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VOLUME 95 NUMBER 2
1500 WEST KENNEDY ROAD, LAKE FOREST, IL 60045
Featured Stories NEWS
LFA discusses issues regarding racial equality
page 3 OP-ED
Inquiring Photographer:
How important are the Presidential debates? page 4 FEATURES
Dudes and Dives chow down at Luke’s page 9 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Music review:
Nevermind by Nirvana page 16
SPORTS
Co-ed golfers post success
page 20
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OCTOBER 31, 2016
EpiPen price inflation sparks concern
LFA students worry that life-saving device will become unaffordable By Sandra Shaw Editor-in-Chief The EpiPen is an auto-injector medical device containing epinephrine, or adrenaline, that can prevent the anaphylactic shock for people who have life-threatening allergies. Numerous students at LFA use them, but they are also a medical device that is at the center of a national controversy. The pharmaceutical company that produces EpiPens is Mylan. The company has no real competitor and it recently increased the cost of the life-saving device almost 1,000 percent, claiming this was caused by the high demand for the device. However, the sharp increase of the price for EpiPens has caused enormous outrage--according to USA Today, people have seen EpiPen prices “rise from $57 in 2007 to about $500 [in August].” “It’s basically a life-saver, and you have to pay a lot of money for it, so it’s kind of ridiculous when you think about it,” said LFA junior Bridget Collins, who found out that she was allergic to all kinds of nuts at a very young age. “I’ve never used an EpiPen in my life, but I can’t even count how much money I’ve probably spent on EpiPens.” Freshman Jade Steger said bluntly: “I think there’s no reason to change [the price]. Nothing has changed about the EpiPens, so why raise the prices?” Collins has to have an EpiPen handy wherever she goes, and they expire, so she is forced to buy replacements every year. Now they’re priced at upwards of $600. To the 15 million people in America with food allergies, EpiPens are the means of saving their lives if those allergies that are severe. According to Food Allergy Research and Education, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that about 300,000 hospital emergencies are accounted for by food allergies for people under 18. According to one newspaper, however, two Silicon Valley engineers have determined that the cost of making one EpiPen comes out to $8: the 1.8 milligrams of sodium chloride costs 28 cents, the 0.5 milligrams of sodium metabisulfite at 1 cent, and the main component of 0.3 milligrams of epinephrine at 72 cents. That newspaper, the Mercury News, also says Mylan has reported that they only make $100 of profit per EpiPen, and about 55% of the reve-
nue from the $608 two-pack EpiPen goes to “pharmacies, insurers, and wholesalers.” According to The New York Times, Mylan, embarrassed by the public outcry their corporate strategy created, announced that it will take “steps to increase the financial assistance for the branded EpiPen” in addition to producing a generic version at half-price. On October 7th, Mylan
agreed on a “$465 million settlement with the Justice Department and other government agencies over questions” on how Mylan wrongly classified the EpiPen, which led to overpricing. As for LFA, according to Dean of Students Chris Tennyson, the school does not provide EpiPens because it varies for each person. Luckily, there hasn’t been a serious case of a student going into true anaphylactic shock in the past couple of years. “I think it would be very difficult for the school to get into the business of purchasing those just because it tends to be driven by a doctor’s note,” said Tennyson. “We can offer families to leave one here, if that would help.” Collins has to keep an EpiPen with her at all times, and it has been stressful to see the prices consistently hiking upwards. She has felt like EpiPen has the power to control whatever pricing they fix.
“It’s definitely hard to have the EpiPen prices go up because it’s not only affecting you but also affecting your parents who have to pay for it,” said Collins. Freshman Jade Steger, who used to need to keep a total of 4 EpiPens at her house, with herself, her parents, and her grandparents, never bought the new ones when the prices went up. “[My mom] decided a day after we were supposed to get the EpiPens--we ended up not getting the pens--to see if I really needed them,” said Steger. Steger found out that she is no longer allergic to bees, but she still carries around her old EpiPen for precautionary measures.
Who is the better U.S. Presidential candidate? Trump versus Clinton
See pages 10 & 11
THE SPECTATOR
News
2
World News Roundup
Compiled by Austin Clamage Editor-in-Chief
World News Roundup is a compilation of some of the prominent events occurring in the World today.
Columbian voters reject peace settlement Colombian voters narrowly rejected a peace deal that would have ended a 52year conflict between the government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In the vote, 50.2% of voters rejected the deal, while 49.8% of the voters were in favor. The deal was rejected because voters believed that the deal was too merciful for FARC members who committed war crimes. FARC will also be guaranteed 10 seats in Congress for the next two Columbian elections. During the Civil War, 260,000 people were killed and millions of others were displaced. Although the deal was rejected, Columbian President Juan Manuel Santos received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Santos was one of the main orchestrators who started peace talks between the two groups. Moreover, Santos is donating the money he received, approximately $1 million, from winning the Peace Prize to those affected by the conflict. Santos has vowed to continue peace negotiations until a bill is passed, and the Civil War is finally over.
Hurricane Matthew hits many Caribbean countries Hurricane Matthew has hit a number of Caribbean countries, destroying virtually everything in its path. The hurricane reached a status as high as Category 5, with wind speeds touching 140 mph. Countries that have been severely affected include Haiti, the Bahamas, and Cuba, as well as the United States. In Haiti alone, more than 1,000 people died due to the Hurricane and 1.4 million people are in need of emergency aid. Many crops in Haiti were destroyed because Hurricane Matthew occurred during the country’s main harvest season. Moreover, experts believe that Hurricane Matthew has worsened the cholera epidemic that Haiti has been struggling with due to storm water and sewage overflow contaminating natural water sources. Cholera has killed more than 10,000 Haitians since 2010. LFA’s Head of School Symposium Spring Break trip is still planning to visit Haiti and the Dominican Republic in March. Sources: BBC, CNN
OCTOBER 31, 2016
Presidential election: what is LFA doing? By Peter Corsiglia Managing Editor of News
Every four years, the citizens of the United States elect their president. However, the LFA community’s involvement in this year’s presidential election extends well beyond eligible individual members voting on Nov. 8th,. This year, there is a school-wide mock election, a school-sponsored trip to the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. in January, and the incorporation of election-related topics into the curriculum of numerous classes. On October 25th, the History Department administered a school-wide mock election for all LFA students on behalf of the Northfield Mount Hermon Votes Project, a national mock-election and poll for high school students. LFA is representing all private schools in Illinois for the project. The poll will be administered online in history classes, but is open to all students. The mock election will also give students the opportunity to vote on six separate policy issues. In January, History Department Chair Chris Dozois and history teacher Mrs. Suzy Vaughn will lead a four-day trip to Washington D.C. to see the presidential inauguration to visit other sites in the nation’s capital such as Smithsonian museums, Mount Vernon, Arlington National Cemetery and other national monuments; and to possibly participate in a peace-building workshop with other students. “In either case it’ll be pretty historic, if it’s either the first female president or if it’s a businessman, we really haven’t had that happen ever,” said Dozois about the significance of the 2017 presidential inauguration. Many of LFA’s History classes this semester, including Introductory Economics,
Global Affairs and World History I, have assignments, homework, class discussions and projects based on the presidential election and debates. For example, in a unit on public opinion and polling, students in AP United States and Comparative Government and Politics polled a sample group of students on election issues and which candidate they would vote for, and presented their data to the class. AP Gov-
ernment students have another project to research all four major candidates and create a video or website to help inform LFA students before the mock-election. “Its all about engaging people’s responsibility to take a stand and to act on how they feel,” said Dr. Julia Sagraves, who teaches the course with Dr. John Strudwick, describing the purpose of the polling project and class in general.
Photo by Mr. Bill Murphy
Dr. John Strudwick teaches one of the sections of AP Government that’s learning about the U.S. Presidential elections. They are also creating campaign videos for the candidates.
Juniors finally decide English class choice after three months By Kyle O’Shaughnessy Staff Writer As the end of summer neared, and the school year loomed, the English Department at Lake Forest Academy was forced to make a decision regarding the English 11 curriculum. According to Dr. Patrick Finnessy, the head of the English Department, the department elected to place students in a mixed curriculum class entitled English 11. They hoped to expose all the junior students to AP level curriculum, after which it was planned to allow the students to choose the English 11 or AP Composition and Language curriculum they would pursue for the remainder of the year. It is now time to implement said change. English Teacher Lily Zoberman had been teaching juniors
as
they approached this decision. “I think the process was handled in a very deliberate and thoughtful way,” Zoberman said. “I truly believe the school was looking for [what] the best, the best placement, would be for kids. They did this by exposing all of them to a higher level type of English course, possibly than what they would have started in, to give them a choice [going forward].” The students were sent a form via email on Friday, October 21, to select their preferred course going forward. Finnessy originally believed that the distribution would be somewhere around 80/20 in favor of AP Language and Composition. However, it now sounds as if the distribution of the students, between the class choices, is nearing 50/50, if not, maybe 60/40. No matter the outcome, Finnessy is working overtime with Ms. Shannon Bradac of College
Counseling, and Dean of Students Chris Tennyson, to ensure that student and teacher schedules are not impacted in any significant way by the final English class choice. “We won’t have any sense of who will chose what, until it happens,” Finnessy said. “[The department] will be working with Dean Tennyson, and Ms. Bradac. We are hoping to avoid disrupting teacher and student schedules [as much as possible].” According to Finnessy the schedule change was applied over the weekend of October 22 and 23. On the Monday following this schedule change, a G day, students attended their original English 11 classes. The goal behind this was to give the faculty that much more time to finalize the change, and ensure the transition is smooth. “We wanted students know about any changes as soon as possible,” Finnessy said.
