding schedule especially with more work, but now that I look back on the experience, I realize the program was designed to keep us in constant motion. Waking up early for lectures, spending all night attempting to communicate with fellow group members via Google Docs and catching up on reading assignments gave us absolutely no time to physically take a break. Now I have to keep that piece of advice with me and because there will not be time to take breaks, I will try to remain dynamic for the busy year ahead of me.

Sept. 9,2009

Letters

The

C hronicle

Opinion A11

chronicle.hw.com

Why it only takes one

W ANNA ETRA/CHRONICLE

editors: Hana Al-Henaid ’10 and Sam Adams ’10 anticipate the new changes added to The Chronicle will increase student participation.

elcome back! I hope you are as excited as I am about this school year; it’s going to be a terrific one! We announced this year’s Character Education theme at the opening-of-school convocation, but I’d like to elaborate on what I think the theme could or should mean for all of us. It seems to me that “It only takes one” relates most readily to leadership, to taking the lead in situations where a single person’s actions could make a difference. A few examples, starting with the most obvious: Be the first to pick up the trash in the lunch area or anywhere on campus. Others will follow. Be the first to reach out to a friend in need. A single act of kindness can matter a great deal when you’re on

the receiving end. Be the first to speak up against unkindness, against dishonesty, against injustice. It only takes one to take the first step, to be a good example for others, to be the first to do the right thing. “Be the change you want to see in the world,” Mahatma Gandhi once DON HAGOPIAN/CHRONICLE said. It only takes one to initiate change. My best wishes for a wonderful school year. —Dr. Jeanne Huybrechts

Chronicle 2.0 Evolving to be involved

lot has changed over the summer: the world bid farewell to the biggest pop idol it’s ever seen, we mourned the loss of Ted Kennedy, the heart of the Democratic Party, and The Chronicle received what is arguably the biggest facelift in its history. So let’s talk about the changes you’ll find in The Chronicle this year. Just like everyone in this country, we’ve been affected by the recession. Where some deal in stocks and bonds, The Chronicle deals in paper and ink. As local businesses cut back and spend less on advertising, we respond by tightening our belt too. To that end, The Chronicle will now more nearly resemble something you would pick up at a newsstand; primarily, there are three pull out sections that help make the paper more digestible for all of you. But the biggest change you’ll see with The Chronicle can’t be found in the paper itself. Thanks to the indispensible help and support of school Web Manager Lillian Contreras and Jake Staahl ’10 we constructed a cutting edge website which we believe will meet your evolving needs. You can expect to see video features of some of the most important and interesting events around campus, starting with the football’s preparation for last Friday’s game. You’ll get web exclusives and staff blogs about local issues and the world at large. We now have a Twitter you can follow in addition to an RSS feed and a Facebook application. On our website, you can browse through online print editions of The Chronicle, as we now have PDF’s available to view without download. We’re excited about these changes and welcome your input. When we began our ground-up redesign, we tried to create a user-friendly product that you will enjoy using. So take a look at www.chronicle.hw.com and let us know what you think. Our paper is your paper, so give us a Tweet sometime.

—Sam Adams ’10 and Hana Al-Henaid ’10

And the work shall go on

By Daniel Rothberg

Just two weeks ago, a hero of mine, Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy, died. Known as “The Lion of the Senate,” Kennedy made it his mission to better the circumstances of millions of Americans. Like his brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy fought fervently to shape the future of America. One reason I admire Kennedy is that although he was born into a wealthy family, he never ceased to fight on behalf of the downtrodden. Kennedy believed that “every American should have the opportunity to receive a quality education, a job that respects their dignity and protects their safety, and health care that does not condemn those whose health is impaired to a lifetime of poverty and lost opportunity.” From securing an increase in the minimum wage to insuring millions of children in the State Children Health Insurance Program, Kennedy dramatically improved the living conditions for many Americans. Coming from a well to do family, Kennedy could have lived a comfortable life, sailing and golfing;

hether it’s your first time walking onto campus, your first year driving yourself to school or your last year at 3700 Coldwater Canyon, we all are starting the year together. It is in this spirit of unity that we will begin to tackle the challenges before us, and it is also in this spirit that we will share in each other’s successes. It’s not news that our community has flaws, but often this is the only news we hear about. Harvard-Westlake has some of the brightest, most talented kids anywhere, and when we are not plowing through a difficult test or setting records on the track, all one must do to see our strength is look back at how far we have come as both individuals and as a community. The Prefect Council every year has made it a goal to help strengthen our community; but it is time to recognize that there is no single miracle solution to the problems, big and small, we face and live with. We recognize as we always have that the solution is not in our classroom on the third floor of Chalmers, but instead may lie out in the Quad with the student body. This year you are going to discover an even more involved Prefect Council. We are going to devote our efforts to winning ideas emanating from clubs, student organizations and the greater community. We are often asked how we plan to bridge the gap between the students and the administration, but before we can cross that bridge we must know the student body, not as a collection of individuals but instead as the engine that drives our school. Our philosophy this year in regard to community is simple — the Prefect Council is not here to fight but instead to rally the student body and utilize the limited amount of time we have together to the fullest. A very important and often overlooked part of our community is the Honor Code. Fundamentally, the Honor Code should have a personal mean-

ing and significance because it is there to help prevent mistakes and help you go farther and achieve more as a student. The Honor Code shouldn’t only seem relevant and real when it is violated; the code is there to push you forward, not hold you back. More to the point, one’s potential is limited when they only think of the consequences, and we should recognize that the code helps us write the next essay, not rewrite the last one. It is important that we, the student body, focus more on building a deeper connection with the Honor Code than only acknowledging its importance and presence when we must. Sure the year ahead is going to have challenges, but it is no secret that together, when we are united, those challenges suddenly appear smaller. —Reid Lidow ’10 and Jennie Porter ’10

Courtesy of Head Prefects

student leaders: Reid Lidow ’10 and Jennie Porter ’10 look forward to the new year at the Prefect Council retreat.

Daniel

“

Rothberg

let us Speak for the Uninsured, the Unemployed and the Underprivileged, continuing kennedy’s mission to selflessly serve those who are less fortunate.”

however, he chose a more selfless path, devoting more than half of his life to public service. In this respect, I believe Kennedy can serve as an example for many of us. Many students come from extremely affluent backgrounds, just as Kennedy did. I urge students to follow Kennedy’s example by taking an active approach to help change the lives of those less fortunate. As the year begins, I suggest students actively look for ways to give back to society. One way students can help improve the lives of many Americans is by engaging in the healthcare debate.

In the ensuing days, the fate of comprehensive healthcare reform, an issue championed by Kennedy, will be decided. Forty-six million American men, women and children are uninsured. It is a travesty that anyone is denied insurance in this country. But it is especially disgusting that children, like you and me, live without healthcare just because of the circumstance of their birth. As Kennedy did, we have a unique opportunity to insure these children and many more Americans by helping Congress pass legislation that makes healthcare accessible for all Americans. Some ways you can urge Congress to pass comprehensive healthcare reform are by writing a letter to your Congressman, calling his or her office, or volunteering for a political organization. Kennedy saw it as his duty to use his voice for those who did not have one. Let us start out this school year doing the same. Let us speak for the uninsured, the unemployed and the underprivileged, continuing Kennedy’s mission to selflessly serve those who are less fortunate. As the “Lion of the Senate” once said, “The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die.”

Atwelve

Sept. 9, 2009

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Graphic by Candice Navi, Michelle Nosratian and Sammy Roth photos by don hagopian and daniel rothberg

features Harvard-Westlake School

Volume XIX

summer paths

Issue 1

Sept. 9, 2009

Joblessness soared to record highs this summer, but there were plenty of enriching opportunities to work for free.

By Rebecca Nussbaum This summer, at least 22 students interned in labs at the University of California, Los Angeles or Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The students had a variety of jobs, such as researching diseases, studying low temperature physics, and working with DNA. Kristen London ’10 and Claresta Joe-Wong ’10 spent their summer in a UCLA physics lab working with Professor Gary Williams. Williams was studying superfluid helium, which is liquid helium that has overcome friction and has zero viscosity. The girls helped wherever they were needed, so they did many jobs ranging from running experiments to setting up equipment to analyzing data. “Everyone was extremely nice,” London said. “They would always help me when I didn’t understand something and I learned a lot from the professor and all the graduate and undergraduate students who worked in the lab.” London found the internship through her science teacher, Antonio Nassar, and Joe-Wong found hers through a list of contacts provided by Harvard-Westlake. “The internship was a great experience,” said Joe-Wong. “I learned a lot about what real scientific re-

search is like.” Pauline Woo ’10 interned at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with Dr. Moshe Arditi, who is both the ViceChair of the Pediatrics Research Department and the Director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. In Arditi’s lab, Woo worked mostly with graduate and undergraduate students. She learned to do polymerase chain reaction, which makes billions of copies of DNA. Woo then performed gel electrophoresis on the DNA, a test which separates DNA fragments and sorts them according to size. “It was really interesting because I’d read a lot about the experiments I was doing everyday when I took AP Biology, and now I was getting to do them with real DNA samples,” Woo said. Woo also learned from the work of the other scientists in the lab. “I got to see other researchers working on their own experiments and learn about the diseases they were researching,” Woo said. “These internships can be lifechanging experiences,” science teacher David Hinden said. “The numbers show the deep level of interest in science on the part of many of our students and is, at least in part, attributable to efforts we‘re making as a school to place students in these experiences.”

For more on summer internships, see B2-B4. Illustration by drew lash illustrations by drew lash and ryan lash

B2 Features

The

C hronicle

Sept. 9, 2009

chronicle.hw.com

l s e L b y G a f o y s e o u r t

Gaby Leslie ’10 spent the summer interning at two local music groups, FMLY and Tightrope. FMLY is a group formed by Los Angeles locals aiming to change the way that the Los Angeles music scene works. The group books shows in alternative venues and also proco ur duces. te sy A typical day at FMLY of ga would include corresponding by le with people via email, thinking up sl ie Party on: new ideas for shows and sitting in on Gaby Leslie’s meetings to take notes for her employer. Leslie got in’10 hard work volved with FMLY by keeping her ears open and saw resulted in an all that they needed interns. day music festi“I was a frequenter of FMLY shows, and I’ve wanted val, Beach Daze. to get involved for a while, so I went in for an interview and was accepted,” she said.

Leslie also worked at Tightrope, a street-marketing and promotions group for bands, founded by a group of five friends. She got this job by chatting with two members of the team at a booth set up at a show. She gave them her information and e-mailed them asking to intern. They accepted and she began to work for them as well. “With Tightrope, we would all meet up for an afternoon and go over all the upcoming events and brainstorm how to make them great, as well as doing some budgeting and deciding what is a realistic goal,” Leslie said. “It is all just a matter of knowing what you want to do and then taking initiative.” “I hope to pursue a career involved in music in some way, whether it is the business end of things, such as starting a promotions group of my own, or is a more creative path, such as a producer or performer myself,” Leslie said. “We’ll see where things take me.”

By Alex Edel

Being a band aide

Making a fashionable entrance By Lara Sokoloff

Hannah Rosenberg ’11 was filled with pride as her original idea was incorporated into a new piece in designer Katy Rodriguez’s Spring 2010 collection. Having been interested in fashion for years, Rosenberg began working for Rodriguez as an intern in November 2008. Over the summer, Rosenberg focused on completing the Spring 2010 collection in time for Fashion Week in Paris this October. As a part of her internship, Rosenberg is given the unique opportunity to travel to Paris with the design team to help promote the collection; unfortunately, her trip may interfere with school, forcing her to miss one to two days of class. “Going to Paris is such a great opportunity for me to meet more people in fashion that will help further me as a designer, and I love Paris so I’m really excited,” Rosenberg said. On a daily basis, Rosenberg aids Rodriguez’s employees in clothing fittings. After the run through of the pieces, Rosenberg took part in meetings to discuss the collection as a whole, surveying what pieces are needed and which do not flow with the overall look of the collection. More recently, Rosenberg took over Public Relations at Katy Rodriguez. Her responsibilities include emailing and mailing out flyers, sending out postcards to inform buyers about sales, taking inventory of vin-

tage pieces, and distributing clothing for press samples. Rosenberg is often given the opportunity to work one on one with Rodriguez. While Rodriguez was designing a pair of shorts, Rosenberg gave her input on the design pattern to Rodriguez, which was used in the final piece. “Katy is very open about her designs; she is always asking for everyone’s input and opinions to constantly improve her collection as a whole,” said Rosenberg. Some of the most educational and rewarding experiences for Rosenberg come from answering phones, which gave her the chance to speak with well-respected figures in the fashion world including the editors of Vogue. Since she began working with Rodriguez, Rosenberg has been learning key tools that will help her in the future when she is promoting her own collections. Because Resurrection, Rodriguez’s store, is only four years old, Rosenberg has been able to learn how to create an image for a fresh, new brand. Being very involved in the collections gave Rosenberg a sense of pride and completion and when she sees Rodriguez’s work in the magazine, Rosenberg knows that she has been a key component in developing the lines, she said. Rosenberg hopes to maintain this internship throughout junior year, and continue to gain knowledge in the field of fashion, she said.

courtesy of Hannah Rosenberg

Fashion forward: hannah Rosenberg ’11 (second from right) worked with professionals in fashion as a public relations representative for Katy Rodriguez.

Getting under cancer’s skin By Ellina Chulpaeff

Courtesy of Caroline Groth

British invasion: Caroline Groth ’10 studies slides to help diagnose skin cancer while researching in London.

