April–May 2012

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Sports

page 13: Polo Interview

page 6 New Mural

Great obscure page 8 authors

page 10: Occupy Ithaca

April/May 2012 • Estd. 1892 • Vol. 120 • No. 6• Published Monthly • www.ihstattler.com • Ithaca High School, 1401 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, NY, 14850 • PRICELESS

Koreans to Rule IHS

By LIL’ KIM

By LAZA RUS

The transition from March to April has brought with it a frightening illness to IHS: leprosy. Known to humans for thousands of years but not typically seen in the developed world, the disease is dangerous and capable of rapidly spreading and potentially triggering a global crisis. Why the outbreak happened at IHS is not currently known, but administrators were quick to point out that “[because] it could kill hundreds, we have to take precautions.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the outbreak as 4.2 buckets (out of a maximum possible value of 2π) on their “oh crap” scale, which means that the outbreak should be taken very seriously — it has the potential to become a global pandemic, perhaps striking during a period when doctors and scientists are more worried about variants of the flu virus. The average rating given out by WHO is 2.7; the maximum ever is 5.3, for the outbreak of ignorance which has swept America in recent years.

Very little about any potential causes is known.

When consulted, Mr. Powers said, “We still have not ruled out the traditional biblical causes — gossip, theft, murder, and infidelity — but it is possible that there are other explanations, too. A

leading theory among investigators seems to be that the cause is some microscopic form of life, but again, that’s just a theory.” Despite hinting that the causes were moral in nature, Powers did not comment when asked if Newt Gingrich had recently visited the building.

Investigators poured into the school over the weekend, in special spacesuit-like clothing that protects them from infection. They spent several hours each day. Details of what they found are unclear, but it seems they spent most of their time playing cards in the sweet air-conditioned halls and offices of J-Building.

Despite limited knowledge about the outbreak, precautions have been set up for those suffering from the disease. Activities has already been converted into a leper colony, and the old, soft, most likely diseased old furniture has been brought back in an effort to make the building seem more homey.

There is ongoing discussion about bringing in already-constructed colonies if the epidemic becomes more dire. The main idea currently is to use airplanes to pull Spinalonga, a small island that is part of Greece, to dock in Cayuga Lake.

Spinalonga has been the site of an active leper colony as recently as 1957, and may even still have some old nuns on it who can help care for the ill.

Gym Class to Feature New Scuba Diving Class

By SNORKE ELLE

The old-fashioned IHS swimming requirement is receiving a much-needed overhaul to bring it into the 21st century. At the Board of Education (BoE) meeting last week, voters decided to reallocate funds originally earmarked for reduced-price lunches and transportation services to purchase a set of scuba diving gear as a part of Superintendent Brown’s pilot program.

The equipment is brand new and includes a thermal suit, mask, and oxygen tank, all professional grade. In addition, it has internal compartments for iPods and iPads, allowing students to interface with their electronic devices while in the pool. “At IHS, we remain committed to providing a safe and comprehensive education to each student that meets his or her needs,” said Dr. Brown. “During this time

of widespread budget cuts, we must all sacrifice to make sure that the quality of education at IHS remains top-notch.”

Administrators at IHS, led

by Principal Powers, are eager to start aligning instruction for the new scuba diving classes in gym. Administrators hope to receive the necessary equipment, which consists of 500 regulators and octopus gaugers, fins, masks, and exposure protection cushions. “To complement our new Marine Biology course offering, our students will now be given the opportunity to elect for scuba diving instruction in lieu of one week of the standard swimming curriculum,” said Powers in a recent interview.

“This instruction will be taking place in our state-of-the-art facilities, namely the deeper end of our existing pool.”

Currently our pilot program only allows for four students per class to take this option, but Powers said that admin-

istrators have plans to expand this to anyone interested.

Statistics show that a person can survive without food for a few days, but they can only survive without air for a few minutes. “It makes sense to me that voters in our community would choose this scuba diving program over reducedprice lunches,” said Powers.

“When we compare the need for air to the need for food, it’s a no-brainer!”

Now that Dr. Brown’s policies are taking effect, the students of IHS are being prepared for all the challenges of the 21st century. Students will receive training from the newly installed SMART Boards and iPads to compete in the new information economy.

“Our goal is to put an iPad in every student’s hands and an oxygen tank on every student’s back,” said Powers. “When the sea levels rise and force everyone to high ground, there will be no child left behind at IHS.”

Romney to Visit Ithaca

PHOTO/PROVIDED

Since the death of Kim Jong-Il, North Koreans have been fairly unhappy about the weak leadership of his son, Kim Jong-Un. In order to restore the nation’s pride in strict and violent dictatorship, citizens of North Korea mandated that IHS South Korean students rule over IHS. However, because South Korean students do not appreciate the brutality of the Great Leader’s iron fist, they have declined to execute such oppressive and violent methods of running IHS. Christina Seung ‘12 said, “We definitely considered making AP Calculus BC and AP Physics C required courses for all students for graduation.” Nonetheless, she announced that she and other South Korean students had other alternatives.

Starting on the first day of school next year, all IHS students will be required to dance to K-pop songs—especially those by the ninemember girl group Girls Generation. All language curriculums such as Latin, German, Spanish, French, and Chinese will be eliminated and replaced with Korean classes. During lunch, all students will be forced to put Kimchi in their hamburgers, pizza, and sandwiches. North Korean party officials have even offered to fly over to IHS and monitor all students during lunch periods to effectively enforce this new law. In addition, everyone is required to watch at least five Korean movies and three drama series and write a 7-page analysis on each of them. All of the changes will take effect for the next school year. Each and every student will be required to accomplish dancing to K-pop music, learning the Korean language, watching Korean movies and dramas, and eating Kimchi in order to graduate.

Leprosy Strikes IHS

By MOR MONNE

Ithaca is gearing up for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s upcoming visit and speech on April 1st, at the IHS Kulp Auditorium. Romney, known for his frequent financial gaffes that place him squarely in the 1%, admitted in a recent press release that it may seem strange to be visiting a farleft Democratic stronghold in Upstate New York, but “I’m committed to sharing my views with the American people.”

Even stranger is the presence of Ithaca’s fledgling Occupy Wall Street movement, which is protesting against the very things that Romney stands for: big business, corporations, millionaire CEOs. However, the candidate has made an effort to sympathize with the problems of average people: “I should tell my story. I’m also unemployed,” he said last year in Florida. Technically, this may be true, but his net worth is over $200 million, which unfortunately makes it hard to believe he’s in the same boat.

Romney’s views on LGBT rights (“I oppose same-sex marriage…I have taken every action that I could conceive of within the bounds of the law to defend traditional marriage and to stop same-sex marriage,” he said in 2008) and abortion (his campaign website states that “As president, he will end federal funding for abortion advocates like Planned Parenthood”), as well as his healthcare and economic policies, make it difficult to see how he’s going to appeal to a town whose most distinctive population groups are socialist, yoga-loving aging hippies and twenty-something college students.

Nevertheless, it’s going to be an exciting night—maybe we’ll hear one of the quotes that make headlines the next morning, such as this one from January: “I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that’s the America millions of Americans believe in. That’s the America I love.”

April/May 2012

Hail to the Chiefs

ICSD Central Office Reorganization

iPads

Enhance IHS

Classrooms

By ARYEH ZAX

PHOTO/MAYA PATT

This year, there are 10 classrooms throughout ICSD that have received iPads. The Ithaca City School District’s “teaching and learning with technology” initiative has manifested itself in collaboration with the Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI), which has brought these pieces of technology into the classroom.

“We, in some ways, are a bit behind when it comes to one-to-one implementations and technology implementations in general,” said Superintendent Luvelle Brown. “There are school districts... all over this country that have gone to one-to-one implementations.” IPEI supplemented ICSD’s own budget for technology funds to bring the new technology into the classroom.

The iPads are not a one-time move; they are part of a bigger movement to support what the superintendent calls “21st-century learning,” though he clarifies, “[21st-century learning] is any-century learning.

Communicating, asking good questions, writing skills...those are skills that we’ve had to use for centuries.”

Dr. Brown stresses, however, that the technology is not the center of the work. “To ask the question about how the technology’s shifting is actually the wrong question to ask. It’s more about how teaching and learning is affecting achievement.”

Dr. Brown later went on to point out that, “The book is a piece of technology. Rarely do we see people ask, ‘How did the textbook increase achievement in the classroom?’” The iPads are not there to radically change tried-and-true methods, nor are they just to change paper worksheets into electronic ones—they are dynamic tools that can, for excontinued on p. 4

Superintendant Luvelle Brown introduces plans for central office reorganization.

By MIKE HALL

PHOTO/MAYA PATT

In recent years, the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) has seen massive turnover rates in principals and associate principals at IHS. Now, change is coming to ICSD as a whole.

On February 28th, Dr. Luvelle Brown presented to the Board of Education (BoE) a new plan that would completely restructure the way the Central Office is run. The plan is an attempt to move away from the Executive Team and into a more inclusive and collaborative model of organization—namely, the Instructional Leadership Team.

The old organizational structure’s “Executive Team,” under which the district is currently operating, is made up of three Assistant Superintendents (Business Services, Curriculum and Instruction, and Student Services) as well as a Director of Labor Relations and Human Resources.

Brown expressed that the current structure of the district doesn’t allow for the most effective work possible to be done by central administrators.

As Seth Peacock, Vice President of the Board, said, “If there’s a puddle outside, every one’s calling [Brown].” This new model attempts to streamline the chain of command, further allowing for effective problem solving and collaboration.

The new plan, which was approved unanimously by the Board, includes six “Chiefs” focusing on the categories of Elementary Schools, Secondary Schools, Human Resources, Operations, Information, and Excellence. These positions are Dr. Brown’s only direct reports.

According to Brown, ICSD “lack[s] a true transition between elementary school and middle school.” Therefore, to make a more cohesive education experience for students, Brown stated that “everything from our pre-K program to graduation coaching will fall under these two positions [the Chief Elementary and Secondary School Officers].”

The Chief of Excellence, however, will focus on improving professional development and Students With Disabilities (SWD) consistency in the classroom. Brown added that “having a person connected to both of those [goals] is going to be big.”

While much optimism for the plan was expressed among Board members, a trace of concern was noted by others.

“The devil is in the details and the details have not yet been finalized,” said Susan Mittler, President of the Ithaca Teacher’s Association. She further stated that “the generalities of the titles do not yet address the issues we are facing.”

