Crimson Sun v14 n4

The Crimson Sun Vol. 14, No. 4

The Student Newspaper of Morristown-Beard School 70 Whippany Road, Morristown, NJ 07960

May 2013

Baseball field to get “turfed” this spring

By Matt Downey

Photo:Benjamin Leigh

The luscious grass baseball field will soon turn into mud-free turf.

Morristown-Beard’s traditional grassy baseball field will be replaced with turf this spring. Construction is projected to begin at the finish of the season and be completed before fall sports start. The pitch-

er’s mound will remain clay.

The project will cost about $1.6 million, of which $1.3 million has been raised since September from about a dozen donors and the support of the Crimson Club

and Parents’ Association, according to Betsy Patterson, Head of Development.

“We plan on starting the project in June,” Ms. Patterson said.

The turf will open doors for other teams and alleviate headaches for the baseball team down the road, MBS coaches said.

“This year has been especially tough,” said MBS varsity pitcher Nick Ferry.

The baseball team often showed up hours in advance of games to rake and prepare the field, he explained.

Because of poor drainage and standing water, Ferry added, “We [baseball team members] actually dug holes in the field, let the water drain into them, and then we would take a ShopVac and suck the water out.”

Players and coaches have mixed reactions to the turf plan.

“It is tough to get games in, and it will be nice to not have

to worry about the shape of the field,” said Coach Sturgeon, an advocate for the turf.

“Cancelled games add to the complexity of our strategizing. I hope the complexness will diminish with the new field,” Coach Sturgeon said.

Pitcher Jeremy Westaway, a sophomore, agreed.

“There comes a point when it gets a little ridiculous, when we start digging holes in front of short-stop and behind the plate, and then take a ShopVac to suck up all the water,” Westaway said. “That is where I draw the line.”

While some players are excited for the field to become turf, others are not so happy.

Shaine Carpenter, a senior and starting catcher, said, “I love taking pride in fixing the field because I have the right to call it my own.”

In addition, one of the team’s major home field advantages will be removed. “Especially towards the end of the season, our grass becomes extremely thick

and we tend to let it grow a bit longer,” said Coach Sturgeon.

“More often than not, this works to our advantage because teams do not make the necessary adjustments,” he added.

“By having turf, the playing field will, literally and metaphorically be leveled out,” Coach Sturgeon said.

Ironically, the baseball team will soon have to adjust to grass fields at away games.

“We will be used to playing on a consistent field,” said Coach John Sheppard, “so when we have away games, we are going to have to be much more cognizant of the [grass] field conditions and much more focused as we are warming up.”

Still, Coach Sheppard and many team members welcome the change.

The improvements to the field are “exciting for us,” said Coach Shepard. “Each year the administration improves the facilities. Now, we too will have a top-notch field, and can make the most of the opportunity.”

SGA President-elect Beeber reveals plans

By Bridget Finnegan

In an unusual election for the Student Government Association, five candidates ran for president, including juniors Jillian Griffith, Ashley Young, and Ben Leigh, Matt Sefcik, a sophomore, and Jake Beeber a junior, who was elected.

Since each candidate seemed qualified and offered something unique, “It was extremely hard to vote,” Bella

Cuomo, a freshman, said.

In his campaign speech, Beeber said he considers himself “different. What exactly makes Jake Beeber different from the other five candidates?

“Beeber is passionate about everything he does,” said Danny Tetzloff, a junior.

“Beeber may even have a little too much enthusiasm,” added Jackson Becker, a junior.

Inside This Issue NEWS: -Haiti reporter talks about earthquake (5) -Bryan Burrough, Public Enemies author, shares ups and downs (5) OPINION: -Are AP Courses out of date? (2) -The case for classes outside (3) -MBS Survival Guide (4) -Freshman fears (4) FEATURES: -Freshmen view on Midsummer Night (6) -Chris Finn, the wizard of audio-visual (7) - Librarian Renee Kenny’s previous Wall Street life (7) -CMW/ArtVenture (8-9) -How to catch an octopus (9) -Senior projects (12) REVIEWS: -Big Bad Musical, the Middle School play (10) -Binge watching (11) SPORTS: -Anxieties of a junior athlete (13) -Golf (13) -Tennis and inside Peter Daly’s head (14) -Girls’ and boys’ lacrosse (15) -Baseball and softball (16)

Jake Beeber, SGA president-elect, talks about grand plans for the coming year.

Beeber contends that his passion and excitement stood out on election day, Friday, April 19, in Founders Hall. He hooked his audience with a balance of seriousness and humor, Beeber said.

Since then, he has chosen the Beeber administration. His cabinet for the 2013-2014 year will consist of Max Cuomo as Vice President, Kyle Vanderhoof as Treasurer, Ben Leigh as Historian, and Jess Wright as Secretary.

Beeber said he weighed the needs of the students to come up with plans for the year. For the upper school, his goals include what he called the Crimson spotlight: highlighting one memorable event from each

week at Friday morning meetings. Second, he proposes a new and improved homecoming, which would begin on a Friday with a giant pep rally to open the weekend. He envisions lass tents all over campus. One tent will serve food. Another will sell crimson apparel. A rock wall will be available for the student body. Beeber said he wants “EVERYONE to be there.”

Beeber has proposed a “delegates program” to give Middle School students a voice in the SGA and keep them involved. This will consist of a representative from each class who can attend SGA meetings not only to voice their opinions, but also learn about the responsibilities of a student officer.

Photo:Benjamin Leigh

He would also like to create more activities during spirit week for the Middle School.

“I’d like to bring the school together like never before,” he said.

Mike Koslov, the current SGA president, said he was pleased to see someone with such drive and dedication to be filling his shoes.

Koslov offers Beeber some words of advice.

“Make sure to keep a presence all year long,” Koslov said, adding, “It is smart to lay out a year long plan, one that you do not necessarily need to follow, but can be used to keep track of your progress to avoid rushing things.”

2

Opinion/Editorial The Crimson Sun 70 Whippany Road Morristown, New jersey 07960 973-539-3032

Editors-in-Chief Ashley Young

Benjamin Leigh News Editor Ben Schreiber Feature Editor Tom Vurno Op-Ed Editor Mitch Green Sports Editors Brian Andrzejewski Kaitlyn Tatulli

Culture Editor Katie Sidlowski Photo Editor Jessica Small Staff Photographers Danielle DiRaddo Scott Chanzit Business Manager Kaitlyn Tatulli Faculty Adviser: Ida Picker

Thanks to: Bruce Adams, Ezra Gottlieb, Barbara Napholtz, Chris Finn, Caitlin Trought, Steve Patchett, Darren Burns, Darren Lovelock, John Mascaro.

We welcome letters to the editor, opinion pieces, stories, cartoons and photographs.To contact the paper regarding submissions, send an e-mail to either ayoung@mbs.net or bleigh@mbs.net.

The Crimson Sun corrects its factual errors and accepts corrections.

The Crimson Sun is a 4-16 page newspaper, available in print and online through the mbs. net website. It is written primarily for the approximately 544 students attending MBS and the approximately 100 faculty and staff members, and is distributed free of charge to all members of the school community.

The Crimson Sun provides information and entertainment in addition to various viewpoints on debatable issues. We will not print anything that is deemed libelous, obscene or in poor taste. We reserve the right to edit or withhold anything submitted and correct spelling, grammar and punctuation when necessary.

May 2013

Editorial:

The ins and outs of turfing the baseball field

To turf, or not to turf, that is the question. The last grass field on campus, the baseball field, will be turfed this spring. Our neat astroturf fields certainly look good from Whippany Road and are useful to the majority of our sports teams but traditionally, the baseball field has been grass.

The classic nature of the grass and sand field cannot be denied, but lately its poor drainage system has caused significant problems for the baseball team.

Turfing the baseball field, while it will alleviate the drainage issue, raises other concerns. For Morristown-Beard, this is not just an investment in the baseball team, but an investment in other teams as well. The soccer and lacrosse teams will be able to play on the newly turfed fields, too. But for the baseball team, that field is their livelihood. Will they now have to split field time with displaced lacrosse players? Who will take precedent?

In addition, because this field will soon be used for other teams as well, there will have to be a series of lines drawn on it. This maze of lines will represent the boundaries of the soccer field, the boxes of a lacrosse field, as well as the foul territory lines of a baseball field. Most teams always play on a turf with multiple sets of lines. The baseball team will have to adjust to

this confusing new pattern.

What is turf really? It’s synthetic fibers, ‘fake grass’ essentially. Some artificial turf comes with silicon sand infills, or granulated rubber made of recycled auto tires carrying contaminant metal traces.

“Goodbye grass stains, hello turf burn.”

The synthetic nature of turf involves some disadvantages. Periodic disinfections of the turf are necessary, since pathogens (bacteria) are not broken down on turf the same way they are on grass. Essentially, germs just sit on the surface until wiped out by artificial purification.

