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The Meaning of the Mat page 13 roundtable.sacredsf.org
Stuart Hall High School | Schools of the Sacred Heart, San Francisco | Volume VIII, Issue III | March 2013
the round table a forum for students
roundtable.sacredsf.org
editors@shhsroundtable.com
Table of Contents School News
Values Day..........................................................3 Freshman and Sophmore CORE.......................5
Sports
The Meaning of the Mat...................................13
Special Features
Current Gun Policy.............................................4 Why We Should Vote..........................................7 Greatest Bro Shows............................................8 Apple vs. PC......................................................10 A Collection of Random Facts...........................11 The Question Men............................................12 College Life ......................................................14 Animals Becoming Endangered.......................15
Creative Works
Zae - A Novel - Chapter 2...................................6
Front cover photo by Wendy Wisniewski Back cover photos by Wendy Wisniewski, Austin Woo and Lori Saltveit
Staff and Publication Information Editor Liam Lynch
Layout Editor Zack Hammer
Copy Editor Austin Woo
Staff Connor Abbott John Cannell Lucas Chan
Stephen Everest Zack Hammer James Hernandez Matthew Jung Liam Lynch Declan McBride Will Paulsen
stuart hall high school
Corrections the round table goes to great lengths to ensure that all material is accurate, timely, and factual. However, errors sometimes occur. If you notice a factual mistake, please send an e-mail to lori.saltveit@sacredsf.org with “Reader Discovers Error!� in the subject line.
Maxwell Phillipps Omid Ravanfar Jean Luc Seltenrich Austin Woo Demetri Sakellaropoulos
Faculty Moderator Lori Saltveit member
Online content: Please visit the online round table at: http://roundtable.sacredsf.org/
the round table | Founded 2005 by Nick Dietz, Corey Linehan, Tom Pardini, Joey Plonsker, Ms. Sarah Slonaker
editors’ corner As the quarter comes to a close, the students of Stuart Hall are certainly happy that midterms have finally ended and that spring is just around the corner! With it comes a clean slate and a chance to improve grades, relationships and study habits. But all grim, depressing schoolwork related topics aside, spring is a time to enjoy and revitalize. Many new and exciting things are happening around the school community such as the school play: Into the Heights, the introduction of the track and field season and Community Service Day. It’s hard not to be affected by the light and cheerful spirit of spring. There’s much to be known about the goings-on at Stuart Hall, and we, the newspaper staff, try to condense it all down for you into a few flawless and engrossing pages. This time around we infused some opinions into the round table. For example, checkout Austin Woo’s article about wrestling, Will Paulson’s piece about gun violence, and for sure don’t miss what Max and Stephen have to say about popular TV shows. There’s lots of great content, so I hope you enjoy this third issue of the round table newspaper.
Go Hall!
Liam Lynch ‘13
school news
Values Day
by Matthew Jung ‘16
Be a man! Every year at Stuart Hall since 2006, we dedicate a school day to go beyond the books and focus on an important value that builds our character. We call this day Values Day. This year, we discussed the common assumptions about boys and broke down the saying of “boys will be boys”. We divided into our advisory groups and discussed the many common assumptions made about boys such as how boys are insensitive and violent. We later learned things that all boys should stereotypically know how to do such as juggling and tying knots. “It was interesting. It showed me a lot of activities that we all should know how to do”, Omid Ravenfar ’16 said. After lunch, students broke up into learning modules such as “What it
means to be a man” and “The power of a word” to learn about genderrelated issues. “That was a really productive segment. I learned a lot from the modules”, Omid later went on. We then all gathered in the Columbus Room and each group gave a brief presentation of what was discussed in their module. The day concluded with students recapping what they learned from Values Day. Omid wrapped up by saying, “It was nice hearing from each of the individual modules about what they did. Overall, it was a good experience and I had a lot of fun.”
Photo by Lori Saltveit|| round table
the round table | page 3
special features
Current Gun Policy
by Will Paulsen ‘15
Are there background checks?