Brown noted that the plan was developed outside the constraints of the budget process. While he expressed hope that this new plan would ultimately save the district money, there was no evidence presented to this effect.

These newly created positions will be listed on or around March 13th, according to Brown, giving time for applicants to have their applications reviewed before the start of the next school year.

All of the current members of the old “Executive Team” will need to apply for whichever of these new jobs best meets their skills; no employee will simply be moved to one of the new positions.

While Brown seems confident he can implement his new plan in time, others again expressed reservations.

“The Association,” said Mittler, “is optimistic but extremely cautious about the timeline for implementation.”

IPads are currently being incorporated into classrooms as teaching tools.

New IHS Construction Projects Come with High Bonds

By PHOEBE PARRISH

Due to increased confusion by the idea of both bonds and the budget process, Ithaca Youth Council (IYC), a 14-body delegation to the local government, decided to make getting a student voice on the budget process one of their top priorities this fiscal year.

After a meeting of the Ad Hoc Budget Reform Committee, as well as a meeting between Board of Education member Dr. Sean EversleyBradwell and IYC, the project began to really take shape. Together

both members of IYC and program coordinator Jen Handy designed a simple survey about the budget that was handed out to students at IHS and LACS in June 2011. Data revealed that students’ biggest concern was the construction in Kulp, where the money came from, and why it couldn’t be used for other expenses. To get some answers, on behalf of the IYC, I sat down with Board of Education members Sean Eversley-Bradwell and Bradley Grainger.

Q: How is it possible for the continued on p. 4

April/May 2012

Local News Briefs

World News Africa Mali – On the 22nd, a successful coup was carried out against Malian President Amadou Toure. The coup, led by Capt. Amadou Sanogo, has been met with international condemnation, and has resulted in Mali’s suspension from the African Union. Capt. Sanogo assured Malians that he will not cling to power, and urged the lawlessness which has followed the coup to cease. “I call on all Malians to stop the pillaging. The acts of vandalism are not from our soldiers. It is not their mission, it is not their fight,” Sanogo said in an interview broadcast on Mali’s State TV. The Americas The United States – Robert Bales, the US soldier accused of killing 17 Afghan civilians, has been officially informed of the 29 charges levied against him, including 17 counts of premeditated murder. If found guilty, Bales will may face a death sentence.

Brazil – 17 charges have been filed against Chevron and the Transocean Company by Brazilian Federal Prosecutors. The charges come after an oil spill in November 2011 off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Chevron has already been fined $27 million by the Brazilian government.

Asia Maldives – The Maldivian Parliament was reopened by President Manik amidst opposing protests. Former President Nasheed, the Maldives’ first democratically elected President, resigned in February of 2012 in what he described as a coup at gunpoint. Manik was sworn in as President of the Republic of Maldives on February 7th, 2012.

DPRK – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, said it received an invitation on March 16th to visit North Korea. While it declined to comment on the contents of the invitation, many hail the invitation as an important step forward.

Europe Turkey – 15 soldiers, all women, from a rebel Kurdish separatist group were killed by Turkish security forces on March 24th. The women were from an all-women’s unit of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been outlawed in Turkey.

-MIKE HALL

IHS International Students Speak at Nosanchuk Lecture Series Through the week of March 5-9, IHS hosted its annual David Nosanchuk Memorial Lecture series in honor of David Nosanchuk, a former IHS student and activist who died tragically on the last day of his senior year. The topic of the lecture series traditionally follows a controversial theme, with this year’s being “Education in the 21st Century.” Speakers included educators, administrators, students, and clubs.

The most widely attended lecture out of the 12 was the lecture entitled “An International Perspective” where four international students from IHS (Maung Phway ‘12, Daniel Lee ‘13, Arash Memarzadeh ‘12, and Jose

Sinon ‘12) talked about their experiences in education in their home countries, which ranged from Korea to Togo.

Despite differences in systems and communication, all four students agreed that education in their home countries is vastly different from what it is here.

Sinon, from Togo, walked the audience through a typical day in his old school— finishing his sentences more than once with the words “...and then we eat.”

Memarzadeh, another international student, explained how in Iran every male in high school is required to take a military training class.

District Plans Summer Professional Development Institute This summer, from August 6-9, ICSD, in partnership with TST BOCES and the HOPE Foundation, opens the door to hundreds of educators and administrators from around the state and country to come and share their ideas with ICSD professionals in Ithaca.

“We are excited for what will be a world-class opportunity, not only for ICSD educators but for many others as well,” posted Brown in a superintendent update. August 6th and 7th will focus on An International Conference Experience, while the last two days will see ICSD-only professional development in areas central to enhancing Critical Thinking.

Though details haven’t been finalized, Superintendent Brown and Founder and President of the HOPE Foundation Alan Blankstein are eager to plan exciting opportunities for professionals within ICSD that involve Curriculum Development, Assessment Literacy, Co-Teaching and Differentiated Instruction, and Critical Thinking.

Board of Education Update

By CHRISTINA SEUNG

IHS Librarian Nan Bell informed the BoE members about the success of English 101 and English 102 classes which emphasize “independence and rigor.” Seniors may take English 101 and English 102 for dual credit at TC3.

Just like previous meetings, multiple students from New Roots Charter School came to talk about the benefits of their educational environment. Hannah ‘12 moved from Rochester. She had participated in Ad-

vanced Placement and Honors classes and taught both violin and viola. However, she decided to attend New Roots over the other schools “for a change” and “more opportunities.” Justin ‘12 attended IHS as a freshman but switched over to New Roots due to “no guidance at IHS” and negative peers. He is now involved in various activities and has a “vision to a new, positive future.”

Representatives from Code Red announced to the BoE about their Regional competition at RIT in which they went from “dead last” to 6th seed out of 41 total.

Code Red made it to the semifinals and won the Engi-

neering Inspiration Award which is the second most prestigious award. The members are looking forward to expanding Lego League, a program that serves as an introduction to technology for ICSD elementary school students.

The Board has voted in favor of participating in Columbia University’s Summer Principals Academy in order to sharpen leadership skills for those interested in taking administrator or principal positions.

In addition, the Board members voted to keep Varna as a voting site.

April/May 2012

continued from p.2

PHOTO/MAYA PATT

BONDS

The ongoing renovations to the Athletics facilities have been financed by bonds.

school district to construct new buildings during a time when we are in a tight spot financially?

A: This is an excellent question. We have to begin with the fact that voters and taxpayers of the Ithaca City School District approved the $98.5 million facilities bond in 2007—ahead of the economic downturn. These are large-scale projects that take some five years to complete, let alone the years in planning and New York State Education Department (NYSED) approvals.

Now, it seems counterintuitive to build during times of financial hardship, but in fact, doing so can offer significant savings in the form of lower interest rates and significantly lower bids to complete the construction.

Delaying would, in some instances, have caused scheduling issues that would have pushed the projects out for many years as the District juggled summer construction. Costs might have risen and made it impossible to complete these projects within the annual budget.

Over a generation of ICSD students, completing these capital projects now will save the district millions of dollars not just in up-front costs, but also in energy savings and less deferred maintenance expenses. Lastly, other than the debt payments, the facilities bond money does not impact our current school year operating budget.

money from the public and pays it back with interest). In the case of the schools, we use an advisory firm to auction the bonds in order to assure that we pay the lowest possible interest. The bonds are usually purchased by a bank or a Wall Street brokerage: this is the source of the money.

The District then repays the bond-holder interest and principal (the original amount of money) over the stated time period.

Direct or indirect impact on the budget is not as straightforward as we would like. No capital can be expended without approval of the voters.

The bonds funding the current project were approved by the voters, and prior to construction starting, they must be approved by NYSED (New York State Education Department). One of the components of the State Aid is Building Aid. If a project is approved by voters and NYSED, once completed the District receives Building Aid. To the extent that aid comes from the state, there is no local budget impact. To the extent that aid does not cover debt payments, known as the local share, dollars do come from local taxpayers.

As mentioned in the previous question, by moving ahead while interest rates have been low, the local share has been decreased by millions from that which was estimated prior to the vote on the bonds.

Q: How do bonds work?

A: Bonds are debt which are sold to the public (in other words, the school district borrows

Q: Why can we not use the money from bonds for other operating expenses?

A: We cannot use money from the bond to

IPADS

ample, conduct web searches and hopefully make the teaching experience easier.

Some teachers were selected to use iPads, but many expressed interest in seeing how the iPads would change their own classrooms. Angela Affronti, a 10th-grade Global teacher, uses them frequently in her classes.

“We’ve received enormous amounts of professional training for the iPads and we’re looking forward to doing more training this summer,” Affronti said. She also explained how the iPads have provided good results.

Notes in her classroom have now been transferred to documents on an app called Evernote, which means students are never without their notes, even when they’re being graded; a push of a button emails the document anywhere. A recent project in her class had students make an iMovie about the European Industrial Revolution. Though the review apps have not been as

pay teachers or buy textbooks or computers or generally anything that should be paid out of the general operating budget. We can only use this money on the capital projects approved in 2007—a list that is fairly specific. All capital expenditures must be specifically approved by the voters.

Q: What advice would you give students who might want to voice their opinions about the upcoming budget?

A: There are many ways students should voice their opinions about the budget and school district business. The first option, for those students who are 18, is to register and vote! While school district budget votes traditionally have low turnout (10-15%), voting is one of the direct ways to demonstrate your support or unhappiness with the budget.

Another way to voice your opinions is to participate in meetings. Students can speak at board meetings or write to Board of Education members. Dr. Brown has also created a Budget Advisory Committee as well as the Superintended Student Advisory Council. Students are actively encouraged to participate and help us create the best district we can.

Lastly, read and become aware of the issues surrounding the budget. This includes the State budget and its support of education; how are local concerns reflected or ignored? In short, active citizens are most effective when well informed. continued from p.2

heavily used, they will no doubt see much more attention as the end-ofyear tests approach. Learning in her classroom, she claims, is now quicker and easier.

Feedback regarding the iPads will come in a variety of ways. Teachers and students alike will be surveyed about how they have personally found the iPads, and traditional ways to evaluate achievement—grades, projects, and assessments—will still be used. Affronti spoke very positively about the iPads and believes they have had a very positive effect on her classroom and her students. They have, she said, greatly increased student engagement and many students enjoy writing assignments more now that they have them.

“They’re a great addition to my class. I’ve been enjoying them and my students have too.”