THE SPECTATOR
News
OCTOBER 31, 2016
Racial equality sparks discussions at LFA By Austin Clamage Editor-in-Chief Because of guest speaker’s presentation during a recent All-School Meeting, the LFA community has begun discussing the controversial topic of the Black Lives Matter movement and the equality gap between whites and minorities in the United States. While students have previously had other discussions about subjects such as micro-aggressions, this Black Lives Matter topic has been fairly polarizing due to the problems and solutions not having clear-cut answers. The topic started to spark discussions at LFA on September 26 when Mr. Kip Bordelon spoke at an All-School meet-
ing. Bordelon is the founder of the Picardy Group, which is an organization that speaks to schools about multiculturalism and diversity. The presentation of Bordelon focused on the historical and current disparity between blacks and whites, socially and economically, with an emphasis on the Black Lives Matter movement. “It was important to have someone who could bring context to the Black Lives Matter movement, especially given that a majority of the community may not have been effected by the things the Black Lives movement is advocating for,” said Dean of Pluralism and Multicultural Affairs Lusanda Mayikana. Some students were happy with having the speaker because it brought light to LFA
Photo courtesy of LFA SmugMug
Students Eli Kuli and Ayaan Ahmed stay after the All-School Meeting to talk with Bordelon.
about a prominent issue occurring nationwide that is impactful to them. However, other students, who were already concerned over the Black Lives Matter movement because it can be seen as violent, were upset with what they thought were the biases of the speaker and the fact that time was not allotted for questions. Because of this, LFA decided to continue discussion about the issue in order for collaboration. Advisories combined with one another for 20 minutes to give an opportunity for students to voce their opinions about the topic. In addition, Dean of Students Chris Tennyson and Head of School Dr. John Strudwick have created “listening posts” in the Student Union where students and faculty have another outlet to discuss their feelings and beliefs about the matter with either one of them. Aside from faculty-initiated conversations, the Black Student Union also had a forum where students could discuss the issues and collaborate on ways that the cultural problems could be addressed. Currently, LFA does not have plans for anymore speakers or events, but still wants the community to continue discussing the issues at hand. Mayikana believes that the collaborative groups allow students to recognize all perspectives. “I hope we continue to have conversations about these issues,” said Mayikana. “My biggest concern is the ‘wall’ that people put up when they are faced with something unfamiliar or something that is threatening to what they know, and they refuse to be open to what they do not know.”
Healthy Choices Day to be more interactive and have new speakers By Ananta Srivastava News Editor
Students at Lake Forest Academy annually participate in Healthy Choices Day, an event dedicated to discussing health-related topics to encourage healthy living among students. It will be hosted on the school’s campus this year from 9:00 am-12:30 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2016. The event will be enhanced by outside professional speakers brought in by the Seminar teachers. The themes surrounding Healthy Choices Day this year will vary depending on the grade. “Healthy Choices Day supplements the Seminar program by addressing additional topics that we are not able to do throughout the year,” stated Seminar Department Chair Jennifer Madeley. The freshmen will once again be focusing on the topic of bullying for the third consecutive year. However, according to Madeley, the activities this year will be more interactive than before. The Sophomore Class will divide their session into three different lessons to concentrate on nutrition
and body image while also participating in yoga. The sophomore session will be aided by Insight Behavioral Health Centers. Mrs. Sarah Collins reported the subject for sophomores changed this year because the focus has gone back to a health-related topic compared to the discussions about global issues in previous years. “As I cover the organization for the juniors, I have the goal for them to understand consent, rape culture, gender equality, and the importance of healthy relationships,” remarked Madeley. The juniors will be discussing sexual assault and consent in their symposium for Healthy Choices Day. Madeley explained that she stepped away
in Erasing the Distance, a theater organization with a goal to disarm the stigma surrounding mental illness and sexual assault through acting. The Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center will also come in to talk about rape culture and consent as well as how to assist a friend that went through it.
Finally, the seniors will have a police of“Healthy Choices ficer come in to talk Day supplements the about social hosting, and representatives Seminar program by from Lake Forest Coladdressing additional lege will come in to speak about transitiontopics that we are not ing into college. Also, able to do throughout seniors will go through CPR and defibrillator the year.” training because it is required by the state in order to graduate. “I think that -Ms. Jennifer Madeley Healthy Choices Day is impactful on the whole commuthis year from the “He Said, She Said” program because she felt that the it cre- nity because each class focuses on a difated more of an argument than a discus- ferent part of what makes a sustainable sion. Instead, the school will now bring community at LFA,” Collins replied.
3
Campus News Roundup
Compiled by Austin Clamage Editor-in-Chief
Campus News Round-Up highlights important events occurring in the upcoming month.
Annual Cornerstone Event LFA will be hosting its annual Cornerstone Society Celebration on Friday November 4. It is a night of cocktails and dinner hosted for those who have graciously donated to the school. In order to receive an invitation, a donor must give at least $1,000 to the school. The Cornerstone Society currently has 350 members. The group of donors is a good mixture of alumni,and parents of current and former students. “The goal of the night can be summed up by one word: stewardship,” said Dean of External Relations Susan Hoagland. “We want the donors to feel appreciated and understand the impact of their gift to LFA.” This year, the event will be focused on celebrating the accomplishments of constructing the Student Union. The donations this year are primarily being used for securing the final funds for the Student Union and the $2 million goal for annual operations at LFA.
Campus Safety Presentation Because dangerous scenarios and lockdowns seem to be happening more frequently at schools across the country, Lake Forest police officers Conrad Christensen and Ben Grum spoke to the student body, on October 24, about what to do when faced with a dangerous crisis at LFA. “We want to change the way you (the students) think when facing these situations,” explained Grum at the meeting. The presentation focused on how to protect yourself when there’s a shooter or a person who could present harm to others. The officers explained that an anyone, students or faculty, can initiate a lockdown by sending an email to everyone.
Other Events 4-6 November: Trustee Weekend 6 November: Daylight Savings 11 November: Veterans/Remembrance Day 23-27 November: Thanksgiving break
Correction In the September edition of The Spectator, student Tori Glass had her named misspelled several times in a story about the Amazon prime TV series, “The Patriot.” The newspaper staff is sorry for this error.
THE SPECTATOR
Opinion and Editorial
4
OCTOBER 31, 2016
If you can’t vote, chill out!
First presidential debate sparks social media frenzy By Will Everett Managing Editor Op-Ed I have never been one to really worry about politics. In all honesty, I couldn’t care less who wants to build a wall, or if our former Secretary of State had a private email server that had better security than the Granite Mountain Mormon Church Records Facility (Google it). The point is, I don’t lose sleep at night about it, but there are some people, especially students and faculty at Lake Forest Academy, that do. This is positive! The fact that those on campus are willing to hold an opinion about the candidates shows a higher level of thinking and a certain type of maturity level. Until it doesn’t. Due to the outlandish and bizarre situation that we have currently seen in this country regarding the presidential campaign,
students tend to focus on the people that are running, instead of the policy. But this is dissernable. It’s hard to truly understand the policies of today’s candidates when the media only focuses on the negative. The first time that the candidates actually were able to present themselves in front of the American people and talk about “what they wanted to do” was over and done within ninety minutes, but the conversation continued until the end of the month. LFA students (and even alumni and former faculty) had a massive presence on social media, especially Facebook. Nothing wrong with posting on Facebook, but the images and status updates did not invite constructive conversation. Naturally, passive aggressive attitudes were on full display in the comment section. This presents a few key questions. Were these conversations pos-
itive? Did they show the maturity and advanced level thinking of LFA students? In my opinion, some did, but the majority did a disservice to those who wanted to express their opinions. The reason why that’s significant is because the conversation moved away from politics and became a social topic. Here we are again, focusing on the person not the policy. If you want to take away anything from this article, just understand that if you are not 18 years of age before November 8th, 2016, it is out of your control. Focus on being the greatest person you can be, and how LFA, while it is an open place for free expression, has taught you to be a student with character, citizenship, scholarship and above all, responsibility. There will be time to worry about elections.
Inquiring Photographer:
What effect has the debate had on undecided voters?
Compiled by Shreya Singhvi
“I feel like there wasn't enough talk of policy to actually connect to undecided voters.” -Jacob Lieb ‘18
“Both of them interrupt each other and act pretty childish.” -Chris Morrison ‘18
“My opinion on the debate is that it is more entertainment at this point because you aren’t really learning anything.” -Mati Chaudhery ‘18
They are both awful. Third party candidates seem like a better option, but they’re not going to win.” -Nev Gedikoglu ‘17
“...the conversation moved away from politics and became a social topic. Here we are again, focusing on the person not the policy.” Will Everett The upcoming presidential election has proven to be controversial and has sparked numerous conversations among the LFA community. This month, The Spectator asked students and faculty how the presidential debates have influenced their opinions and views.
“As a person of color and a woman who cares more about the issues rather than personality, I am definitely less inclined to be in favor of Trump.” -Zhuri Bryant ’17
“The people watching the debates already have an idea of who they’re going to vote for. My gut feeling is that the candidates aren’t changing minds.” -Tim Plambeck
“The debate has given undecided voters an idea of what candidates stand for. Personally, it gave me a clear view on why I wouldn’t vote for Trump.” -Luis de la Garza Sanchez ‘17
“I feel like Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton don’t know how to answer the questions.”
The debate hasn’t affected my opinion. It is pretty strong, and I don’t think they are going to change.” -Thomas Pinel ‘17
“[The debate] just reiterated the fact that the majority of people are trying to find the lesser of two evils.” -Bella Shin ‘17
-Jasmine Filawo ‘19
All photos by Shreya Singhvi
THE SPECTATOR OCTOBER 31, 2016
Opinion and Editorial T h e L a k e A c a d e m y
Editorial: Epi-Pens One pressing issue in Congress right now is the unprecedented increase in price for EpiPens, a life-saving medical device. In 2007 the price for a two-pack was $100, but that has increased to be $600 or more to date. An EpiPen delivers an injection containing epinephrine, a chemical that narrows blood vessels and opens airways in the lungs. These effects can reverse symptoms that occur during an allergic reaction. In short, EpiPens save lives and are a necessity to many. It is for those reasons that The Spectator believe that this new inflated price is unjust. We also believe the school should invest in several devices for student safety. What is even more absurd is that EpiPens are not reusable and they expire after a year. So, at the very least, those who need EpiPens will be forced to spend $600
a year. People usually like to keep multiple EpiPens in different places for safety. They might, for example, keep one in their book bag, one at home, one at school or work, etc. Keeping all of this in mind, the $600 price tag is far too high and Congress should set a maximum price on EpiPens if Mylan, the company that produces EpiPens, refuses to lower the price. No other companies in the United States make epinephrine injectors for commercial use. How can Mylan get away with such an absurd price increase? Mylan has little competition. This allows them to increase the price whenever they want. In fact, The Food and Drug Administration recently rejected a generic model of an epinephrine injector because there were major deficiencies. Mylan does sell EpiPens to schools at a discounted price but
requires them to sign contracts prohibiting them from buying injectors from other companies. The current situation is stopping competition. Even at the $100, price Mylan would have a sizable profit, but at $600 dollars the profit is just outrageous and unneeded. The price has caused problems for many people who need EpiPens and can’t afford the ridiculously high price. Mylan should be prohibited from this blatant price gouging. LFA could also aid some of our students by using some of the school discounts to have a supply of EpiPens available through the nurse. We seem to have a money fund available to help students buy textbooks or go on school trips. How about spending money on a supply of EpiPens to help save their lives?