Image designed by Will Paulson ‘15|| round table
There is a big debate going on right now about gun control. With the recent shooting in Newton, Massachusetts, there are renewed debates about current gun laws. The debates are regarding the laws that some think are too strong and some think are too lenient. Some people believe that gun control should be tightened and others people believe it should stay the same. In the world of private gun transactions, this group of sellers could lessen gun violence by performing background checks. The reason why most people think gun control is at the heart of the violence is because the recent events all have had guns involved. Even though gun control is one of the reasons, the other reason for these murders is that the gunmen in recent incidents have been deemed mentally ill. The problem
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with gun control is that private sellers countrywide do not have to do background checks on the buyer. This is also true for private sellers at gun shows. At the shooting in Aurora, the gunman was mentally ill, but still was able to purchase weapons from a buyer. Even though the seller did perform a background check, they failed to find out that he was mentally ill. To pass a background check, a person must be mentally fit and cannot have a criminal record. Even though the gunman did not have a criminal background, he had mental issues. This should of stopped him from buying guns. Private sellers make most of their sales at gun conventions. At gun conventions, a private seller does not have to provide a background check; this opens up a door for people who can’t legally
buy a gun from a store. This could be solved by restricting private sellers laws and have them conduct a background check before finalizing the purchase. This is exactly what happened prior to the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. Even though this shooting was years ago, the story of two kids from the Columbine High School opening fire onto the school is still relevant to gun violence laws. They acquired the guns by having their friends get the guns from gun shows. Their friends never had background checks done on them. The United States government is at a standstill with people who are against guns. Some people believe that guns are source of all of the violence. This could be the case, but the real reason is not the gun, it is the gun policy and the people who use it.
school news
Freshmen and Sophomore CORE What CORE does for SHHS students.
Photos by Lori Saltveit|| round table
CORE is an opportunity for students to relax, socialize, and have a fun time in a co-ed environment. In CORE we learn many interesting stories and facts about what is happening in the outside world, as well as the history of our great school. To make sure that we have
a clear understanding about these topics, guest speakers sometimes drop-in to talk with us. To some, CORE gives a chance to socialize with our classmates, while doing fun activities that the school plans. Some of the recent presentations included FACE AIDS, and the history of Hip-Hop and what they bring to our community. When I asked various students how they felt of these lectures, they said: “I thought the FACE AIDS presentation was great and informative. After attending the presentation, I now support the cause. The History of Hip-Hop activity was also fun, and from it I learned how to make poetry through
by Omid Ravanfar ‘16 rap”, said Matthew Jung ‘16. “I thought both lectures were cool; I learned a lot and am now educated on both topics. In the HipHop seminar I was scared of the fact that I would maybe have to perform in front of my classmates, but then I learned that we didn’t have to which made me pretty happy. After that presentation, I am now better at rhyming”, said John Cannell ‘16 However, some of the students, such as Will Paulson ‘15, had different feelings and thoughts towards the presentations. When I asked Will about his opinion on the recent CORE classes, he said, “I thought the FACE AIDS presentation was very informative and gave me a new understanding of AIDS. The hip-hop presentation wasn’t as fun, but it was an interesting experience to make rhymes from scratch.” To many, such as Matthew, John, and Will, CORE is both fun and educational in some sort of way, while bringing new topics into their lives that they probably would not learn anywhere else. Even though some may think that CORE periods aren’t as fun as the others, they can all agree it brings some level of interest. CORE is also helpful because by junior year, when all of the students begin their co-ed classes, there will already be some sort of chemistry between the students. In conclusion, CORE helps the students at SHHS tighten their friendships, become aware of what’s happening throughout our world, and most importantly, it takes a period off from working hard in class to just relax.
the round table | page 5
creative works
Zae - A Novel
by Zachary Hammer ‘16
Chapter 2
gruesome death for me once we reached the backpacking sight. Our bus screeched to a loud stop. Even before the vehicle had stopped moving, the onslaught of stampeding teenagers pushed through the bus door and out into the courtyard. I somehow survived the mayhem and got out of the bus, but only to be trampled by the wild people behind me. Brushing the dust out of my eyes, I staggered to my feet. I looked down at my clothes and tried to wipe off the footprints. Then I looked up as the loudspeaker blurted out, “All freshmen going on the trip, meet in the assembly hall in five minutes for an informational session.” And as soon as the courtyard had filled up from the arriving buses, it was empty. All except for John and his goons. They slowly began to walk over towards me, with twisted, malicious grins on their faces. I
Illustration by Jean-Luc Seltenrich ‘13|| round table
Main character, Will is off to camp . . . The only thing that kept me from getting pounded into a pulp during the ride to school was the bus driver. She was an old, grey haired lady, who was so large that she must have had her own gravity. She allowed no talking, whispering, standing, jumping, kicking, punching, fighting, sneezing, spitting, coughing, or breathing. If so much as a hair on your head moved, the wrath of Mrs. Vandenhoff would smite you. She could also just sit on you, which I found just as terrifying. As the bus bumped across the road, all I could think about was how awful this trip would be, and how I could avoid John. I thought that my best chance of survival was to stay in eyesight of any teacher. Throughout the ride, I could hear the snickering of John and his friends. They were probably planning some horrific, the round table | page 6
frantically looked for an escape route. They were all faster and stronger than me, even if they each had the cumilative IQ of a potato. No teachers were in sight, I just had to accept my fate. “Hey, what are you doing out here, Wet Willy?” I hated when he called me that. I had gotten stuck with that nickname ever since the fourth grade when I accidently wet myself during English class. Most people had forgotten about it. Most people except John. He loved to find ways to make fun of me and put me down. “Why are you even going on this trip,” he jeered, “You should be at home playing with your dolls.” “I don’t -” But before I could finish my sentence, he pushed me. Hard. I fell down and hit my head on the curb. I could feel my head bleeding and tears began to well up in my eyes. “Oh, now you’re gonna cry like a baby.” He started to make crying baby sounds to the amusement of his friends. “N- no.” I stammered but before I could even spit out a sentence, he turned and punched me in the face.. I went sprawling into the road and crashed into the pile of luggage that was laid there to be put onto the bus. My now broken nose began to flow with blood. Scoffing, he called to me, “Don’t bleed on my bags, they’re worth more than you are!” Then, his expression lit up, as much as his ugly face could, like he had just gotten an idea. “In fact, you aren’t even worth enough to sit up with us, respectable folks.” He and his friends began to move towards me, and although I tried to crawl away, they grabbed me by my shirt, and threw me into the luggage compartment of one of the buses, slamming the door behind me.