April/May 2012

Opinion:

Cell phones in the library

By JULIA JOHN

Perhaps I am the only one, but I often wonder about the etiquette of using cell phones in the library. The rules are that there should be no ringers on, no games played, and no actual phone calls, but texting is a bit of a gray area. If you do it discreetly and respectfully, then it is fine. But my question is whether texting in the library is the right thing to do. The library is a place to gather and explore new information. However, the library has also evolved

into a place to gossip and to socialize. Is using your mobile device proper and polite in this area meant for study?

Because many phones can be used in the same way as a computer, many students choose to read articles and do research on their phones, especially when the computers are full. Texting is quiet. A conversation sent through the phone is not disruptive, whereas other conversations can reach unbelievably loud levels. iPods are allowed in the Zone of Silence. Therefore, cell phones and iPods seem to mesh until they are one

and the same, making it okay to use either.

Sometimes it is a good idea to give your thumbs and eyes a rest and stick the phone in your backpack for a while. The library is the perfect place to unwind, explore the bookshelves, and fall asleep in the comfy chairs. The library is full of newspapers, magazines, and books! As teenagers, we are often described as being glued to our electronics, never looking up from them.

There are plenty of friendly faces in the library that I’m sure we don’t notice while we are texting under the table.

wrongful reward

By HANNAH GEORGE Staff Writer

Cheating in school is a disgusting practice that has been happening way too often at the high school lately. From quizzes to entire essays, there are students who are choosing the dishonest route of copying, changing, and “sharing” their answers.

Students: stop cheating.

It’s not only bad for your karma, but once you get accepted

to your fancy, big-name college, cheating comes with serious consequences. Only after you’re kicked out for plagiarizing your term paper will you realize that you should have listened to me.

Also: Stop letting other people cheat. Do you really want to let some kid get a higher grade than they deserve while you’re busting your butt to do the work? No. So speak up if you see something. Don’t let

someone else “borrow” your hard work. It’s only fair.

Teachers: Stop making it easy to cheat. I say this with sorrow because ideally, everyone would have their moral compasses firmly aligned pointing due north. However, this is not the case. There are two ways to make it more difficult to cheat: physically and psychologically. The immediate response to combat cheating would be to separate

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advances made in the field of education. It is difficult for teachers to have to repeatedly learn how to adapt their teaching curriculum using this technology, and others would prefer to stick to conventional teaching methods. Dr. Brown said during his lecture that SMART Boards were already becoming outdated. Yet this poses a problem, as many teachers still do not know how to utilize SMART Boards in their teaching routine, and the school only recently installed this piece of technology. While technology does provide wonderful learning opportunities for students, both in and out of school, it is important that these new technologies are being added upon a stable base. However, knowing how to use technology is becoming increasingly important in virtually every aspect of many jobs and life in general. There is no doubt that the modern world is becoming more and more reliant on technology. Therefore, the school’s desire to stay on the cutting edge is understandable.

It is necessary that students and faculty stay aware of the changes being made in the school. Technology that the school has affects students’ high school careers, and thus it is critical that students and teachers do voice their opinions about these changes.

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The Tattler is the student-run newspaper of Ithaca High School. The Tattler was founded in 1892, and is published monthly.

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Drop off submissions in H134, or e-mail them to editor@ihstattler.com.

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students from each other and their technology as they take their tests on blank paper with #2 pencils. Yet there is another way that instills in students a sense that cheating will not be tolerated. Could it be frequent reminders? A convincing argument? A poster of a pair of eyes? Fear?

There are no easy answers, but I believe that with a bit more effort we can end an era of rewarding cheaters.

Aplications may be found The Tattler office and are due April 19th

editor@ihstattler.com

Kelsey Shang ‘12

Editorial:

One only has to look around the classrooms of IHS to see that change is in the air. One of the most prominent and controversial changes is the new technology that’s pouring in.

Without a doubt, IHS is making strides towards becoming more technologically advanced, but can everyone keep up? Integrating technology and education is a heavily stressed theme this year. Lectures from Dr. Brown placed an emphasis on the fact that nothing in the world of technology is permanent. Yet the looming question remains, a question that Dr. Brown himself claimed no one has answered: how do we keep up with technology if it is continuously changing?

Many feel that technology should be a priority in school systems, and that schools should constantly aim to provide the latest technology for their students. However, this is a laborious and expensive process. With every new technology or disruptive innovation, the whole industry changes. If a school wishes to possess the newest and best form of technology, the older ones will have to be improved or replaced.

In addition, Dr. Brown explained in his talk during the Nosanchuck lecture series, that teachers have to adapt to all the new

Editor-in-Chief

Christina Seung ‘12

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These submissions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Tattler editorial staff.

Mural Interview with Judy Cogan and Helen Hamilton If you haven’t seen it already, stop by D building to see the newly installed art mural.

PHOTO/HELEN HAMILTON

The newly created mural in D-Building by Helen Hamilton ‘12 and art teacher Judy Cogan.

By MAYA PATT

Maya Patt ‘13: What was your inspiration? Where did your ideas come from?

Helen Hamilton ‘12: We didn’t really have any, we just kinda started....

Judy Cogan: Yeah, we didn’t have a plan per se; the inspiration for doing a mural at all was just to have an opportunity for us to work together, I think. I just wanted to make art with Helen and I also wanted Helen to have an opportunity to leave some of her artwork here in school because she’s been in art classes and in the art room pretty much nonstop for the last four years and I just thought it would be a nice place for her to leave her mark on the school.

MP: So the image wasn’t planned out? How did that work with the process?

JC: It was just out of our heads.

HH: We started by each having a vague idea of what we thought it would look like at the end, so we just had a little talk before we started painting and decided to start with the black, and started working at opposite sides of the mural and looking at what each other was doing and responded from that.

MP: Did your vague idea look like what is out there now?

Both: No, no.

JC: It is pretty different, but at least as good, if not better, than what I imagined.

MP: What were the artistic steps in making it? Did you sketch it out first?

JC: No sketches....

HH: We just took the brush and started painting.

JC: We started with the black and then talked about a color scheme. We definitely didn’t want to just use any old colors. We talked about not wanting it to look like a rainbow effect and wanted to keep the color scheme mainly in the cool colors and doing kind of a wave of color down the center.

We thought we were going to do a wave of smaller colors down the top and bottom, but then we realized that would be over cool so we did bring in some warmer colors to the top and bottom wave.

MP: Did you paint it while it was on the wall, or was it on the ground?

it?

JC: Right up on the wall, with ladders and everything.

MP: When you were painting, how did you arrange yourselves around

HH: We both started with one on each side and then after 10 or 20 minutes we switched to each other’s side and back again to add to where each other left off.

JC: So it became really unified; you can’t tell that it was two different people painting it. That was intentional—we wanted it to all work together.

MP: How long did it take overall?

HH: The first day took about four hours...the next day maybe five...the last day maybe five or six?

JC: I think all together it took around 15 hours.

MP: Did you guys make any mistakes? And if you did, how did you fix them?

HH: There was that bit at the end where the paint started coming off....

JC: Yeah, when we were sealing it the first thing we used took paint off.

We had only done a little patch, which was good, so we had to touch that up. But really, I don’t think there is any such thing as a mistake; if there was a line or something we didn’t really like we could just change it and incorporate it.

MP: How did you know when you were finished?

JC: That is such a good question, people always ask me that....

HH: When it felt right. Once we finished what we thought we were going to do, and we stepped back and thought it didn’t need any more.

MP: How has the response been?

JC: The response we’ve gotten has been really awesome. We wanted it to feel like a gift to the students and staff here, and I think it has really been received that way. People have asked me, “Aren’t you worried about people destroying it?” No, not at all, I am not worried at all—I think people really respect it as a gift and that is how we intended it.

MP: Would you do the same kind of mural again if you had the chance?

JC: I think the process was great in terms of not having sketches and doing it as a visual conversation where we are, just responding to what the other person did before. I would work that way again, but I don’t think it would look the same, because it is a very personal and in-the-moment kind of painting.

April/May 2012

A&

Movie Review: This Means War

By CHRISTINA SEUNG

We’re only three months into the year 2012, yet we already have a top candidate for “Worst Movie.” This Means War, to put it simply, is about two CIA agents with a strong friendship who fall in love with the same girl: Lauren (Reese Witherspoon).

Although both FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy) are handsome and charming, the characters are quite different. FDR is the player with all sorts of social connections and Tuck is the sweet, British gentleman who is a divorced father of a little boy. Lauren is simply head-over-heels in love with both of them since they have such great qualities. With the help of her friend Trish (Chelsea Handler), she goes on dates with each of them and evaluates their pros and cons. Meanwhile, FDR and Tuck’s CIA skills and resources become useful. They abuse their spyware and weapons to monitor each other’s date in order to outdo one another. Eventually Lauren does pick one of the two, but just like any other mushy and cliche movie, the other guy standing in the dust finds another source of happiness.

Not only was this movie unoriginal but it was also very unbelievable. It’s one thing to film a love-triangle that breaks but eventually restores friendship. But to have scenes so utterly unconvincing such as Lauren quite calmly asking “What was that?” when Tuck fired a gun at FDR’s helicopter behind her head? Furthermore, the most unbeliev-

able part of the movie was Lauren’s total obliviousness of it all. Both FDR and Tuck roam around her house (of course neither of them know the other one is there) while she is making popcorn and dancing in her sweater and underwear. Chances are that she heard a footstep or caught a glimpse of either one of them but she didn’t. She also doesn’t seem to realize how each of them knows perfectly what she wants. For example, she tells Trish that she feels Tuck is too safe. For their next date, Tuck takes her to play paintball in which he shows off some of his CIA moves. Of course, just like a true hackneyed film, this is how she chooses the man of her dreams: Lauren is about to get killed on the road and must choose whether she’ll run to the right side of the road (where Tuck is pleading for her to come) or the left side (where FDR is urgently ordering her to come). She picks a side and consequently, the guy to whom her heart truly belongs.

It’s not that Witherspoon’s, Hardy’s, Pine’s or Handler’s acting was particularly horrible. Both Hardy and Pine tried their best. Witherspoon also oozed innocence and charming desperation. Handler was exactly like her real self: crude and funny.

McG obviously tried to reach all audiences, from the action-loving men to the romance-comedy-loving women. But instead of killing two birds with one stone—who am I kidding? He did kill it for both audiences.

The Magic Flute

The Secret World of Arrietty

By Sarah Buckser

Renowned Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli has just released its newest movie. Like all the studio’s previous hits: Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro, The Secret World of Arrietty is a quiet and beautiful film brimming with imagination.