Corbin door proves to be a nuisance By Jacob Chagoya Senior Sports Editor When you enter Lake Forest Academy through the traffic circle drop-off area, you can either turn left to enter the Lower Korhumel wing, or you can enter the Lower Corbin wing. However, as many members of the LFA community have noticed, the security door to enter Lower Corbin does not always work. This door is a constant source of frustration to students and faculty as many have been locked out due to the door not always working properly. A keycard must be pressed against a scanner to unlock most doors at LFA. Yet, the only door that does not always unlock is this door to Lower Corbin. When the door does unlock, the sensor will flash a green light. However, despite using your keycard, sometimes it will flash red, and you may be stuck outside until someone inside opens the door for you. According to the Chief Financial Officer Mike Reidy, this is due to the way the door was installed, as it uses wireless connection to unlock the door. Yet, with all of the different devices connecting to the internet, it is sometimes hard for the door to
5 F o r e s t
S P E C TAT O R
STAFF LIST Editors-in-Chief
Austin Clamage Sandra Shaw Hunter Wolff
Managing Editor of Production
Andrew Hechtman
Managing Editor of News
Peter Corsiglia
Managing Editor of Photography
Allison Torres
Managing Editor of Op-Ed
Will Everett
Managing Editor of Features
Andrew Ryder
Managing Editor of A&E
Hong Joo Kwon
Managing Editor of Sports
Obaid Ansari
News Editor
Ananta Srivastava Dieter Villegas
Features Editors
Shreya Singhvi Ayaan Ahmed
Op-Ed Editor
Daniel Chia
A&E Editors
Elizabeth Christoph Katy Morrison
Senior Sports Editors
Jacob Chagoy Jucas Jacob Nithin Reddy
Sports Editors
Jacob Chagoya Jaleel Gray Max Hayes Jack Mahon Lucas Jacob
Staff Writer
Kyle O’Shaugnessy
Faculty Adviser
William Murphy
Online Faculty Adviser
Jeremy Sands
PUBLICATION
The Spectator is published eight times per year by the students of Lake Forest Academy and is a forum for student expression. The views and reporting herein are the sole product of The Spectator’s student reporters and in no way reflect the official views of Lake Forest Academy faculty, staff, administration or Board of Trustees.
EDITORIALS Opinions of the staff are presented in the form of unsigned editorials. Personal views are bylined or presented as formal dissents.
LETTERS TO THE EDITORS Photo by Allison Torres
Senior Zhuri Bryant struggles to open the notorious Lower Corbin Door with a look of dispair after the door stays locked.
connect to the internet and unlock the door. The rest of the doors at LFA are hardwired, and this is why they do not fail. So to have every door but this one work consistently can be frustrating, especially when students have to get to class or when it is cold outside. “The cost to fix it is $27,000, so we have been looking at other alternative solutions,” said Reidy. “We’ve researched a few different things and they just haven’t worked for us.” This has been an ongoing prob-
lem for many years, predating the renovations in Corbin and Korhumel. Students have witnessed many improvements around campus throughout their years at LFA. They have witnessed the rise of the Student Union building, and many other athletic structures. Yet, this one door has continued to leave students frustrated, and often cold. “It’s on our list of things we are going to fix,” said Reidy. “We have to have doors that open, and so we will get it fixed this year.”
The Spectator welcomes responses to its articles in the form of Letters to the Editors in addition to letters on subjects of the author’s choosing. Please e-mail Letters to the Editors to Mr. Murphy at wmurphy@lfanet.org.
AWARDS The Spectator has been awarded several prestigious journalism awards in recent years. It has consistently taken first place in competitions against schools of similar size held by the American Scholastic Press Association and the Kettle Moraine Press Association.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
THE SPECTATOR 6
Features
OCTOBER 31, 2016
What’s buzzing at LFA? A look into beekeeping with Sue Peecher
Beekeeper Sue Peecher keeps bees on LFA campus near the North Cottages, and as the fall season nears, it’s time to gather up extra honey that the bees have been making throughout the year.
By Sandra Shaw Editor-in-Chief It’s the fall season, the time where things get busy again -- there’s the impending election, increasing amounts of homework, college applications, to name a few -- but for beekeeper Ms. Sue Peecher, busy has another meaning. It is in the fall that she collects the honey from her multiple hives, surrounded by hundreds of bees. Peecher, whose husband Mr. Bill Dolbee is the associate head of school at LFA, has been keeping bees since 2004. When former LFA teacher Jim Hammer was retiring and moving to Montana, he let everyone in the community know that he was going to leave his bees behind. “It was the offer that inspired me to start beekeeping,” said Peecher. From 2004-2009, Peecher and Dolbee kept the bees on campus while they lived
at Richards Cottage. They took the bees off campus when they moved to Mundelein in 2009; however, the bees were not receiving the sufficient amount of sunlight that they needed. So in 2015 they moved their bees back onto north end of campus where the school administration offered them some space. According to Peecher, her job as a beekeeper is to ensure that the bees are healthy and that they have what they need in order to create honey. Sometimes that means providing them with water and sugar as an extra food source or shielding the hives with landscaping fabric during the winter to help the bees cope with the winds of winter. “My favorite part of beekeeping is looking inside and just watching what the bees do. If everything is going well, those bees are going to collect nectar from the flowers, and pollen from the flowers, and are
going to store that inside the hives,” Peecher said. “The process for actually making the honey is pretty simple.” In order to make honey, worker bees fly out to collect nectar. Once they fly back to the hives, the bees deposit the nectar with an enzyme they produce in one of the hexagonal cells. After that, there are bees in the hive that have the job of fanning the nectar by beating their wings--the heat and energy created from that vaporizes the water content in the nectar. The bees know when the water content of the nectar is at about 17%, and so they “cap” the honey by sealing the combs with a layer of wax. Then, the nectar becomes honey. For the winter season, the average beehive needs 60-80 pounds of honey in order to survive. “What I need to do is to make sure that the bees have enough honey to use through the winter to keep themselves warm and fend through the winter,” said Peecher. “I
only take extra honey off of the hives.” To collect the extra honey, they “uncap” the sealed wax with a hot knife. The uncapped frame of honey is then put into a centrifuge that extracts the honey through the immense centripetal force. The honey goes through three filters before it’s ready to be used. In her first year as a beekeeper, Peecher brought in 16 gallons of honey, the equivalent of 160 pounds. “So that’s a lot of honey. I think I had 5 or 6 boxes of honey,” said Peecher. “I give my honey to LFA: the people in facilities because they’ve been very kind in helping us out several times. We share the honey.” Peecher also has partners that contribute to the success of her beekeeping. “I do not do this alone. Dr. George Luke is my beekeeping partner, and I also have a mentor. Any success that we have is partially due to our mentor,” said Peecher.
A timeline detailing our
Before we got to the hives, we first made sure that we had full body suits on. It quickly got steamy inside them!
On average, a healthy hive will host about 40,000 honeybees. In a hive, there are worker bees that collect honey and take care of larva, bees that feed the queen, and bees that guard their hive.
THE SPECTATOR OCTOBER 31, 2016
Features
7
Harvesting honey was
“the bees knees” By Andrew Hechtman Managing Editor
The second Sandra and I stepped out of the car we could hear buzzing. We looked over at the man-made hives and saw moving yellowish clouds surrounding the box-shaped structures. Beekeeper Sue Peecher greeted us, dressed in a one piece white suit that was complet-
ed by a hat and mask. Over the drone of bees, she warned us of the yellow jackets that were attempting to invade the hives. The thought of yellow jackets caused my heart to beat through my chest. She explained that they were going after the honey and that they would be no danger if our suits were on properly. Sandra and I rushed over to the car and quickly put on our protective suits. We then put our masks on a
tied them down tight, carefully leaving no empty spaces for the bees to sneak through. Peecher then took us into the clearing where the hives were built. The four hives each had their own group of bees swarming around them. After carefully removing the top sections, the hives were checked for capped honey. Since only the capped combs can be harvested, it was very important to check each comb carefully.
After checking all the hives, it was determined that only one could be harvested, the other three would be left to the bees. After being amongst the bees for several minutes, I began to feel calm about being surrounded. We learned much about honeybees including how they lived and how the artificial hives worked. We even observed the process of them carrying pollen from a few inches away. We opened the upper portion of the hive and removed the combs. The lower portions were not touched as that is honey for the bees. After removing the combs from the hive, we drove to Peecher’s house that she shares with her husband,
“The thought of yellow jackets caused my heart to beat through my chest.” Andrew Hechtman
Looks like a lot of bees? Imagine what it must have sounded like! Fun fact: the honeybees’ wings beat at 11,400 times per minute, which attributes to their iconic buzz.
Associate Head of School Bill Dolbee. While there, Peecher and Dolbee showed us how to uncap the combs to harvest the sweet honey that lays underneath. Under the supervision and guidance of Peecher, Sandra and I took turns using a heated knife to cut off the beeswax that served as caps. We then took the uncapped combs and placed them in a large centrifuge and gave it a couple minutes of spinning. After repeating this with every comb, we uncorked the bottom of the vat and watched gallons and gallons of sweet honey pour out.
In order to extract honey, we first had to uncap the waxed-covered frames with a hot knife.
Last but not least, we cannot thank beekeeper Peecher enough for this great expeirience!
experience at the hives
After uncapping the honey, which took about 10-20 minutes per frame, we put three frames into the centrifuge at a time. The honey extracted gathers at the bottom of the centrifuge which we then poured out into gallon buckets.