special features
Why We Should Vote
by Matthew Jung ‘16
Why voting is a privilege and a responsibility.
All American citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote. Voting is a privilege that few have in the world. It gives us the opportunity to voice our opinions on issues that affect our community and to help shape the U.S. government and its policies. Voting gives people the power to choose the candidate that best fits our country and its needs. “It’s important to vote because that’s how we choose our leaders, who influence our everyday lives. If you don’t vote, you are assuming that everyone else that votes has the same opinion as you”, said Mr. Buckley, Stuart Hall High School History teacher and Cross Country Coach. While voting is an undisputed privilege, it is our duty to vote. We need to vote on policies and propositions as they will affect
future generations. The decisions in America are not fully made by the government, but also by the people. If no one voted, the president would rule over America in a dictatorial manner similar to that which Kim Jong-Il used to rule over North Korea. No one would challenge his authority and all the decisions would be made by him. “Voting is a privilege because a lot of people don’t get to choose their leaders such as people in China and Iran.” says Mr. Buckley. Choosing our leaders is such a great thing as they decide the future we want for our country. Each candidate has a different outlook on how to handle a situation such as the economy or ongoing wars, so voting has a direct impact on the government and us. However,
before voting, we must be well informed. “Voting without being informed is like not voting at all. You have no knowledge of the situations going on and can’t properly decide who to vote for”, Mr. Buckley says. Voting without being informed is never a good idea, so go out and learn about all the candidates and propositions before the next election.
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special features
Greatest Bro Shows Bonding Time.
by Maxwell Phillipps ‘15 and Stephen Everest ‘15
to episode you fall in love with a character as quickly as they die. The ultimate battle for the crown is between the forces of evil and good. Game of Thrones is as intense as Lord of the Rings. Stephen: Violence, crude behavior, and awesome characters make this one of my favorite shows. By far, my favorite character is Tyrion Lannister, a dwarf who serves as temporary Hand of the King.
Photos courtesy of John Cannell ‘16|| round table
Over the past month or so, Round Table reporters Stephen Everest and Maxwell Phillipps sat down on the couch and watched some TV shows. Blue Mountain State By far the greatest show ever created, the crude comedy Blue Mountain State centers around the lives of the players on one of the countries best (although fictitious) college football teams. The main characters, Thad Castle and Alex Moran, are incredibly entertaining in that their college lives never have a dull moment and are full of fun pranks. Maxwell: By far the best character in this show is Radon Randell. His hilarious antics are unrivaled by any other character on the show. Everything, from his bowl full of Plan B pills to his “fun” chamber to keep the audience laughing. the round table | page 8
Stephen: I agree with you in that Radon had some pretty amazing moments, but considering he was only in one season, I have to pick someone else as my favorite character. Thad Castle, who may just be Jesus reincarnated, steals the show every episode. My favorite moment from Thad is when he tries to give the team motivation for an upcoming game by capturing the other teams mascot. Maxwell: Thad is an amazing character, but there is no episode in the entire show that is funnier than the episode in which Radon gets his own TV show called DREAMS with RADON RANDELL. That episode is pure comedic genius unmatched by any other. Game of Thrones Centered around a fictional kingdom, (think Middle Earth) several different powers vie for the ultimate prize: the title of king over the seven kingdoms. With main characters alternating from episode
Maxwell: True. Tyrion makes this show. No one is anywhere near as awesome as his character, and there are episodes where he makes it worth watching. For example, when he tried to determine the trustworthiness of people close to him it was pure genius the way he went about it. To see for yourself, watch it! Stephen: That’s exactly what I’m saying. He’s such a dynamic character it’s astounding. Throughout this series you really grow to care for him. Entourage This HBO show captures the life of up and coming movie star, Vincent Chase, and his entourage of friends as they attempt to navigate the movie business and social scene in Hollywood. His journey to superstardom, aided by his arrogant agent, Ari Gold, and his best friend and manager, Eric Murphy, and all the bumps that come with it are portrayed in this show. Maxwell: Entourage is one of the most interesting shows in recent history. The lives of him and his entourage are filled with carefree antics and parties. Work and money are considered secondary necessities.