Goodbye grass stains, hello turf burn. Unlike natural grass, friction between the body and the turf can cause nasty abrasions and burns, just ask Daisuke. Then there’s the heat. Artificial turf can also be at least ten degrees hotter than natural grass. In some cases, it far exceeds that. Turf fields have been documented at as

high as 199°F on a day with an air temperature of 98°F, according to the University of Arkansas’ Division of Agriculture.

With the grass gone, the field hockey team will have no place to practice their grass skills. Field hockey generally plays and practices on turf, but about half of their schedule is played against grass-field teams. The game of field hockey varies tremendously from turf to grass. The girls utilize the baseball outfield when they have an upcoming grass game.

Now, they will have no way to develop their grass skills at practice. Also, as members of the softball team can attest, balls on turf roll a lot faster and farther than balls on grass do.

Turfing the baseball field will come with a set of unique challenges. While this seems to be the right move for our school at this point, certain teams will benefit more immediately than others. While turfing the field seems like the ending of an era, MorristownBeard is looking toward the future, replacing classic with modern. We expect the baseball team will master the turf just as they’ve mastered the grass. http://turf.uark.edu/turfhelp/archives/021109.html h t t p : / / w w w. l i v e s t r o n g . com/article/25056materials-astroturf/

Are APs what they’re made out to be?

By Matt Downey

Advanced Placement courses are archaic.

The curriculum needs to be restructured, providing students with classes that allow them to delve into the content.

It is argued that standardized testing hinders a teacher’s ability to fully teach because they have to prepare their students for the almighty test, a test that will ultimately put every child on the same plane so they can be easily compared.

By opting to go the private school route, parents hope that their children will no longer be taught to a test, enabling the teacher to go more into depth and giving the child a richer education.

Then why is it that students in private schools that are the “crème of the crop” are placed into these classes where they will be taught to a test?

1956 was the birth of the A.P. exams, a time when the idea of memorizing an immense

amount of information was not frowned upon. But now, the thought of memorizing information is considered a mortal sin.

If a CEO were to sit down with two job applications, one person stating that they can memorize any amount of information that they are given, the other person saying that they have the ability to think critically. Which person does the CEO decide to hire? In a Forbes article Harvard Fellow Tony Wagner states, “What the world cares about is what you can do with what you know.”1

Because of the invention of the Internet, memorizing facts is now unnecessary. Of course, a base knowledge of information is necessary, but any unknown fact or figure can now easily be found with the help of a device that everyone now carries around in their pocket.

The education system is lagging and needs to quickly come up to speed with what society

now needs, which is people who can analyze information and

“The world needs more leaders and AP courses are not laying the groundwork.” turn it into something useful.

The whole concept of an A.P. exam (biology and history exams being the big-

gest culprits) is to see what a student knows, and how they would handle themselves in a college class setting. An A.P. course is not necessarily the best way to give kids the foundation that they need.

From my own experience with A.P.’s in US, Economics, Euro, Statistics, and Spanish, I can confidently say that the class could be much more in depth. The problem with Advanced Placement courses is that teachers are pressured to skim the content so they can fit in what students need to understand for the test.

In this school, teachers do their best to get as in depth as possible, but from experience, they are still only grazing the surface.

The world of academia needs to take a step back and see what lies in the best interests of the students. In our competitive society, it is difficult to pull away from a system that helps put

kids on a level playing field, but, truly, educators are doing a disservice to their pupils.

There needs to be a class comparable to A.P.’s where students are being challenged conceptually and not being trained to simply regurgitate information. This in return will create leaders.

Those who take these courses will outshine others. Granted, it will make the admissions counselors’ jobs more difficult, but those taking the “critical thinking” classes will stand out and still be admitted into the more competitive colleges. The world needs more leaders and A.P. courses are not laying the groundwork.

They are forcing students to memorize information, which they will inevitably forget. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ ericaswallow/2012/04/25/ creating-innovators/

1

May 2013

Opinion/Editorial

3

Question for our readers, from the editors: You may think that we fell asleep and forgot there were two opinion pieces on the same topic (below), but we did not. We wanted to see which one you thought was more convincing. Send an email to bleigh@mbs.net or ayoung@mbs.net with your opinion.

Class outside? Did someone say naptime?

By Nick Ferry

Students long for the time of year when it is warm enough to try and convince their teacher to have class outside. When that time comes, they will pile into the classrooms sucking up to teachers, saying things like, “Mr. Kelly, I love that tie of yours. It really brings out your eyes!” or, “Ms. Eggert, your hair looks beautiful today!” Teachers, beware of the sly students that may say these things, for they are not genuine. (Except for when I say them. I am always genuine.)

But why do students love having class outside? To

get some fresh air? No. At this school, students get more than enough fresh air walking from class to class, getting out of class and ‘going to the bathroom’ or sitting on the turf during the two hours of free time the average student has per day. So no, getting fresh air is not the reason students love to have class outside.

Some say that having class outside provides a better working environment.

Though valid, the outdoors only provides a good working environment for the individual and not for an in depth

class lesson.

Senior Matt Downey enjoys writing essays outside when he’s alone.

“Sometimes I’ll go outside when I’m home to write an essay. I can really concentrate when I’m alone.

But, I guarantee I wouldn’t be paying attention if I had a class outside,” Downey says.

Max Weinstein, a junior, says having class outside is a great source of Vitamin D. That is a load of baloney. Hogwash. Malarkey.

Are you kidding me? Students get plenty of Vitamin D while tanning on the turf.

The real reason to have class outside is to avoid the class lesson planned for that day and everyone knows it.

“Having class outside makes it easier for me to day dream,” says Shaine Carpenter, a senior. “Instead of looking out a window, I can look anywhere.”

Jake Beeber agrees.

“Whenever I have a class outside, I put on my shades and take a nap,” Beeber says.

“My teachers never notice.”

I am not discouraging teachers from having class outside. I think it is a great thing.

Teachers just have

to understand that in going outside, they cannot plan on having a serious lesson. The teacher needs to have an engaging class discussion that does not involve any class notes, but, rather, just conversation.

On the other hand, if a teacher is willing to do this, students need to meet their teacher halfway by paying attention and appreciating the fact that the teacher is having class outside.

Teachers, why not!

We all need those classes outside every once in a while.

The case for class outside

Cartoon: Benjamin Leigh

By Max Weinstein

The warm temperatures, lively wildlife and vivacious flowers of spring draw students outside during their free time like bees to honey. Most MBS community members prefer lying under a dazzling yellow sun, breathing in the sweet smells of nature to sitting in a plastic chair in an artificially lit room where power cords and Apple computers fight for local dominance.

Most teachers subscribe to a classroom-only method of education, probably based on concerns about student focus and produc-

tivity. However, there is a strong case to be made for occasional outside classes during clement and balmy days.

For stressed, tired and sick students, the sun has great healing powers. A 2010 study by The New York Times has shown that, when not on summer break, students spend an average of 22 hours indoors daily, causing vitamin D deficiencies in about half of America’s students.

The effects of Vitamin D deficiency can be severe. Deficient students have higher blood pressure, lower stress tolerance, slower me-

tabolism, increased stress endorphins, and are quicker to fatigue. Indoor fluorescent lighting actually exacerbates these symptoms.

Even taking students outside every other week for a class period can have significant effects on their productivity.

University of California has discovered that weekly sixty-minute exposure to ultra-violet light from the sun can reduce common cold frequency by forty percent.

Skeptical teachers may say that, despite the long-term health ben-

efits of class outside, students’ immediate focus will surely be disrupted, and the class will go to waste.

On the contrary, the outdoors gives students the potential for sharper focus.

Teachers should tap into that potential instead of dismissing the whole concept as a charade. They can set clear guidelines about their expectations and just give it a try.

Class outside is not a tool that can replace the classroom, but it is a way to keep students alert and refreshed.

You never know what secret tools of learning a new envi-

ronment holds until you venture out and see for yourself.

In the meantime, students will tromp from class to class, through a brief and blissful minute of warm spring air, to another class indoors, and another, longing for the day when their teacher takes that risk, and everyone reaps the reward.

Surely teachers don’t want students to be stressed, tired, and unable to concentrate on their assignments.

Rather than take away student focus, class outside will amplify it.

4

Opinion/Editorial

May 2013

Not in America: who cares?

By Peter Daly

On April 15, 2013, the people of the United States were stunned by the Boston Marathon terrorist attacks and understandably so. On the initial day of the attacks, the media extensively covered these events. However, in the week that followed these bombings, the weaknesses and flaws of American media were shown. The media of the U.S. was so obsessed with the attacks on the Boston Marathon that it failed to pay the appropriate attention to tragic events elsewhere in the world.

If you got your news

ing collapse were discretely tucked away at the bottom of the screen.

CNN’s, NBC’s, and FOX’s websites and news stations throughout that hectic week followed one pattern: domestic news.

Regardless of the magnitude of the story, each news source solely focused on news that pertained to the United States. Papers, sites, and broadcasts highlighted in great detail the events in Boston, Texas, and Washington DC on the front page or top of the screen. However, sig-

nificant international stories like the Chines earthquake or the Syrian Civil war were basically ignored.