All photos by Andrew Hechtman and Sandra Shaw
THE SPECTATOR 8
Features
OCTOBER 31, 2016
New Student Union brings billiards and ping pong tournaments to school By Ayaan Ahmed and Dieter Villegas Staff Writers
Lake Forest Academy’s newly built Student Union offers many new opportunities to bring students together. Two of those newest opportunities are the Ping-Pong and the Billiards Tournaments that will be staged in the coming weeks. These tournaments have already attracted many students because of the new ping pong and billiards equipment on the lower level of the Student Union. In the past month an email was sent out for people to sign up for the Billiards Tournament. About 35-40 people signed up for the competition. The tournament was open to students and teachers. In the tournament draw, people get paired with a random person, of the same grade but from a different house. These two people are responsible to schedule their own matches and report their scores to Mr. Jonathan Freeman, assistant dean of students at LFA. “People who might not know each other get to put a face with a name,” said Freeman when being asked on how the tournaments help bring the community together. After looking at how popular the Billiards Tournament had been, Freeman decided to incorporate the set up the ping pong competition as well. So far, about 20
Photo by Allison Torres
Sophomore Mathias Long and freshman Vinny Runfola play a game of billiards during a free period. people have signed up for the ping pong senior/faculty finalist and the winner will School President Eli Kuli. tournament, but sign ups are still in pro- earn points for their house. The Student Union brought about an incess. The ping pong tournament follows “House Cup is a great chance for friendly creased attention to this year’s homecomthe same system as the billiards tourna- competition,” added Freeman. ing dance. The attendance of students this ment. The matches are direct elimination, If the tournaments are a success, they year was higher than last year’s; and the meaning that the contestants play one will continue into next semester. Another students also stayed for a longer amount game and see who wins. Then, the winner activity the Student Union provided was a of time. Hence, the Student Union brings advances onto the next round. However, new place for the Homecoming Dance. about a new aspect to LFA, through which the finals will be best-of-three games. The “The Student Union was a factor in the a stronger sense of community among the sophomore finalist will play junior final- increase of the attendance at the dance students is established. ist and the freshman finalist will play the and how long the people stayed,” said All-
Unidos club looking to get LFA community more involved with new events and activities By Andrew Ryder Managing Editor
Every year at LFA, the Unidos club hosts a handful of events around campus. This year however, the club is looking to get the community even more involved in its projects. Club leaders Evelyn Pineda (junior), Dieter Villegas (junior), Natalie Nunez (senior) and Allison Torres (senior) have been hard at work coming up with ideas and events for the entire school year. “Our goal this year is to execute more of our ideas,” explained club leader Allison Torres. “In the past we would always come up with great ideas and simply not follow through with them.” One way Unidos is trying to get the community more involved is by having fundraisers. So far this year, Unidos has done one fundraiser to raise money for La Posada, a family shelter in Chicago. They did this by selling tamales, a traditional Mexican dish where they raised approximately $150. Unidos also plans to have fundraisers later in the school year. Their next fundraiser is planned for early November during the Day of the Dead when they
plan on selling Pan de Muertos (Bread of the Dead) with all the money going to La Posada as well. “It’s great that we’re able to get the LFA community more involved and aware of the Hispanic culture while also raising money for a good cause,” said Villegas. The club also plans to have a coat drive later in the year where people throughout the community will have the opportunity to donate their jackets to La Posada. Another event the club is planning for this semester is a dance class open to everyone at LFA. At the class, a traditional Hispanic dance style will be taught by the club leaders and other Hispanic members of the club. The style of dance is yet to be determined but the club leaders are leaning towards Salsa, Norteña, or Cumbia. The last big event the club has planned for this year is a movie night where well known Hispanic movies will be shown and food will be provided. At the moment, the club plans on showing “Selena” as well as “Nosotros los Nobles” with the hope that people will gain a better understanding of Hispanic culture after watching the movies. “Coming from Mexico, I want to teach
the LFA community more about my culture and what it means to me,” said Villegas, re-
ferring to his hopes for how movie night will transpire.
Photo by Andrew Ryder
Junior club leader Dieter Villegas enjoying his tamales which were sold as part of the La Posada fundraiser.
THE SPECTATOR
Features
OCTOBER 31, 2016
By Andrew Hechtman and Will Everett Managing Editors If you’re cruising through a small town called Knollwood on Waukegan Road you might catch a glimpse of a few popular spots. The McDonalds, “K-wood Dons”, Grill 43, and a Starbucks. Just as you’re about to leave town, there is a hidden gem tucked away at the entrance of an abandoned elementary school – Luke’s. The parking lot has clearly not been renovated in long a time. Smoke and delicious smells billow out of the roof, and on this particular crisp autumn afternoon, the steam is more prominent than usual. Walking in the restaurant was depressingly empty, but that was due to the time: 3:00 p.m on a Wednesday is not exactly dinner time. Nonetheless, how the man at the counter offered a bright smile and took my order is the perfect example of a hole-in-the-wall. Two large menu boards sit above the counter, but many signs with pictures of food create tension within your tastebuds. There were several booths, but tables with chairs took up most of the floor space. Along with the soda machine, three fridges also contained bottled soda and other beverages. A very good interior set-up within an otherwise gross exterior. The smell from the outside follows you into the building, and lingers in the most amazing way. The food came extremely quick for only having one chef on shift. It appeared that certain menu items were more popular than others. For example, their Pizza was decently expensive, which implies that people order it very often. Upon asking, the suspicion was confirmed. Who knew; a dive that was known for its pizza. In Knollwood? That’s what makes Luke’s interesting. Knollwood doesn’t have a downtown because it’s too small, and downtown Lake Bluff has more to offer. Yet, Luke’s is popular among the residents. And while it gives
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Local legend Luke’s just “okay” off a grimy vibe from the outside, delicious smells and food keep people from all over the North Shore coming through the door. Yet the Dudes did not have the best of experiences at Luke’s. The Dudes did not order the popular sounding pizza. Instead, Andrew ordered a hamburger and fries, and Will surprised both the server and Andrew with his choice of an Italian beef. The wait for the food was not long at all and the decorum screamed of good, albeit greasy, food. However, our earlier joy that was caused by the decorations and the smells soon turned to disappointment. Although the food arrived and looked phenomenal (Andrew’s burger was piled high with patties and toppings, and Will’s beef was teeming with succulent meat), the disappointment came soon after several bites of all the offerings. It was extremely mediocre! The burger was plain and dry, causing the toppings to more than overpower the meat of the dish. It was not shocking that a sandwich with lettuce, pickles, ketchup, and a small rubber dish which called itself “meat” was disappointing. Will’s exotic order was decidedly better, but was still nothing that could be confused as a speciality. The fries might have been the one redeeming quality, but the thin cut fried potatoes did not stack up well against competing restaurants. The meals were fairly inexpensive, coming in under $10 for an entree, fries, and a fountain drink. The decorations were interesting as University of Virginia Lacrosse memorabilia littered the walls, and the classic dive feel was familiar to both dudes. The service was fast and excellent, and both servers and cashiers were pleasant and friendly. Overall, The Dudes gave it reviews of “Meh” and “Decent.” Both regretted their decisions of not ordering pizza and will likely make another trip to redeem their poor choices.
Evs Rankings Hecto Rankings 1. Chuck Wagon 2. Luke’s 3. TBD 4. TBD 5. TBD 6. TBD 7. TBD
1. Chuck Wagon 2. Luke’s 3. TBD 4. TBD 5. TBD 6. TBD 7. TBD
Every month the dudes will rank their favorite resturants.
All photos by of Will Everett and Andrew Hechtman
Andrew orders his burger from the counter. 5 minutes later he would be very dissipointed.
Dudes and Dives was the creation of Andrew Hechtman ‘17 and Will Everett’17. The “Dudes” (Andrew Hechtman and Will Everett) travel around the North Shore every month in search for the best Dive. We review these dives in the Features section of the Spectator. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or complaints, please contact us at either anhechtman@students.lfanet.org or weverett@students.lfanet.org. We thank you guys for our support!
-Will and Andrew (The Dudes)
THE SPECTATOR 10
Centerfold
Decision 2016:
OCTOBER 31, 2016
Trump and Clinton f vote while LFA consi
On November eighth, the United States of America will have to decide who the next president will be. However, Lake F descision almost two weeks earlier. This month, The Spectator sought to inform the community on both candidates befor year’s campaign being seen as especially negative and mean spirited, The Spectator wanted to look at only positive aspe policies. While the LFA vote will be completed before this paper is published, The Spectator wanted to present the stude that readers could make informed descisions on November eighth. The LFA vote took place on October 25th and was c ment The graph to the right portrays the results of the schoolwide election. This data will be used in a national study to proje Lake Forsest Academy elected Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by 21%. This makes it likely that Clinton will have election.
Making America great again with Donald Trump By Lucas Jacob Sports editor This year’s presidential election has been one of the most controversial in recent history. Both candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, claim that they’re a better fit for president than their opposition and the other is unqualified. With a lot of accusations going back and forth between the two candidates, it may be hard to see who’s a better fit. However, the supporters of each candidate seem to be committed and stand behind their candidate regardless of all the rhetoric. Trump supporters believe that he is fit to be in office because, primarily, he is not a career politician. A majority of the voters not only feel that Washington is in gridlock, but that politicians are catering to special
interest groups and not serving the average voter. Because he’s not affiliated with a special interest group, Trump supporters see The Donald as a man who is not a career politician and a man who will work for them. These supporters also believe that Trump’s background as a businessman will help him run the affairs of the United States like an efficient, productive business. While some voters think that Trump’s verbal attacks and his bluntness will be his downfall, Trump supporters see otherwise. They see this as Trump’s way of telling the truth and believe that this is what makes him more appealing as a candidate. Trump says things that people are afraid to say. While any other politician would shrug off or avoid certain questions, Trump goes at these questions 100mph and doesn’t hesitate to speak his mind.
Trump’s supporters that are working-class people believe that he will protect their economic success and bring them opportunities by bringing jobs back to America. They hope he will keep businesses from leaving the States in search of cheap labor abroad with new tax policies. This economic promise gives his supporters a great deal of hope in their future and the ability to maintain a good living. Finally, with the motto Make America Great Again, Trump appears to be a more pro-American, traditional candidate. In majority of his rallies supporters will chant, “USA, USA, USA!” The country is currently in a bind over patriotism due to the protests against the National Anthem during sporting events. Citizens who find these protests to be an issue see it as all the more reason for Trump to be in office.
The pleasentries stopped after this moment as the debat
The electi
Facial graphics courtesy of fivethirtyeight.com
Loses in presidential bid. Later Hillary announced her campaign for Wins Iowa caucus by 0.2% over appointed Secretary of State by president. Opens as an overwhelm- Bernie Sanders in her first primary ing favorite to win primary. Barack Obama victory 2008 April 12, 2015 February 1, 2016
June 16, 2015 2000 Sought Reform Party presidential Announced he was running for nomination; withdrew before vot- President in a speech at Trump Tower in New York. ing began.
Feb. 20th, 2016 Won the South Carolina primary, defeating 11 opponents to earn his first victory
THE SPECTATOR
Centerfold
OCTOBER 31, 2016
11
face off for America’s iders its own position
Forest Academy will make its own re the national election. With this ects of both candidates and their ent body with this information so conducted by the history depart-
LFA’s mock presidential vote
ect the winner of the real election. e success in Illinois in the general Voting as part of a national high school initiative, Lake Forest Academy voters cast their ballots through their history classes or through the History Dept. LFA elected Hillary Clinton with 53% of the vote, while Donald Trump received 32% of the vote. Data courtesy of LFA History Department
Graphic courtesy of alamosacounty.org
Why you should be with Her, the case for Clinton By Daniel Chia Op-Ed Editor
Photo courtesy of ABC.com
tes switched to scortched earth tactics and mudslinging.