The story is a new adaptation of Mary Norton’s The Borrowers, a book about tiny people who live under the floorboards of an old house. They live by “borrowing” bare necessities from their human hosts, on secret missions carried out in the middle of the night.

For Arrietty, a four inch tall borrower, things are simple. She lives with her mother and father, and is just old enough to begin borrowing. However, things change when a new “being” moves into the house.

Shawn is a very sick twelve year old boy who has come to visit his mother’s house the weekend before his big heart surgery. As he gets out of the car on his first day there he catches sight of something running through the grass. He soon finds out, to his astonishment, that it is Arrietty.

As Shawn learns more about the borrowers, he and Arrietty gradually become friends. In the end they must work together to save Arrietty’s house and family from destruction at the hands of the family maid.

I would definitely give this movie five out of five stars. It is subtle and very sweet , and although the plot is somewhat predictable the film made up for it with exquisitely drawn animation and luxurious background.

The voice of Arrietty is Bridget Mendler, and her parents are voiced by Amy Poehler and Will Arnett. The cast does a wonderful job, and really make their characters come alive. The Secret World of Arrietty is well worth seeing, and enjoyable for every age.

Wall of Sound:

The International Quick Playlist

By Teta Alim

PHOTO/PROVIDED

1. “#WhiteGirlProblems” by Hoodie Allen (US) from Leap Year Off Hoodie Allen’s latest mixtape, this song speaks the truth. Not only are the lyrics funny and honest, the beat is moving and very easy to groove to.

By ESTHER JEON

The production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute was put on and managed by Ithaca College. It was their fourth major performance of the year, preceding Plumfield Iraq, The Light in the Piazza, and Illuminated Bodies.

Upon entering the recently redone lobby, I was touched by a light atmosphere preparing me for a spectacular performance. There were no loud noises or crowds, but the show was sold out nevertheless. I milled about until the lights flickered, ushering us into the theater. With no delays, the opera began.

The set was so simple, yet so beautiful. It was a set of steps that led upwards, and the entire performance was held on them. Occasionally, a prop would be lowered from the sky to provide more scenery. The costume design was also exquisite, particularly Papageno’s outfit. Papageno was played elegantly by Steven Humes, who wore the feathery suit perfectly.

“The Queen of the Night,” however, stole the night away, as is typical in most productions of The Magic Flute.

It is rare to find a woman who can take on the role of “The Queen of the Night”; the part is incredibly difficult and it takes a very unique talent to tackle it. However, Mengchun Yang stunned the audience, and each of her hair-raising notes was an utterly brilliant sound exiting her mouth.

Other talented vocalists included Nicholas Harmantzis, who played the main character of the opera, Tamino, and Ana Strachan, who played Pamina.

Every character and designer helped create a wonderful night that will surely stay with me. I am looking forward to the next IC performance, Working!

2. “Escapee” by Architecture in Helsinki (Australia) from Moment Bends Although the name of the band has the capital of Finland in it, this band actually hails from sunny Melbourne, Australia.

Their fourth studio album gives us a surplus of indie pop perfection. This song is especially good to listen to on a warm, sunny day, riding in a convertible with the top down.

3. “Cruising Through” by Goldfish (South Africa) from Perceptions of Pacha If you’re looking for the perfect cruising song while driving – just like the title

suggests – look no further for Goldfish has arrived. This Cape Town band does dance music that has a perfect blend of jazz and African instrumentals.

4. “10,000 Nights of Thunder” by Alphabeat (Denmark) from This Is Alphabeat Alphabeat will always be one of my top five bands only because I have a soft spot for upbeat, catchy pop songs, especially with adorable lyrics. This song is especially sweet because it’s a duet between the male and female lead singers. Best love song ever? Quite possibly.

5. “Let You Down” by Hungry Kids of Hungary (Australia) from Escapades Don’t let the silly band name throw you off. Their first full-length album is full of indie rock goodness. “Let You Down” is a standout for me because of the awesome instrumental intro and the easy-to-remember chorus.

Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Concert

By Esther Jeon

The music programs in Ithaca are something that I would personally pick out as one of the best opportunities provided in Ithaca. Not only are there good teachers and orchestras to participate in, professional concerts are held almost every week at the Ithaca College. I haven’t been taking the advantage of this until just recently. I used the free tickets I got from Mr. Myers, because the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra gives out a few free ones for students to come and listen. On the evening of March 10th, I went to one of the orchestral series of Cayuga Chamber Orchestra (CCO). It was held at Ford Hall at Ithaca College.

The first piece was Celestial Fantasy, Op.44 by Hovhaness, a modern composer. In this piece, the cellos and the violas had the most interaction. There were only three viola players, but they sounded really unified and strong. One of the viola players was our IHS Orchestra conductor, Mr.Myers. It was a different feeling to see Mr.Myers as one of the orchestra members. Also, my private violin teacher was performing in the first violin section. This concert was a nice opportunity to see my teachers play.

The last two pieces were performed with a famous solo violinist, Benjamin Beilman.

Both pieces he played are famous: Romance in F Minor by Dvorak, and Zigeunerweisen

by Sarasate. I’ve listened to both of these before, so I found his performance very engaging. He was absolutely fabulous, making the concert especially memorable. I’m planning to go to more CCO concerts from now on.

Great obscure Authors Kenzaburō Ōe

A.J. Jacobs

By KELSEY SHANG

Biography: Born in 1968, Arnold Stephen Jacobs, Jr., or A.J. Jacobs, currently lives with his family in New York City. He works as the editor at large for Esquire, a men’s magazine, and is the author of three bestselling books, many of which are written as memoirs. Before you ask, ‘Why, this man isn’t obscure,’ please consider the following: Firstly, that wasn’t a question. But secondly, this brave man is someone that, I personally believe, everyone should at least know. Despite his deserved achievements, clever writers like Jacobs just aren’t recognized by the younger generation (but when Stephanie Meyers is being tube-fed into popular culture, who do we have to blame?). However, this may come to change as his works The Year of Living Biblically and My Outsourced Life are expected to be released in film.

Aside from writing, Jacobs periodically appears as a commentator on NPR’s Weekend Edition and a guest writer for other publications such as The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, New York magazine, and Dental Economics magazine.

PHOTO/PROVIDED

By JENSEN LO

Biography: Kenzaburō Ōe was born on the island of Shikoku, in Southern Japan, on January 31, 1935. As a child, he lost his father in World War Two and was raised by his mother who introduced him to literature at a young age. After graduating from high school, Ōe attended Tokyo University to study French literature. This prompted him to write his first set of works, primarily influenced by his studies of French and American literature at Tokyo University.

Despite being a celebrated author, having won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1994, Ōe‘s works are not as well-known in the United States.

Sample of Works: Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids (1958), A Personal Matter (1964), Hiroshima Notes (1965), The Silent Cry (1967), Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness (1969), The Day He Himself Shall Wipe My Tears Away (1972), The Pinch Runner Memorandum (1976), Rouse Up O Young Men of the New Age! (1983), A Healing Family (1995)

Why He is Great: Kenzaburō Ōe manages to take his writing to the next level by approaching topics considered taboo in Japan from sex to the conduct of Japanese soldiers during World War Two. While earning many literary awards in Japan, he has also dealt with lawsuit against him with allegations of defamation of Japanese soldiers; After pointing out their connection with mass suicides on the outlying Japanese islands (as the Allied Forces approached the mainland), the judge noted that such allegations had basis, and thereby resulting in his victory. Ōe blends traditional Japanese literature with modern American and French writing styles, creating a unique blend that not only preserves cultural heritage, but enhances it.

Synopsis of The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible (2007): In this memoir, A.J. Jacobs decides to spend one year following the Bible as exactly as possible. He listed and practiced more than seven-hundred Biblical rules and practices such as stoning adulterers, and the more obscure ones like not wearing mixed threads.

Witty and bold, he records the many experiences and individuals he encounters including an Amish family, a Bedouin shepherd and the New York City Atheists. And while “living Biblically” seems unnecessary and pointless in modern functionality, Jacobs takes time to explore the many fascinating aspects of religions and the immense implications it has upon our lives and beyond.

Why He is Great: Jacobs has an interesting philosophy in life in that he views his life as a social experiment. Simply by asking whether it can be done presents challenges he jumps to meet. And indulgently, we, as viewers, can catch a glimpse into what we’ve always wondered and live vicariously through his antics. While such experiences can become profound and enlightening, there’s nothing wrong with having a laugh as well.

PHOTO/PROVIDED

Synopsis of Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids (1958): Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids is the tale of fifteen teenage boys trying to work off their debt to society in Japan during World War Two. For some reason or another, they are all sent to a reformatory camp designed to correct behavior. Back in those days, the solution to any sort of behavioral issue was hard physical labor; the boys are assigned to a remote village to work in the fields.

However, the village is afflicted by plague,

and since the villagers aren’t aware of the cause, the boys are suspected as potential carriers of the plague. The villagers flee and lock the boys inside the village with the rotting corpses of plague-infested animals.

While the group initially acts like any group of undisciplined boys, by trashing the village, the narrator eventually manages to create a semblance of social order.

The narrator even manages to develop a romantic relationship with an abandoned girl found in a warehouse after the villagers leave.

After meeting a Korean boy, from a nearby village, and a deserter, from the Japanese army, who teach them to hunt and perform other tasks around the village, things start to look up for the group.

Then after a chapter of feel-good optimism, their world begins crashing down again.

Fearful of the authorities discovering such mistreatment of the boys, the villagers coerce the boys with bribery and violence to keep their secret. Only when the narrator refuses does he meet an uncertain fate.

Sample of Works: The Two Kings: Elvis and Jesus (1994), The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World (2004), My Outsourced Life (2005), The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible (2007), The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as An Experiment (2009), Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection (2012)

April/May 2012

Christopher Castellani

By CHRISTINA SEUNG

Biography: Christopher Castellani, the son of Italian immigrants who moved to America following World War II, was born in 1972. Although Castellani was born and raised in Delaware, his Italian heritage inspired him to write both of his acclaimed novels A Kiss From Maddalena and The Saint of Lost Things. In 2005, Castellani was nominated for the prestigious IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He was educated at Swarthmore College, Tufts University, and Boston University. Currently, Castellani lives in Arlington, Massachusetts and works as the Artistic Director of a non-profit creative writing center called “Grub Street.”