While the Boston bombings was an important story to cover, American media went over board, relying solely on that story to cover airtime and paper space.

One picture that captured the essence of this insensitive apathy exhibited by the news during that week was an image of Syrian civilians holding a banner addressed to the people in Boston, saying, “Boston Bombings repre-

sent a sorrowful scene of what happens everyday in Syria. Do accept our condolences.” This powerful message truly summed up the lack of sympathy and empathy that America needed to show towards international affairs.

Although that week of news may have been difficult to manage in general, it still sheds light on the lack attention or even empathy news stations in the United States show towards all the stories around world as opposed to just internal national news.

Cartoon: Benjamin Leigh

“I look ahead or straight at the ground. Then, I flee.”

No, freshman Amanda Sit is not describing the actions taken when encountering a dark alley at night. She is referring to her usual procedure when walking through the “junior nook” or the “junior hallway” in Grant Hall. For many ninth-graders, this area is a trauma-inducing location. What could be the cause of this strong sentiment?

The answer is that most freshmen feel that upperclassmen are intimidating.

Ninth-grader Annabel Pruitt says that she is scared of the juniors because of “their massive size and infinite numbers.”

Freshman Dan Lombardi states that not only is it intimidating to pass through the junior hallway, but it’s also “awkward to constantly walk through their conversations.”

Amanda Sit complains

that they just “stare at everyone who walks past them,” when passing through this hallway on the way to class.

Is it possible that these freshmen are just being paranoid and imagining that everyone is staring at them? There is simply no way to find out.

Nonetheless, freshmen will go to great lengths to avoid walking through the hallway alone. In the unfortunate circumstance that she has no friend to accompany her, Sit has been known to sprint through the junior hallway to get through it as quickly as possible, for it seems there is no better alternative.

For freshmen with classes on the first floor of Grant Hall, when disaster strikes and they need to use the bathroom, they will use the restrooms across from the host-note board. This is quite a frightening experience, they say, since the route

involves going through the junior –occupied hallway corridor. Those who prefer comfort over convenience will make the exhausting climb upstairs, past the library, and down the stairs yet again, just to get to the bathroom. Even at the risk of being late to class, freshmen will plan excessively longer, often bizarre, routes to avoid the infamous hallway.

While friendships between upperclassmen and lowerclassmen exist at MBS, it is not surprising that some freshmen are perturbed by their older peers due to the natural hierarchy of the high school environment.

Perhaps this marvel in Grant Hall is an essential part of the high school experience.

Are these freshmen overexaggerating? Or is breaking into a cold sweat when passing older kids just part of growing up?

an epiphany my freshman year: If I was so close to my community in middle school, why couldn’t I do that in this community? And from then on in, I decided that it was me that had to put in the effort.

Going to MBS these past four years has been nothing short of a blessing. I have met friends who will last me a lifetime, and learned lessons that will transcend school and carry me through the rest of my life. The person I have become is completely shaped by the values built in our community, and I don’t know what type of person I would be if I had gone to a different school. At the very least, I would wear a lot fewer boat shoes and collared shirts.

I have two words for anyone that wants to love MBS as much as I did:

get involved. Part of being an MBS student is thinking of all the things you can do for the school, and not just what the school can do for you. Thinking back to Biology, if MorristownBeard is the human body, its students are the cells.

There was no Ultimate Frisbee Club when I got here, but that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t have been. Create your own experience. Your happiness is in the palm of your hand, and the first step to surviving Morristown-Beard is understanding that it isn’t “surviving.”

It’s LIVING.

The best part of getting involved is the next step to “survival”: meeting people. Morristown-Beard is small: there is no reason you can’t know everyone, even if just by name. Be social, get

to know the people around you. They’re your community now, so make the most of it.

On to lunch. Mitch Green’s philosophy is: when in doubt, get a sandwich.

There are of course several scenarios when this principal does not apply: chicken patty day, filet mignon day, and Rice Krispie day. Otherwise, make sure you open up your comfort zone a little bit, and remember to eat as much as you can each day because, you know, unlimited food!

In the classroom, it is always important to develop a good dynamic with your teacher. That doesn’t mean be the teacher’s pet, but with the small classes, you can develop an understanding with the teacher. Always be honest with your teachers, and let them know as much as

they can about you. That way, when you make mistakes, they understand that is just who you are.

In reality, though, you can take everything I say with a grain of salt.

Yeah, I really loved my experience here, but that was my own experience.

What I’m trying to say is, everyone’s experience is and should be different.

My point is you are in control of your own existence. Morristown-Beard gives you the tools for selfexpression, and the opportunity to pursue your interests. Your high school experience is everything you make of it, and if you love what you do and what you CAN do, then you can be that senior dreading the last day of school, which isn’t as bad as it sounds.

via American Media during this week, you probably would not know that during the same week as the Boston bombings, horrific events such as a massive earthquake in China that killed 400, a horrific building collapse in Bangladesh that killed over 900, and an escalation in the Syrian civil war all took place.

If you looked at the front page of CNN or watched FOX news, the Boston Bombings were constantly in the headlines and such events as the Bangladesh build-

Freshman fear

the “terrors” of hallways

By Isabelle Fagan and Molly Glick

MBS survival guide

By Mitch Green

If I had to sum up my Morristown-Beard career in one word, it would be this: fast. Everyone always told me how fast high school goes by, but I don’t think I ever understood what they meant until now. I feel like I went to bed yesterday a freshman and woke up a fourth-quarter senior.

That’s not to say that making it this far in high school was a painless endeavor. I graduated 8th grade from a small Catholic school with twelve other students that I had known since kindergarten, and none of them came to MBS.

Making the transition to high school was extremely intimidating. I won’t lie and say I was confident and outgoing at first. But eventually I found my place, and it was all because I had

May 2013

News

5

Photo: Jessica Small Jonathon Katz recalls his harrowing experiences in Haiti during the major earthquake and cholera outbreak in 2010, which he developed into The Big Truck That Went By.

Jonathan Katz reports on Haiti

By Emily Bruno

It’s 4:53 pm on January 12, 2010. Jonathan Katz, an American correspondent for Associated Press, is working at his desk in Haiti, next to his friend Evans. Evans goes outside to examine the house, since something seemed not quite right. Katz keeps working, thinking he is just hearing a big truck driving by. Suddenly, the house shook, then collapsed, cutting Evans’s desk in half and leaving Katz inside.

Evans runs inside and escorts Katz to safety.

Now that he knows he is not in danger, Katz knows what he has to do. He has to snap into journalism mode and capture the infamous Haiti earthquake.

Jonathan M. Katz, journalist and author of his non-fiction book, The Big Truck That Went By, spoke to MBS students on April 22 about his experiences in Haiti. Not only was Katz in Haiti during the devasting earthquake. He was also there during the outbreak of the cholera epidemic that followed.

During his talk, Katz addressed ongoing housing issues in Haiti. Overall, Haiti is in the same position it was in on January 12, 2010.

Around 300,000 people are without homes, still trying to recover from the disaster. Some aid is coming to Haiti, but not enough. Donations like food and tarps serving as houses are temporary “band-aids,” he said.

According to Katz, 93 percent of the money donated never leaves the donor countries. So is aid re-

story, “Les Romancers,” by Edmond Rostand and is the longest running musical production in America with 17,162 performances.

Dr. Horan thinks of the play as “Romeo and Juliet” in reverse.

As a kid, he participated in plays at community theatres in New Jersey and New York as a pianist and an actor.

After receiving an academic background in drama, he later

moved into musical directing.

Since he does both, direction and choreography, he can have his own unified vision.

They practice several nights a week with a volunteer cast.

“Directing is the same as teaching,” said Dr. Horan.

Next year he will teach modern Irish and British plays, as well as Shakespeare and film.

ally working? Is the money that you might have donated being used effectively?

On the other hand, Haitians may have already recovered emotionally. Two to three weeks after the earthquake, Katz recalled, people were trying to return to their normal routines, re-opening businesses like barber shops and CD stores, and even setting up movie theaters.

One MBS student asked why we never hear any of this on the news today. Katz responded that the

events happening in Haiti are not considered news anymore by reporters. Haiti is a poor country and things like this happen every day

Through his book and his appearances on television, radio, and other venues, Katz is trying to raise awareness for Haiti so that they can rebuild and develop into a stronger country.

For more information on Katz and his story, visit his website: facebook.com/ TheBigTruckThatWentBy

Dr. Horan directs The Fantasticks

By William Mallen

Not only does English teacher Patrick Horan direct musicals, he also choreographs them, most recently The Fantasticks, which had showings in Chatham from May 2 to 18.

“Directing and choreographing the show is hard,” said Dr. Horan “and takes a lot of stamina.“ He currently teaches English in the upper school.

The Fantasticks is based on the old French

The breakfast sandwich speaks

By Mitch Green

There exists a symbol of Morristown-Beard that has enraptured the community and given hope and joy to hundreds upon thousands of people. I speak, of course, of Miss Margaret’s breakfast sandwich. I had a chance to sit down with this marvelous creation, to discuss why MBS students are so fond of it.