Every four years, the United States elects a new president. After eight years with Barrack Obama in the Oval Office, it appears that this time around, the country will choose between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Clinton’s experience, policy, and temperament mean that she is the superior choice for president. The first reason that Clinton would be better than Trump is because she has political experience. Over the course of her life, she’s served as First Lady, Secretary of State, and a senator. This is infinitely more experience than Trump, who has never held an elected political office. While Trump might be a savvy businessman, Clinton is a savvy politician. Although most people don’t trust or like career pol-
ion so far Endorsed by former primary opponent President Obama June 9, 2016
iticians, she has experience in government, and in any job, experience is key. Besides the greater experience that Clinton has in politics, she also has more sustainable views on environmental policy. Clinton’s energy plan involves the development of smart cars, investment in smarter energy sources, and decreasing dependence on fossil fuels. The end goal of her plan is to reduce U.S. oil consumption by 30%. This would be a crucial step towards reducing climate change, the existence of which Trump has repeatedly denied, as the U.S. is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world. One of the most pertinent issues to the students of LFA is Clinton’s stance on education. She plans on making higher level education more accessible to deserving lower income families. Under a Clinton presidency, families making less than
$85,000 a year wouldn’t pay tuition at a four-year state college. Additionally, for those who do pay tuition for college and end up taking out student loans, Clinton would reduce interest rates so that the government wouldn’t profit from the loans. Clinton would also continue the war on terror, with a specific focus on ISIS. On the battlefield, she would intensify the coalition air campaign, as well as increasing support on the ground. She would also work to slow and eventually stop the movement of terrorists by working with European intelligence services to identify enablers for terrorists. Throughout the debates, Clinton has demonstrated an ability to keep her cool, in stark contrast to Trump’s infamous temper. She has also stuck to her guns on the issues, while Trump changes positions as it suits him, in some cases over the course of a day.
Timeline inforamtion by Andrew Hechtman Lena Ansari and Audrey Taillon
Cleared by FBI in their investigation into her private email server July 5th, 2016
Sanders withdraws at convention Welcomes Virginia Senator Tim Hillary makes history and becomes Kaine to her team for vice presiden- the first female presidential nominee tial nominee July 23rd, 2016 July 25th, 2016
April 20, 2016 Mar. 1st, 2016 Ted Cruz mathmatically eliminated May 26, 2016 July 15, 2016 Wins seven states on Super Tues- in primary, making Trump the only Secures enough delegates to clinch Names Indiana Governor Mike day, gaining a significant lead in candidate able to win by normal Republican nomination Pence as running mate means. delegates
THE SPECTATOR 12
Features
OCTOBER 31, 2016
How environmentally friendly is LFA? Examining the school’s green initiatives for the future
By Hunter Wolff Editor-in-Chief In recent years LFA has taken the initiative to built environmentally friendly buildings such as the Reyes Family Science Center and the new Student Union. However, our campus is currently continuing to face environemtal issues and look to improve upon them in the future. In August of 2013 the Reyes Family Science Center was opened for the start of the 2013-2014 academic school year. With much excitement, students, faculty, families, and guests admired the new building. But what many people may not realize about the building is that it is very environmentally friendly compared to some of the other buildings on campus. As a part of the project, the Reyes Family Science Center was built to follow the guidelines for a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the United States Green Building Council. The goal of LEED is “to inspire project teams to seek innovative solutions that are better for our environment and better for our communities.” To qualify for a certification the building must score “points” in several categories that address issues of sustainability, such as: Location and Transportation, Energy and Atmosphere, Water Efficiency, Materials and Resources, and several others. For example the Reyes Family Science Center has implemented special parking spaces for vehicles that achieve at least 40 miles per gallon and by having a simple bike
rack outside of the building they are able to score points towards a LEED certification. Through the certification, the Reyes Family Science Center shows the LFA’s efforts to move into a greener future. But it is important to keep in mind that LFA is nearly 160 years old and some of the buildings on campus may not be up to a similar standard as the Reyes Family Science Center. But most of the buildings at LFA are not as environmentally friendly as the Science Center. In fact, administrators look toward the future they strongly wish to improve LFA’s sustainability and eco-friendliness. Although the new Student Union building was not built to follow the LEED certification, the building was designed to be very energy efficient, according to CFO Mike Reidy. However the main challenge for moving to a more environmentally friendly campus is the cost. Implementing newer technologies that increase efficiency can be very costly and the benefits of the investment could be minimal. Reidy believes that becoming more efficient is a priority for the future. As a boarding school, LFA uses a lot of energy to run its buildings, especially the dorms. Because the dorms have to provide for the needs of the students to live there 24/7 there are a lot of small ways that energy is used that actually have a great effect. “The sinks, toilets, and showers that are replaced are always going to be a low-flow appliance, it uses less water,” said Reidy. “In the winter, the maintenance guys will also go around and check for drafts to make sure we aren’t wasting energy. We do a good
Photo by Hunter Wolff
One of the signs in front of the Reyes Family Science Center that signify that only low emission cars can park in the alloted spots.
Photo courtesy of LFA SmugMug
The Reyes Family Science Center features trees and other plants outside the building, another factor that went towards earning the LEED certification.
deal in that area, but we could do more.” Many prep schools are moving towards a more efficient future by using alternative ways to power their buildings. For example, take The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. In 2012 the school completed the construction of a LEED-certified Biomass facility which supplies the school with 95% of their heat and hot water needs on campus. It is also one of just three LEED-certified power plants in the United States. The impressive building features a green roof which absorbs 50% of rainfall water, which protects the surrounding ecosystem from erosion. In addition to the Biomass power plant, Hotchkiss has implemented wind energy to their arsenal of green technologies. 35% of the school’s electricity is provided from wind power alone. Another example can be seen with The Lawrenceville School. They have built a 30-acre solar farm that is home to 24, 934 solar panels and nearly half a million honey bees. The farm offsets CO2 emissions considerably and provides the school with 90% of their energy needs. So if other top prep schools are utilizing more efficient energy sources, why isn’t LFA? “There’s been talk about why we don’t have a windmill or solar panels. But the cost has never made sense for us to do it,” said Reidy. “The cost of solar cells is coming down, however, so I could see that within the next 10 years we’ll have some kind of solar power here on campus.” But the efficiency of LFA doesn’t solely depend on the buildings around campus; a large part of it sits in the hands of the students themselves. Recycling bins and water refilling stations for water bottles are placed all around campus for students to use, but the eco-friendliness of the school relies on how well the students utilize these resources. “If people don’t care about recycling there’s nothing we can do about improving our campus. We need to do a better job with recycling education but we really do make an effort to promote recycling around campus,” said Reidy.
How can you help make a difference? Here are some tips that you can implement into your daily life to help keep LFA eco-friendly. 1. For boarders: take shorter showers and minimize using the sinks. This decreases the amount of water used and the amount of energy used to power the faucets. Water consumption continues to remain a major issue for conservation on campus. 2. Turn off lights when leaving a room. Light bulbs use more energy than you might think, especially considering how many buildings around campus remain open all day long and even into the night. 3. If possible, take notes electronically on either your iPad or computer and buy electronic textbooks. This translates into having to buy less notebooks and folders but it also means you will have less items to carry around in your bag. Saving paper is a huge help to our environment. Teachers can also utilize the Canvas program as a way to share handouts and rubrics instead of printing copies for the entire class. 4. Recycle, recycle, recycle! Pay attention to what you are throwing away into the trash bin, can it be recycled? Soda cans, Snapple bottles, water bottles, pizza boxes, plastic packaging, and batteries are just a few items you can recycle. But keep in mind, cleanliness is essential. Unfinished soda cans or pizza boxes with pizza left inside cannot be recycled. It only takes one dirty item to contaminate an entire recycling bin and all the items will go to landfill. Make sure you take the time to either finish that can of soda or clean out what remains inside.
THE SPECTATOR OCTOBER 31, 2016
Arts and Entertainment
Six students to perform at the first Piano Solo Concert of the year By Hong Joo Kwon Managing Editor The Fine Arts Department has announced that LFA’s first Piano Solo Concert of this year will be on Monday, November 7th, with six talented students performing. The students who will be performing are: Zongyun Li, Jiameng Su, Hanbing Wang, Wanning Wen, Meizhou Xiong, and Haotian Ye. This concert will be their opportunity to show the LFA community how talented they are. What is different about the Piano Solo Concert for the students is that they will be given the chance to play longer pieces than in other performances such as the Chamber Concerts, where each student has less time to perform. “Our piano students are pretty intense and they learn a lot of repertoire, so this is one of the opportunities that they have to play a longer piece. This is their opportunity to stretch their musical abilities,” said Mr. Timothy Plambeck, the Director of Music. “My daily practice ranges from an hour to two hours. It depends on how I feel that day,” said Wen, who was very recent addition to the piano program at LFA. “But these days, I practice a lot because I want to play really well for the piano solo concert.” “I practice a lot during the weekend. I didn’t enjoy playing the piano when I first began but now I really enjoy it because I find it interesting,” stated Li. For Xiong, she already feels like practicing is a part of her and her day is not over until she finishes practicing. She feels that playing the piano is a way for expressing her emotions. There will be a lot of piano techniques
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Winter 2016 Arts Calendar
This month, the Winter 2016 Fine Arts Calendar will feature highlighted shows and events throughout November and December.
Highlights
• Piano Solo Concert- November 7 (Little Theater) at 7pm • VOX Fall Concert- November 14 (Little Theater) at 7:30 pm • Coax Concert- November 23 (Cressey) at 7pm • Winter Concert- December 3 (Cressey) at 7pm
Coax has big success on its outside concert By Hong Joo Kwon Managing Editor of A&E
There is normally a significant amount Photo by Hunter Wolff
Junior Jane Xiong takes part in her daily practice routine, an important part of her day.
shown in the solo concert and the students are excited to demonstrate their techniques to the audience. Wen will be performing a piece by Beethoven, and she stated that she will be performing with classical technique. “I’m excited for this concert because I’ll be playing a really hard, and long piece and it requires a lot of technique,” said Li. Some of the students’ goals for the performing at the piano solo concert are humble, such as play without wrong notes or having no breaks in the middle of the piece. Other students will be demonstrating elevated playing techniques. “Piano concerts are special for [these students] because they give them a chance to meet musical challenges that they cannot
attempt in shorter concerts. Our kids are so talented in this school and usually people don’t even know that they’re here,” said Plambeck. Su, who is the only senior performing in the solo concert, stated that she is excited to be performing as an only senior but also sad that this concert would be one of her last chances to play at LFA. “I would like to set a good example as a senior to the underclassmen because I’ve always had passion for playing the piano and I would like other students to enjoy it like I do,” stated Su. Su is admired by many students who will be performing in the solo concert. Wen said that she wishes to be as good as Su by her senior year.