Sample of Works: A Kiss from Maddalena (2003), The Saint of Lost Things (2005)

Why He is Great: Aside from his personal connections to his Italian roots, Castellani paints a vivid and historically realistic picture of Italian immigrant families and women’s limited opportunities during the early 1950s. With descriptive, eloquent language, Castellani’s good eye for precise diction creates imagery that evokes powerful illustrations. He succeeds in portraying the normally cliché American Dream in a manner that is realistic, refreshing, and beautiful.

PHOTO/PROVIDED

Synopsis of The Saint of Lost Things (2005): This book follows several Italian immigrant families as they struggle against homesickness in their pursuit of the American Dream with their minimum-pay jobs. Maddalena Grasso,

the heroine, is married to Antonio. Although she still daydreams of what happened to her previous lover, she learns to accept Antonio’s growing love. Meanwhile, Antonio contemplates stopping his friend, Renato, from committing a potentially serious crime. In addition, he struggles to make ends meet while working at a car factory in hopes of providing Maddalena with a high-quality American life. Over the course of the novel, Maddalena and her family befriend Giulio, a talented, soulful singer who lost both of his parents.

He becomes Maddalena’s confidant of her worries, desires and memories until he finds a lover on his own.

John Green

PHOTO/PROVIDED

By SIENA SCHICKEL

Biography: In the universe of YouTube, in the land of the nerdfighters, there is a channel called the Vlogbrothers, seemingly dedicated to educating the public about honey badgers and the multiverse; the Green brothers have even stated that, “Really, it’s not about anything in particular. Whether we’re talking about our lives, making each other laugh, or trying to get something more important across, people seem to enjoy it.”

One of the brothers, John Green, has been writing young adult fiction since 2005, including (in chrono-

logical order) Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances (a collaboration with Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle), Paper Towns, Will Grayson, Will Grayson (a collaboration with David Levithan), and The Fault in Our Stars. Green has received numerous awards, including the Michael L. Printz award for his first two novels and the 2009 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel. Three of his novels, Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, and The Fault in Our Stars, have been considered for movie release.

Most prominent is his success with his latest novel.

For seven weeks it was listed as #1 on the New York Times Best-Seller List for Children’s Books. Green signed 150,000 copies of the pre-ordered books in Sharpie colors pre-determined by a percentage of votes from fans. When it was discovered shortly afterward that international buyers received unsigned copies due to an underestimation, Green sent the readers signed bookplates. If John Green had signed one book every five seconds 24/7 with no breaks, it would take him over a week to finish. It was a wonder followers of his vlog didn’t see his hand in a cast after the books were sent off!

Sample of Works: Looking for Alaska (2005), An Abundance of Katherines (2006), Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances (2008), Paper Towns (2008), Will Grayson, Will Grayson (2010),

The Fault in Our Stars (2012) Synopsis of The Fault in Our Stars (2012): Hazel Grace Lancaster is sixteen years old and has cancer. She is diagnosed with thyroid cancer at age twelve, with seemingly no possible cure, until a miracle drug gives her a few extra years. Although this is supposed to allow her to go back to living a normal life, she develops clinical depression, avoiding friends, school, and life. Things are looking pretty down, and a support group with fellow young cancer patients isn’t helping, until she meets Augustus Waters. The book follows Hazel’s journey out of her depression as she falls in love with Augustus and discovers the joys in life that she had shied away from for the past two years. Green covers the full spectrum of human emotion in his book, making the reader laugh and cry within the same chapter. It is truly a wonderful read and a book not easily forgotten.

Why He is Great: So if you haven’t already read something by John Green, I highly recommend you do. Among modern young adult authors, Green has captured the essence of a good novel: like every good story or even life itself, there is a mix of humor, love, sadness, and happiness.

That combination makes a story three-dimensional (as opposed to a flat or boring storyline) and gives it life. Any future books he writes will probably require an army of robots to sign the pre-ordered copies to avoid permanently damaging his hand.

Katherine Dunn

By LEO WINTERS

Biography: In 1945, Katherine Dunn was born in Kansas but spent most of her life in Oregon. She attended college in Portland and, following her graduation, traveled around Europe. After having a child in Ireland, she returned, with her son, to Portland, where she hosted a radio show in which she read short stories.

Dunn had numerous odd jobs until she wrote her first novel in 1970.

Sample of Works: Attic (1970), Truck (1971), Geek Love (1989)

PHOTO/PROVIDED

Synopsis of Geek Love (1989): If you saw the cover of Geek Love, Katherine Dunn’s most well known novel today, you would probably assume it to be a teenage comedy about two socially inept teenagers who engage in an adorably awkward romance with one another; however, you couldn’t be more wrong.

First of all, the term “geek” has changed pretty drastically over time. It was originally used (as in this book) to describe sideshow carnies who would bite the heads off of chickens in

front of live audiences.

Now, “geek” is used as a label for unpopular kids and Best Buy computer repair men. Within Dunn’s novel, we explore the definition of this traditional and contemporary word.

Rather than a modern-day romance novel, Geek Love is about a family of traveling circus freaks: Olympia, an albino hunchbacked dwarf (the protagonist), Arturo, her brother who has flippers for arms and legs, and Electra and Iphigenia, her Siamese twin sisters. They are all disfigured due to their parents’ use of amphetamines and radioisotopes in order to breed their own slew of freak shows. The characters in Geek Love are filled with so much personality that their deformities soon become the least interesting trait about them.

Why She is Great: Katherine Dunn is an impressive author simply because of the great risks she takes in her writing without sacrificing the quality of her storytelling. With plots revolving around human oddities, and sometimes rambling paragraphs which stretch on for pages and pages, it would be easy to dismiss Dunn as an author who tries too hard to be outside the norm. Instead, her stories and characters are so immensly and immediately absorbing that, as soon as you get one sentence deep into her novels, she proves to be anything but pretentious.

New Visions:

Ithaca Occupies Everywhere: the Park, the B ookstore, the Heart

An Unforgettable Hunger Event

By LUCY DUAN

PHOTO/MARY LAUPPE

Imagine if 25,000 people lined up before you each day and took a bullet to the head. How would you feel? Thankfully, this doesn’t happen. Well, it doesn’t exactly happen. Although 25,000 people aren’t murdered on the spot each day, this is the number of people who die each day from hunger or related causes. Global hunger is not something that occupies my brain. I have “more immediate things” to worry about: school, friends, extracurriculars, Asian parents, [not] having a life… (these last two points may be somewhat related. Ahem). It’s only every once in awhile when I hear outrageous statistics that I feel pain and motivation to take action.

To raise awareness of hunger at a global and local level, the New Visions Life Sciences Class of 2012 will host an event known as the Oxfam Hunger Banquet. At this event, guests randomly draw tickets that assign them to different income levels, based on the latest statistics about the number of people living in poverty. Depending on where they sit, some receive a filling dinner, while others eat a simple meal or share sparse portions of rice and water.

Oxfam Hunger Banquet guests can also take on the roles of real people from around the world and share their experiences with others.

Sarah Nell Davidson, Director of the Durable Rust Resistant Wheat Project. In addition Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug will be attending. Although you probably won’t leave the Oxfam Hunger Banquet with a full stomach, you will gain a new perspective on the root causes of hunger and poverty—and will hopefully do something about it.

As if free food and learning more about poverty and hunger aren’t enough to motivate you to come to our wonderful event, you could also get extra credit in your Social Studies classes. Kindly ask your teachers if they are offering extra credit (beg if necessary), and if so, be sure to obtain a slip that we will sign at the event to confirm your attendance.

The Oxfam Hunger Banquet will take place on April 19, 2012 from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at the Community School of Music and Arts (330 East State Street, Ithaca, NY).

Admission to this event is free, although we appreciate donations of $2 or nonperishable food items to donate to the local food banks.

We hope to see you all there!

Occupy Ithaca’s outpost in Dewitt Park.

By PETER ALEXANDER and HANNAH GEORGE Staff Writer

The Occupy Ithaca movement is not as easy to locate as one might think. Sure, you can see the tents set up in DeWitt Park day after day – but it’s the middle of the winter.

Does anyone actually sleep there?

Even in this unseasonably warm winter, most of the tents are just symbolic. The first thing you might notice is that the cluster of tents has moved from their prominent location on the corner of DeWitt Park to an area next to the First Baptist Church. At first glance, it may seem to be devoid of life, but investigation would reveal that the smallest tent – nearly hidden beneath several tarps and fresh snow– houses a single occupier who revealed that the movement in its current form meets in the upstairs area of Autumn Leaves, the used bookstore on the Commons.

An interesting group can be found there – not the college-age radicals you would expect for a protest movement like this, but a more distinguished group of men and women, with Bluetooth headsets, thick glasses, gray hairs to spare, and an intently focused but welcoming demeanor.

One of the women, Claire, offered some insight into the way the Ithaca government has responded to the encampment. “The mayor and city attorney came back in November when we first started the encampment. They came the next day and brought an application for a permit. Some people went to apply for a permit, but in the process of negotiating, it was continually brought up that ‘Because you did this without first seeking a permit, we do not feel beholden to honor this process with the permit.’ That was an interesting little catch-22.”

Claire also explained how the movement has evolved.

“When we first started camping at the park, we were all involved with anti-fracking, food justice, anti-police brutality, ending war... It was freezing, it was cold, [but] it seemed that being out in that public space was energizing all that work that people were already doing. Now it’s kind of in a little dormant period. I’ve begun to trust that there are waves of what we’re doing and that it’s time to come inside.”

Their current work, in addition to maintaining the symbolic occupation of DeWitt Park, consists largely of spreading awareness through pamphlets and workshops.

They are in the process of putting together a larger booklet

concerning the goals of the movement that they hope to distribute to Occupiers across the country. Funding is an issue when it comes to large-scale productions like this, as is working around other commitments the active members may have, but their firm dedication to the movement keeps them moving forward. A pamphlet they had already created was being given out at a workshop in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. and exemplifies one of their many focuses. Titled “Ithaca’s Move to Amend the Constitution,” it discusses the history of corporate personhood and how the addition of the word natural to the 14th amendment would fix the loophole that has given the United States “the best government that money can buy.” In the past, there have been other workshops, including one on white privilege and another called “Shawn Greenwood: Race, Criminalization, and Profit Making.”

Ithaca is frequently referred to as “10 square miles surrounded by reality,” which leads to the question: why occupy Ithaca? Without missing a beat, Claire responded, “Occupy everywhere. And as one friend has said, occupy your heart. It’s symbolic of being conscious, present, and engaging each other. Why not Ithaca? It’s where we live. It’s like [asking] ‘Why eat in Ithaca?’”