“I think what students really like about me,” said the sandwich, “is how much care goes into my creation.”

Miss Margaret carefully hand makes each sandwich, one at a time, for the students.

“It’s not the Taylor ham or the bacon that makes the students love me,” continued the sandwich,

“it’s the secret ingredient.”

Can you tell us what that is? I inquired.

“It’s love,” the sandwich said.

No doubt as big a symbol of our community as the cupola or the iPads, the breakfast sandwich only wants one thing in return: to be eaten by happy students.

Photo: Danielle DiRaddo Dr. Horan reads student papers by day, directs plays by night.

News

6

May 2013

Bryan Burrough, Public Enemies author, reveals secrets of his trade

By Max Weinstein and Bridget Finnegan

Never talk off the record, have a good lawyer, and learn to wear socks. This isn’t the advice of a highprofile felon on getting out of prison. Rather, it is bestselling author and Vanity Fair contributor Brian Burrough, telling Ida Picker’s journalism class some of his secrets to literary success.

The key to success, he said, is to do something you love to do. “If you do that, you’ll never feel like you’re going to work.”

As a ninth-grader, Burrough took a journalism class because he thought it would be “fun to run around school questioning people you don’t usually talk to.” This sparked his interest for the future, and after spending all his extra time in high school working on the newspaper, Burrough went on to attend the best journalism school, in his view, in the country, the University of Missouri.

After college, Burrough scored an internship as a reporter at the Wall Street Journal in 1983, and was considered an up -and-coming “golden boy.”

“You work pretty hard or you get fired,” Burrough said. “Newspapers are all about staying energetic.”

The 1980’s are well known for being an intense period of governmental deregulation and business mergers. Burrough’s WSJ stories on these beats were challenged by eight libel suits, all of which have been dismissed.

“My lawyer is good and my coverage is fair,” he said.

After covering twenty one of the largest of these mergers, ranging from airlines to telecommunication, Burrough got a voicemail from the publishing company Harper & Row.

“How would you

Writer Bryan Burrough tells students about his writing life and how he copes with his successes and failures.

like to write a book?”

Two years later, Burroughs, with WSJ reporter John Helyar, published Barbarians at the Gate, which chronicles the takeover battle for RJR Nabisco in 1988, and is considered one of the most influential business books of all time.

Barbarians was a number two bestseller book for nine weeks, earning critical acclaim for its dramatic focus on the RJR Nabisco players.

“I rewrote each sentence anywhere from ten to thirty times.” Burrough said.

“The hardest, but most im-

portant thing to do was cut.”

Burrough didn’t survive the literary world untarnished. “They offered me a million dollars for my second book. It tanked.

They offered me two million for my third book, and it tanked even worse,” he said.

He became depressed, taking long walks in New Jersey’s South Mountain Reservation.

His solution to coming out of his slump was “keep your head down, keep working.”

Public Enemies, Burrough’s next book, about the birth of the FBI, was a number one bestseller suc-

cess that was taken up by Hollywood and turned into a film with Johnny Depp in 2009. That was followed up more recently by another critically acclaimed non-fiction, The Big Rich.

Today, Burrough works daily on his newest book, America Underground, on radical groups in the 1960s, where he uses techniques he learned reading Ernest Hemingway.

“Tighter is better. You can say more with fewer words,” he said.

For the book research, he kept making phone calls to ex-convicts asking for their

Photo: Chelsea Kramer

insight on the murder or bank robbery that got them locked them away for years.

Before he could conclude his question, there was usually a click, and the person at the other end hung up.

“This the first book I have done that I shouldn’t have done,” he said, commenting on his minimal interview success rate. However, there is no chance that this best selling author and Vanity Fair contributor will quit. Anyone who knows anything about Bryan Burrough knows, as he said, “I can never give up.”

Baseball players share their skills at SNAP

By Nick Ferry

Coach John Sheppard likes to say that many of his players become men during their years in the baseball program at MorristownBeard. Sheppard is right.

Starting on Tuesday, April 9, members of the Crimson baseball team have been volunteering to work with autistic children in the SNAP sports clinic (Special Needs

Athletic Program) at a local school gym in Morristown.

A few Tuesdays a month, SNAP holds a sports clinic for autistic children.

Since it is baseball season, the children gather in the gym eagerly awaiting a night of baseball.

The most recent evening started off with throwing, each child partnered

with a team player. While Travis Nardin was playing catch with a shy kid named Sean, he took his eye off the ball and Sean’s throw hit Nardin in the face.

“Good thing the balls are squishy,” Nardin said.

“I’m glad my goofiness was able to make Sean laugh.”

When the evening shifted to hitting, some kids

had trouble making contact with the pitches, but after a few swings, they got warmed up and began blasting the balls, grinning from ear to ear.

“I had a lot of fun throwing batting practice to Matt, a kid I met. He hits the ball harder than our cleanup hitter, Travis Nardin!” said Shaine Carpenter, a senior. Nick Naples,

a senior, added, “It makes you feel good inside knowing that you’re the reason why these kids are smiling.”

Volunteers plan to continue their SNAP Tuesdays.

Baseball team volunteers included Coach Sheppard, Nick Naples, Shaine Carpenter, Matt Downey Nick Ferry, Travis Nardin, Chris Bernardon, Pat Davis and Drew Jansen.

May 2013

Chris Finn

Features

7

Intellectual handyman becomes audio-visual director and continues as “the wizard” of fixing

By Tom Vurno

Chris Finn has dabbled in most everything on this campus, starting in 1995 as an English teacher and now working as director of the audio-visual department.

A MorristownBeard intellectual handyman, Mr. Finn’s true talent is reactionary: an uncanny ability to fit in as that missing variable.

Do you need someone who can work the sound recording program logic? Sure. A tip to fix a lame camera shot, you say?

No problem. Is your computer misbehaving? He can tame it.

“I like my job,” Mr. Finn said. “I just give the students the environment and wait

to be amazed by what these kids can artistically produce.”

Mr. Finn has been a driving force of Contemporary Music Workshop (CMW) since its onset in 1986. He stays after school to direct student rehearsals, he coordinates set lists, and has performed at every show.

“Mr. Finn is a wizard,” senior Mitch Green said regarding his experience with Mr. Finn in CMW, “but (pause) like you don’t understand (second pause). He’s a wizard.”

“He is literally awesome,” said CMW performer Grace Fleming, a senior, “always willing to help

whenever and wherever. He also has a beautiful voice.”

Besides working the shows at CMW, Mr. Finn performs with his own band at local venues for fun. As for actual teaching, Mr. Finn runs a Digital Video Storytelling class. An innovation at MBS, the class serves as an introduction to film and film making, which has been something of a focal point of entertainment for MBS culture.

At the forefront of the school’s student film-making is SGA president Mike Koslov who has taken Mr. Finn’s DVS class and is going to Emerson College film school next year.

Chris Finn points out some technical secrets to the video editing process.

“When I started out getting interested in making videos. Mr. Finn was my go-to guy.” Koslov said that Mr. Finn always had time for him, helped with his projects by giving shot tips, equipment, technical advice.

A true fan, Koslov took Mr. Finn’s DVS class, his DGD (digital graphic design) class, and an independent study with him.

“Mr. Finn is underrated,” Koslov said.

Jillian Alexandra, a junior, had a totally different impression.

“Mr. Finn used to remind me of a CIA Agent with

his glasses,” Alexandra recalls.

Then her mother mentioned she went to school with him and noted that he was, in fact, not a CIA Agent. “He helps with me with The Mariah magazine design formatting,” Alexandra said.

Students tend to offer only positive remarks about Mr. Finn, which is impressive since he is a teacher, after all.

No “Mr. Finn has it out for me” or quibbles about his grading.

Everyone who knows Mr. Finn just vaguely prefers it when he’s around.

He has that kind of effect.

Photo: Chelsea Kramer

From trading Treasury bonds to managing teenagers

By Amina Rehman

Renee Kenny wasn’t always an assistant librarian. After college, she landed a job in the investment department at Harris Bank in Chicago, which was, coincidentally, next to the trading floor.

“I was fascinated by it. Whenever I had free time, people could find me at the trading floor,” said Ms. Kenny.

With this new-found fascination, she moved into a position trading in short-term Treasury securities, where she dealt with the Federal Reserve. It was a risky job. You had to know what to buy and sell.

Soon after, ready for change, she got a job at Lloyd’s Bank in New York as an Execu-

tive Director, also trading Short Treasury Securities and Eurodollars. After Lloyd’s decided to close their offices, Ms. Kenny ended up an even better job for the City of New York as a Pension Fund Manager. She was put in charge of New York’s real estate and social investments, a huge responsibility at the second largest pension fund in America, with $30 billion in assets.

“I got a whole new perspective on work,” she said. “I did not work just for money, but to do good in the world.” She did some social justice investing in organizations that create mortgages for low-income people so they can buy houses instead of living in tenements.

Five years later, she left city life to take care of her children and moved to New Providence, NJ. After another five years, teaching upper school English and social studies in Gladstone, she decided to join the Morristown-Beard community as assistant librarian.