While President Barack Obama was campaigning for healthcare reform in the United States that more closely resembles British healthcare, Caroline Groth ’10 decided to experience the British system for herself. Over the summer, Groth spent a month interning at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital in London. She worked there five days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Groth was a biomedical scientist in the hospital; her responsibilities included cutting slides from skin samples in order to help diagnose skin cancers. In addition, Groth was allowed in operating rooms and watched skin cancer surgeries.

Groth first found out about the internship opportunity online when she ran across a program called Intern Exchange International. The internship program allows students ages 16 to 18 to work side by side with a professional in a field they have high interest in. “I wanted to work over the summer and thought it would be even more interesting to do it in another country,” Groth said. “I also really wanted to see the British healthcare system first-hand.” According to Groth, viewing surgeries was an experience she would never forget. “Watching the surgeon cut into the patient’s face while the patient was still conscious and talking to me was definitely memorable,” Groth said.

Sept. 9, 2009

The

C hronicle

Features B3

chronicle.hw.com

If the shoe fits, then share it By Emily Wallach

He drew the American flag. Then he sketched his face on top of the American flag—directly onto a pair of canvas shoes. I asked him what inspired his design. “Miss Emily,” he said, “I’m going to be the second black President of the United States of America.” It was one of those OMG moments, when you get that warm, fuzzy feeling, you know? The moment when you see a flicker of hope, your stomach flutters with butterflies, and you let out an “Awww.” It’s the moment to which Kodak can do no justice, the type that only gets better each time you replay it in your mind, and the reason I want to give away shoes for the rest of my life. This summer, as I took my first step in the direction of the rest of my life, I made some minor alterations to my routine. I traded my Havaianas for closed-toed canvas soles, my chopped salad for spicy jambalaya and my daily yogurt for Café du Monde beignets. But these were just small adjustments to make for a big cause. I was en route to New Orleans with TOMS Shoes, a company I’ve been involved with for three years, giving shoes to needy children. Our next black president might have been one of the more sophisticated recipients of a pair of TOMS Shoes that I gave out during the week in New Orleans. TOMS Shoes targets poor communities across the world, promoting their One to One Initiative. For every pair of shoes sold by the company, a pair is donated to a child in need. TOMS Shoes has donated almost a million shoes internationally: on this trip to Louisiana alone, we fit shoes on close to 3,000 children in pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade. I cannot forget Lamar, who was shy to take off his shoes because he was wearing his father’s socks, which were extremely large, ridden with holes, and in desperate need of detergent. Lamar put my life in perspective; his greatest embarrassment, the socks he wore on his feet, was something I don’t even think twice about on a given day. In fact, recognizing the significance of an item so ordinary, such as socks, was almost embarrassing to me. It seems to me that the concept of poverty in the United States, for example, is much harder to grasp than, say, poverty in Africa. The truth is, it’s easy to forget the state of our own nation. Traveling to New Orleans, and seeing the destruction from Hurricane Katrina opened my eyes to a new level of awareness and sensitivity that could only be grasped driving through the streets of the Ninth Ward or seeing deserted houses with big, red X’s on the doors, symbolizing the evacuated houses, destroyed by the storm. As we become globally-minded, we tend to forget the needs right at home. I took a painless, three-hour flight to an incredible and cultured city within the country’s borders, which was home to a community in need of a little hope and a lot of love. With each child that received his or her own pair of shoes, the room would swell with gratitude. It was practically like each canvas sole had a key to hope and a big hug of love sewn in the seams. You could hear the children graciously asking, “Are the shoes mine?”, “Can I keep them?” or may-

courtesy of Emily wallach

walk a mile in their shoes: Emily Wallach ’11 helps a young girl in New Orleans design a pair of shoes. Wallach spent 10 days there distributing TOM’S Shoes. be the most gratifying of them all, “My mom is going to be so proud.” Those are the words that trigger the feel-good moments that you want to freeze-frame and never let go. I felt this wave of appreciation with the boy who would soon be running the White House, Lamar, hundreds of other children and with Tejaria. This teeny schoolgirl, one of 11 children, encapsulated so much love into such a little package. I was amazed; three of my five hours at the public school were spent jumping rope with her, Sharpieing butterflies and flames on her new white TOMS and conversing about her future. Similar to Mr. Future President of the USA, Tejaria knew the direction her life was heading. “I want to do things I’ve done before, and things I’ve never done,” she said. “My dad is always on the phone for work, and I don’t want to do that. Maybe I’ll make shoes like you, Emily.” —Emily I hardly “make” shoes. The most “making” I can take credit for are the rainbows and hearts with which I adorn canvas shoes, but then again, kindergartners were doodling identical shapes. The significance of Tejaria in my everyday life is something so simple, yet so easy to forget. What exactly she wanted to do when she was older was yet to be decided, but she had the idea spot on. Do what you enjoy doing because you want to do it. In days filled with pressure from college applications and job resúmes, the power to choose for yourself is often influenced by outside opinion. I don’t know where I’ll be in 10 years, but I do know that I want to be giving away shoes. As Tejaria impressively preached, I’ll be doing things I’ve done before, but maybe this time I’ll be in Ethiopia, doing things I’ve never done before. And the only thing that’ll be standing in my way is a plane ticket.

“

I don’t know where i’ll be in 10 years, but i do know that i want to be giving away shoes.

Spacing out at JPL Measuring stress in laboratory rats

By Allison Hamburger

Monica Chen ’10 worked as an intern at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena this summer through the JPL Space Summer High School Internship (SpaceSHIP)Program. Chen helped the Soil Moisture Active Passive project and the Mars Science Laboratory, specifically the SMAP & MSL System Cabling Design & Implementation. MSL, Chen explained, focuses on the NASA rover expected to go to Mars in 2011. SMAP looks at soil’s moisture in different states in order to further understand the connections between the water, carbon, and energy cycles. Each day at 7 a.m., Chen was assigned to work on one of a few different projects. Some of Chen’s responsibilities as an intern were to create diagrams and designs for MSL as well as massing cables and cable harnesses, during which Chen worked hands-on with mass properties engineers. “During my eight weeks working at JPL, I was treated like an employee and was able to get a sense of what it would be like if I became an engineer,” Chen said. As an intern, Chen participated in other organized activities as a part of the program as well. In-

terns went on field trips, visiting locations such as the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex. During this outing, the SpaceSHIP participants learned about the antennas used to track and communicate with space missions. As a conclusion to the internship, Chen and the other interns were required to research and write a report, which included a 15-minute presentation to their fellow students and some JPL employees. Chen came across the opportunity on the internet and decided to pursue it due to her strong interest in science. Since the program accepts only about 20 high school students out of a couple hundred applicants, the application process was extensive, and included an essay, teacher references, and a transcript submission. Additionally, Chen was asked for a brief phone interview with a JPL employee after making it through the first round of applying. “I wanted to do something science-related and working at JPL was an amazing opportunity,” she said, “I couldn’t have hoped for anything better.”

By Joyce Kim

Riley Guerin ’11 spent his summer in New York working at the Rockefeller University Lab of Neuroendocrinology, run by Dr. Bruce McEwen. Guerin was the youngest in the program, working alongside undergraduate and graduate students doing research and conducting experiments in the lab. He spent his time assisting his mentor, Ph.D. student Melinda Miller, with her research. “I worked almost every day for two months of the summer, always starting before 10 a.m. and ending after 4 p.m.” Guerin said. “Sometimes we worked well into the night.” Because Dr. McEwen’s focus in science is on stress, all of the projects Guerin worked on had to do with stress levels. “In one of the projects I was testing what the effects of a missing receptor for the neuropeptide NPY are in chronically stressed rats,” Guerin said. “Also, if I had free time, I spent it reading scientific journals. They not only taught me more about what I was researching, but they are also rich with ideas for other directions in research. It’s a very long process to truly understand a journal article; it in-

Wallach ’11

volves hours of re-reading and looking up terms, but it is time well spent,” he said. Regardless of the fact that the majority of his work was on research that was not his own, the experience he gained this summer is valuable to him as a future scientist. “This research experience has given me a small set of very useful skills that will later help me get into other labs, and eventually into a graduate university to get a Ph.D.,” Guerin said. “This summer gave me insight into the real world of science, preparing me for the day to day life of a career scientist.” Guerin plans to study abroad next summer as well.

B4 Features

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Sept. 9, 2009

chronicle.hw.com

under

construction Judd Liebman ’12 traded in pencil and paper for nail and hammer this summer.

DREW LASH/CHRONICLE

ON DUTY: Judd Liebman ‘12 hammers a wall. He spent this past summer employed by a local constuction firm, where he occasionally worked the graveyard By Judd Liebman I don’t have the most ideal construction worker’s body. Weighing 114 lbs. and standing tall at a medium 5’6.5,” I’m a scrawny kid who has had more metal in my mouth than I have ever nailed, screwed, or welded. When you see me, the last thing you would think I did this summer was construction work. When would you expect a blue collar job from a Harvard-Westlake sophomore? My construction experience amounted to hanging one or two posters in my room; other than that, I had never done anything like this before. Getting the job was easier than expected. After asking the owner, a friend of my mother, if I could work for him this summer, all I had to do was fill out some forms. I was excited to start until I found out I was assigned to the “graveyard shift.” Having to work from 12 midnight until 8:30 a.m., I was nervous about falling asleep during my first lunch break. I arrived at the Westwood site where, ultimately, we transformed a store into a Jewish Synagogue. The job started with a nocturnal week; I went to bed at 2 p.m. and woke up at 11 p.m. in order to show up for work at 11:45. When I arrived, I was greeted by the job manager, my go-to guy. I walked inside the site and was greeted again, this time by a huge pile of trash that I needed to organize and move. I was given a wheelbarrow and a shovel and was told to move the trash across the room into three different piles. Rarely having cleaned my own room, I decided to follow my gut and move the larger pieces first. After I hauled all of the large pieces over to the second and third piles, I shoveled the smaller stuff into buckets to pour them out in the piles. After I finished with my first task, I felt overwhelmed and undernourished. Instead of taking an early lunch, I decided to help insulate the floor. I insulated until my 4:30 a.m. lunch break at a 24-hour Subway. When the project manager realized that I actually wanted to work, he delegated tasks accordingly. He pointed to a wall and told me, “make it so I have no wall.” Confused, I started with a hammer and made as many holes as possible. I threw all my weight into every hit and cleared the drywall. Next, I took a Sawzall and cut the beams in half in order to take them out of the ceiling and the floor. A Sawzall is a high powered electric saw that can eat through anything: wood, metal, or even some cement. I threw these beams into my new piles of trash and moved on. The company truck arrived at 5:30 a.m. and parked outside the building. My next task, along with co-workers, was to move all of the piles of trash out into the back of the truck. Normal life on Westwood Boulevard was starting just as my day was finishing. When I got home at 9 a.m., I collapsed. Tired, I tried to deprive

shift. Insulating drywall and waterproofing support beams were only interrupted by 4:30 a.m. lunch breaks at the 24-hour Subway. myself of sleep until my 2 p.m. bedtime. My first day of a paid job had finished and I didn’t know whether I would be able to finish what I started. My second work site was in the Pacific Palisades, remodeling the inside of a home and redoing the family’s porch. This house had the perfect California view. I could keep going because I knew that if my jobs, which seemed small and insignificant, didn’t get done, I would push back the project and negatively impact the bigger picture. My main job for the first week of this Palisades site was to waterproof everything. Not just the new beams, but also the old beams, the door frames, the window frames, etc. Wooly Mammoths got taken down by the tar that makes up this stuff, how could I be able to master it? If you have never had to work with it, you’re lucky. If the tape touches anything, it sticks; if it sticks, it’s ruined; if it’s ruined, you need to cut —Judd Liebman a new piece, thus wasting money and making the owners angry. My main co-worker for this task was a felon; convicted of robbery and grand theft auto, now trying to get his life back together. This job, which kept us both busy, was his new path to keep out of trouble. After all the tape was laid, I had to walk on the porch and take off any wood that made up the railings. There were no floor boards to walk on, only two by fours. Walking on a two-inch piece of wood, 15-feet above the cement ground is scary. I’m not going to be tough, it’s scary; no matter who you are, it’s still scary. Again with a hammer, I put all my weight into every smack against the wood. Desperately trying to keep my balance, I attempted to remain calm while I hammered off pieces of the handrail. It was scary. Toward the end of the summer my tasks became more difficult and seemed more important. My boss assigned me jobs that worked more toward my skills, like measuring, adding and dividing numbers in order to saw wood, and taking off excess wood. Does construction work sound like fun? If it does, you’re right. I loved demolishing walls, hanging with the guys, and chowing down on greasy burritos. I learned about people’s lives, their struggles, and their challenges that I have never faced. This kind of manual labor in the blistering California weather gets you ready for sleep like never before. Now that my work period is over, I am still a scrawny kid from Harvard-Westlake, have no braces, but feel a little stronger, and am looking forward to next summer.

“

When would you expect a blue collar job from a harvardwestlake sophomore?