The movement has received criticism about lacking a focus, but perhaps only because its focus is so much larger and all-encompassing than those of protests in the past. A large part of the movement is about exercising freedom of speech and freedom of the press. “We’ve lost the culture of practicing the First Amendment if we ever had it....We’re trying to reclaim it,” said Claire. In the end, it’s about creating a brighter future, taking hold of the arc of history and bending it towards a better place. Claire continued, “For me, just the fact that you’re not just by yourself doing this but that you’re coming together, with others in your community, in public space, is the beginning of solving the problem, of all of these problems. All of the things that are hurting our community and our world are all connected.

No one person can do everything.”

We thanked Claire for her time and were turning to leave when she dashed back with a final message for us.

Eyes bright, she whispered, “The future is yours!” These four words sum up the kind of hope and energy that pervades the Occupy movement; rather than live with injustices, these people are fighting them for the people, for the next generation, and for you.

11

April/May 2012

Programming Power: Code Red at Finger Lakes Regionals

By ALEKSA BASARA Staff Writer

PHOTO/DAVID LIM

You’ve probably seen them wearing their red “639” shirts all around school, talking in weird tech language and hanging out everyday after school until 8 PM. Maybe you’ve asked yourself, “What is this all for?”

During the second week of March from the 8th to the 10th, the IHS Code Red Robotics Team members went to Rochester, New York for the Finger Lakes Regional to show off the end product of their dedication, sweat, and skills. This robotics competition was held at the Gordon Field House at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and attracted teams from Ohio to New York to Canada. In a nutshell, “It is all robots competing and kids dancing and having a good time,” explains Ian Krywe, one of the involved teachers who went to the competition. The time at the tournament is divided up between practicing and getting out any kinks, participating in qualifying rounds, and then finals.

One of the highlights of the competition is balancing three robots on a bridge. There were 41 teams that attended the event, and these teams were randomly broken up into sets, or alliances (3 teams per set). These sets had to work together to balance each of their three robots on a single bridge. As this kind of competition happened all over the country, one can easily see why being one of the few teams to successfully perform

IHS’s Code Red team members cheer on each other.

this task is impressive. “We were the 3rd team to balance the three robots out of all the teams that competed during weeks one and two,” adds Krywe. As this was a very hard feat to pull off, the team was able to relax after it was over, and Krywe recalls that the optimists on the team got to say, “I told you so!”

A total of eight sets made it to the final rounds.

After being knocked out in the semifinals, the team finished 3rd. Out of the 41 teams in attendance, our Code Red team placed 6th overall after the ten qualifying matches. Along the way to the finish line, team 639 was awarded the Engineer-

ing Inspiration Award. To earn what is perhaps the second most prestigious award, behind actually winning the competition, a team must display good communication, present themselves well, and perform consistently well during matches.

As Mr. Krywe later said, “The next step for the team is to prepare for our regional in Washington D.C. the last weekend of March.” In addition, the team needs to raise about $20,000 to go to the championship in St. Louis in April. Now, if you see a Code Red Robotics member wearing the red shirt, know that their goal is to contribute to this well-oiled machine of a team.

Model UN Team Wins at UNAR

By EMILY SCARPULLA

PHOTO/KIM LASHER

international issues representing different countries. UNAR had schools from all over Upstate New York attending. IHS represented Norway and Cuba, which The IHS Model United Nations Club took home a big win from the United excited many students because they had the choice to represent a socialist deNations Association of Rochester (UNAR) Conference, bringing home nine mocracy or a dictatorship, both of which are different from the political systems awards. Tracy Lai ‘14 and of the United States.

Mike Hall ‘13 both won “For a few days we step Best Delegate in their out of just being high school committees, and Mark Destudents and take on the marest ‘12, Paddy Nopany role of being world lead‘12, and Emily Scarpulla ers, working to make the ‘14 got Outstanding Delworld a better place,” says egate awards. These two Ms. Lasher, the Model UN awards give the opportuadviser. “This past confernity to chair—meaning ence was a huge success— running a committee—at we debated, made resoluthe Hilton 2012 confertions, and represented our ence. Medeea Popescu ‘13 school. I was thrilled to chaired the World Health have so many underclassOrganization committee men do so well.” Over half at this UNAR. Kupono Liu of the students at this past ‘14, Kayleen Fan ‘14 won conference were underBest New Delegate. In adclassmen, which suggests dition, Chris Skawski ‘14, a hopeful future for the and Ryan Hawthorne ‘12 club. The next conference received Honorable Menwill be right here at home: tions.

The Cornell Model United The Model UN Club is Nations Conference is an a major part of many stuinternational conference dents’ lives at IHS. “Model held at Cornell University UN is the best thing that that has schools coming all ever happened to me!” the way from South Africa said Erika Uchigasaki and India to debate. IHS ‘14. “It’s also going to be a is representing Pakistan, big part of my future beBelgium, and North Korea. cause I plan on becoming This conference will be a diplomat.” The club has held from March 29th to brought many unlikely April 1st, so wish our delpeople together to solve Model UN delegates attend a committee at UNAR. egates luck!

12

April/May 2012

Bounced Chapter 7

By KELSEY SHANG

We’ve reached the point of no return: after Danny finds himself and Olivia in a tight situation, he resorts to selling the rest of his life in order to support Olivia. However, after a failed assassination attempt, we learn more about the darker side of the Garden.

Read the next chapter in the June issue of the Tattler!

By HANNAH GEORGE Staff Writer

ments from both seniors and freshmen. “It was so good. I pretty much rocked out,” said Sylvia Estes ‘12. Another senior, Meghan Mapes, said, “I think it was so successful. It was the best dance I’ve been to.” A group of freshman girls also had laudatory remarks. “The band was good,” said April Carroll ‘15. Rori Henderson ‘15 commented that “it was a lot classier than past dances.” “I would go again,” said Alex Kilts ‘15, which is a reassuring sign regarding future dances.

What sets this dance apart from others in the past is probably the reaction of teachers and administrators. “I think it went great,” said Ms. Gray. “I think a lot of kids were exposed to a band they weren’t familiar with and they enjoyed it. I enjoyed being a chaperone for the first time in a long time. The food was awesome. The venue was amazingly decorated. I appreciate the work the senior class officers, Mr. Mellander, and Ms. McKown put in.”

“I think it went really well,” said Mr. Powers. “The ability to sit and socialize was new.

I thought it was a really nice night. This is the model we’re going to use in the future.”

When asked about whether this kind of dance was a sustainable model, he replied, “I think so.

If that momentum builds, it’s sustainable. I think we got new kids who came who’d never come before. We are a high school of about 1500 kids. If only 300 show up bumping and grinding, that’s not all the kids anyway. The dress code helped. I think we still have a ways to go, but we were far better attired than we were previously.”

In response to confusion concerning the dance’s dress code policy, Mr. Powers explained, “Cultural shifts do not take place overnight. I’m putting [the dance] last week in the ‘win’ column. These students saw that it was okay to be appropriately attired and perhaps in the future there will be less of a cultural push to find the skimpiest outfit. This is part of a longer-term trajectory. A cultural shift at school takes anywhere from 3-8 years depending on what you do. This was day one. I think it was pretty good.”

In addition to better dress and dance behavior, the administration experienced another win.

“We had no suspensions for drugs or alcohol, so that was a nice step forward as well, because normally, one of us goes home covered in something,” said Mr. Powers.

“We were extremely pleased collectively,” said Ms. Little. “It was nice to be able to have fun with you all and not have to feel like we’re hovering over you or making you feel like you’re doing something wrong. We had a fabulous time. I think it was a success overall.”

Despite many students’ feelings of uncertainty and skepticism leading up to the event, Winter Formal was a clear success. Winter Formal, this year also called “The Sim Redmond Jam,” was substantially different from dances of years past. What used to be a “grindfest” experienced a complete transformation into a classy sit-down dinner with live music provided by the local Sim Redmond Band. Posters outside Mr. Powers’s office in the weeks prior to the dance set dress code guidelines, which were generally followed.

On Saturday, March 10, the evening at the Lakewatch Inn began early at 6 p.m. The space helped set the mood with its high ceiling, softly twinkling strings of lights, and internal secondfloor balcony. The first hour saw the steady arrival of guests and socializing as tables ringing the dance floor on both levels were claimed for dinner. This display of civility especially impressed Mr. Powers, who reportedly said, “Look, they’re talking to each other!” The second-floor balcony also had an “open bar” which provided refreshing juice and soda combinations upon request. Some students, myself included, had some difficulty securing seating with friends, but all issues were quickly and easily resolved as soon as it was announced that students would be called to the buffet by table starting at 7 p.m.

(Amelia Kaufman ‘12, Julia John ‘13, and I ended up dining with the Sim Redmond Band.) The food, which included salad, pasta, green beans, mashed potatoes, cornbread, rolls, and a choice of meat, surpassed everyone’s expectations. “The food was amazing,” said Maggie Mojo ‘15. During dinner, music from an iPod was played softly in the background. Sim wondered if the students would dance or not, and even contemplated playing Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough” if no one got on the dance floor.

His worries were unfounded, however. When 8 o’clock rolled around, the band began to play and the dance floor started to fill up, thought a bit tentatively at first. As the band played, servers meandered in and out of the swaying crowd with trays of freshly-baked cookies for dessert.

This seems to have made Sim a bit jealous, since in between songs he asked the crowd how the cookies were. Midway through the first hour, the song “Save Me” was dedicated to Ms. Gray, who is a friend of Sim’s. The band played for a full hour before taking a break at 9 p.m., when they finally got to have some dessert. During this interlude, prizes were raffled off using a random number generator. Among the prizes raffled off were gift cards to Wegmans, Starbucks, and Gimme, and the Sim Redmond Band “Live at Grassroots” CD. After the break, the dance floor was packed like never before, but everyone continued to dance only face-to-face, with the exception of the two giant conga lines that broke out spontaneously and shifted the entire dance floor. Some of the songs played during the evening were “Potholes,” “Arms Around the Sun” and “All I Ever.” When bassist Dan Merwin had a solo on the African drum, the entire room went wild. People were dancing in a frenzy and jumping to the irresistible beat. In one word, the dance style can be described as: Grassroots. The evening ended promptly at 10 p.m., which seemed for many all too soon. As the room started clearing out, the band was coaxed into taking a picture with some of the guests most reluctant to leave.

The Sim Redmond Jam received very positive comStudents dance to the Sim Redmond Band at Winter Formal.