However, she could never leave the life of business completely behind, which is why she will be teaching a Business Ethics seminar next year here. And so, Ms. Kenny’s daily routine has gone from risk-managing billions of dollars to managing dozens of teenagers. Seems as if she never left the hectic lifestyle.

Photo: Danielle DiRaddo Assistant librarian Renee Kenny recalls her previous life on Wall Street as a foreign exchange trader and pension fund manager.

8

Features

May 2013

Photos: Ashley Young (Clockwise from left): Hassiem Bey shows off his tap skills, Ashley Aracena and Nic Smith enjoy their last CMW, Tyler Smith sings a duet with Grace Fleming (not pictured), Lux Saravanapavan performs a self-choreographed dance, and Pooja Aggarwal closes out the show with the last song of the night.

CMW: a night to remember

By Alex Ranger

Students, faculty, and family members piled into Founders Hall while the tech booth made its final preparations and adjusted video cameras set up to catch the show.

Lights flashed as musicians young and old took the stage.

Whether it was Will Taggart shredding guitar, Spanish teacher Troy Rusnack slapping on the bass, Megan Summers from the history department jamming on the saxophone, or senior Mitch Green doing just about everything, the range of music and dance routines kept the audience engaged.

“I would have been sad because something so special ended,” Green said, “but I was so happy ‘cause I had the chance to be a part of the experience and it ended on high note for me.”

In one unexpected act, Hassiem Bey, a junior, did a tap dancing routine that left the crowd wanting more. Lux Saravanapavan, a sophomore, performed another original dance with his body moving to the beat of dubstep music.

The House Band that combined faculty and students brought old rock songs to the event, featuring Pooja Aggarwal on vocals, Will Taggart, Middle School teacher Chris Teasdale, audio-visual

chair Chris Finn on guitar, Mr. Rusnack on bass, Dr. John Mascaro playing harmonica, and Danny Tejada playing drums. They played a few classics like “All Along the Watchtower” by Bob Dylan.

The secret to CMW’s smooth running year in and year out lies in the behind the scenes work. Performers were auditioning and practicing all week to make sure the show was diverse and a perfect length. The tech crew of Carina Steficek, Eric Fernandez, Dan Collins, and Nick Marmo, tech director, oversaw sound and equipment. Finally, Mike Koslov’s filming of the show allows everyone to see the performance multiple times.

For seniors like Mitch Green, Grace Fleming, and Will Taggart, this was their last time to perform at CMW. Over the last four years, these four played essential roles in organizing and drawing in performers.

Other seniors doing their last CMW gig included Noelle Pooler, Kate Franz, Spencer Steficek, Nick Cornine, and Nic Smith.

Co-CMW presidents Taggart and Green hope to see the shows continue as they pass their presidency to juniors, Danielle DiRaddo and Eric Fernandez.

May 2013

Features/Reviews

9

ArtVenture premieres in Wilkie

By Ashley Young

Photos: Ashley Young and Matt Enman

On May 1, ArtVenture opened in Wilkie as a showcase of visual arts from current and previous students. (Clockwise from top): Ben Leigh stands by his architectural model home. In a tradition of art, Ashley Young exhibited her art while her sister Melodie, MBS alumni and current art teacher, viewed her students’ work. Emily Nickson paints on the interactive Peter Max-inspired mural. Kyle Heffernan appears in a video produced by him and Ben Verchick. Paintings by Art 4 class were exhibited and admired by student Alicia Kukreja’s grandmother. Finally, Bobby Kirby’s architectural model impressed viewers.

How to catch an octopus

By Diego Serrano

I wake up early on a sweltering morning in Vinaroz, a small town situated in the coast of Spain.

It´s 7 o´clock and about 85ºF outside.

The sun will rise in half an hour.

I meet my father in the kitchen. We don´t talk too much. After having Iberic ham and toast for breakfast, we get ready with our gloves, knives and snorkelling equipment and start our walk towards the beach.

It´s 7.25 when we arrive at the rocky beach, La Boverals, known for its coastal caves. The waves whip the rocks where my father and I are about to start our hunting, but we grab our equipment anyway.

We look at each other.

“Let’s do this,” my father says.

The sun is up when we start our walk towards the caves. The Mediterranean water is at the level of my waist. From now until we capture the octopus, we will not talk any more.

We must be stealthy. Octopi are sensitive animals.

If they hear any unknown noise, they will leave the rocks.

After forty minutes of standing and observing, my father seems to have found something. The first octopus has reached the surface of a rock, looking for sun rays. I make a signal towards my dad and he nods his head. We have our prey.

My father and I get our knives ready and surround the octopus, which

seems to be about two feet long. I can touch it now. I look at my father and grab it firmly while he makes a fast stab to the octopus’s head.

The octopus doesn´t move any more.

We get out of the water after about an hour more of hunting. It has been an easy capture. We do not always succeed.

When we get back home, my mother and sister are still sleeping, so we take the octopus to my father´s friend’s restaurant. He will cook it for us later in the day and we will have a family lunch.

We will sit by the sea and, most important, we we will eat the food we captured ourselves.

Cartoon: Sam Aronwald

How not to catch an octopus...

Reviews

10

May 2013

Big Bad Musical:

Huff and puff and blow Founders down

By Carlye Cording & Bailey Rechler Fairy tales known from everyone’s childhood join together for the long awaited trial of the big bad wolf in the Big Bad Musical with a large and excited cast, featuring the leadership of director, Susan Speidel, music director, Bruce Van Hoven, and choreographer, Jim Ruttman.

Big Bad Musical presents the court case against the Wolf (Amogh Anakru ‘17) led by the Judge (Taylor Jaskula ‘17). The prosecutor, the Fairy God Mother (Courtney Ober ‘18), and many favorite fairy tale characters including Little Red Riding Hood (Re-

becca Tone ‘19) and the Boy Who Cried Wolf (Ryan Heffernan ‘19), present evidence against the Wolf.

The Evil Stepmother (Rylan DeStefano ‘19) acts as the defense attorney.

With exciting dance numbers by the Wolfettes, (Anna Burns ‘19, Perri Easley ‘19, Quiya Harris ‘19, Jadyn Lawrence ‘18, Alexa Lightbourn ‘19, and Anushka Shah ‘19) the wolf ’s back up singers, and lively songs such as “No More” sung by the whole cast, childhood books come alive on stage at Founders Hall.

Student performers rehearsed daily to pre-

pare for the May 23 performances at 2 and 7pm.

“I’m really excited about how it’s going,” said Director Speidel. “It is a really talented cast. I feel like I say that about every cast, but this cast is so talented.”

Ms. Speidel chose this musical because it was written for middle school students and works well with the cast. Rehearsals vary from singthroughs in the Chorus Room to dancing on stage.

The cast includes Amogh Anakru as the Wolf, Pamela Beniwal ‘19 as Snow White, Anna Burns as a Wolfette, Richie Car-

chia ‘18 as Bill Woodcutter, Tessa Connell ‘19 as Goldilocks, Trevor Clemson ‘18 as the Bailiff, Joseph DePaolo ‘19 as Old King Cole, Rylan DeStefano as the Evil Stepmother, Emma Duffy ‘19 as Cinderella, Perri Easley as a Wolfette, Quiya Harris as a Wolfette, Connor Heffernan ‘18 as Prince Charming.

Then there’s Ryan Heffernan as the Boy Who Cried Wolf, Taylor Jaskula as the Judge, Blake Kernen ‘18 as Rapunzal, Jadyn Lawrence as a Wolfette, Liza Leever ‘19 as Princess Winnifred, Alexa Lightbourn as a Wolfette, Lauren Mennen ‘19 as the Grandmother,

Ian O’Brien ‘19 as Sydney Grimm, Courtney Ober as the Fairy Godmother.

Other characters include Leslie Phillips ‘19 as Two, Sophia Picozzi ‘19 as Little Bo Peep, Carly Piniaha ‘19 as Alice in Wonderland, Lily Pinkin ‘19 as Sleeping Beauty, Natalie Pruitt ‘18 as Miss Muffet, Lauren Smith ‘19 as One, Lindsay Smith ‘19 as Three, Matthew Smith ‘18 as the Shepherd, Rebecca Tone as Little Red Riding Hood, Anoushka Shah as a Wolfette.

Photo: Benjamin Leigh

Middle School students rehearse their song and dance numbers for their Big Bad show.

Bye Bye Birdie! Hello rock n’ roll

By Katie Sidlowski

Amidst the poodle skirts and saddle shoes of the 1950’s, the Upper School musical Bye Bye Birdie came to life in February. An energetic take on an American classic, the cast and crew successfully recreated the era of rock n’ roll, capturing the ‘coming of age’ feel of the fifties.

The cast, led by tap-dancing senior Max Schmidt as Albert Peterson, an enterprising music producer, and junior Pooja Aggarwal who played Rosie, his feisty Spanish secretary, showcased their premiere musical ability abilities as well as as their understanding of their characters.