‘12

‘Part of one of the biggest news events of the summer’ By Allegra Tepper

It was supposed to be a typical day at the research desk at People Magazine’s Los Angeles Bureau. Esther Zuckerman ’08 arrived at the office prepared for another day of fact checking, cover pitches and phone calls, but on June 25, she instead found herself in the sea of reporters outside of the UCLA Medical Center, awaiting the latest news on the death of Michael Jackson. Zuckerman stayed on the Jackson story for the following four days, alternating shifts in front of the Jackson family’s Encino home with other interns at People. She describes the opportunity to be “part of one of the biggest news events of the summer” as a once-in-a-lifetime chance. “I got to experience a lot of different media outlets just by being there,” Zuckerman said. “I saw how the big news teams worked; I was standing behind the BBC and reporters getting video coverage for news stations from all over the world. Being a contributing reporter for the story on Michael Jackson’s funeral was so exciting.” Along with covering the Jackson story, Zuckerman also wrote articles and contributed as a reporter for both People’s print edition as well as the

“dot com.” Among her bylines were stories about “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson’s appearance at Comic-Con, actors Fred Armisen and Elizabeth Moss’ matrimonies and Harry Potter star Emma Watson’s matriculation to Brown University. Even on her first day on the job Zuckerman attended and reported on Jay Leno’s final days hosting “The Tonight Show,” another reporting experience she called “historic.” “It was a good summer to be in Los Angeles for celebrity news,” Zuckerman said. Zuckerman is a sophomore at Yale University, where she is a reporter for The Yale Daily News. An aspiring journalist, Zuckerman was Managing Editor of The Chronicle while a student at Harvard-Westlake. A fellow staff veteran, former Editor in Chief Michael Kaplan ’08 also worked as an interning journalist this summer at FOX College Sports. While Kaplan describes FOX as “a big bureaucratic red tape company,” he was still able to pitch his own ideas as an intern. One of these ideas, “The College Intern,” came to fruition as a weekly series. According to FOX College Sports, Kaplan’s series is a tailgating guide for some of the best Saturday experiences across the country.

“It was my baby,” Kaplan, who is currently majoring in journalism at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, said. “FOX’s [TailGate Tour 2008] profiled different schools’ games, and I decided to do the article version. I really wanted to give the college student’s perspective, not that of alumni or boosters.” In addition to writing seven installments of “The College Intern” on schools such as Louisiana State University and University of Miami, Kaplan worked on FOX programming and marketing when he wasn’t writing for the website. As one of only two college-age interns in the department, Kaplan worked alongside professionals and sat at his own desk in the newsroom where a TV pumped Sports Center into his head all day, Kaplan said. Kaplan’s web clips range from debates on heated topics in college athletics with fellow students to reporting-heavy features such as “Life After Football,” which tells the story of Western Washington University cutting its Division III football team due to budget cuts. Both Zuckerman and Kaplan have plans of continuing to contribute to their respective publications during their sophomore year.

Sept. 9, 2009

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austin park

Lands Unknown: Austin Park ’10, pictured below, spent the month of June recording film of the lives of Korean islanders on Ullong-Do. austin park

‘A different rhythm of life’

austin park

candice navi/chronicle

Junior Summer Fellowship winner Austin Park ’10 documented his impressions of the remote Korean island Ullong-Do.

By Lauren Seo

“

The film rolled in the summer heat as Austin Park ’10 witnessed a meat patty flipped by the owner of the only fast food joint on Ullung-Do, South Korea. As the quotidian actions committed themselves to film, the owner’s story was gradually added to the patchwork of other indigenous lives Park had spent a month on the island collecting. Supported by the Junior Summer Fellowship he won last spring, Park devoted June to documenting the hidden beauty of this land obscure to most of the western world. Although now the focus of his documentary, this isolated islet was never a place where Park planned to stay for over a day. Originally, the project was intended to focus on Dokdo, a group of small islets between Japan and Korea. The dispute between these two countries over the sovereignty of what are essentially two floating rocks has gone back centuries, but only in recent years has it inflated into its current magnitude of public and heated contro—Austin Park ‘10 versy. As fervent as the debates grew, though, what intrigued Park more were the lives of elderly octopus fishermen Kim Sung-do and Kim Shin-yeol, the island’s sole inhabitants. “This kind of thing just doesn’t exist in the world, it’s a fantasy to me,” Park said of their living situation. After obtaining special permission to stay on the island via multiple meetings with government officials, Park embarked on his assignment. However, unforeseen setbacks caused him to leave the island after a week. Kim Sung-do had been evacuated from the island for medical care and his wife changed her mind about cooperating. Park decided to head back to Ullong-Do and stay with an official he had previously befriended before figuring out what path to take next. Upon reaching the rocky isle, however, he found that his next move came effortlessly. “Suddenly the whole movie came to me,” he said. “I realized all the stuff I loved about my trip was right there.” For the next two and half weeks, Park recorded 250 hours of footage capturing the island and all the people there, subjects he felt were just as compelling as the two octopus fishermen. Since he had previously stayed on the island, Park was familiar with the local places and people, an advantage he said he might never have again with a documentary. “You don’t often get the opportunity to go back and shoot something in a documentary,” he said, “but because I lived there, I could scout all my locations beforehand and already knew how fascinating and beautiful these people were. I was

You can make all the itineraries you want, but you can never prepare for what happens.”

in an amazing position.” Park said he approached his documentary as a portrait, using the lives he captured on film as his color palette. “I’ve got all these stories and I’m hopefully trying to build a picture of Ullung-Do for people who’ve never been there and probably never will,” he said. At first glance, this remote island off the eastern coast of Korea may seem an unlikely source for beauty. Essentially the remains of an extinct volcano, this remote isle is separated from the mainland by 75 miles of water and is only accessible by boat from two different harbors. To the average tourist, there is scarcely anything to do. Even the locals, who speak a dialect different from that used on the mainland, showed confusion as to his extended stay on the island, Park said. However, it is exactly this isolationist nature that fascinated him. According to Park, being so obscure and disconnected from the modern world allowed the natives to develop a different, more simple mentality and rhythm of life. The days, as Park describes them, are slow, with not a lot to do. When Park first stepped foot on the island, he had intended to stay there for no more than a day or two. On paper, he said, the area was simply an intermediary stop, just as it is for the many tourists traveling through to visit the famed island of Dokdo. “You can make all the itineraries you want, but you can never prepare for what happens, which is scary, but also kind of nice,” Park said. Park, who has described himself as “crazy about film”, has been directing narrative films with friends Graham Parkes ’10 and Will Hellwarth ’10 since their freshman year. This was his first experience filming by himself, which he said forced him to act more instinctually in terms of his filmmaking. “When you’re shooting everything by yourself and you don’t have anyone to ask for opinions, you can’t be neurotic or self-conscious about every decision you’re making,” Park said. While Park considers himself “literate” in documentaries, he admitted they have never been his passion. Filming one was just something new for him that added greatly to his experience, he said. Recording a documentary was not the only new experience Park gained on his trip. Not much of a traveler, a facet of himself he wishes to change, he also embarked on his first trip to Asia. “I definitely saw the fellowship as a big opportunity for me to travel,” Park said. “It’s still so surreal, I can’t believe I actually went there.” Park is still in the early stages of editing his film, and hopes to have a cut done by December. “I need to figure out the rhythm of each of the people, and structure it,” he said. “I want to give an experience.”

B6 Features

Sept. 9, 2009 The

rules

of the

road

Kno the r situa conf

When accidents happen By Candice Navi

n the day of the June SATs, Chase Morgan ’10 was heading down Coldwater Canyon. While making a turn near St. Michael’s, Morgan ended up in the wrong lane, facing opposing traffic. Morgan sharply turned again to return to his lane, causing his car to skid 180 degrees, completely roll over and end up back on all four wheels. “I was in a state of disbelief after, as well as during, the accident,” Morgan said. “It was like a dream, I just had no control. Some people ran over to help me and security guard [Sanders] Jackson drove my car into a parking lot. The car was near totaled, but I escaped injury miraculously.” The only piece of advice Morgan has to offer now is to follow the speed limit posted along the road. “Sometimes they are silly, but other times they protect —Claire Kao ‘10 idiots from themselves,” Morgan said. In fact, nearly 6,000 teenagers are killed in car crashes and 300,000 are injured every year, according to the American Automobile Association. “Everyone is bound to have an accident now or later, so with teens that first accident usually comes a little sooner than later,” said Century City-based attorney Navid A. Natanian, who specializes in plaintiffs’ motor vehicle accidents and general and serious personal injury cases. “Knowing how to react in certain situations is crucial

6,000

It horrifies me to think what would have happened if I wASN’t wearing my seat belt.”

teenagers killed in accidents every year

so without many years of driving experience and the accompanying confidence in their own driving skills, teens are more prone to allow distractions to impair their ability to pay attention to their driving,” Natanian said. The first of the three basic steps laid out by Allstate Insurance Company for coping immediately after an accident is to remain calm and assess any possible injuries you and your passengers may have. “If you feel injured, depending on severity, of course, it’s best to stay in the car, call an ambulance and get checked out before going directly home,” Natanian said. “After an accident you must pull to the side, but depending on where you are, that may be a task in itself.” Neither driver should leave the accident scene so that they can exchange information and file an accident report with the police. “Call the police if someone is injured and it is not a bad idea to call their parents either,” auto insurance agent Dave Pontecorvo said. “Get as much information from the other party before leaving the scene.” At the scene of the accident it is difficult to judge who truly has your best interest in mind, from bystander to the other driver. It is important not to discuss liability and fault with anyone at the scene except the police and later with your insurance agent, Natanian said. Tow trucks tend to show up shortly after an accident has occurred and unless called for by someone, they generally cannot be trusted, Natanian said. “There are often people that work for tow truck companies and body shops that are looking to profit from someone else’s unfortunate loss,” Natanian said. “Just like anything else in life, a little trust and a little caution must go hand in hand.” If you feel any amount of pain at the scene, it is important to seek medical attention to ensure that injuries do not become serious. Health should be the driver’s top

priority and getting checked out is re tanian said. In order to file an accident claim surance provider later, be sure to get vehicle owner, the date of the acciden damage, location of the occurrence, in tion of your vehicle and whether or not department was notified. “After any accident, the parties m formation; that is the law,” Natanian it is usually taken more seriously by whenever an accident results in any in damages in excess of $500. If the other to wait around you must take their veh and advise them that you are waiting enforcement to arrive.” If there were many injuries in the ac driver does not have insurance or is un a claim, Natanian recommends hiring “If it’s a minor accident with no inj cessive property damage, there will us for legal action,” Natanian said. Claire Kao ’10 was driving alone on M at the speed limit of 35 mph. On a blind turn, she hit a cement parked in her lane. The airbags immed “I smelled something burning and I headache,” Kao said. “I couldn’t see cl minute after, so I didn’t know the exte I was trying to convince myself that it fender bender.” Kao was uninjured. “It horrifies me to think what woul if I wasn’t wearing my seat belt,” Kao s come away with much worse injuries faster.”

300,000

teenagers injured in car crashes every year

INFOGRAPHIC BY CANDICE NAVI

H AP

I ND

VI NA

hronicle

Features B7

chronicle.hw.com

owing what to do in crises on road can ease the stress of ations like car accidents and frontations with officers. GRAPHIC by sade tavangarian and emily wallach

ecommended, Na-

to your auto int the name of the nt, type of loss or njuries, the condit the police or fire

must exchange inn said, “However, law enforcement njury, or property r side is unwilling hicle license plate g for police or law

ccident, the other nwilling to resolve an attorney. juries and not exsually be no need

Mulholland Drive

t truck that was diately went off. I had a weird, dull learly for the first ent of the damage; was only a minor

ld have happened said, “I could have if I were driving

SOURCE: American AUTOmobile association

crisis control After an accident, there are important steps for you and the other driver to take. 1. Remain calm and assess for injury. If you feel injured, stay in the car and call 911. 2. Pull to the side of the road to assess the situation. 3. Exchange information with all parties. Document names, locations, dates, damage, and whether or not officials were notified.

SOURCE: AMERICAN AUTOmobile ASSOCIATION GRAPHIC BY oLIVIA KWITNY AND EMILY WALLACH

Roadside manners By Candice Navi

Robert Kim ’10 was driving on Cahuenga Boulevard when he heard the sirens of a police car quickly approaching his car. He was being pulled over for speeding. Kim was polite when dealing with the officer. “I knew that most officers prefer to be addressed as ‘officer’ not ‘sir,’” Kim said. “I explained all my actions before doing them.” The driver should be equipped with a current driver’s license, current registration of the vehicle and valid proof of liability insurance. “While full-coverage insurance is always best, the law only requires proof of liability insurance, which is a small business-card sized paper confirming that the either the vehicle or the driver is in fact insured for liability purposes,” attorney Navid A. Natanian said. If the police officer asks the driver to admit fault with questions like “do you know how fast you were going?” the driver should just be honest and direct. If the police officer asks the driver to admit fault with questions like “do you know how fast you were going?” Natanian says that, “as in life, honesty is the best policy.” Security guard and former Los Angeles county sheriff ’s deputy Mark Geiger rarely lets anyone off the hook after getting pulled over. “If someone has a family emergency or justification, sometimes it helps,” Geiger said. Jim Wirth, security guard and current police officer, understands that no one likes being pulled over. “Typically, it’s not the driver [who gives the officer a hard time], but the other people in the car. There’s always a possibility of being arrested—it’s an option of the police officer who stops you,” Wirth said. “If the driver’s obnoxious, the chances of being let off with a warning are slim to none.” Should a teenage driver decide to try to get out of the ticket, he or she should be aware that the officer may use the “get them in line while they’re young” mentality and issue a ticket to prevent a young driver from breaking the law again, Natanian said. “Other officers may sympathize with a young driver and let him or her off with a warning,” Natanian said. “It does not matter if the driver is a kid or not, they should still be respectful and answer questions,” Geiger said. If asked for permission to search the car, one must handle the situation with caution. “For any driver under the age of 18, officers can legally search the vehicle without a warrant, without probable cause and without the driver’s consent or permission, unless the adult guardian is also in the vehicle,” Natanian said. “Drivers 18 or older have the right to consent or deny.” —Additional reporting by Allison Hamburger

B8 Features

The

C hronicle

Lost? Confused? Help is at hand. By Emily Khaykin

Shannon Acedo Between Feldman-Horn and Seaver lies Mudd Library where Head Librarian Shannon Acedo is found. Having worked as a librarian at Marlborough School for the previous 18 years, Acedo has been working at Harvard-Westlake for two years last June. There are three librarians in the library, including one clerk. “Ms. Madison is the ‘go-to’ person for any makeup tests students have to take,” throughout the year, Acedo mentions. Madison also helps students take tests with extended time. The end of the year is the busiest time of the year for the librarians. Acedo and her fellow librarians frequently come to the rescue of desperate sophomores and juniors, oblivious as to how to cite sources in MLA format for bibliographies required for history term papers. As for finding sources in the library, “the electronic resources are the biggest things I suggest people to try,” she said, referencing the unlimited access students have from the library home page, from the New York Times, spanning as far back as 1851, to colonial newspapers from the civil war, to a large variety of magazines. The library also holds an afterschool study hall and is a “great place for athletes to come and study before practice or a game,” Acedo said. There is always a teacher there to help students with their homework. In addition, due to students’ intense schedules, the library has six iPods and eight MP3 players available for check-out with about ten book downloads, from each grade’s English curriculum in case students do not have time to read the book on their own.