Photo by Hunter Wolff
Junior Ice Wang plays each key with precision as she prepares for her performance in the concert on November 7th.
of effort necessary to stage a Coax concert including sound, light, and power systems to coordinate. But when Coax, the student/ faculty rock band, took its latest concert to the patio of the new Student Union building for Parents Weekend, it added the complications of weather conditions to its performance. Luckily, the weather cooperated. Band members felt that, although there could have been some technical problems or challenges with weather, Coax members coped through the challenge well and they were eventually able to please their audience. “When I saw the Student Union and how it was set up, I thought it would be a great venue. It looks out in such a great view over the field hockey field, so I thought it would be a great place to have a concert,” said Mr. Steve Ryder, Coax director. Even though the technical side of the outdoor concert could have been difficult, Mr. Jason Koenig and his technology crew had thought about how they’re going to do it and the equipment was prepared if weather was a factor. The forecast called for no rain, the plan was to move the concert into the lobby of the Cressey Center for the Arts if it rained. “We were hoping to do that for the first time and maybe establish a precedent so that people will do other things outside the Student Union, whether it be music, theatre, or skits,” stated Ryder. “Doing the performance outside was so much fun. It was such a cool change of scenery. Being inside is fun, but having the wind and cool breeze made it feel more like fall, and more like parents weekend. Though the wind did get a little crazy, like blowing stands around, it was still exciting. All in all it was a really cool way to have a concert outside!” said a Coax vocalist Ellie Annibali.
THE SPECTATOR 14
Arts and Entertainment
OCTOBER 31, 2016
New members, new sound: Coax set for first show of the year in November By Allison Torres Photography Editor Co-ax, the LFA student/faculty rock band, will be having its first major concert of the year in Cressey on November 21. Because of graduation losses, this year’s band has a lot of new members. Director Steve Ryder has admitted eight new students into the group. The band now consists of 16 students and two faculty members. “There are so many members required for certain songs that everyone always gets on at least one,” said Nick Lin, a vocalist, commenting on the large amount of members in the band. The new Co-ax members are: Jasper Fisher, Sampson Hao, Joan Karstrom, Nick Lin, Rich Park, Lilah Roth, Stella Shi, and David Sun. It is not unusual for Co-ax to use vocalists, guitarists, bass players, drummers, keyboardists, saxophone players and violinists on stage during their sets. Junior Natalie Clarke will be playing the violin during two songs at the Novemember concert, one by X Embassadors and an-
other by Aerosmith. For the most part, Co-ax does covers of songs that are chosen by the upperclass-
men and the rest of the band contributes by playing an instrument or helping with backup vocals.
“Mainly upperclassmen get first pick on songs. Each senior, or whoever had been in the band the longest, is supposed to get at least two songs they choose,” stated Alondra Arreola, a third-year Coax vocalist. The band has also played original songs written by current members. This year, the Lake Forest Academy community will have some original songs to look forward to. “I am working on an original piece that will hopefully be ready by the November concert with a chance of me also playing piano in it… but we’ll see,” commented Arreola. Co-ax has been working on this November performance since the new band members were chosen. They usually practice on Sundays from 3-5:30 PM but the end time often depends on how many songs they want to get through. “Usually we just run through the songs until we reach a rough patch, and we’ll all have some input on what went wrong or what we think will help us sound better,” said newcomer Lilah Roth about their practices.
be able to access the script through Canvas. Palmer recommends downloading the soundtrack to get a good general idea of the sound of the play and the role the actor is trying out for. Students should be expecting to sign an actor’s contract, just as it was last year, to affirm their commitment to the musical. Attendance commitment will be mandatory because Palmer wants the actors to have a good grasp on the material before performing. “People who are able to commit to the rehearsal times and the tech rehearsal, that’s going to play a major role, and then those people are going to be considered,” said Palmer. She directed the fall play in the same manner of making sure the technological aspect of the production was of high quality. “The nature of musicals, because there’s so much dancing and acting, and you’re mixing those elements together, requires that we want as much time as possible to allow the actors to learn all of those parts,” explained Palmer. This musical was chosen by Palmer to go along with the Head of School Symposium theme of the Carribean. The Caribbean vibe of this play will be manifested through the music and high impact
choreography. The costume choice for the characters will also be a tactic Palmer will be using to bring out the identity
of each of the characters. There will not be double casting, but there will be understudies.
Photo courtesy of LFA SmugMug
Coax performing outside of the Student Union was one of the many art events that occured included in parent’s weekend.
Student actors and actresses preparing their auditions for winter musical, Once on This Island By Tiffany Filawo Staff Writer The winter musical, an extra-curricular arts attraction to many at Lake Forest Academy, is coming up soon, but before anyone can jump into the actual production, auditions must be held. This year’s winter musical will be Once on This Island, which is centered around the disapproved love story of Ti Moune, a young peasant girl, and a city boy Daniel Beauxhomme from the French Antilles. This is the story of how love overpowers economical barriers set by society. According to the show’s director, Dr. Monica Palmer, the show will involve aspects of dancing, singing, and acting. It is also a fast-paced, non-stop, 90-minute show with no intermission. Palmer said that actors will be casted based upon talent displayed in auditions which will be held on November 1st in the Cressey Theatre. “I want to cast as many people who will benefit the show,” said Palmer. At the auditions, students will get a character packet with the scenes and score sheets of the character they will be auditioning for. As a precursor to the tryouts, people who are auditioning will
Photo courtesy of LFA SmugMug
Seniors Nick Lin and Ellie Annibali holding hands in last year’s musical, Godspell.
THE SPECTATOR OCTOBER 31, 2016
Arts and Entertainment
Scary fast Halloween treats to try
Banana Ghost Pops:
Ingredients (4 servings)1 banana 1 cup of white chocolate 8 mini chocolate chips 4 popsicle sticks
By Shreya Singhvi Features Editor
Halloween is the perfect time to try out new recipes. Made quickly and easily, these ghost banana pops are a healthy alternative to eating buckets of candy, but can still satisfy your sweet tooth! This recipe is fairly simple and affordable, and can be ready to serve in under an hour. They can even be made in the dorms, because all you need is a fridge and a microwave. The ingredients needed for four servings are as follows: one banana, white chocolate, mini chocolate chips, and four popsicle sticks. First, cut the banana in half lengthwise once and then again through the middle to create quarters. Put the popsicle sticks in and make sure they are secure. Then, freeze the sliced banana for twenty minutes on a plate or lined baking sheet to ease the chocolate-covering process. After they have cooled, take them out of the freezer and melt the white chocolate in the microwave. Do this in 30-second intervals to ensure that none of the chocolate will burn. Stir in between each interval. Then, dip the banana into the chocolate and scrape off the excess on the back of the pop before placing it back onto your plate or baking sheet. Before the white chocolate cools, make sure to quickly place two chocolate chips on the front of the banana for eyes. Place your delicious ghost treats back into the freezer until they are ready to eat! Bananas aren’t just for monkeys! They are extremely good for you, because they
Caxy Corner is a page for up-to date recipes, DIY’s (do-it-yourself), and super useful hacks! Compiled by Shreya, Katy, Elizabeth. are full of antioxidants, vitamins, and potassium. After a long night of trick or treating, these “boo”nana pops will be a great way to balance out all that candy. Enjoy! If you have any leftover white chocolate, you should try out this fun dessert: spiderweb sandwich cookies! This spooky treat looks awesome, especially for a halloween party. They look very professional and unique, and are super easy to make and customize. Before making this spooky dessert, gather your ingredients. You can use the white chocolate you got from the banana ghost pops, and you will also need milk or dark chocolate. You will also need Oreos or your favorite sandwich cookie. Lastly, you will need ziplock bags and toothpicks. The first step to making your spooky dessert is to melt the chocolate. You can do either a white background with a black web, or vice versa. I think the white background
looks better because then it is easier to see the web. Using the same technique we used to melt the chocolate in the previous recipe, melt your base color of chocolate. Then, dip your cookies into the chocolate, before placing them on a plate or a lined baking sheet. Make sure to scrape off excess chocolate. Place your Oreos in the freezer. Once the chocolate has frozen, it is time to draw your webs! Take the unused chocolate and melt that in intervals as well. After it is completely melted, place it in your plastic bag and carefully snip off the tip of the bottom corner. This will ease the application of your second color onto the cookie. Draw three circles on the face of the cookie like a target. Then, starting from the innermost circle, use a toothpick to drag a line towards the outside of the cookie, creating a web. Set them in the fridge.
Trick-ortreating tips By Elizabeth Christoph
Costume hacks and ideas By Katy Morrison A&E Editor
#1- Bandit Materials - black and white striped shirt - black pants - black gloves - black construction paper - pencil and scissors First, simply check your closets for the basics, long sleeve shirt and pants. If you lack these items, you could always ask a friend or pick them up at most stores. Second, on a sheet of black construction paper, trace the shape of a mask, fit to your face, with a pencil, and cut with your scissors to assemble the mask. Easily, a bandit costume has been assembled. Dress in the pants and shirt, adhere the mask with tape, and for added bonus, add black gloves.
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#2- Western Cowgirl and Cowboys Materials - plaid shirt - jeans - cowboy hat - brown shoes (preferably boots) - brown marker/eyeliner -(optional) bandana -(optional) vest This costume requires absolutely no assembly. Simply wear the stereotypical getup; a plaid shirt, jeans, a hat (easily located at your nearest party store), and brown boots if you can. For girls, styling your hair into braids can give off a western vibe and using a brown marker of eyeliner pen to dot a couple freckles on your face is a special touch. To spice up this classic costume, add a vibrant bandana or tan vest. These two simple additions make a huge difference!
A&E Editor
No matter how old you get, Halloween always includes dressing up and walking around your neighborhood, collecting candy. There are some strategies to make this as efficient as possible, getting the most candy in the least amount of time. Location: Neighborhoods with many houses may seem like they reap the most reward but sometimes many houses packed tightly together are swarming with people, causing less candy to be given out. Even though it may seem like it’s a long walk, houses with long driveways are definitely worth the hike because those houses are the ones who give out the most candy, sometimes multiple full sized candy bars. Although places such as Highland Park or Lake Bluff are commonly known as the prominent places to get the most candy, make sure you don’t underestimate the neighborhoods in east Lake Forest. Often huge bowls of candy
Steps1.Cut the banana into quarters. 2.Place popsicle sticks into banana and then freeze for twenty minutes. 3.Melt white chocolate. 4.Dip banana quarters into chocolate. 5.Quickly place chocolate chips on the front of the banana slice. 6.Freeze until you are ready to eat your “boo”nana pop!