Freshman Jamie

Cocuzza and Alexa Rojek both took on challenging roles as Conrad Birdie, the rockstar and title character, and Kim MacAfee, a teenage girl caught between love and growing up. Coupled with sophomore Tyler Smith, who played Hugo Peabody Kim’s boyfriend, the three showed the audience what happens to a typical high school couple, just starting to go steady, when a rock n’ roll heartthrob interrupts the quiet of Sweet Apple, Ohio.

Nine seniors gave their last performances, providing the polish and professionalism of their collective experience. Lacey Nussbaum and Kyle Movso-

vich as Mr. and Mrs. MacAfee played understanding parents, trying let their daughter grow up, but still struggling to understand ‘kids these days.’

Rachel Butensky as Mrs. Peterson, Albert’s overbearing mother, was hysterical, as always, as she and Rachel Moss playing Gloria Rasputin, Albert’s scandalous new secretary, delivered a comedic edge to the teen-driven drama.

Breyton Croom as Karl and Daniel Collins as Mr. Johnson both gave memorable performances. The audience couldn’t miss the enthusiasm maintained by Erika Atkinson and Ashley Aracena, playing super-fans

Ursula Merkel and Alice.

A chorus of younger voices also joined the veterans. Jessica Babb, Carlye Cording, Molly Glick, Emily Hromin, Rachel Leung, Arielle Moss, Annabel Pruitt, Bailey Rechlet, Amanda Sit and Hailey Winterbottom all played convincing teenage girls, giving the girls of Sweet Apple, Ohio enigmatic personalities the audience picked up on.

Directed by Susan Spiedel and choreographed

by Jim Ruttman, this production had an impressive cast behind the curtain as well as in front of it. Stage Managers Chris Monaco and Carina Steficek led the backstage crew, Nalini

Rajan, Dylan Iuzzolino, and Steven Karbachinskiy. Sound and electrics were run by Jack Collins, Danielle DiRaddo and Daniel Collins.

Titilope Ongusola took charge of hair and makeup and Jillian Griffith served as the veteran House Manager.

Other assets included J.D. Parker as Harvey Johnson, Erin HargraveKerns as Mrs. Merkel and Ryan Fisher as Guitar Man. Eric Fernandez played the Mayor of Sweet Apple and Michelle Diamantis, his wife. Together, the entire cast revealed the madness created by one teenage rockstar in one little town.

May 2013

Reviews

11

Binge watching

By Hugh Daly

My eyes sting and I can barely see the computer screen, but I can’t look away because Walter White has a gun to his head. For the past five hours, I have been watching Breaking Bad. I forgot to eat lunch. I only left my room once-- to get my laptop charger. The episode ends leaving me wondering. Five years ago, I would be worried sick about Walt all week long. But now, Netflix exists.

I press “next episode” and am relieved to see that Walt is still alive and well. I am a binge watcher.

Binge watching has

spread like a plague and, specifically, among students of Morristown-Beard. Before online watching and DVR, there was no way to watch a missed episode. Viewers had to cut their losses, and try to understand the following episode. Now most viewers don’t even watch the episode’s premiere.

“I hate commercials, so I always watch it the next day on demand,” says Andrew Howarth, a sophomore.

Now binge watchers can even watch multiple seasons at a time.

When someone tunes

in after a couple seasons have already aired, binge watching occurs. At first the viewer watches a couple of episodes innocently, then, most of the time, they become hardcore addicts.

“I am so addicted to Entourage, I watched disgusting amounts of it last weekend,” said Zach Sauertig, a junior. Major networks have caught on to the way television is now consumed, and Netflix recently decided to do something never done before.

Netflix released the first thirteen episodes

Bleary-eyed binge watcher can’t leave the screen Cartoon: Sam Aronwald

of an original series at the same time on its website, without ever airing them on network television. The series, House of Cards, has taken binge-watching to a whole new level. It was a bold move and it paid off.

House of Cards received great reviews, but the question is how many viewers actually watched the show.

Netflix has declined to give statistics, so the only way to know if it was successful is if they come out with more episodes. Binge-watching has become the way of the future, and only came about

due to the improvement in television quality. Now each episode of a quality show is comparable to a short movie.

This change in the quality of television started with The Sopranos, which seemed realistic, had an intense plot and a large budget. Viewers have claimed that some topics are better done as series shows because they are meant to be continuous.

“I always wondered what happened after the end of a zombie movie. That’s why I love Walking Dead,” says senior Matt Kephart.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers

By Tom Vurno Photo: Penguin Group Inc.

Book Review:

No Easy Day: Finding Bin Laden

By Shaine Carpenter

Telling the tale of the covert mission to kill Osama Bin Laden, Mark Owen writes from the view of the one of the men who went in. Covering research and implementation, Owen depicts the entirety of the mission from start to finish. Having a one in a million perspective, Mark Owen narrates the helicopter ride to the forefront of American pride.

Cashing in on the massive rush for information about the mission, in this book Mark Owen sets the trend for military narratives.

Mark Owen, a pseudonym, was born in Alaska, with a Vietnam veteran father. Besides the history of the author, the book tells the initial research into the compound where they found Bin Laden, including the eleven

years of research culminating with the mission, that so many speculate about.

As a member of Seal Team Six, Owen talks about previous missions, his involvement in the Middle East, and his runins with al-Queda and Taliban forces. Being hit in Afghanistan, and pulled out by his brethren, Mark tells about the extreme brotherhood, and the “No one left behind” code of conduct.

When word was given to the Team about the mission, he discusses the extreme pride that filled the team--both pride as Americans, and personal pride, that this group of twelve men were chosen from fifty of the most elite team in American military history. This wasn’t just Seal Team Six, this was the most elite

men of Seal Team Six.

The most compelling part of the book is the description of the actual mission. On the helicopter ride over, Owen recalls the rush if emotions and feelings knowing that he and his team were about to kill one of the most infamous leaders in modern history.

There was no mention of failure. Mark and his team knew they wouldn’t fail, until the helicopter crash. Owen talks about his blackout in memory during the mission, due to the rush of adrenaline and his “muscle memory.” Having been in combat before, “combat muscle memory” takes over.

I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoys a military narrative or who is curious about this mission.

Katherine Boo’s remarkable debut book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, documents the lives of the inhabitants of a slum in Mumbai, India, called Anawandi.

Like most slums in India, Anawandi inhabitants were drawn to it because of the job opportunities that Mumbai has to offer, specifically the construction of a neighboring international airport. The book, though, takes place in the aftermath of the airport’s construction. Now the people of Anawandi are, once again, without jobs, trying to survive in the malignant organism that is slum life.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers gives India a “face” through Boo’s tender character studies of the people of Anawandi-- who are a diverse lot. The entire social spectrum of Anawandi is represented by female slum lords to glue-huffing orphan thieves to prosperous garbage collectors and one-legged prostitutes with a wicked death wish.

Through their narratives, the reader gets a different understanding of life in In-

dia where “fortunes derived not just from what people did, or how well they did it, but from the accidents and catastrophes they dodged. A decent life was the train that hadn’t hit you, the slumlord you hadn’t offended, the malaria you hadn’t caught.”

Boo, a New Yorker staff writer and Pulitzer Prize winner, is a formidable storyteller. The plot of Forevers is entertaining while being culturally educational. What Boo could have told her audience through an essay she did, instead, through story. Dodging cerebral fact-spouting, Boo capitalizes on our empathy and gives her readers a gut level understanding of India-- the working conditions, corruption, and everyone’s desperation for upward mobility. It is not so much that the reader feels as if Boo is there but that she knows that places like Anawandi do exist, that the American lifestyle that Boo and many of us are enjoying is not the norm by a long shot.

This narrative functions as the bursting of our bubble.

Features

12

May 2013

Seniors venture into the world for Senior Projects

By Alex Rosen and Max Weinstein

It’s that time of year again at MBS – it’s the fourth quarter, the sun is out, and the seniors at MorristownBeard are leaving campus to begin their senior projects. A staple in the MBS curriculum for many years, senior projects are designed to give seniors a taste of working in the outside world.

Each senior must get a volunteer job or internship (unpaid) for three weeks, keep a daily journal, then return to give a presentation of their experiences.

The scope of possibilities ranges from being a waiter/waitress, laboring at a construction site, or even working in a wildlife sanctuary for sloths.

It is up to each senior to find a good fit, which requires work. Students have to think about what job they might interested in, then find one.

Some seniors were drawn to the medical field. Jessica Small, for instance, is interning at Morristown Memorial Hospital shadowing a nurse in the emergency center and neonatal center.

“I chose this job because I am interested in nursing and plan to study it in college,” she said. On how she got the job, Small said, “I got the internship because my mother is good friends with one of the nurses from the hospital.”

Matthew Sauder is also heading for the medical field, be working at Cosmic Children’s Orthopedic and Sports Medicine in Morristown, shadowing physicians and conducting research on the Vitamin D deficiency in New Jersey.

Sauder turned an accident into this job opportunity.