Meet Shannon Acedo...

Position: Head Librarian Attention new students: “I can’t stress enough the importance for students to get to know their library.”

Chris Gragg The library is also home to the Technology center, where Technology Center director Chris Gragg spends most of his time. Gragg has worked at Harvard-Westlake for 11 years. “I’m always here in the morning, but I teach seventh and eighth period calculus and statistics for the seniors,” he said, “I teach computer programming in Java, web design, and game programming summer programs.” Gragg coordinates the use of the Technology Center for the language and English classes. He is the best person to go to for troubleshooting with the new versions of Microsoft Word or Excel. “I showed many students how to convert their footnotes to endnotes in one step,” Gragg said. It is hard, Gragg admits, to go from being the “top man on the totem pole to the bottom;” referring to how the incoming sophomores are used to being the oldest students at the Middle School; however, he reassures the incoming sophomores that “you are among friends.”

Meet Chris Gragg...

Position: Technology Center Director Attention new students: “Ask me if you need help with the updated Microsoft programs.”

Gabriel Preciado In the Attendance Office on the second floor of Seaver there is a sign posted on the wall with a few students’ failed excuses for being late to school. At the top of the list is the most common excuse, and all-time favorite of Attendance Coordinator Gabriel Preciado, simply stating, “my alarm clock malfunctioned.” Day-to-day, “I keep the time schedules, arrange for as-

Sept. 9, 2009

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4 5

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semblies and generate attendance slips for classes,” Preciado said. He also handles the task of handing out late slips to tardy students, going through the attendance sheets for each teacher to mark students absent, “handling phone calls from parents, and answering e-mails from parents, deans, and teachers” for sick students. Preciado also prints out the list of students who were absent or tardy and posts the attendance list in Chalmers. If a student is “accidently” marked absent, that student has to go resolve his or her absence within three days of the marked absence. Otherwise, that absence is unresolved and Preciado assumes his other day job: detention coordinator. Students often visit Preciado to get a gate pass if they have to go off campus during the day.

Meet Gabriel Preciado...

Position: Attendance Coordinator Attention new students: “Check the attendance board.”

James Crawford There are security guards on campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week and all of the guards are armed. James Crawford is the Head of Security at the Upper School, and said that “my staff and I have one main job: creating a safe, worry-free work and academic environment for students and staff.” There are a total of six full time officers and approximately 30 part-time officers are retired or off-duty Los Angeles police officers. Crawford was a Los Angeles Police Officer for 25 years before he came to work at Harvard School in 1981. Crawford and his team are especially helpful on the first day of school giving directions to lost students and dealing with student parking. For the juniors and seniors who drive to and from school, students have to make sure to sign out with Mark Geiger, the main gate guard. Down on the track, the security guards also help students with their transportation to sports and other events.

Meet James Crawford...

Position: Head of Security Attention new students: “Keep my number in your contact list in case of emergencies, or if you need help getting your books after-school: (818-601-3558).”

Sanders Jackson Sanders Jackson is also a common presence around campus. He has been working as a security guard at Harvard-Westlake for the past 15 years. Before his position at Harvard-Westlake, Jackson was a security guard at Ralph’s grocery store in East Los Angeles. At the beginning of the year, he arranges parking spots for all students who drive to school. He tends to stick around near the North gate, guiding new sophomores and their bewildered parents through the parking lot, “helping them to get in and out” safely. During the year, Jackson assists with coordinating transportation for the sports teams, mostly for the basketball and football teams. In all, Jackson is the go to person regarding questions about parking spots at the beginning of the year. “I always try to stack friends together if they ask,” Jackson adds.

Meet Sanders Jackson...

Position: Security Guard Attention new students: “Read and know the red emergency contact lists posted around school. They will come in handy!”

infographic by lauren seo all photos emily khaykin and lauren seo/chronicle

Sept. 9, 2009

The

C hronicle

new kidson the block Former School: Mirman School Interests: choir, fencing “I am really excited to start new at a new school, and I’m really excited to start high school.”

15 new students join the incoming sophomore class at the Upper School this fall.

Elias Aquino

Josiah Yiu

chronicle.hw.com

Former School: Bright Star Secondary Charter Academy Interests: fencing and stage management “[I’m looking forward to] doing my best.”

Arielle Maxner

Reyna Calderon

Former School: Mirman School Interests: cello, karate, photography “I’m looking forward to meeting new friends and to my photography class.”

Former School: Marlborough School Interests: swimming, water polo, yoga “[Harvard-Westlake] is definitely a much bigger school [than my old school]. I’m excited about being in a bigger school community... and socializing on a much bigger scale.”

Susan Wang

Gabrielle Velkes

Former School: SMIC Private School in Shanghai, China Interests: figure skating, track “I’m interested in getting to know everyone. It’s such a diverse school community and everyone has such a unique background.”

Former School: Archer School for Girls Interests: drawing, painting, art history “I’m excited for a lot of things; I’m excited for change mostly.”

Abbie Neufeld

Ishan Bose-Pyne

Former School: Yeshiva University School of Los Angeles

Former School: North Hollywood High School

Former School: Valencia High School Interests: soccer, photography “I’m excited for the next three years.”

Lukas Czinger

Jonathan Chu

Former School: Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Conn. Interests: soccer, surfing “I’m taking 3-D art; it sounds pretty cool: stained windows and sculptures.”

Former School: Flintridge Preparatory School Interests: tennis, photography “I’m looking forward to a great year and a change from my old school.”

Patrick Kang

Former School: Calabasas High School Interests: swimming, violin “I’ve heard a lot of good things about Harvard-Westlake teachers and students; I’ve heard that [all of the students] mingle and that no one segregates”

Jonathan Lee

Former School: Windward School Interests: swimming and concert string “I guess I’m excited to meet new people and go to a new school and have new opportunties.”

Catherine Golden

Austin Hopp

Former School: Brentwood School Interests: saxophone and clarinet “I am really excited to be in the sophomore class and it’s going to be a great year!”

Cooper Schilling Former School: The American School in London Interests: video art, baseball “I can’t wait to come to Harvard-Westlake.” ALL PHOTOS BY DON HAGOPIAN

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High Stakes Clue one: Three seniors embark on an unpredictable journey through the treacherous land of college admissions. By Allegra Tepper

Shawn* Meet Shawn, a self-proclaimed “laid-back” senior who, like the other subjects of this story, will be sharing the trials and tribulations of his collegiate quest with Chronicle readers for the next eight issues. Shawn is planning to apply to the binding early decision program at the University of Pennsylvania, mainly due to its size and urban environment. Shawn, whose SAT scores in Critical Reading and Math both rank above the 95th percentile, is relying on his scores to set him apart more than any other part of his application. While he was a varsity athlete, a junior year injury has barred Shawn’s stats from playing into the equation. Shawn is undecided upon a major, but believes his best bet right now is history. If Shawn is not accepted from the early pool to Penn, he plans to apply to approximately 12 other schools, including some of his other top choices, Emory University, University of Wisconsin-Madison and New York University. “A school’s proximity to a big city is a huge factor, as well as a student body of above 5,000,” Shawn said. “Harvard-Westlake has around 1,600 kids, the size of a lot of small liberal arts colleges. I need to go bigger than that, and I would prefer to get out of Los Angeles.” Shawn is currently considering five public universities outside of California. In addition, he plans to apply to six University of California campuses. Taylor* Unlike Shawn, Taylor is determining her college list almost solely on her major. An aspiring performer, Taylor is looking at music conservatory programs like those offered at the Peabody Institute at Johns

illustration by Joyce Kim

Hopkins University, Oberlin College and Thornton at University of Southern California. “I am really unsure about everything besides the [music] programs,” Taylor said. “I have seen the rural schools which I think are adorable, but the resources a city offers for auditions are also really important to me. I would love the experience of going away, but Los Angeles could be good for my career. I am definitely not applying early.” Taylor is still “figuring things out” when it comes to her applications. She is in the process of writing her first draft of her main Common Application essay. While Oberlin is her top choice because of the double degree program in which students can obtain a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Arts in as few as five years, Taylor has yet to visit the campus. While she hopes to have the opportunity to visit the Ohio campus, Taylor can only be sure that she will have the chance to see it if and when she is accepted. Taylor believes the biggest factor playing into her college admission will be auditions with music departments. As for her final choice, finanical aid will most likely trump all other factors. Annabelle* Annabelle is adamant about one thing and one thing only: she will not be applying anywhere early. “I’m indecisive and feel like I need to have all of my opportunities and options open before I can actually make a choice,” Annabelle said. Having said that, Annabelle recognizes Columbia University in New York

RUSSELL TUTORING MATH*PHYSICS*CHEMISTRY All LEVELS GROUPS/PRIVATE (310) 459-3239

as her first choice. A varsity athlete for all four years of high school, Annabelle has been in talks with the Columbia coach, as well as those at Cornell and Wesleyan, but has not been recruited anywhere yet. While Annabelle speculates she could be recruited by smaller Division III schools, she is emphatic that Division I athletics are of utmost importance. “I grew up in the Pacific-10 Conference,” Annabelle said. “I love Pac-10 schools and I just want to be a part of it.” Of her list of eight schools, University of Southern California and Stanford are the two that fit those parameters. While Columbia is her first choice, Annabelle says if given the option between USC and Columbia, making the decision would be unfathomable. “I hate being in the cold,” Annabelle said. “I would really love to stay on the west coast. Hands down I am going to [USC or Stanford] if I get in.” Annabelle said the only factor that could possibly trump sunny California weather is money. She will be seeking need-based aid from all of the schools to which she applies. Annabelle expects to major in either anthropology, linguistics or sociology. She has a 3.4 weighted GPA and is working on improving her test scores this fall. She believes it won’t be the numbers that set her apart from the crowd but her athletics, essays and performing arts involvement. And if all else fails, Annabelle says she hopes her unusual ethnic background will make her stand out from her peers. *names have been changed

College essay anxiety calls for reinforcements Some seniors are hiring outside counselors to help with essays.