PHOTO/SARAH STRUPP-LEVITSKY

Uninvited. The Bookie’s mouth hung ajar in slight disbelief. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, this man should have been dead, wiped away from existence. And yet, there stood the shade of a memory, back to haunt his wounded conscience again. But somehow, the Bookie felt relieved knowing that he had another chance to escape from his former self.

“Danny– what are you doing here?”

As Danny’s chest heaved up and down, beads of sweat trickled down the contours of his neck and stained his jacket collar. He knew there was no point in fighting it: the urge to see the journey’s end. The man stepped forward. The Bookie felt his eyes cloud as the red dust from Danny’s jacket released spores throughout the Garden and felt his world ingest, and almost savor, the decay.

“Do you know what you are? You’re a con. You lure horrible, wretched people with glittering things, hopes even.

You tried to murder me. You paid me to die.” There almost existed a condescending sneer in Danny’s throat.

“And what makes you believe that you’re any better, Danny? You played into the system yourself,” the Bookie stated without wavering. “I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no saint.

But the last thing I am is a murderer. It’s you, you people.

You waste away your life accomplishing nothing. And then you lay, at your death bed, wallowing and pondering of all the things you could have done. Even though everything comes at a cost, I’m there providing people second chances.

I thought you, above all people, would at least understand that.”

Danny felt his skin bubble, struggling to suppress the frenzied traffic of his veins and arteries. He wanted to speak.

Longed to speak. Ached to speak. But the words boiled up within his throat and dissipated into bitter foam which lingered on his tongue. There were too many unanswered questions, things he knew would remain an enigma for eternity.

“Shut up! You’re evil! You’ve messed with my life from the beginning!”

“Danny, I’m sorry. I want to tell you, but I’m not in the wrong here. And I will show you.” The foam began to choke Danny’s voice forcing harsh sobs from his lips. The seconds drew nearer and more short-lived.

“I never wanted you to sell the rest of your life in the first place. I like you too much; I can’t lose you again. I know your father would have never wanted me to allow it. I promised him–” The Bookie was cut short.

And before Danny took another breath, a burly figure, bristling with violent tenacity, hurled itself through the door frame. The final player had entered the game: Paul Bruce.

With a twisted smile, Bruce’s eyes turned to face Danny.

A sickening atmosphere took grip of the Garden.

“I hurried as fast as I could after your TeleCall, Dan. It’s a good thing you did,” Bruce licked his lips as his face twitched with a tantalizing passion. “Now, I’ll finally get that son of a bitch.” There was a look of pure horror on the Bookie’s face.

“You sold me out! You sold me out!” the Bookie howled.

“You trusted him? What the hell is wrong with you?” The seconds drew nearer and more short-lived.

“Enough talk,” Bruce sardonically smirked. “I’ve waited this long. But now I’ve got you this time, you piece of shit.”

With a swift, and almost rehearsed, movement, Bruce pulled out a pistol from his gray coat pocket. But the Bookie was the type to act on his feet.

With lightning-like reflexes, the Bookie drew his gun and cleanly fired. With a dull, petrified look, Danny watched in dread as Bruce clutched his arm and fell backwards. The investigator’s pistol clattered to the wooden floor. The redness began to bloom and spread quickly from in between his fingers. The investigator coughed, squeezing his shoulder tighter and tighter. From the corner of his eye, the Bookie disappeared into the same dark familiarity that the three men knew so well.

Danny bent down and began applying pressure to Bruce’s wound. In a prideful gesture, Bruce roughly shrugged him off with a look of fitful annoyance.

“Get away from me.” Bruce withdrew a TeleCom from his side and began to dial.

Without any further thought, Danny picked up the fallen pistol, aimed, and fired. It was enough. The end was near.

Winter Formal a Success

Athlete Feature: Emma Eldredge, Interscholastic Polo

MLB

Postseason Changes

PHOTO/PROVIDED

By CASHEL STEWART Staff Writer

IHS polo players (from left) Olivia Barton, Emma Elderedge, Elena Wicker and Bryanna King bring home All-Star honors.

By SIENA SCHICKEL

For the past 20 years, the Cornell polo team has been running an interscholastic team of high school students, six of whom attend IHS. Women’s Cornell polo coach David Eldredge also coaches the high school team, and has led the girls to many victories, most notably against the Garrison Forest high school team, known for winning the national women’s title a whopping 13 times since 1992, according to their website.

Although polo has a reputation for being an English rich man’s sport because of its origins, the high school team has players from all backgrounds, including IHS student Emma Eldredge ‘13, who has known polo all her life.

“I was introduced to polo basically when I was born,” Eldredge said in an interview. “My dad is the head coach of polo at Cornell and my mom also coaches. They have both played since they were kids and my sister plays as well.”

The team uses polo ponies provided by Cornell University, as well as the facilities there. For those who aren’t familiar with polo, the “ponies” that they ride are actually full-grown horses, with names that never changed throughout the history of the sport.

Eldredge stated that, “It’s a very intense and fast game. It can also be very painful because you have horses slamming into you as hard as they can. Two-thousand-pound horses crushing your and your opponents’ legs against each other can give you some serious bruises. There is a lot of strategy involved and you definitely have to know your teammates and work with them.”

The interscholastic team has had a season of success this year, winning 18-17 against Garrison Forest to make it into the national finals, where they lost 15-18. Eldredge also came home with an All-Star honor.

“I definitely hope to play polo at Cornell in college and I hope to continue polo even after college,” Eldredge said.

Cascadilla Boat Club Update

By JULIA JOHN

On February 19, several members of the Cascadilla Boat Club drove in carpools to Boston for a regatta called C.R.A.S.H.-B, waiting for the races to come.

C.R.A.S.H.-B, originally meaning “Charles River All Star Has-Beens” was started by a number of Olympic athletes in 1980, after the U.S. chose to boycott the 1980 games. At first they competed amongst themselves, but then decided to break up the winter months with a rowing competition, using the new and improved ergometer.

The race grew rapidly from there. This year, the race was held indoors in the Agganis Arena, the hockey stadium at Boston University. This was a worldwide competition, where 75 people could compete individually on ergs at

one time. Athletes were divided into groups by both age and two-kilometer-race times. Races were two kilometers in length. Once organized into groups, the races began. Members of CBC raced on the 20th throughout the morning and mid-afternoon and did very well. Notably, Olivier McNicoll ’12 placed 9th in the “18 and under” division.

The crew team also had the chance to get to know Boston while they were there. They attended an open house at the Harvard Men’s Boathouse and were given a tour.

They got a nice pre-race dinner in Quincy Market the night before the race. Molly Pritz ’13 summed up the experience: “It was a great opportunity for exposure as a club and individuals, and it was really nice to reconnect with friends from other teams as well.”

A new format of the Major League Baseball postseason will be put in place this year. The new format will allow more teams a chance to play in the postseason or playoffs.

In previous years, four teams from each conference (the American League and the National League) advanced to the playoffs; three were the first place in their division, and the fourth was a wildcard winner. The wildcard was awarded to the remaining team in each league with the best regular season record.

Now, with the new changes, there will be two wildcards. The two teams with the best records who didn’t get first in their division will each be awarded a wildcard and a chance in the postseason. These two teams will play each other in a one-game playoff, where the winner advances. After this point, it will continue like a normal postseason.

With any dramatic change made to any major sport, there are disputes about whether the system will be better than it was before.

The opposing argument would be that the new format is unfair, because the first wildcard may lose to the second wildcard, and not advance, when before the first wildcard would have advanced anyway.

However, matchups between two teams from the same division, which had never been possible under the four team format, are possible; matchups between the two teams with the best record in their league, which had not been possible since 1997, are also possible.

Also, for the baseball lovers, this means more baseball!

14

April/May 2012

Cashel’s Corner Tiger Back on Track

By CASHEL STEWART Staff Writer

PHOTO/PROVIDED

It had been years since Tiger Woods had an official win when he won this weekend. Since the sexual scandal in 2009 that rocked his career and soured his reputation, Tiger had been struggling. To review the scandal quickly, information leaked out of Tiger sleeping with many different women; this lead to him breaking up with his wife and taking a break from golf. So much has transpired since then, so much negativity and upheaval and injury, that many wondered if this day would ever come. Woods won for the 72nd time in his PGA Tour career with a hard-fought final round at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, where he won by 5 strokes. This win could provide momentum that gets him back on track.

It was the Arnold Palmer Invitational that Tiger had won six times before.

Unfortunately, Arnold Palmer had to leave midway. The 82-year-old left due to a blood pressure issue, but Tiger got all the congratulations he needed from his loyal fans who stayed with him through the hard times. This win was the first step in a hopefully full recovery of Woods.

However, one thing everyone must understand is that Tiger will never reach a climax again; he’s 36 and will most likely never dominate like he did a decade ago. And yet, Woods is hitting it farther and straighter. He led the field in greens hit in regulation at Bay Hill with 57 of 72. So don’t count Tiger out in the Master’s; he’s still a real contender. He’s already won it four times! Some of his main competition includes: Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, and Phil Mickelson. Tiger would have always been in the run for the green jacket, but this win made it seemingly more likely.

I’ve never been a fan of golf, but I’ve always been a fan of Tiger.

Tiger Woods is back on top.

Wacky Sport: Bossaball

Wacky Sport: Worm Charming

PHOTO/PROVIDED

By CASHEL STEWART Staff Writer

Bossaball is enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

By RUBIN DANBERG-BIGGS Staff Writer

This year’s Super Bowl once again broke the record for most watched television program, breaking last year’s record. But besides football, there’s a new sport for America to fall in love with: Bossaball. Invented in Belgium about ten years ago, Bossaball has become wildly popular in Brazil, the Netherlands, Spain, Romania, Ecuador, and Singapore; it’s not too surprising, as this may be the most amazing sport ever invented. Ever.

Bossaball is a mix of soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, trampolines, and awesomeness. The entire game is played in what amounts to a bounce

house with the walls and roof taken off. A volleyball net is placed in the middle, and in the area right in front of each side of the net, there is a trampoline embedded in the inflated playing surface.

Teams are made up of five players but are allowed substitutes. Players are allowed to touch the ball twice with their bodies but only once with their hands as they pass it around, eventually hitting it over the net to the waiting opponent. One player will often stay on the trampoline so that other players can hit the ball to them and they can leap above the net and spike it. As if this sport could not get any better, salsa becomes involved: salsa

write

music is often played while players perform flips and acrobatic dances to the delight of the crowd. Surprisingly, an entire Bossaball court can be assembled in under 45 minutes, making it somewhat more practical than other sports.