Spiderweb Sandwich Cookies:
IngredientsOreos White chocolate Milk or dark chocolate Toothpicks Ziplock Bags
Steps1.Melt the base color of chocolate. 2.Dip the Oreos in the chocolate. 3.Freeze until the chocolate has set. 4.Melt second color of chocolate. 5.Place chocolate in plastic bag and cut off bottom corner. 6.Pipe three circles onto cookie, then use a toothpick to drag the chocolate to the outer edges of the cookie to make a web. are put out with no limit as to how much you can take. On campus, many of the teachers put out candy for boarders to get. Costume: If you are not really into the dressing up part or just want to get some free candy, homemade costumes are always the best. People like creative costumes that are a conversation piece so there really is no need to go out and buy an elaborate costume. The only reason for trick or treating is to get candy. Materials: One hack when you go trick or treating is to carry a pillowcase or some other type of huge bag to hold all of the candy. A small bucket is not big enough whereas bringing a pillow case shows that you can hold a lot of candy. It is important to remember to go in a group of people just to be extra careful, especially this year with the threat of clowns. Trick or treating is a fun way to get out of the house on Halloween and have fun with your friends while getting a lot of candy and treats. With these little tips you can maximize the candy collected in the least amount of time. Remember, don’t overlook certain neighborhoods even if they aren’t commonly known as prime locations because you just might find a gold mine.Have fun and enjoy your night of Halloween fun!
THE SPECTATOR 16
Arts and Entertainment
OCTOBER 31, 2016
Nirvana’s most iconic album, Nevermind A masterpiece of thematic display, a disaster of sonic experience By Hunter Wolff Editor-in-Chief When Nirvana released their third studio album, Nevermind, in September of 1991, the band never thought that the album would be as regarded as it is today in music history. In 1999, just eight years after the release, the album achieved RIAA Diamond Certification (10 million albums sold) in the United States and in 2012 Rollingstone Magazine listed Nevermind as the 17th greatest album of all time. Not only has Nevermind achieved critical and commercial success, but it’s also safe to say the album brought alternative rock music into the forefront of American and international popular music. Even so, Nevermind may not be as good as everyone says it is. Nevermind is definitely one of those albums that make you think about the themes that Kurt Cobain and Nirvana conveyed through their music. To begin with, the album cover of the naked baby in a swimming pool reaching for a dollar bill is one of the most iconic album covers in the history of music. It can be interpreted in many ways: a representation that people are taught to chase money from birth, a metaphor for Nirvana being sought after by corporate money, or simply as Cobain said, “it would make a cool cover.” How about the album title too? Nevermind as a title also has a greater significance. According to Cobain the title represents his struggle with social conformity. This struggle of his troubled him throughout his entire life, from his early childhood all the way to his suicide in 1994. Cobain’s depression and feel-
ings of being an outcast are major themes throughout the album and is a main reason why Nevermind connects with people on more than just a level of entertainment, but acts as a narrative of many people’s lives. The album opens with Nirvana’s #1 greatest hit, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a song that glorifies and examines the unfairness of life. It’s a grim opening but it sets the tone of what’s to come from the deeply emotional album. Cobain brings the energy right from the first guitar strum but the song takes a more mellow sound for the first verse with quick and light notes from his guitar. Cobain’s voice is smooth and watery. Then suddenly for the chorus the guitar, bass, and drums combine for a clashing of instruments and Cobain’s voice becomes heavy as he screams the lyrics. In one sense I admire the ability of Nirvana to combine soft and mellow sounds with loud and heavy sounds, but there is such a clash of sounds that it is excessive and unpleasant to listen to. The second song, “In Bloom,” continues with that same feeling, quiet verses and loud choruses. However, the third song, “Come As You Are,” stands out as one of Nirvana’s best songs. The song features a really nice guitar melody, great lyrics, and it remains calm and smooth throughout the entire song. For the rest of the album, the songs continue to have basic alternative rock rhythms and the screaming and clashing of sounds from Nirvana fail to form a more complicated and thoughtful album in terms of the sonic experience; the album lacks depth musically. However, the cohesiveness of the themes represented on Nevermind is some-
Photo courtesy of Billboard Kurt Cobain, the lead singer and guitarist for Nirvana, performing live at one of their most famous shows in 1993, MTV Unplugged In New York. Cobain died the following year.
Caxy Comics
Photo courtesy of Billboard The famous swimming baby on the cover of Nevermind. Although highly controversial for a number of reasons, the album cover remains one of the most iconic of all time.
thing that does make the album stand out to anything else I’ve ever listened to before. As a listener you can get into the head of the artist (Cobain), a quality many music fans want from their favorite artists, and not many albums provide that experience. If you are a Rock or Hard Rock music fan, this album is definitely for you. As a
whole, Nevermind encompasses many of the qualities of rock and it is truly a classic album. But for those that may have a harder time with Nirvana’s clashing of sounds and loud music, listen with caution, you may appreciate the lyrics and messages Cobain expresses on this album.
Caxy Match
Every month, The Spectator chooses one person at LFA who bears a striking resemblance to a celebrity figure. This month, we have paired freshman varsity soccer player Matthew Webley with professional soccer player Anthony Martial, who plays forward for Manchester United and the France national team.
“The Scariest Costumes”
By Charley Li
THE SPECTATOR OCTOBER 31, 2016
Sports
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New Flag Football club gains many supporters By Jaleel Gray Sports Editor The newest trend on Lake Forest Academy’s campus is joining this year’s flag football club formed by seniors Nithin Reddy and Blake Cedergren. Flag football has been a hot topic among the student body with many students playing after school on G-days. Even though the club started this year, it took months of experimentation to find a structure for the competition that was acceptable to everyone. According to Reddy, the club was actually formed during last year’s second semester, but there were no announcements and meetings so the club was practically unknown. Yet, this year, that did not happen. About 12 teams of three or four players signed up during the Club Fair, generating one of the largest turnouts among student clubs. This type of early success was surprising, even to the founders. “We were hoping to get five or six teams to come every week and the first week there were 35 kids,” recalled Reddy. The complexity of the scheduling rose due to the large amount of members. They organized week-by-week game schedules in Google Docs making sure every team played every other team at least once. “We play 15-minute games of 3v3 football in four rounds on every G-day at
1:30pm,” explained Cedergren. The games are played on four, small 45by-15 yard fields laid out on the football field. All the equipment such as the flags, footballs, and cones are supplied by the athletic department. Despite the large number of participants, the club still faces adversity, said Reddy. “Teams don’t always show up so we have to make adjustments during the day,” he noted. Missing teams disrupt the game schedule causing confusion. However, they created a system to have the games run smoothly. The solution was to contact members by email beforehand and know if they would participate on that date so Reddy and Cedergren could accurately schedule the games. This would make the entire process of playing more effective. Recently, there has been a decrease in participation due to many things happening on campus. Nevertheless, the club has a loyal following of participants. When asked about the activity, senior Logan Shaughnessy believed the club was fair and organized, and welcomes all students although the majority of the members are upperclassmen. “It is a great extracurricular activity before practice on a G-day if I have nothing to do,” he said.
Photo courtesy of LFA SmugMug
Senior captain Hanna Sutkowski contributes to the Girls Varsity Tennis’s positive season.
Girls Tennis: Graduating seniors create a racquet By Katy Morrison Features Editor
Photo by Kyle O’Shaughnessy
Tyler Grumhaus ‘17, Mark Pasikhov ‘19, and Mason Schilling ‘18 play flag football on the football field.
Their record could be misleading. The LFA Girls Varsity Tennis team ended the season with a 5-7 record, but the coaches would tell you the team had a positive season despite that record. Coached by Ms. Kimberly Graham, who was assisted by Mr. Timothy Plambeck, and under the leadership of captains Hanna Sutkowski, Sarah Hershenhorn, and Grace Rempala, the girls enjoyed their season despite lacluster record. Graham, the team’s head coach, looked back on the season as she noted the lack of seniors and thought of how “[the team] graduated half of [the team] last year so the main challenge going into this season was that we were going to be a very young and inexperienced varsity team”. Her realization of the lack of senior leadership served to explain the team’s losses this year, for the girls were still new to high school tennis, learning how to work together as a team in synonymous motion, and lacking in experienced players to help guide the team in competition. However, Graham refused to attribute the team’s losses simply to the gradu-
ation of so many seniors. She also believed that the losses reflected the rigorous level of competition the Caxys faced during this fall season. These teams included the much bigger public schools in the area, including New Trier and Lake Forest High School. Graham pointed out that despite hardships and losses, the girls still came out with five wins, and found numerous different skill sets throughout their team, finding talent even in the youngest of faces. This resulted in the addition of multiple new players to the varsity roster as well, including three new freshmen who Graham believed showed great talent. “With three freshmen on this year’s team, they’ve got three more seasons ahead of them to showcase their talent, growth, and athleticism,” Graham said. She believes that the following years hold great promise and excitement, hopeful for growing success in the future. Overall, the coaches felt strongly about the season. They are excited to work with returning players, and look forward to watching them grow and progress as a team next season. Ideally, the coaches hope the team remembers the new knowledge learned this fall and carries it into next year.
THE SPECTATOR 18
Sports
OCTOBER 31, 2016
Golf overcomes lack of experience By Jack Mahon Sports Editor The 2016 season was expected to be challenging for the Lake Forest Academy Golf Team because of graduation losses. But strong leadership from the seniors, as well as unexpected performances from some of the team’s younger players led to a good 6-3 season. Coach Jonathan Freeman said this team was built around the leadership shown by senior captains Andrew Hechtman and Austin Clamage. The Caxys posted some strong performances over the season, which included a 3rd place finish at the Fran Noyes Invitational, as well as beating the LFHS freshman/sophomore team. “They were great because they led effectively with their enthusiasm, character and sportsmanship. They served as very strong role models for our young team,” said Freeman. Originally the golf team was expecting a tough season because of a lack of experience and low team numbers. Although they had enough players to have both a Varsity and a JV team, not as many golfers were in the program as in past years, which “cut into our depth,” according to Freeman. They were aided by senior Thomas Pinel, who joined the team a few weeks into the year.
One big event for the golf team this year was the annual Gerber Cup. Every year the LFA Golf team splits into two teams, Red and Blue, and have their own competition. This year the Red team, led by Hechtman, earned the win. “The Gerber Cup is always a great experience. It’s fun, competitive, and exciting,” said Hechtman. “This year it came down to the final group and was probably the most tense/exciting moment of the season.” Next season, golf will have a few returning varsity players. Joe Carroll, a junior who has been on Varsity his entire LFA career, will certainly be one of the most influential players. Freeman stressed that this year’s golfers will have to work on their game in the off-season in order to go into next season strongly. “I look forward to it. Playing next year and leading the team should be a fun experience,” said Carroll, when asked about his thoughts on next season. Freeman also wanted prospective golfers to know that everyone is free to come try out, because there is plenty of opportunity on this team. “I want everyone to feel like they have a shot at this team. Being a co-ed sport, we don’t care who tries out, as long as they have a passion for the game of golf,” said Freeman.