By Jordan Freisleben Tavangarian

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Sade

Even after taking the three day Essay Writing Workshop this summer, taught by deans and a former college admissions officer, Toby* felt he needed help. “Essays are the main part [of the applications],” he said. “They can make or break it.” Toby, like a number of other seniors, has hired the services of an outside college essay counselor. “[The workshop] only talked about topics to write about,” he said. “[The counselor] is able to tell how colleges will interpret what I write: how to tweak what I write so they can understand what point I’m trying to make.” “I think the essay workshop Harvard-Westlake offers is really effective for students because it involves a lot of people who know about essay writing, specifically catering to Harvard-Westlake students,” Upper School dean Sharon Cuseo said. Alexandra Dumas Rhodes, a college application counselor specializing in essay writing, has aided several Harvard-Westlake students with their college essays over the years. “Students sometimes don’t take into account who’s reading their applications, how they’re reading them and what it is they look at,”

Rhodes said. Even though students have written essays throughout their high school experience, writing the application essays is a different process. “I’m teaching [students] to write these emotional, autobiographical pieces, not like the analytical pieces that they’ve been taught to write in school,” Rhodes said. “I encourage students to write from their heart: things that have moved them, made them grow, or shaped their character,” Brendan Hayworth said. Hayworth is a counselor and tutor for Prep Squad, an SAT prep and college application advising company. Hayworth and Rhodes both assure that by helping students with their essays, they are solely enhancing what a student has already written. “I tell my students, ‘It’s all going to be you, always,’” Rhodes said. “It’s always the student’s work and the student’s voice – I teach them to grow [in their writing], like an author and a book.” Although all deans read over students’ college application essays, Toby felt the need for another person’s feedback. “Extra eyes are always a good thing,” Toby said. “I do think it’s very beneficial and it’s better to be safe than sorry.” “I think it’s most helpful when you bring a dean into the process because they give the best perspective of what a student’s application will look like,” Cuseo said. “Going for outside help with essays and tutors are helpful for reviews, general writing tips, and proof reading because they know what makes a good essay.” *name has been changed

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Joe Girton/reprinted with permission

joe girton/reprinted with permission

Enjoying the music: The crowd cheers as Passion Pit performs (clockwise from left to right). Boyz Noize spins at the Perry’s stage. Ethan Mark ’11, Jeff Handler ’10, Greg Comanor ’10, and Patrick Newman ’10 pose with Slug from the hip-hop group Atmosphere (left to right). Ethan Mark/reprinted with permission

Follow the music:

from L.A. to Lollapalooza By Justine Goode

A group of Harvard-Westlake students made the trek to Chicago, Illinois for three days of musical immersion at the Lollapalooza music festival in August. The annual event boasts diverse musical acts that have been drawing crowds since the festival’s inception in 1991. “Basically it’s a really big indie concert festival for three days in Grant Park, which is right in the center of Chicago,” Rachel Katz ’11 said. Greg Comanor ’10 calls the festival “an urban Coachella.” Lollapalooza 2009 kicked off on Friday, Aug. 7 to an unseasonable rain storm that, though inconvenient, did not do much to dampen concertgoers’ enthusiasm. “It was pouring rain, but it was incredible how many people showed up regardless,” Katz said. Still, the mud caused by the downpour posed problems for fans with busy

schedules. “You’d be walking to another venue and get mud splashed all over you, and it was kind of gross,” Katz said. Over 50 acts played on rain-streaked stages that day, including Depeche Mode, Ben Folds, Kings of Leon and Fleet Foxes. By Sunday night, over 100 acts had performed for the thousands of fans inhabiting the park. “My least favorite part was being with a million people for so long,” Ethan Mark ’11 said. “It’s very crowded,” Comanor said. “There are a lot of people, but the ones that were there were nice.” Getting to Lollapalooza wasn’t much of an issue for most students. “My dad is in the music business, so he wanted to go for himself and he just brought me along,” Mark said. It was no problem for Comanor either, who had made the journey four times before. Katz, however, had to do a little more convincing before she and her friends

Film festivals feature students’ work By Camille

and

Jordan Gavens

Students’ films will be featured in four film festivals this fall including the International Student Media Festival, 11th Annual Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, 32nd Mill Valley Film Festival and the Reel Teens Festival. “In the nine years that we have held the Reel Teens Festival, no organization or school has ever had more than six entries make the final cut,” Barry Kerr, festival director of the Reel Teens Festival, said. “Harvard-Westlake has nine, and that’s out of 493 entries.” This year was Harvard-Westlake’s first time entering the prestigious Mill Valley Film Festival. Eight student films were selected for this festival, Oct. 8-18 in Mill Valley. Cheri Gaulke, Chair of the Visual Arts Department hopes to be attending this fes-

tival along with her daughter Xochi Maberry-Gaulke ’12, whose film “Ladies, Please” will be shown. At the International Student Media Festival, Justin Levine ’09 and Jack Heston’s ’09 film, “Untouchable,” won the title of Best of Festival. Lucas Foster’s ’13 film “Transatlantique” received the award of judges’ favorite along with Michael Diamant ’09 and Michael Stampler’s ’09 film, “Conflict in the Middle Table.” Fourteen student films will be shown as the Oct. 29-31 features in Louisville, Kentucky. Nick Lieberman’s political ad “The Roberts Bunch” will also be shown. Zelda Wengrod’s ’13 film, “The Night in Question,” was recognized at the 11th Annual Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. “There are hundreds of students that submit into these festivals, and it is great to be recognized,” Gaulke said.

Music fans trekked halfway across the country to take part in a three-day music festival. were allowed to go. “My friends and I were originally planning to go alone, which my mom did not allow, so we allowed my mom to drag along as a supervisor. She didn’t have tickets to the concert,” Katz said. Favorite bands included Bon Iver, The Decemberists, Of Montreal, Fleet Foxes, Ben Folds, Vampire Weekend and Atmosphere. “We saw Of Montreal and Animal Collective, and both of those were crazy, very high energy, and absolutely packed,” Katz said. Comanor had the amazing chance to actually meet one of his favorite bands. “My favorite thing was seeing and meeting Atmosphere backstage,” he said. In some cases, festivals’ atmospheres can garner as much of a reputation as the bands playing them. Lollapalooza ’09 was “really mellow,” Katz said. “It wasn’t crazy or anything; for the most part it was just really lowkey. It’s no Woodstock or anything, but it’s cool.”

‘City of Angels’ Schedule Auditions start next week for “City of Angels,” the Upper School fall musical based on the novel written by Larry Gelbart.

Singing Auditions

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Infographic by Jamie Kim and Matthew Lee

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nticipating the show, musicians tune their instruments backstage as the crowd files in. Before the curtain stand friends, classmates, and unfamiliar faces. Practicing a guitar riff or a drum fill, they go over the songs they have been practicing for weeks. In a few minutes they will take their places under the bright stage lights. They will not be taking the stage in Rugby, but at The Roxy Theatre. By day they are classmates, but by night they are just members of the band. Kathyrn Gallagher Singer and composer Kathryn Gallagher ’11 has played shows at legendary Los Angeles landmarks such as The Roxy Theatre, the Whisky a Go Go, and Bergamot Station, performing her own pop-rock songs. In addition to singing, Gallagher also dances and acts. Learning to sing when she was a baby, Gallagher’s real interest in performing did not develop until seventh grade. “I began really considering it as something I could see myself doing,” Gallagher said. “My family Gaby Cohen/VOX has always been very musical and it’s something I’ve just naturally gravitated towards.” Performing both covers and her own original work, Gallagher wants to continue singing and turn it into a career one day. Although her music is not yet available to the general public, Gallagher distributes her music personally and through her Myspace music page to anyone who is curious. In a new song, “All I Think of is You,” Gallagher sings, “I fell too far, I didn’t know I’d get this low, but then you smiled and all the lies, went up in smoke, you’re next to me and I can’t breathe, stop looking at me... I can’t breathe.” A Secret History When A Secret History got together for their first band practice containing their full current lineup, they had no idea their new drummer Jack Healy ’10 had never touched a drum set before, only having played piano and saxophone. “He was like a prodigy when he started playing,” keyboardist, guitarist and backup vocalist Jon O’Hara ’10 said. “We thought he had been playing for years.” O’Hara has been playing instruments for the past 14 years. He started the band with his friends Wilson Virkler and Tyler Winther in seventh grade. “We all love our music, and then we thought, why don’t we start a band?” O’Hara said.

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Singing, spinning records, and playing in bands, students make their own music

Healy joined the lineup in eighth grade and singer Logan Trimm joined later on. “We’ve gone from one end of the spectrum to another, like hard rock to pop-punk to melodic,” O’Hara said. “In the beginning our influences were bands like The Offspring and Green Day, now it’s bands like All Time Low, Forever the Sickest Kids, the Dear Hunter.” Besides playing in the band, O’Hara plays baseball and Healy plays volleyball. “It’s so hard to balance [with school and sports],” O’Hara said, “It’s gotten harder. We have sports and Harvard-Westlake work but we’ve always been able to manage. [Last] year was especially stressful, but next year we’ll have a lot more time.” Before junior year, they had been able to practice every week for many hours, sometimes day-long practice sessions for six to seven hours, but this year they have been cut down. A Secret History have played all over the Sunset Strip, including the Roxy Theatre, the Key Club and the Whisky a Go Go. The band released their single “You Were Wrong” on iTunes, which has sold nearly 1,000 copies and was featured on the pilot episode of the television show “Crash.” “We’ve been in the studio since about January doing our CD, and we’re hoping to release it on a record label,” O’Hara said, “We’re self-producing it right now so that we can demo it for record companies. We’ve had three or four record companies, one of them came to our last show.” Although their bass player goes to college in Boston and their singer is going to Texas for a semseter to finish his GED, A Secret History will not be set back. “There are going to be obstacles, but nothing’s going to stop each of us individually from playing music,” O’Hara said, “I’m sure the band, regardless of where everyone is going to college, is probably going to come back to L.A. Even if it’s on a break for a year or we just play during the summers, if we get a record deal that will definitely keep us moving in the right direction.”

courtesy of Jack Healy

On Stage: A Secret History at the Whisky a Go Go. Band members from left: Jon O’Hara ’10, Logan Trimm, Tyler Winther, Jack Healy ‘10, and Wilson Virkler.

Late Night Shaft During spring break of 2009, Adam Braun ’10 with his keyboard, Charlie Mischer ’10 on his drum set and two of their friends formed the band Late Night Shaft. “I think we’re just four kids who are really into music,” Mischer said, “we’ve all played in bands before in and outside of school, and when we all got together it just felt right.” Braun is the keyboardist and sings backup vocals. The other members are friends David Kirshembaum and Justin Friedman. Kirshembaum plays guitar and sings lead vocals and Friedman plays bass. The music of Late Night Shaft does not fall neatly into any category, but “alternative would probably be the best overall genre in which to file us,” Mischer said. Although the band is new, Late Night Shaft has played shows at the Valley Beth Shalom Temple, Cobalt Café, and the Guitar Merchant Shop, where they have an upcoming show on September 26. “I think we really just want to see how far we can take things,” Mischer said. “We’re all excited and just hoping for the best as things roll on.”

courtesy of Joe Girton

Matin Pichvai Ever since getting his first set of DJ equipment last Christmas, Matin Pichvai ’11 has been producing music and playing at parties and events. His background in music started with piano classes when he was four. The classical music is a major influence on the music he produces now, which incorporates tunes he plays on his keyboard with the electronic, techno, and hip hop beats. He started DJ-ing as “a way to get [his music] out there” and taught himself by experimenting and watching Youtube videos. Before performing, Pichvai puts a playlist together but also mixes on the spot, working off of the “feel of the crowd.” However, he hardly has any time to practice on school days so he practices on weekends and holidays. He has played at several parties and events such as Fashion for Action and Art for the Heart. Pichvai was formerly known as DJ Dominus, but the name was already taken, so he has yet to pick a DJ name. He now plays in a electro-hip hop group called Flodynamic with two other members, Ronnie Meade and Dwaine Whissenat. He hopes to continue DJ-ing through college. “I want to produce or do something in music. It’s definitely going to help for a career in music,” Pichvai said.

sports

Harvard-Westlake School

Volume XIX

Issue 1

Sept. 9, 2009

Olympics coach takes over water polo program By Alex Edel

This season will mark the start of Robert Lynn’s first season as the head coach for the boys’ water polo team. After Larry Felix’s resignation in April, Lynn was hired in June to coach physical education and be head coach. Lynn said he was drawn to Harvard Westlake because of “the supportiveness of the staff, their goals, and their objectives to be successful.” don hagopian/chronicle The water polo team’s dedication and deRobert Lynn sire to achieve also made Harvard Westlake attractive to him. “This is a very good motivating factor for me,” Lynn said. “I like people who want to win and want to challenge themselves and that is definitely one of the reasons why I came.” Lynn grew up in Long Beach and attended Long Beach Wilson. From there he attended University of Southern California where he was a three-time All-American. He also played water polo professionally in Italy, France, Croatia and Greece for 13 years. Playing professionally in Europe was “everything,” Lynn said. “When you get out of college and there is nothing else to do but start to work, and you can’t play anymore because there is no professional water polo,” Lynn said. “You have that in Europe. Their game is at a higher level. When you start playing for a living you take it much more seriously. I went to four different countries learning from a lot of good coaches that have won gold medals and I have seen things that I have not gotten here.” Lynn has a wide variety of coaching experience including coaching USA Water Polo’s Youth National Team, and Assistant Coach of the Men’s Olympic Team who earned a silver medal in Beijing. “It was the first time in 20 years that we had that kind of result and so I was part of something that was great for water polo and so that was a great achievement,” Lynn said. The decision to hire Lynn was ultimately made by Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts, and Head of Athletics Audrius Barzducas. However many other faculty members weighed in on the decision. The school knew about Lynn’s reputation before the head water polo coaching position opened up. “When the opportunity came up for the job he expressed interest and we were very interested in him and brought him in for an interview and he did very well, he impressed everyone in the community and so we decided to hire him,” Athletic Director Terry Barnum said. After losing in the first round of CIF against Dos Pueblos, this season the team’s goal is to win CIF, but Lynn also has other goals. “My goal here is to make everyone stronger,” Lynn said. “All the players — making them faster swimmers better technicians with their shooting motion, understanding the game more, and they will be ready to play at a higher level.” “I just want to make sure I am building for this year and building for next year and for a few years down the road and more. So it is going to take a couple years, and this year I just have to see what is going on, and start the process,” Lynn said.

inside

C2A look inside early commits. C4The battle for starting QB C8Q&A with Jackson Ligouri ’10

Courtesy Of Alan Sasaki

HW Vs. HW: Oliver Lowry ’10 runs with the ball while Charlie Nelson ’14 pursues him during an intrasquad scrimmage Friday. The game against Franklin High School was cancelled due to air quality.