Whatever your interests, you cannot deny that Bossaball is just an incredible idea that we should all try at some point. Despite being very strange, elaborate, and kind of expensive, Bossaball is an international sport that is great for everyone. With its combination of thrilling acrobatics, exciting competition, and good music, Bossaball is definitely one for the bucket list.

The sport of worm charming, also known as worm grunting and worm fiddling, is very simple. Each competitor gets a patch of ground and a certain amount of time to bring as many worms to the surface as they can. Competitors can use just about any method they wish, but most methods include some sort of vibrating the ground, as this encourages the worms to the surface.

One of the first worm charming events took place at Willaston County Primary School in Willaston, Cheshire.

The original rules for the competition were written there by then-headmaster John Bailey in 1980. It was then that the World Worm Charming Championships were held. Some rules of the British and European Federation of Wormcharmers include a plot no greater than 3 meters by 3 meters, a five-minute warm-up period, a three-person team of charmer, catcher, and counter, and the rule that that all worms must be returned to the ground after the contest according to the British Association of Worm Length Supporters (BAWLS). Devon Worm Charming Festival, Canadian Worm Charming Championship and Festival, and the American Worm Gruntin’ Festival are three current events associated with worm charming.

The current world record was established on June 29, 2009 by 10-year-old Sophie Smith of Willaston, England who raised 567 worms during Britain’s World Worm Charming Championship.

email editor@ihstattler.com

Quiz: Summer Plans Only two months left! Time to start thinking about your summer plans. Take this quiz to find out how you should be planning to spend your summer.

By ANNELISE RAYMOND and NAOMI RAYMOND

1) What kind of books are on your bookshelf? a. Romance novels b. Sci-fi novels c. Do-it-yourself instruction books d. Adventure books e. Picture books 2) What’s one food you wouldn’t mind eating every day? a. Chobani yogurt b. Grapples c. Kale smoothies d. Clif bars e. Ice cream 3) Which of the below awesome houses would you most like to live in? a. A longhouse b. A glass house c. A hippie Volkswagen d. An igloo e. A hollow tree (like Piglet in Winnie the Pooh!)

4) It’s game night with the family. Which game gets your vote? a. Therapy b. Trivial Pursuit c. Life d. DDR

e. War 5) What would your Native American name be? a. Whispering Bird b. Wise Oak c. Dancing Water d. Running Sky e. Stargazer 6) Which iPhone app would you download? a. Twitter b. Team Umizoomi Math c. Milkshake Maker d. iMap My Run e. Sleep Cycle alarm clock 7) What’s the most treasured thing that you’ve kept from elementary school? a. Your valentines b. The electric motor you made in 4th grade c. The Native American story project you made on a piece of parchment (crumpled-up paper towel) d. Your soccer ribbons e. Your book review of Captain Underpants 8) What would you prefer as a party favor? a. Cell phone accessory stickers b. A Rubik’s Cube c. A locally made peace sign necklace d. Water balloons e. Fun Dip sugar sticks

9) Which of the below APUSH extra credit projects would you do? a. Get your friends to join you in a debate between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, modeling the Continental Congress b. Make a simple computer game with General Custer chasing the Indians c. An essay about how Wilson’s Fourteen Points could have achieved world peace d. Play octopus tag with your class, imitating WWI e. Why bother?

Which letter did you get the most?

Mostly a’s: You should get a summer job, perhaps at Wegmans or CTB. You’d be great working with customers!

Mostly b’s: You should look into an internship for this summer. You could shadow a doctor at the hospital or help with research at the Cornell plant science lab. You love learning, so do what you love!

Mostly c’s: You’d have a great time as a summer camp counselor! Meet new people and spend some time outside.

Mostly d’s: Stay active this summer by setting a goal for yourself that keeps you moving. Build a clubhouse or bike to Washington, D.C. Mostly e’s: Spend your summer relaxing. Sleep in; meditate in your hammock. Take some time to enjoy life and the beautiful summer weather.

Mindbenders 1. Road trip time! You’re going 300 miles and want to average 60 mph.

At the halfway point, you realize you’ve only been going 30 mph (oops).

How fast do you have to go for the rest of the trip to average 60 mph?

2. Quick! You’re in your windowless, concrete, watertight bathroom locked in from the outside. Your bathtub is filling with water and the tap is broken; you can’t turn the water off! How do you stop yourself from drowning?

3. How many times should you flip a regular coin if you want a 50% chance of getting 3 or more heads?

4. You are trapped in a 50 x 50 x 50 foot room whose bottom is magically suspended 100 feet above the ground. Two 50-foot ropes are cemented to the ceiling of the room, a foot or so apart. There is a window in one corner of the room with a strong hook cemented to the floor. If you had 100 feet of rope, you could tie one end to the hook and use the rest to lower yourself to the ground. Unfortunately, you can’t just climb one of the ropes and cut them both down — the 50-foot fall would kill you. As a matter of fact, you can only survive falls of up to 10 feet. The ropes are sturdy, but only just able to support your body weight — if you cut one of them in half lengthwise (to make 100 feet of rope), it would snap. You have a sharp knife and are good at climbing ropes and tying knots, but that’s it. How do you get to the ground alive?

4. Let’s call the ropes 1 and 2. Tie the end of 2 around your waist and climb 1. Cut 1 off at 10 feet from the ceiling, and make a loop with the part which is still attached to the ceiling; tie the bottom of rope 1 (which is around your waist) to this loop. Move over to this loop and cut all of rope 2 from the ceiling, hanging on to the top; tie the end of rope 2 to the free end of rope 1; you now have 90 feet of rope! Making sure to thread it through the loop, climb down from the loop and pull the rope through the loop. Tie your rope to the hook and descend through the window.

3. Only 5! You are guaranteed to have 3 or more heads OR 3 or more tails (how could you not?), and the probability of either is equally like because of the symmetry of a coin: 50%.

2. Pull the plug and let the tub drain.

1. You’d have to teleport. If you averaged 60 mph, you’d take 5 hours to go 300 miles. 150 miles at 30 mph is 5 hours — all the time you have.

Answers:

Have a good riddle? email backpage@ihstattler.com

BREAKING NEWS: A GRIZZLY TALE You need no horoscopes or advice this month; all of you without honey are thoroughly doomed. Those with honey will not fare much better.

I had told the foolish young backpage editor not to mess with the power of the stars with his flippant horoscopes, but he only laughed at me. All throughout the year he had been toying with fate. But last month, I knew the Gemini horoscope would cause trouble: “Have you ever wondered if all the IHS teachers could possibly be disguised grizzly bears?” It seems the editor did not understand the ability of horoscopes to retroactively change the past. But he learned...oh yes, he learned...

I first became suspicious of the staff back in October, when they seemed to be acting strangely – but I didn’t quite know what it was. There was something. Perhaps they hadn’t warned us about safe sex often enough. We had missed the first day of school; that was something. Could they really be this lax about holding us captive in this “school without walls”? Regardless, I knew a fishy scent when it wafted into my open nostrils, so I put on my detective clothing and began jotting down notes.

What could have caused such low morale among the staff that they did not even care to torture us with hot, unnecessary lectures in Kulp? There had been only one, as far as I could remember, the Path of Success Lectures; and that only for freshman and sophomores. Could it be connected with Ithaca’s non-winter this year? Maybe. Maybe not. I still couldn’t be certain about anything, and it was quite frustrating. With only a pitiful attempt at an assembly as the school year faded into November, I was becoming increasingly flustered. Why, what, when, how? I didn’t know anything. I continued like that for several more months, until late March. Then I worked up my courage to ask someone who I knew would know what was going on: Karl Mellander. Mellander is the advisor for the IHS Ultimate Frisbee club, which shows the combination of his two predominant traits: love for the power of youth and love for flying discs. Both indisputably qualify him as a hippy, so I was sure he would help “fight the establishment” and tell me what was going on if I asked him.

It was a clear and chilly, though definitely not snowy, Wednesday afternoon when I went to stop by the math office. I had been making up a test after school (having missed that Monday fruitlessly trying to further my investigation) but hoped the Commander, as he is affectionately called by his fellow hippies, would still be hanging around. Being postponed that afternoon may have been the biggest favor God will send my way.

I would have walked straight into the office, but I heard a soft, rather grumpy discussion happening through the almost-

closed door. Not wanting to interrupt, and having a hunch that listening in would provide me with some answers, I quietly walked up and stood next to the door. A voice, unmistakably the one of our own Mr. Powers, floated through the doorway.

Only, it was deeper and more rough-sounding.

“Growl, growl. Snort. Honey is delicious. I am a bear.” ...wait, what?

And then, Mellander (I thought, though it was hard to tell): “Snort. Grumble grumble. Hungry. Sleepy. The discriminant of a conic section is b squared minus four a c.”

I barely resisted calling out “nerd!” and contented myself with a little smirk. I didn’t have time for that, though, as I suddenly realized.

Now, everything made sense. The drought of torturous assemblies in Kulp was connected to the weather. I’m not that familiar with bear physiology, but perhaps the lack of winter weather stopped them from getting their peaceful hibernation sleep, throwing off their internal clocks. That seems like it makes sense. There was more, too; I did remember, at one point, seeing a picture of Mr.Mellander in his youth. I didn’t think much of it at the time (my detective hat must not have been on right) but it did look suspiciously like a bear. I should try to write the horoscopes next year; the ability to rewrite the universe would no doubt come in handy.

I raced back home to record the incident; I didn’t think I had been caught, but just in case I wrote down the back page editor’s address and dropped it outside the office, hoping they would go check it out and be thrown off my tail. No doubt you’re wondering: why do I know his address? Why, if he were investigating, would he leave his address on the ground? Stop asking difficult questions. The logical capabilities of a bear are pretty low. I left a picnic basket, too, to stop them from thinking too much. No, I won’t tell you how I had a picnic basket. I felt a little bad about putting the editor in danger, but not too bad; he’s kind of a jerk.

I have succeeded; the newspaper knows of the danger. I only hope they can stop the impending disaster.

The bears are coming.

Editor’s Note: the writer of this report is unknown; it was sent to us from Mr. Zax’s email account but is not his work. We are unsure of his present location, but one thing is certain: HE IS NOT IN THE SCHOOL. At the time of printing, bears suspected of his kidnapping are being monitored. If you have any information regarding this, please come to the Tattler office in H-Courtyard. If you are a bear, please report to the new leper colony in Activities.

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