“I got the job because the office I will be working at is where I went to when I broke my arm,” he said.

Yet another senior exploring medicine, Yasmine Perry, will intern at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, working with the Director of Biomedical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Technicians.

Finding this project came from Perry’s researching the school Senior Project Database, she said.

“From there, I contacted the volunteer department at Saint Barn-

Photo: Danielle DiRaddo Kennedi Monteith (top) is excited to work in a sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica. Yasmine Perry plans to intern at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston under the Director of Biomedical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Technicians.

abas Medical Center and expressed my interest in the job,” Perry said. “I expressed my interest in studying biomedical engineering to them, and that I am considering going to medical school. They connected me to the Director of Biomedical Engineering and it went from there.”

Perry said she wanted to pursue this project “to see what a life

in biomedical engineering is all about and whether or not this is a viable option for me in the future.”

Some seniors wanted to work around animals. Kennedi Monteith is flying to Costo Rica to work in a sloth sanctuary.

“Getting the job was simple – I applied for it and I got it,” Monteith said. “I was interested in this job because I love an-

imals, sloths specifically, and I want to help them.”

Closer to home, Kate Franz will be working at People for Animals Clinic in Hillside. “I am going to be helping out in the office, answering phone calls, and filing papers,” she said.

“I used to take my pets there, so I know some of the workers. I’m really looking forward to

helping the animals.”

Some students are exploring the legal field.

Kyle Morsovich will be writing amicus briefs at Sanctuary for Famililes, a legal force for domestic abuse victims.

Tori Gonalez is interning at her local municipal court.

Looking into the future, Tori said, “I want to become a criminal justice lawyer.”

May 2013 Golf:

Sports

13

Team makes headway on fairway

By Patrick Kennedy

Following one of their best season last year putting up 10 wins and 10 losses and placing in the Morris County golf tournament, the varsity golf team is looking better than ever, with a 15-8 recordt.

Coach Harry Carr and senior captains Pete Alevras and Pat Kennedy led the team.

“I’m very excited to coach the team this year.

We have a very solid core and a great group of classy guys that I’m very proud of,” Coach Harry Carr said.

Despite losing three seniors--Jonas Hercksen, Matt Rosenberg, and Tom O’Brien-to graduation, the team has shot one of its lowest scores in school history. Led by Coach Carr and senior captains Pete Alevras and Pat Kenne-

dy, the team shot a 157, which is a 39.5 average.

At a match at Knoll West golf club in Parsippany playing Parsippany, Pete Alevras, Tom Strada, Spencer Shepperly, and Jonathan M. Shay posted the low scores.

“Everyone is putting their games together when they need to most,” said captain Alevras. “We are all working hard and playing well.”

“Luckily,” Alevras added, “we are returning our better players so we have a good chance to win our conference.”

Three newcomers, sophomores Brian Andrzejewski, Trip Ewig, and Junior Danny Tetzlaff, have made a big impact both on and off the course. Brian has shot his lowest score of 41 in a match against Mend-

ham High School at Mendham Golf and Tennis Club.

The golf team is currently 8-7 and 4-0 in their conference. If the golf team wins 60 percent of their matches, they will qualify for the state tournament, which hasn’t been done in two years.

Spencer Shepperly has qualified for individual states, the first time for a player in three years. To qualify for individual State Tournament a player must score five rounds of four over par or better. The last player to do that was Greg Kirk who graduated in 2011.

“I put in a lot of work,” Shepperly said. “I didn’t make it the past two years so this is a relief.”

He added, “It feels good to being back the tradition of good golf at MBS.”

An athlete’s stress

Photo: International Junior Golf Tour Staffer Spencer Shepperly playing the 7,000 yard course at White Manor Golf Club in Malvern, Pennsylvania, in March where he shot 81, 79 for a total of 160 and placed tied for 18 out of 60.

By Maria Sapozhnikova

When everyone told me junior year would be horrible, I did not believe that. Once I got there I believed it. SATs, ACTs, the recruiting process– all begins this year. And all of these add so much pressure on students.

Although most parents have high expectations for their kids, some do not talk about their expectations. They rarely articulate what they actually expect; they expect in silence. Whether it is the standardized test, GPA or the school I am looking at – the goal is set. And an athletic scholarship would be a great addition. However, the expectations are not the thing that stresses me out the most. It is the pressure of the SAT, ACT, GPA and recruiting that I put on myself.

Of course parents want only the best for their kids, but the kids often want the best for themselves as well.

I want to go to a good school, I want to get a scholarship and I want to get a high score on the tests. In addition, I keep comparing myself to other students that are a lot more successful than me, thinking that I will never achieve what they have.

It’s quite frightening.

In addition, the amount of homework and test preparation is causing sleep deprivation,

which significantly cuts down time spent on outside of school activities.

That causes problems with recruiting, because the performance level goes down. I am not able to do things outside of school with the same amount of motivation that I used to have. I am simply too tired by the time it is six or seven in the evening.

I had to significantly cut the amount of tennis I play throughout the week due to schoolwork, but there is still a tournament every weekend. Although I love playing tournaments, this year it became very difficult, because staying at a tournament till one or two o’clock at night is very difficult, especially when there is a lot of homework.

But when there is also tons of homework to be accomplished the tournament becomes a burden rather than fun. Because the whole time I am there I am thinking about homework and other school related issues I have. I simply am not as concentrated on tennis anymore. I am concentrated on my homework, my ACT scores, which are hoping to improve, and what college I am going to go to.

However there is hope that it is not all that bad because I know that this year will soon be over.

The tests will be over.

Photo: Ashley Young Maria Sapozhnikova practices her devastating forehand before the fall season began.

Eva Rago and Bella Cuomo compete in an April 4th home meet.

Photo: Steve Patchett

14

Sports

up more than four games to anyone leading up to his match in the finals with Delbarton’s Mike Boyle.

Even though Daly lost the match 4-6, 4-6 he showed grit and determination to make an unprecedented comeback. When Daly was on the brink of losing the second set, he heroically emerged from the four game deficit to come within one game of his opponent.

“In fifty seasons of

May 2013 coaching I have never had a player like Peter,” said Coach Franz. “He never loses to someone worse than him and if there is a guy better than him he is going to push the guy to the best of his abilities.“

The Crimson achieved their goal of finishing within the top ten teams in the county and tied for seventh out of twenty-two teams.

Inside Pete Daly’s head

By Tom Vurno

Photo: Regina Daly

Pete Daly hitting a slice forehand in his match against Michael Boyle of the Delbarton School in the finals of the Morris County tennis tournament. Daly lost 4-6 and 4-6.

Boys’ Tennis:

Acing the competition

By Ben Schreiber

During the Morris County Tournament on April 27, Crimson Varsity Tennis was focused on one thing: finishing among the top ten teams in Morris County, a tough feat considering there are twenty teams competing in five brackets separated by position.

Junior Peter Daly felt confident about the team’s chances. “We worked very hard every practice preparing for this tournament,” said Daly. “I know we have the skill and grit

to win some matches.”

First singles player Daly deservedly obtained the second seed in the singles bracket. Daly has lost only once this season, a spectacular achievement. “I am very proud of winning almost all of my matches but I am determined to beat the player I lost to during counties this weekend,” said Daly.

Second singles player E.J Gordon ’14 earned the third seed and third singles Hugh Daly ’13 snagged the

ninth seed. First doubles team Jake Beeber and William Stitt were not seeded and second doubles Ben Schreiber and Kyle Heffernan acquired the eighth seed.

During two sets against Montville, E.J Gordon lost to Andrew Kim of Montville 6-3, 6-4. Nevertheless, Gordon reached the semifinals, a distinguished accomplishment.

Reaching the finals for the second straight year was Peter Daly, who dominated the competition. Daly refused to give

Pete Daly is ranked 32 in New Jersey for tennis. When asked about his rankings, he is prone to give a quick response. There’s never a pause. He knows his National, Regional, and State tennis rankings with the same fluidity that he would know his own name.

“It’s like a digital mirror. Instead of seeing acne or a rash on your face, you see a drop in your ranking. And the worst part is that everyone knows about that zit. It’s quite easy to obsess. I sometimes check every day,” he said.

Something visibly changes in Peter when he talks tennis. When every fiber of his hard drive yearns to tell the next great joke, he suddenly gets dead-eyed serious.

“The older you get, faster the tennis serves get,” he said. “Too fast to tell where

it’s going to go by eye.” He gets out a pen and paper and tries to explain the unspoken animal grace required to return a good serve. His face is vaguely aggressive.

Our conversation has turned one-sided and Peter Daly can, by God, teach anyone how to return a serve.

“Everything lies in the initial toss, the way your opponent throws the ball up in the air before taking the serve. Example: If he throws it just behind his head, you better haul to center cause he’s going to rail it down the line.”

He draws a makeshift court on the back flap of his history text book, miming a potential serve and then describing where the ball is going in the ink and paper universe. His face suppresses the urge to grunt after the imaginary stroke.