LAUSD cancels Friday night football game due to air quality By Ashley Khakshouri

The varsity football team was forced to scrimmage against itself Friday night when the season opener game was cancelled because of concerns over the air quality in the East San Fernando Valley. Wildfires in the La Canada Flintridge area had caused poor air quality all week which had disrupted some practices and caused some teams to practice indoors, but the athletic department, using data from the Air Quality Management District, felt the air was safe to play in Friday night. However, opponent Franklin was forced to forfeit. “The Los Angeles Unified School District was not allowing any games to be played in the San Fernando Valley east of the 405 because the air quality was not healthy enough,” Athletics Director Terry Barnum said. “Franklin High School wanted to play but they were not allowed to because they are a public school and have to listen who they are governed by, the LAUSD.” Barnum said phone calls to LAUSD from Head of Upper School Harry Salamandra and President Thomas Hudnut were not answered. “We’re monitoring the air quality. We have print outs at 9 o’clock 10 o’clock and so on, that show that the air quality is moderate. Over 100 is when it becomes unhealthy. We are at 60, somewhere in that range, which is moderate which means we could have activities and for whatever reason they had different information,” Barnum said. “We’ve been using AQMD which we’ve been using from the very beginning. But if the issue is students’ health and air quality, it shouldn’t matter public or private we are all breathing the same air. I think what this points to is the bureaucracy that is LAUSD.

That’s really what is at the heart of this matter. They failed to use common sense in this case.” “I’m very disappointed that LAUSD wasn’t able to take case by case,” said Salamandra said. The athletic department presented Franklin High School with the idea that they could play the game here Saturday night to give the air some time to clear. That was something they couldn’t do, Barnum said. “They invited us to go there but we have some issues sending our kids closer to the fire in the name of health,” he said. “That sounds a little contradictory on our part. How come they are allowed to play at Franklin which is closer to the fire and not here? We’ve been asking everyone we can that question and we have yet to get an answer.” Although Barnum did not dispute that the forfeit was unfortunate, he saw a few positives in it. “Those guys have been killing themselves all summer to get ready for today and then today is taken away from them,” Barnum said. “That’s disappointing, really disappointing. But it gives us extra time to prepare for Lynwood. Lynwood tied us last year and they are a very good football team.” The athletics department cancelled all outof-season practices and moved in-season outdoor practices indoors on Friday Aug. 28 and Monday, Aug. 31. As of Tuesday, Sept. 1, all out door practices continued, Barnum said. Director of Sports Medicine Sandee Teruya monitors the statistics hourly to determine if practices need to be cancelled. “It’s okay for someone without any type of lung disease to practice outside. None of the athletes who have been practicing outside have had an asthma attack or felt any symptoms,” Teruya said.

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Three football players are weighing their Ivy League options, while two girls basketball players have already chosen the schools where they will play.

Nicole Nesbit ’10: UC Santa Barbara By Alex Edel

After receiving offers from Pepperdine, Colorado State, Montana State, and Loyola Marymount Nicole Nesbit has committed to play basketball and attend UC Santa Barbara. For Nesbit the recruiting process began September 1st of last year, when coaches are officially allowed to contact players. “I was talking to the coach and it just seemed like the best school for me,” Nesbit said. “I’ve visited a lot of different schools and it just really fit me. I like how it’s a smaller school, compared to some of the other campuses, which are really full and huge. To me, it’s just a more comfortable environment,” Nesbit said. While most seniors are just beginning to make decisions about college, Nesbit has already decided. “It is really weird, because I know I won’t have to go through the application process,” Nesbit said. “I’m probably only going to fill out one application and it’s especially weird because I still have another year of high school. But I guess at the same time, it’s kind of better because I don’t have any doubts about whether I will get into a school or not, so a lot of the pressure is relieved,” Nesbit said. Nesbit was point guard for the Harvard Westlake team that progressed to state quarter finals last year. Last year she scored 312 points, averaging 9.8 points per game. Last year the team had an overall record of 22-10 and a league record of 8-2. The girls won CIF finals in a two point win against Pacific Hill. They continued on to quarter finals against Mater Dei Catholic where they lost 61-66. UC Santa Barbara had an overall record of 2210 last year with a 15-1 record inside of the Big West Conference.

Sept. 9, 2009

Jackson Ligouri ’10: Brown, Yale By Jonah Rosenbaum Senior wide receiver Jackson Ligouri is balancing heavy interest from Ivy League schools, namely Yale and Brown. Though he has not yet received a firm offer, Ligouri feels like he may receive one soon. “You get a phone call from the coach usually right about now, and that’s when they make it final. I’ve been emailing back and forth with both coaches (Yale and Brown), and I feel like it’s getting close,” he said. Ligouri facilitated his recruitment by traveling the east coast circuit of summer football camps, most of them Ivy League affiliated. “The camps were a little stressful because it really is all about first impression, but they were also a lot of fun. You get to meet a lot of kids, work with some great coaches, and play football,” Ligouri said. Ligouri said he is not yet ready to put one school in front of the other, as without an official offer, that would be premature. “They are both such great schools, with so many positives and so few negatives. It would be a great difficult decision to have to make, choosing between Brown and Yale, and that would be an ideal situation,” Ligouri said. So are the schools completely equal in Ligouri’s eyes? Well, not quite. “Emma Watson goes to Brown, and she’s sort of my dream girl, so that gives Brown a slight edge,” Ligouri said.

Nick Okano ’10: Columbia, Princeton, Yale, Air Force By Jack Davis Safety Nick Okano ’10 is going to play football in college, that much is certain, although where he will play still remains in question. Okano currently has offers from Air Force, Columbia, Princeton, and Yale to play football but is “probably” going to wait until December to make a decision. “I want to go on official visits to the schools I have offers from to see what fits me best before I commit anywhere,” Okano said. Okano is also receiving interest from Army, Navy, Nevada, Stanford, and Wyoming, although they have yet to offer Okano a scholarship. “I’m going to send a bunch of schools some early season senior tapes after a few games and that might make some more schools interested,” Okano said. In a game last season, Okano set a school record with four interceptions in a game. Okano was also named an all league player his sophomore and junior seasons.

Malcolm Meeks ’10: Columbia, Princeton By Jonah Rosenbaum Senior tight end Malcolm Meeks is weighing his options during an “exciting and stressful” recruiting process. Meeks has received standing offers from Ivy League schools Columbia and Princeton, and is waiting to add Penn to the list of potential suitors. “I had a great time at a couple of camps I went to [at Columbia and Princeton,] and it is a relief to know that I already have some firm options. I’m not in any rush to make a decision. I plan on waiting before I make such an important choice,” he said. Besides his role as a tight end for the Wolverines, Meeks is also one of the top ranked punters in the country. Although he is mainly receiving attention from smaller division I and Ivy League schools, Meeks is hopeful that his punting prowess leads to an offer from a more prestigious football school. “I think I can be a punter for a high level division one team, but I’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” Meeks said. Meeks was named to the All Del-Rey team as a punter in both his sophomore and junior seasons.

Sydney Haydel ’10: Hawaii By Jonah Rosenbaum

graphic by Allegra Tepper and Jack Davis

After being recruited by several universities including University of San Diego, Oregon State, Harvard, and UC Davis, Sydney Haydel (’10) has committed to play basketball at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She chose the University of Hawaii not only because it is a great business school but also because of “the beautiful beaches and the great weather.” For Haydel, the recruiting process wasn’t as time-consuming as usual. “It feels great. It’s like a weight lifted off my shoulders because the recruiting process can be very stressful and difficult,” Haydel said. Last season Hawaii had a conference record of 4-12, while finishing the season with an overall record of 8-23. of “What’s great about their team is they are completely rebuilding the basketball program. New coaches and new players. Great things are going to come from the program in the next few years,” said Haydel.

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Swimming coach Barrett leaves school

By Alex Leichenger

Alec Caso/chronicle

Just keep running: Juniors Charlie Stigler, Hank Adelmann, and David Abergel (from left) jog around the track during a morning practice. The cross-country team will attempt to qualify for its second consecutive state meet despite the departure of Hall of Fame coach Johnny Gray.

Cross country aims to reach state under new head coach Sharpe By David Gobel and Jonah Rosenbaum

Tim Sharpe is back as the cross country coach after former coach Johnny Gray decided to leave for a job opening at UCLA two weeks ago. Sharpe had been the Wolverines’ cross country coach until the 2006 season, and Gray took over as coach last year. Sharpe hopes to continue the winning tradition started last year as the boys team went to the state finals, and Cami Chapus ’12 went to the state finals for girls. “I think Coach Sharpe is the best replacement we can get. I’ve heard really great things about him,” runner Hank Adelmann ’11 said. “Coach Sharpe has worked with Coach Gray and they share many ideas about training and competing,” Chef d’equipe Geoff Bird said. Although the team this year is relatively young, expectations for the team remain high. “I’ve got to be realistic but shoot for the stars,” Sharpe said. “We have some very talented kids, I would not take out the possibility of going to

state.” Gray was torn about leaving Harvard-Westlake for UCLA. “It was a very difficult choice, I loved the kids here, I felt like they were my biological children,” he said. The decision has affected many runners as Gray’s departure was sudden and many team members were close to Gray. “You know after three months of summer training it really sucks. It was a huge blow for the team,” Will Tobias ’12 said. “Johnny Gray was a great coach, he really knew how to motivate you.” “Obviously it’s tough,” Ben Saunders ’11 said. “[But] I understand where he’s coming from taking a college job over high school. There are no hard feelings. Coach Sharpe is doing a fantastic job, he’s a great coach.” “My intention is to stay here as long as I am welcome,” Sharpe said. Five of seven runners return and the team will be bolstered by Chris Vanderschans ’10, who projects to be the number three runner. “We should have a great team

this season, and it is going to be a really exciting year,” Vanderschans said. “As for what we can accomplish as a group, the sky is the limit. It is definitely a realistic goal to win CIF with the talent we have, and I think a top three state finish is very possible as well. We have great coaching, so if we work hard in practice, we’ll be able to perform in meets.” Girls’ runner Bridget Golob ’10 has hopes high enough to rival the boys’ lofty expectations. The girls team went to the CIF finals last year, and Golob expects even more this season. “Compared to past years, we have a lot of talent on our team. I think we can go to state, and challenge for a top finish,” Golob said. The girls’ team will have to go through the same coaching change as the boys, but Golob is confident that it won’t hinder the teams. “It’s a different style, but he (Sharpe) knows what’s going on,” Golob said.

Boys’ Swimming Head Coach Dawn Barrett will not return for her ninth season at the school this year. Barrett plans to take a “hiatus” from coaching to seek different professional options, Head of Athletics Audrius don hagopian/chronicle Barzdukas said. Barrett inDawn Barrett formed Barzdukas of her decision in late August before breaking the news to the team through e-mail. “I have experienced eight incredibly rewarding years on the deck and have enjoyed working with each and every one of you,” Barrett wrote to the swimmers. “This was definitely not an easy decision to make, but after much consideration and discussion with my family, I have decided to pursue other opportunities which will allow me to progress professionally.” Barrett won league titles in 2005 and 2006. Barzdukas described Barrett as an “outstanding high-school swimming coach” whose strongest qualities were her organization, discipline, and “deep understanding of the school’s culture.” “She is a winner,” Barzdukas said. “I have no doubt that whatever she goes on to, she will succeed in that endeavor.” In last year’s CIF Finals, James McNamara ’10 broke a school record in the 100-yard butterfly under Barrett’s guidance. The relay team of McNamara, Danny Fujinaka ’10, Max Eliot ’09, and Michael Hartwick ’09 set two other school records in the same meet. “I give her 95 percent credit for everything I accomplished last year,” McNamara said. “I might not even swim this year now that she’s gone.” McNamara added that Barrett was an integral member of the water polo coaching staff, assisting the team with conditioning among others. She also developed many water polo players into successful swimmers, including McNamara himself. “I’ve known her since I was very little,” McNamara said. “She got me into water polo, and then she got me into swimming, and she kind of held our team together. Now that she’s gone . . . I’m sure we’ll still be good, but she really cared about the team.” “I think it’s just going to be weird to have someone come in and replace a very motherly figure whom everyone really liked,” swimmer Russell Madison ’10 said. “It’s going to be hard to adjust.” Fujinaka cited Barrett’s ability to develop less experienced swimmers and her motivational skills as her most valuable assets. “She was really tough on us, but she got the guys to work, and everybody loved that about her.” The athletic department has not yet begun the search for Barrett’s successor. Barzdukas said there will not be a deadline set for hiring a new coach because his greatest concern is finding the right person.

Field hockey seeks smooth transition after loss of seniors By Alex Leichenger

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Head Coach Erin Creznic pointed to exceptional team speed as a sign for optimism as the girls’ field hockey team begins its Mission League title defense at Westminster Thursday. “A lot of senior girls left last year so this year the varsity team is like a whole new team,” Katrina Okano ’11 said. “I’m excited to see this year’s senior class step up and be the leaders of the team after many years of being in the shadows of last year’s senior class, which was very strong and vocal,” Creznic said. “Although we lost a lot of talented players, we have incredible speed this year, which we’re hoping to exploit for many victories.” Creznic is also encouraged by the talent of new

goalie Adrianna Crovo ’11. The 2008 Wolverines were undefeated in Mission League play, but suffered two losses to non-league opponent Newport, one of which ended their run in CIF Playoffs. Although the two teams are not scheduled to meet during this year’s regular season, a playoff rematch remains possible. “[Newport] has always been our toughest challenge and has beaten us every year, but I think if we stay focused and really work hard then we definitely have a chance of beating them,” Okano said. Last year the team had won league with a record of 5-0-2. “It is always hard to win league two years in a row, but I think with our team’s speed anything can happen,” Creznic said.