Photo courtesy of LFA SmugMug
Sophomore Colin Weil putting in a varsity match against Wauconda High School.
Girls swimming makes a splash with great season By Elizabeth Christoph A&E Editor
Photo courtesy of LFA SmugMug
Senior captain Marilou Cameron competes in the 200 IM race in the Caxy’s first home meet.
New pool records and lots of personal-best times were not the whole story about this year’s LFA girls swimming. According to one member of the team, the girls had a great season due to the incredible team effort and spirit as well. “Overall I think we had a really good season,” said junior Shreya Singhvi. “We won most of our meets, and we had a good time swimming together. That’s what really counts.” Although not affiliated with a conference, the girls faced many big high school teams with a lot of talent and depth to their lineup. The Caxys won all of their regular meets except for the one against Lake Forest High School. The team is losing only three seniors to graduation this year, but one of them is Zeynep Kivanc, the swimmer who owns most of the LFA pool records and who has contributed immensely to the success of the girls swim team. Coach Natalie Schawel isn’t too worried about the team’s future, though. “Throughout the classes there are a lot
of strong swimmers, it’s always hard to lose members of a team but we still have a lot of strong abilities on the team,” stated Schawel. She believes that the intensity of this year’s schedule really challenged the girls to be the best they could. Schawel was proud of the girls’ effort this season and praised the athletic ability of all the girls on the team. “There wasn’t really a significant win or loss…a lot of the times we really came together as a team during the relays and we were able to get a lot of points from that,” said Singhvi. The team does not just have a few stars who broke individual records. The coach noted the team’s great depth which allowed for a lot of points to be earned by Caxy relay teams. The sheer talent and team camaraderie allowed the girls to really go above and beyond the expectations for the season, said Schawel. Everyone on the team would tell you how fun being a part of the team was. “It’s a really great team, you should join,” added junior Courtney Bradac with a big smile.
THE SPECTATOR OCTOBER 31, 2016
Sports
19
Girls Volleyball fosters young talent
By Obaid Ansari Managing Editor of Sports
This year’s Girls Varsity Volleyball had more underclassman than is typically common at the varsity level. While having less years of varsity level-game experience was at times a difficult obstacle to overcome this season, it will hopefully pay off in years to come. “Being younger players, they are not as used to a fast-paced game against bigger girls compared to the JV or middle school level. They also have been playing together for less time which is a slight disadvantage” said Head Coach Maggie Boomgaarden. At the beginning of the season the team’s goals were to communicate well, be supportive of each other, and achieve a .500 record. Having less experience made it more challenging to be consistent. Although they did not achieve a .500 record, the girls accomplished their other goals. “They are very talented. It was just difficult for them to play as well as they can each game when they are not as used to being in mentally difficult situations as are older, more experienced players,” said
Boomgaarden. The positives of having a young team is that they will continue to grow and develop, and will gain tons of experience at the varsity level. By the time they are juniors and seniors they will be extremely well pre-
pared and confident with their own skills and their skills as a team. Boomgaarden noticed just from the beginning to the end of the season that their skills in passing, setting, and blocking improved immensely. This is an encouraging sign because they
Photo courtesy of LFA SmugMug
Freshman Katie Wolters shows she can compete at the Varsity level.
will only continue to improve in the following years. With a young team many girls got an opportunity to play, and Boomgaarden noted that freshman Katie Wolters really impressed. “She is a setter and that’s where we want to develop her but she is also a really good passer and can hit,” stated Boomgaarden. “She was a great all-around player and being able to play any position is really impressive.” Athough their record may not have been as successful as last year, there were still many highlights. Sophomore captain M.J. Alexander recalls the game against North Shore Country Day to be especially fun. “The match went into three games and the crowd was very positive which made us play with a lot of energy,” said Alexander. “Even though we lost the game, overall it was a lot of fun to play in front of our home crowd.” The goal for next season is to start where they left off and continue to build. The key to having a young team is to build chemistry each year. Expect this team to be very dominant in the next two years.
Boys and Girls Cross Country programs succeed amidst coaching changes and injuries By Max Hayes Sports Editor During the fall athletic season, the LFA Cross Country program was excited to have charismatic head coach, Ed Shaughnessy, back working with the team. Shaughnessy, known for his entertaining stories and antics, returned as the Boys Cross Country coach this Fall after a two-year hiatus due to his devotion to teaching engineering at LFA. “The reason why I stopped coaching cross country was because engineering was a new course and I really wanted to put my time into it to help it succeed,” explained Shaughnessy. The team members were thrilled to have Shaughnessy back. Jacob Chagoya and Blake Cedergren, who were named captains of this year’s team, reported that the team reacted positively to Shaughnessy’s return. “Having Mr. Shaughnessy back was great for the team,” said Chagoya, “he not only kept us in shape, but he also made it fun. We got a lot of work in because of that.” Shaughnessy led the newly-energized team to some success this season as well. The team won two of its home meets and have placed well in away meets. Chagoya, being one of the team’s captains, had a very impressive season, placing first for LFA in 7/8 races with a 5k run personal record of 18:54. Cedergren, also a captain, had a solid 5k run personal record of 19:07 in the final race in Lisle. Jackson Bedword, one
of the team’s top performers throughout the season, had an exceptional 5k run record of 18:36. According to Shaughnessy, the key to improving the team was getting kids to commit to running over the summer. He explained how the progress of running ability is directly proportional to the amount of miles ran during the off season. The Girls Cross Country program had much success as well, despite some nagging key injuries throughout the season. According to Head Coach Chris Dozois, the injury problems stopped the team from reaching its full potential this season. The majority of these injuries were to seniors, the leaders of the team, and the injuries kept recurring. As a result, according to Dozois, the LFA girls never got to see just how strong their team might have been. However, according Dozois, the season held many personal best records for the runners. Katy Morrison, key member to the team, had a great 5k run personal record of 21:51. Katie Dozois had a good 5k personal record of 23:47. Another member of the team, Olivia Shaw, had 5k personal best record of 23:39. “It would’ve been nice to have all the girls in full strength to see what we could’ve done this year,” said Dozois. The Cross Country program will look to rebuild next year, as both the boys and girls teams have just a handful of seniors graduating. With promising young talent throughout the whole program, Cross Country will look to continue its success next fall.
Photo couresty of Jacob Chagoya
Senior captain Jacob Chagoya placed 26th at the Lisle Cross Country Invitational.
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Sports
OCTOBER 31, 2016
Soccer comes back to beat a top team in the nation on penalty kicks By Nithin Reddy Senior Sports Editor The Lake Forest Academy soccer team recently took a trip to St. Louis where they competed in the Gateway Classic tournament and played against some of the top teams in the country. They played three games, capping the weekend by beating The Kiski School, a top 10 soccer team in the country. Going into the game the Caxys knew they were underdogs, and this allowed them to have a more calm and relaxed approach to the game. “In a game like that we don’t really have much pressure on us. We were playing an elite team, our fans were being very supportive, and we understood that all we had to do was have fun with it and learn from them,” said senior forward Logan Shaughnessy, “In doing so I think we played our best soccer of the year and overall we finished all our chances.” However, the game didn’t start out as well as the Caxys hoped. They went down early, as they trailed 2-0 after 20 minutes and 3-0 at the half. Coach Makovec could tell that the team was struggling. “[The first half] didn’t look good. We weren’t able to cre-
ate any chances,” said Makovec. Once the Caxys trailed 4-0, Makovec decided to pull the plug and bring in some of the younger guys and some of the bench players. With most of the starters out, senior forward Jaleel Gray stayed in and scored three goals in a row to cut Kiski’s lead to 4-3. Soon after, Shaughnessy scored the game tying goal, and the Caxys ended up defeating Kiski in penalty kicks. The Caxys were also dealing with injuries, as seniors Luis Arreola and Felipe Alban were unable to play, but the team as a whole came together to play a complete game. While this game goes down as one great gamse played by the Caxys, it means more than that. This victory has helped propel the team and has helped prepare them for a strong finish to the season, like a 5-1 victory over LFHS. “These boys honestly believe they can beat anybody, which is a good attitude to have. They definitely have a lot of confidence, and they know they can play with anybody,” said the coach. As the season wraps up, this win may become the defining moment for the soccer team’s season. It may even go down as one of the biggest victories in the history of Lake Forest Academy athletics.
Photo courtesy of LFA SmugMug
Senior forward Jaleel Gray scored a hat trick against Kiski to help LFA come back from a 4-0 deficit.
Prep Hockey dominates Ridley Cup for the first time By Lucas Jacob Senior Sports Editor
Photo courtesy of LFA SmugMug
Junior Andrej Hromic skates through Everest Academy’s defense with ease.
After winning 31 games last year, the Lake Forest Academy Prep Hockey Team appears poised to do even better in 201617. The team is already 11-1-1, and earned first place in the Minnesota Showcase, and captured a long-desired Ridley Tiger Cup championship trophy. The Caxys’ success has revolved around their 13 seniors and strength in numbers, according to their coach. “Che Landikusic and Harrison Scott are two sophomores right there playing even better than expected, not to mention Ryan Nolan has gotten considerably better. He’s playing at a very high level right now. We have the ability to throw four lines at you which I haven’t had in 10 years here,” said Coach Darrin Madeley. Senior captain Cameron Judge and the three assistant captains, Joe Alexander, Ryan Nolan, and Jake Upshall are doing their best to give the high-powered LFA hockey program the leadership it needs to succeed. After losing their former captain Michael Thomas, the team is doing its
best to make sure they carry the weight of his pivotal role. “Mikey’s huge, you can never replace somebody that good. All you do is hope the guys taking over can step up and do it. Joe, Cam, Davis, and Dusek have eased the burden of losing him,” Madeley said. Not only is the team managing to replace their star player’s talent, the Caxy’s have had a lot of help with two senior goalies, Zach Rose and Adam Wisco switching off games. Splitting even time, the goalies have given their team the benefit of having strength in numbers. Rose was pivotal in helping his team get the win in the Ridley Tiger Cup championship. “The team looks really strong this far and we’re working really hard to be even better than last year,” said senior Reiss Jensen. Jensen pointed to the Ridley tournament as proof. The past five seasons the Caxy’s had failed to defeat Ridley. The 2016 Caxys were able to start their season off with a big confidence booster by defeating Ridley easily. This win sets up big expectations for the Caxy’s to keep up their strong play throughout the rest of the season.