Photo: Jessica Small

Organized by Emily Kellogg and her mother, the girls lacrosse team along with some volunteer MBS boys gathered at the Morristown-Beard campus this spring to teach young athletes from Elizabethtown the skills for playing lacrosse. The boys and girls, ranging in age from 5 to 17 years, learned different aspects of the game, including passing, shooting, ground balls, and defense.

May 2013 Boys’ Lacrosse:

Sports

15

Young team regroups with a new coach

By Brian Andrzejewski

Since the loss of two key players, Doran McManus and Michael Magner, to graduation, the boys’ lacrosse team is relying on this year’s juniors and seniors along with the dominant sophomore class to produce points. Last year the team finished with a record of 7-13. The Crimson have already exceeded their win total, holding a record of 8-4 through the month of April.

“We have a lot of talent, and we are young,” said Thomas Rago, an attack man. “We have a lot to look forward to.”

The numbers are very telling. As a whole, the sophomores contributed 66 percent of the team’s total points and 67 percent of the team’s total goals this season.

Despite the impressive stats posted, the team did not get off to the start they had hoped for. Unexpectedly, the boys lacrosse opened the 2013 season with a 1-3 record. Their opening games included a win over Oratory Prep, 8-7, and an overtime loss to Milburn High School, 12-11.

“We have the skill, but we just haven’t clicked yet,” said midfielder John McDonald, a sophomore, early in the season.

Three returning players essential to the team’s success are seniors Andrew Callahan, Alex Ranger, and junior

Trevor Baptiste.

Each takes on specific roles.

Ranger uses his natural leadership ability and four years of high school lacrosse experience to keep the defense intact, Callahan feeds assists to other attackmen, and Baptiste uses his size and allaround athleticism to be a key game-changer for the Crimson on a daily basis.

In addition, the sophomore class shows outstanding talent, depth, and potential. The class is made up of attackmen Rago, Chris Glancy, and Teddy Hatfield (2012 MVP as a freshman), midfielder John McDonald, defensemen Tim Sanford, Matt Reilly, and Connor Cairoli, and starting goalie Matt Sefcik.

A possible explanation for the team’s slow start involves having three different coaches in the past three seasons. Currently, Head Coach Sal Tromanda is in his first year as a coach at Morristown-Beard.

It’s never an easy task to enter as a new coach and open the season with a winning record. However, once Coach Tromanda had some time to develop the team as a unit, the boy’s lacrosse squad began to click. The team has proven this by posting a 7-1 record in the past 8 games.

Photos: Grace Fleming (Left to Right) Matt Sefcik, John McDonald and Tim Sanford hold Pennington to only 2 goals in route to a 14-2 victory. (Below) Trevor Baptiste makes a pass to John McDonald, leading to one of the Crimson’s 14 goals against Pennington.

Girls’ lax makes comeback

By Cara Geswelli

Photo: Scott Chanzit Morristown-Beard Carolyn Chambers? fights for ball against Lenape Valley High player at home game on April 25. MBS won 18-10.

MBS Girls’ varsity lacrosse has made a huge comeback. Their record to date is 11-4, following an embarrassing record of 1-15 for the 2012 season. On Monday, May 6, the team defeated Newark Academy 18-6 in the semifinals at home, a huge triumph that moved them into the finals. t “Our energy is really high and we have been working hard,” said Emily Kellogg, a senior.

The new coach, Meredith Locasto, and assistant coach, Suzie Sweeney, brought an obvious change, and the team is much stronger and hard working. Coach Locasto named the remaining three seniors, Emily Kellogg, Delaney Jones, and Lydia Novalis as team captains.

“None of the girls

have given up and all have the drive to want to do well,” said Carolyn Chambers, a junior.

Since March 1, the team has endured long hours and hard practices to achieve this successful record. The upperclassmen players who have stuck with the team regardless of last season have really helped get the team back in order.

Not only have the older girls played a key part, but underclassmen have really stepped up. Jill Bourke, Chelsea Kramer (sophomores) and freshman Alissa Massini have really made a difference. These three girls are top scorers and all around team players.

This year has seen a drastic change in attitude.

“We are really great about working as a whole unit and

we are working as more of a team,” Delaney Jones said.

“The team has great confidence, listens well, and therefore they are learning fast,” said Coach Sweeney.

The new players are vital competitors, Sweeney added: “They quickly began to learn and love the game.”

This year the team earned a number two seed in the Prep B tournament. The last time the girl’s lacrosse team claimed this title was two years ago, during the current seniors’ freshmen year, 2010. The season after (2011), the girls made it to the finals and had a heartbreaking loss in overtime. Last season, the team did not make it past the first round. This year the girls wanted to play their hardest and reclaim this honor.

16

Sports

May 2013

Baseball:

Swinging for the fences

By Peter Daly

Last year was a stand-out season for the varsity baseball team. With an impressive 17-9 record in 2012 and events such as Jeremy Westaway’s three hit- complete game victory over Milburn, the Crimson had one of their best seasons.

Still, with those glory days in the past and the 2013 season underway, the team’s current record is a respectable 13-9.

“Things were shaky at first,” said assistant coach John Sheppard, “but we have some really good talent and I truly believe we have the potential to be a great team.” With first baseman Zack Gray and outfielder Jackson Kramer moving on to play ball at Lehigh and Lafayette Universities, the coaching staff worried that the 2013 team would not be able to match last year’s strong roster. Fortunately, eight varsity players are returning, including pitchers Nick Ferry, Jeremy Westaway, Travis Nardin, and Ben O’Connell as well as third basemen Nick Naples, catcher Shaine Carpenter, second basemen Kyle Vanderhoof, and center fielder Cory Betz.

Each of the eight returning players has helped lead the Crimson on both the offensive and defensive components of the game, making contributions to fill in the big shoes of the star graduates.

The Crimson also has notable additions to this year’s lineup, including designated hitter and pitcher Dean Grogg 15’, outfielder Drew Jansen 16’, and

shortstop Kevin Brophy 16’.

The experienced coaching staff led by coach Mike Sturgeon, John Sheppard, and Kevin Mcdonald, have also guided the team along the way, helping to make the transition a smooth one.

Initially, the new squad struggled throughout its first few games, beginning the season at 2-4, then hit its stride. Cory Betz’s ability to get on base as well as Jeremy Westaway’s stand out performances on the pitching mound have led the Crimson to numerous thrilling victories, including a dramatic 5-4 win over Kinnelon. At this point, the Crimson looks to match the success of last year’s season.

Crimson baseball hopes to continue their hot streak with major events such as a County game against Randolph and Morristown right around the corner.

“Our team’s ability to have quality at bats at the right time has really made the difference this season,” says senior Matt Downey. Given these solid components, the baseball team hopes not only to reach the semi finals, as they did last year, but to find success in the finals of the Morris county tournament.

As sophomore pitcher Jeremy Westaway, who recently threw a no-hitter against Parsippany, says about the upcoming half of the season, “Even when we were 2-4, we never gave up and turned it around to make it 10-7. So why stop now?”

Photos: Benjamin Leigh

From left: Spencer Steficek, Ben Leigh, Mitch Green, Erin HK, Tricia Del Colle, and Andrea Deventer

Softball:

Diamonds in the rough make headway

By Kaitlyn Tatulli

Though some might say this season proved a tough one for the girls’ varsity softball team, whose record is 6-16, their record has improved from last season’s final of 1-8.

“They are gaining confidence and developing the skills to pitch against seniors on very competitive teams,” Coach Tom Conway said.

The team played better than the win/loss record shows. They lost four of their games by only one or two runs, impressive considering the tough league the team plays in against schools with varsity, JV, and freshman teams. In addition, MBS softball is up against public schools that are several times their size, Coach Conway said.

Not only has the team had many close games, the girls have made impressive plays, like sophomore

Christina D’Alessandro who hit a home run against Parsippany on April 22.

Still, the girls ended the game with a 4-5 lose.

“The team has already doubled and surpassed our record from last year,” Captain Lacey Nussbaum, a senior, said. New Assistant Coach Meg Durkin, who has been coaching softball for four years, noted that the record is just a result of “lack of preparation from previous seasons.”

This year, head coach Pamela O’Connor, who has previously taught softball at Parsippany Hills High School and at Morristown-Beard from 20002005, leads the team, assisted by Coaches Meg Durkin, Tracy Driver, and Tom Conway, and returning players and captains Nussbaum and Gina Finelli, a senior.

The coaches’ goal for the team is “to improve from

last year and to achieve a little more each day to reach a level of competitiveness so that we can compete with other teams in our league,” Coach O’Connor said.

Because there is no junior varsity program at Morristown-Beard, the younger players are able to grow. Two of the three freshmen on the team this year, Lauren Conway and Sara Seuffert, are pitchers.

Junior Kathryn Sidlowski made a diving catch for an out after a line drive to third base on April 8 against Whippany Park High School. Though the team lost 0-15, Sidlowski says, ”Lauren Conway and Sara Seuffert have filled one of the toughest positions on the field and have done so with great control and poise.” Sara Seuffert earned a spot on the All Tournament Team game in the Dover tournament against Dover.