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Volleyball seeks revenge against Lakewood High By Jonah Rosenbaum

The girls’ volleyball team opens up its season with a rematch against the team that sent it home last year, Lakewood High School. The team had a scrimmage yesterday against Thousand Oaks, and will begin their regular season tomorrow against Lakewood. “We worked really hard last year, and we definitely improved as a team. That made the playoff loss all the more disappointing,” Head Coach Adam Black said. The team should benefit from an early start to practice this summer. “The girls worked really hard this whole summer, every single one of them, and the improvement is evident. It was really great to see, especially considering how early we started,” Black said. He also noted that the team gained valuable experience from all of the summer tournaments in which the team participated. “We played against some outstanding competition, and the girls got to play a lot of competitive volleyball this summer. It’s always an advantage to

play against really good teams in a setting where you can make mistakes that won’t count against you,” Black said. Although Black is not ready to make any predictions, he says he expects a lot out of the team. “The goal is to win. To be successful and do as well as we can, to go into every single game in a position to win. With this team, we should be able to do that,” Black said. He also said that much of the team’s hopes ride on the shoulders of outside hitter and UCLA commit Meg Norton ’10. “Meg is going to play a big role, as in the past. Obviously she needs to keep performing the way she has, but assuming she does, she is our go-to player,” Black said. Returning Varsity player Kellie Barnum ’11 agrees with Black’s assessment, but has a more specific outlook for the team. “We have a lot of seniors who are getting ready for their final season. We worked really hard this off-season to get where we need to be, and all the time we put in is going to pay off. We want the seniors to leave with rings on their fingers,” Barnum said.

Alec Caso/chronicle

setting UP: Kellie Barnum ’11 sets the ball during volleyball tryouts. The team plays Lakewood, which beat them in the second round of CIF last year, tomorrow.

Senior led girls tennis sets sights for Beverly, Peninsula By Ashley Khakshouri

Alec Caso/chronicle

Point Starter: Isabelle Heller ’10 serves during summer tryouts on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at Studio City Golf and Tennis .

Golf aims for title defense, better performance in CIF By Alex Leichenger

Led by 2008 Mission League Most Valuable Player Tiffany Yang ’10, the girls’ golf team will try to avenge a subpar performance in CIF Playoffs last season. The first five matches on the Wolverines’ schedule take place away from its home courses of Balboa and Encino. The squad kicks off its season Monday versus Alemany before facing Notre Dame the next day. The latter school came the closest of any Mission League team to beating last year’s Wolverines, falling short by six strokes. The Wolverines went 11-0 last year en route to a league title, but placed fifteenth out of eighteen teams at the CIF Sectional Team Championships in

Oxnard. Yang and Melanie Borinstein ’11 both return after qualifying for the CIF Individual Finals last season. Linda Giaciolli returns for her second season as head coach, while LPGA Hall of Famer Amy Alcott retains her position as Program Head. “Although we had great success last year, we can still do so much better this year,” Yang said. “There are the little things out on the golf course that we can tweak to improve, like our short game and our swing technique. By warming up and helping each other out, it won’t be hard as a team to be the best that we can be.” “I have no doubt that we’ll do just as great as last year. The team players have been practicing all summer and [preparing for the season],” Yang said.

After a second round playoff loss to Peninsula, the varsity girls’ tennis team is looking for a long run through the playoffs. Led by Captain Nicole Hung ’10, the team won the Mission League title over rival Chaminade last year. The team kicks off its season on Thursday with a scrimmage opposing Beverly Hills High School and its first match on Sept. 24 against Peninsula High School. The loss of several seniors including number one singles player, Caroline Richman ‘09 will put more pressure on returning Captain Nicole Hung ’10 to lead the team. “Nicole is an exceptional athlete and leads by example,” Head Coach Chris Simpson said. Still, he did not dismiss the significance of losing Richman. “She was our number one ranked singles player, so that will be a difficult loss to overcome. We don’t have any returning singles players who are ranked,” Simpson said. Hung also pointed out that several veteran players are returning. “We still have a lot of experience because a lot of the seniors have been here for a few years,” Hung said.

Though untested, the team should also benefit from an influx of new talent, namely last year’s number one eighth grade player, Savannah Demonesque ’12. Demonosque has already caught the eye of some of her new teammates. “We’ve all noticed that Savannah has a lot of potential and will be a strong addition to the team,” Luna Ikuta ‘11 said. Tryouts are still being held and the co-captain has yet to be determined, Simpson said. “We should know two weeks after school starts,” he said. Simpson said his goal for this season is to “dominate the league.” “We want to be totally physically and emotionally prepared,” Simpson said. “We want to definitely start a little bit better than we started last year.” The players have been working hard for their fitness, Simpson said. “A lot of the girls have been training in the off-season and in the summer and they look fitter, a bit sharper.” Simpson said the team will begin the season with a very difficult schedule: “We always start with many tough teams in the month of September and October and hopefully we can peak in November and go further than we did last year.”

PIANO LESSONS FROM JULLIARD TEACHER I am a piano teacher who, in the spring of 2009, moved from New York City to Sherman Oaks. I earned a MM from the Juilliard School and was awarded a Juilliard Piano Fellowship in recognition of my teaching abilities. A volume of my piano pieces was published by KJOS. I am building a class here for students interested in the serious study of the piano. The students will be expected to have every lesson fully prepared. For students under 12 years old, this requires that the parents supervise piano practice on a daily basis. A high level of commitment will ensure that the student will receive the maximum beneﬁt from piano study. Few other activities engage the physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual abilities to this degree.

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Football home opener cancelled due to air quality restrictions

By Austin Block

The game could have been intense. It could have been filled with pressure, clutch plays, unbelievable touchdowns, and all of the excitement that comes with a popular team playing its opening game at home in front of loyal fans. Instead, the varsity football team had a scrimmage last Friday night after the Los Angeles Unified School District forced Franklin to forfeit the 7 p.m. game scheduled to take place at the Upper School due to air quality concerns. “I’m really frustrated. It’s my opening game of my senior year. A lot of people were going to be there excited to play… it doesn’t always work out,” cornerback Maddie Calvert ’10 said. “I think more than anything people are just tired of hitting your own teammates, playing against your own teammates day in and day out. We’ve been doing that throughout the spring and summer. Now we were ready to go play somebody else.” The varsity football team will now begin its season this Friday against Lynwood at Lynwood Middle School. It will play its first league game on Oct. 16 against St. Bernard at St. Bernard High School. The team lost a number of vital players to college last year, including quarterback Sean Berman ’09 (55.9 percent completion percentage, 18 touchdowns, 165.8 yards per game), running back Te’Rhon O’Neal ’09 (1231 yards, 5.95 average yards per run, 136.8 yards per game, 9 touchdowns), wide receiver Corey Vann (46 receptions, 627 yards, 69.7 yards per game), and Del Rey

League Most Valuable Player at safety Kimo Thorpe ’09. The only returning starter on the offensive line is Jake Lasker ’10 and the only returning starter on the defensive line is Conor O’Toole ’10. Berman is being replaced this year by Max Heltzer ’10 and Oliver Lowry ’10. Jamais Jones ’12 and Terell Willard ’11 will be the new running backs. “Sean Berman was the general of this offense for two seasons, and it will be tough to replace him. But we have two outstanding QBs in Max Heltzer and Oliver Lowry,” slot receiver and fullback Greg Comanor ’10 said. There was also major turnover on the coaching staff this year with five new coaches coming in. Those coaches are offensive line coach Micah Reed, who was the captain and center for UCLA last year, former USC star Ulysses “Junior” Thurman, who coached the Wolverines in 2005 and will coach the secondary, linebacker coach Zac Volet, kicking coach Tony Peters, and Will Gilmore, the coach for the safeties. Eumont said the team’s goal is to win the Northwest Divisional Championship and said their most difficult games will be against Del Rey League teams. They need to win at least three of the four league games to insure that they make the playoffs. One of those teams is two-time defending league champion Serra, which defeated the Wolverines 24-7 last year. The Wolverines trained at the Upper School over the summer and had

Allegra Tepper/chronicle

lined up: Center Jake Lasker ’10 lines up against defensive end Adam Wolf ‘11 in Friday’s intersquad scrimmage. The Black team defated the White team 21-14. to survive six-day “Hell Week,” during which they stayed at the Upper School the entire time and slept in Hamilton Gym. A typical day of Hell Week, which ran from Monday Aug. 17 to Saturday Aug. 22, included getting up at 6 a.m., two practices, two positional meetings, swimming or lifting, and free time. “The weather was way too nice,” Eumont said. “The players had to close

the Hamilton Gym doors at night because it was too cold!” “Hell week was very difficult. Not just Hell Week, but the next week, which consisted in two practices a day in 100 plus degree weather in full pads. It was rough,” Comanor said. “Hell Week is a way for guys to come together and build as a team. It sounds like hell, but it ends up being a great time to bond with teammates.”

CalHiSports names Hung, Kutcher returns to coaching Nesbit ‘Elite Athletes’ in state By Jonah Rosenbaum

By Alex Edel

a score of 13.75 points and Nesbit scored 11.95. After traveling throughout “It feels pretty good to California, reporters from Calbe ranked relatively high. HiSports.com rated both Nicole When you put in work, it is Hung ’10 and Nicole Nesbit ’10 nice to have it pay off,” Nesas elite basketball players of bit said. California. Hung is being recruited Hung was rated 16th and by Harvard, Princeton, Yale Nesbit was rated 37th out of the and Arizona State. don hagopian/chronicle almost 1,000 athletes that were Nesbit verbally commitNicole Hung ’10 evaluated. ted to UCSB around three CalHiSports.com is an ESPN weeks ago after being reaffiliate that focuses on high cruited by Pepperdine, Colschool sports in California. orado State, Montana State, The website produces blogs LMU and a few others. that have to do with baseball, Both seniors were on the basketball, football, state rankteam that went to the state ings and state records. quarterfinals last year, and The blog, titled, Girls of the team is returning their Summer: 2009 Final California entire roster this year. Report, ranks the basketball Their overall record last players with a 16 point rating year was 22-10 and their don hagopian/chronicle system. Nicole Nesbit ’10 league record was 8-2. In order to qualify for the reThey took the CIF title port each girl must be personalwith a two point win against ly seen in at least one game by a mem- Pacific Hills. ber of the CalHiSports.com reporters. Hung led the team in the most points The girls are then rated on a dot scored throughout the season, scoring system of four grading periods. To get a total of 600 points last season. a perfect score, a player would have to She also made 96 out of 117 free score four dots per game to total 16 throws throughout the season.Nesbit points. scored a total of 312 points last season, The points are given in areas includ- averaging 9.8 points per game. She had ing speed, quickness, passing abilities, the leading amount of assists with 118 consistency, teamwork, and range of throughout the year. shooting, free-throw shooting defenNesbit, Hung and Haydel will start sive intensity, body positioning and the season with the rest of the team footwork on defense; stamina and en- at the Mater Dei Tournament starting durance, left and right hand abilities Dec. 7. to shoot and dribble, blocking out and They will then travel to the Nike rebounding, attitude and demeanor, Tournament in Phoenix Arizona startteamwork, performing in the clutch, ing Dec. 17 and from there they will level of competition and other elements play in the West Coast Holiday Classic of the game. at Beverly High School starting Dec. To qualify for the list, a player must 26. earn a minimum of nine points, or avTheir first league game is scheduled erage 2.5 points per game. Hung earned for Jan. 7 against Chaminade.

Ashton Kutcher’s appearing as a member of the coaching staff at Friday night’s intraquad scrimmage contradicted a Los Angeles Times story which cited Athletic Director Terry Barnum as saying “as of right now,” Kutcher would not be coming back because of promotional commitments for his new movie “Spread”. Both Head Coach Vic Eumont and Assistant Scott Wood, said Kutcher would definitely be back. “He may miss two or three weeks because of his movie, but then he will be back here coaching,” Eumont said. “He lives his life just like the rest of us, and his just happens to be a lot fuller,” he said. Kutcher’s decision to come back will benefit the freshman team, and in particular the linebackers, Eumont said. “Once he started coming, he really fit in with the staff and the players,” Eumont said.

Allegra Tepper/chronicle

He’s Back: Ashton Kutcher is back for a second season on the freshman staff.

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Water polo prepares for first game under new coach

By Alec Caso

Robert Lynn, the assistant water polo coach for the US team at the 2008 Olympics and new head water polo coach at Harvard Westlake, has begun to train the water polo team for their upcoming game against Wilson on Homecoming night. The team ended their last season with an overall record of 17-11 and a league record of 6-2. Coach Larry Felix resigned after coaching the team for four years. The team was given the beginning of summer to rest before training began with Lynn. Lynn has spent the last three weeks training and getting to know the players on the team. “They are a really good bunch of kids,” Lynn said. “They try really hard and show desire and commitment to the team.” Due to the recent fires Lynn has been forced to tone down practice and was even forced to cancel practice on Monday, Aug. 31. During the first two weeks of

training, players had optional practice from 6:30-10 a.m. In the third week players began having practice twice a day from 6:30-10 a.m. and from 6:308:30 p.m. Lynn wants to give the team another practice venue to relieve the stress of playing in the smoky air. “It would be great if we had two pools to practice in,” Lynn said. That way we could practice at Harvard-Westlake in the morning and at the other pool in the afternoon.” Lynn was the Assistant Director of Shore Aquatics and worked with many of Wilson’s players from a young age. Lynn has also just come from being the head coach at Wilson High. Lynn hopes to use this first game against Wilson as a learning experience to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the team. He also hopes to use this game as a way to look for ways to improve the team. “The team and I are really excited about the game,” Lynn said. “There is a lot of pressure on the team to perform in the first game but I want to try and reduce some of the pressure.”

Alec caso/chronicle

Preseason Practice: Toby Casillas ’11 tries to evade Alex Popof ’10 in a practice scrimmage. The team’s opener is against Corona Del Mar Sept. 16.

Quarterbacks compete for starting spot By Austin Block

Max Heltzer ’11 and Oliver Lowry ’10 are friends with similar athletic interests. They play on the baseball and football teams together for most of the year. Both want to play college football. They both play quarterback. They even play with the same, more traditional drop-back style while directing an offense. There is only one problem: the departure of two year starting quarterback Sean Berman ’09 has forced the Wolverines to choose one, and only one, player to be the new starter for the varsity football team. “It’s very important, especially for recruiting… junior year is a big year so hopefully I get it this year,” Heltzer said. Heltzer and Lowry agree that there is no tension or awkwardness lingering around the situation and that having a fellow competitor actually helps them. “Ollie and I are still good friends,” Heltzer said. “If anything I think [the competition] made us both better because by competing against someone you can push yourself more…I think it helps both of us become better players.” “It really is all about the team,” Lowry said. “The main competition is us against the other team.” Head Coach Vic Eumont and Quarterback Coach Dave Levy said that they haven’t sensed any tension between the two players either. “That’s what I was happiest about: I said ‘Look would it affect anything if you didn’t like each other? Would it affect anything if he said ‘I hope he fails and falls on his face?’ No. That doesn’t help you…And he shouldn’t think that about you,’” Levy said. “Friendly competitors at quarterback happen all the time. You see it in pro football everywhere… It’s just the way of competition.” Eumont has yet to determine a permanent starter. Heltzer, last year’s starting JV quarterback,

Alan sasaki

On the run: Oliver Lowry ‘10 scrambles during the team’s intersquad scrimmage last Friday.

was named the temporary starter for the first two games, though the first game was cancelled after the Los Angeles Unified School District made Franklin forfeit due to air quality concerns. Eumont’s plan is to have Heltzer play two thirds of each of the first two games and to play Lowry for the other third. However, his plan is subject to change based on what happens in the games. Cameron Komisar ’12, a possible third option, is injured but not out of contention. Lowry was a First Team All-League linebacker last year and was the JV quarterback as a sophomore. He will continue playing linebacker as he vies for the quarterback spot, and if he gets the starting position, he may still play linebacker, although less often. He said he will help the team however it needs him and feels that he can still be a team leader playing linebacker. Lowry said playing quarterback could actually slightly hurt his chances of playing in college because it would reduce the amount of time he plays linebacker, but he said he could still send his stats to schools and explain that he played on both sides of the ball. He has spoken with his coaches and he said they aren’t worried. Lowry would be willing to give up playing linebacker completely if the team needed him to play quarterback. Levy said Heltzer has gotten more repetitions at quarterback because Lowry has been needed to play defense. “They’re performing as good as they can right now. That’s all you can ever ask,” he said. “They both are very hard-working guys.” Eumont said that Heltzer’s strength is throwing a football and that Lowry is good at handling a team and a drive. “That’s why he’s in the quarterback hunt still because he’s a great leader,” Eumont said of Lowry. He also noted that Heltzer’s leadership ability is improving as well. Levy said the competition is quite close. “They’re very close and they’re very competitive and I’m happy with both of them,” Levy said. Because the team can’t afford to sustain more injuries than it already has, the team doesn’t scrimmage much and the quarterbacks are unable to practice in those types of situations. However, they did participate in a passing league in the spring, in which there are only seven players on each team and no linemen. “The last time I remember calling them off the field together … we played Burbank or Burroughs in a passing league game and I think Max had 31 plays and Oliver had 29 and they were within two percentage points of completions, drops,” Levy said. “But they were so close and I remember going off and saying ‘Guys, it can’t get much closer. That’s good work. We’ll check it out in the fall.’” “It got kind of competitive at one point just because the coach liked to pit them against each other so that they could both do better, but it was all for good and Max is going to do a pretty good job starting out for the team,” tight end Malcolm Caldwell-Meeks ’10 said. “These guys are like Berman [more traditional quarterbacks] so they need to make quicker, faster decisions and just try to get first downs when they’re running and not get sacked or give up the ball,” Eumont said. When asked if he thought seniors would be willing to listen to a junior quarterback, Heltzer responded, “I don’t think they have a problem. I’m good friends

Austin Block/Chronicle

Job Training: Max Heltzer ’11 hands the ball off during last Friday’s scrimmage. He was named the temporary starter for the first two games of the season. with those guys. I have been playing with them since I was a freshman.” Heltzer has prepared for his new job by watching film and said “we’ve been running plays out here all day so that helps a lot.” “I probably need to work on my running a little bit…be a little more agile,” he said. Heltzer said that Berman has given him advice. “I listen to everything he says…I text him if I need any help,” he said. Eumont said he doesn’t have to make a final decision until the team’s first league game against St. Bernard at St. Bernard High School on Oct. 16. The team’s four league games will be the most important contests of the season. Eumont also said the fact that Lowry is a senior and Heltzer is a junior won’t affect his decision unless they are otherwise equal. “It’s a little bit different in the fact that Oliver has already got a starting position,” he said. In the intersquad scrimmage Friday, Lowry threw for two touchdowns while leading the black team to a 21-14 victory over the white team, which was quarterbacked by Heltzer. Heltzer threw for a touchdown pass as well, but was intercepted. Eumont thinks the continued strong play by Lowry has helped Heltzer’s development as a quarterback. “The fact that Oliver has put pressure on Max has made Max a better quarterback and Oliver is pushing but he’s also he doesn’t loaf on defense,” Eumont said. “I think he’d like to play quarterback but I don’t think he’ll be too mad at me,” Heltzer said. Eumont also said that the team’s other offensive players can be just as important as the quarterback: “We have a lot of skilled guys that the quarterback doesn’t have to be the main guy.” “There is no controversy right now because right now Lowry’s the starting linebacker and Heltzer’s the starting quarterback,” Eumont said. “We’ll just have to see how they play out the competition,” Levy said. “It’s a good problem.”

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Swinging Austin Wilson’s ’10 play this summer cemented his phenom status, but when it comes to choose between Stanford and the MLB, what will he decide?

Sports C7

for the fences

By Jack Davis From the first day he ever stepped on the baseball diamond, parents, coaches, scouts and teammates alike have all raved about Austin Wilson’s ’10 potential. As a freshman, Wilson was the youngest player on Varsity and ended the year as the team’s cleanup hitter. As a sophomore, he began to fill out his 6’4 frame and turn the heads of scouts across the country. As a junior, the Franklin field bleachers filled up every game with scouts eager to get a glimpse of the rapidly improving Wilson, who was starting to be dubbed a potential first round pick. This summer, his production began to match his potential. Wilson’s hectic summer baseball schedule began in June when he flew to Minnesota for an Aflac Showcase. Playing in showcases like these are common for top high school baseball players like Wilson as at these showcases, top players across the country are invited to play against each other in front of big league scouts. From Minnesota, Wilson flew to North Carolina for the Tournament of Stars, spending a week there before flying to Georgia to meet up with his club team, the ABD Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are the number one ranked club team in the nation with some of the top players in the country, yet Wilson credits his club teammates with help keeping him grounded. “My club, we get on each other. If one of us makes an error, all the others make sure he doesn’t forget about it, if one of us hits a homerun, we don’t let him get too excited about it. ” After playing in Georgia for a week, Wilson headed back home to Los Angeles for three weeks to play with Harvard-Westlake before making yet another trip, this time to Santa Barbara. In Santa Barbara, Wilson works with a specialized trainer and trains with other highly ranked high school baseball prospects, college players, and in some cases, pro baseball players. From Santa Barbara, Wilson drove to Long Beach for the prestigious Area Code games, one of the premier high school baseball showcases. However, making life complicated for Wilson and adding stress to his already hectic summer traveling, was a scheduling conflict. Wilson was invited to play in the Under Armour All-American game Aug. 8 at the historic Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. While Wilson quickly accepted the invite to the Under Armour game, there was one problem. Area Code games were still being played and Wilson would have to leave his Area Code team to go to Chicago, play in the Under Armour game, and then fly back to Los Angeles before driving back to Long Beach to play a week more of Area Code games. “It was crazy,” Wilson said. “My parents had to do a lot of flying with me this summer.” So Wilson played three Area Code games then landed in Chicago on Aug. 7 and had to quickly prepare for the most important game of his life the next day. In Chicago, Wilson dealt with something he had never dealt with before, autograph hounds. “In Chicago for the first time I would walk on to the field and all these little kids would be screaming my name asking for autographs.” And while the majority of autograph seekers were kids, not all were. “It was weird to see random 40 year-old guys holding balls and stuff asking me to sign,” Wilson said. “The fact that all these people knew who I was and came to see me play was pretty surreal.” A lot more people would know Wilson’s name soon. The game was televised on ESPNU and Fox Sports with ESPN announcers and former MLB executives

courtesy of Austin WIlson

All American: Austin Wilson ’10 hits a homerun at Wrigley Field in Chicago during the Under Armour All-American Game. The game was broadcast on ESPNU. Steve Phillips and Keith Law announcing. In his first at-bat, Wilson stepped up to the plate against Karsten Whitson, the number three ranking high school pitcher in the nation, and with tens of thousands watching, hit a home run to deep left center. “Rounding the bases was crazy with people cheering me on and the crowd getting into it. I got to home plate and thought ‘Wow I just hit a home run at Wrigley Field.’” After the conclusion of Area Code games, Wilson made yet another trip, this time a three hour drive to San Diego to play in the Aflac All-American game, which is considered the most prestigious of any of the All-American games and tournaments. In the game itself, Wilson went 1 / 3 with a single, but walked away more in awe of the crowd than the actual game. “It felt like a big league game,” Wilson said. After Aflac was over, Wilson did something he hadn’t been able to do in months: take a break from

baseball. “That might have been the weirdest feeling of all,” Wilson said. While in the end of August Wilson got a break from baseball action, there was still plenty going on that had to do with his baseball career. Wilson gave a verbal commitment to continue his baseball career at Stanford, a school that had always been Wilson’s first choice. Still, Wilson hears the whispers of scouts, friends, and even fans. He could be one of the top picks in next June’s baseball draft and be faced with the choice of the pros or school. Yet despite what could be a distraction, Wilson remains grounded and focused on playing his senior year of high school. “All the MLB stuff depends on how I do this year, and my main goal and main focus is to get H-W to the City Championships. All the other stuff, that’s in the back of my head, I’m just thinking about Harvard-Westlake and my senior year.”

C8 Sports

The

C hronicle

Sept. 9, 2009

chronicle.hw.com

backtalk Jackson Ligouri with

Senior Wide Receiver

By Jack Davis

Q A Q A Q A Q A Q A

This will be your third year as a starter, making you the most experienced player on the offense. What do you expect from yourself, now that you have two full years of experience?

I expect to always prepare myself for every game and to go hard on every play, but really more than anything I expect myself not to make mistakes. In years past making mistakes has always been my biggest problem but now I’ve been in this offense for two years, I know the scheme, I know what to expect, I know what’s going on. Even though the football team doesn’t nominate captains, as a three year starter and a senior you’re viewed as one of the leaders of the offense and of the entire team. How do you try and act as a leader?

I don’t really try and act in any particular way. I just try and work hard in practice every single day, know my plays, fill my responsibilities, and I hope my teammates will just follow the example I try and set. What do you expect from the team this year?

I just expect us to work hard and play tough, because if we do that the wins will come. We have to just focus on winning the game every week and not looking too far down the line and worry about going 11-0. But in order to win every week, we have to play tough. We are a small team and come from a very affluent school so people don’t expect us to be a strong, tough team. Is there a game you’ve got circled on the calendar?

Nov. 11 at home against JSerra. They’re really big, they’re really fast, and they’re really cocky. Not to mention they’ve beaten us two years in a row and I’m sure they think they’ll beat us again. Beating them would be huge.

How are you going about the recruiting process and what schools are recruiting you?

mark your calendar

Right now I have interest from Yale and Brown but I haven’t accepted any offers or anything yet. After we play a few games early in the season, I’m going to send my tapes out to a bunch of schools, and I won’t really be close to making a decision until then.

Cross Country

Friday Seaside Invitational Ventura

“It’s a relatively fast course so people run very fast. We are for sure excited.”

September

Girls Golf

Tuesday at 3 p.m. Notre Dame Woodley Golf Course

“We have been rivals for two years, and we have been preparing all summer.”

—Lily Einstein ‘11

—Tiffany Yang ‘10

October

Girls’ Volleyball vs. Alemany

Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Alemany Catholic High School “The first league game of the season is always really fun and exciting.” —Caroline Hartig ’10

Football vs. Alemany

Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Ted Slavin Field “We have to beat Alemany at homecoming for revenge. They’ve got to pay the price.” —Jordan Tolson ’10

Boys Water Polo

Wednesday at 4 p.m. Corona Del Mar Corona Del Mar High School

“It is the first game of the season and we have to set the right tone. We have to get off on a good foot.”

—Russell Madison ’10

Girls’ Tennis vs. Chaminade

Tuesday at 3 p.m. California State University Northridge “A lot of us have been around for a while and we have a lot of new players that will make us an even better team.” —Melissa Gertler ’11