special features Stephen: That’s what makes this show so appealing. It’s exactly the type of life that is considered ideal to many people. No member of the entourage is particularly hard working, and yet they still manage to make a seemingly endless amount of money. When they buy a new house or toy, they always are on the brink of financial collapse, but Vince pulls another blockbuster out of his hat to help pay the bills. Maxwell: Not even kidding, since I didn’t start watching Entourage when it first premiered, I caught up on the show by watching it over long breaks. Daily Show/Colbert Report The field of satiric news was revolutionized by the witty pair of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. These two, accompanied by hilarious field reporters shine a comedic yet serious light on current political events. They inform their viewers while making them laugh, creating a highly entertaining show. Stephen: Both these men are comedic geniuses, and yet their personalities are so different. Colbert plays an aloof, ultra conservative Republican, and by doing this bashes his “own party” while pretending to defend them.
watch the Bush White House Correspondents video, as he even tricked the White House (although it wasn’t the most intelligent one in recent memory) into believing he was Republican. When he got onstage, he used every ounce of sarcasm in his body to mock the Bush regime, which led to an uncomfortable and awkward bit of comedic genius. Key and Peele Key and Peele is one of the funniest shows on the air. This writing duo creatively plays on stereotypes and hilarious moments from almost everyone’s day to day life. Unlike most sketch shows, which are hit and miss, almost every skit is amazingly funny, though quite crude. Maxwell: My favorite aspect of Key and Peele’s sketch series is that anyone, regardless of background, can appreciate the witty humor of the duo of Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele. Every one of their sketches, whether it is playing off of racist stereotypes or fraternity hazing, can’t help but make you laugh.
Stephen: That is completely true Maxwell. My favorite sketch would have to be the one titled “Dueling Hats.” In this sketch, Key and Peele play two men who are trying to wear the “freshest, cleanest” hat. This is a play off modern day society, where we see many people walking down the street wearing hats with the tags still in place. They do an amazing job keeping up with modern day society in their sketches. Maxwell: Yeah, that sketch is great, but my favorite is the substitute teacher sketch where a tough teacher comes from a classroom in the inner-city to a relatively suburban school, and during role-call mistakes what are considered “white names” with “black names” and the kids correcting his pronunciation with disrespect. Whether you agree or not with Maxwell and Stephen, we at the round table wish you happy TV watching!
Maxwell: Yeah, good point. To me, Jon Stewart’s genuine belief in what he is saying is more appealing than Stephen Colbert’s act. Allthough both men are funny, I’d rather watch an episode of The Daily Show over the Colbert Report any day of the week. Stephen: If you ever want to see just how brilliant Colbert is, the round table | page 9
special features
Apple Vs. PC
by Demetri Sakellaropoulos ‘15
The age old debate.
Photo by Demetri Sakellaropoulos ‘15 || round table
There is a war going on between those who prefer Apple O.S and those who prefer Windows O.S, some say Apple is more userfriendly, while others disagree and say that computers are complex to any first time user. The point of this article is not to give a preference of one side over another; it is simply to compare price points, compatibility, usability and hardware. The Windows market price varies heavily between brand names. For example, Alienware is notoriously overpriced compared to other custom-built computer names like Digital Storm, however when compared they are priced roughly the same with only small differences in hardware and price. Apple on the other has only a single manufacturer, so price will always stay consistent. Since there are no the round table | page 10
brand names in Apple, Apple does not have to compete with others manufacturers. While say, Dell will have to compete heavily with Hewlett Packard. There are some pros and cons of owning an Apple PC vs. a Windows PC, Windows for example will always have a stockpile of free software, because of Microsoft’s policy of allowing anyone to develop programs for their computers. Apple on the other hand, will have a much smaller amount of programs, but they will usually be more reliable than the bulk of the Widows programs. There is also the question of what you want to do on an Apple or on a Windows PC. Windows are generally cheaper and you can get more for your money the lower your price point is. However as you go up in budget, Windows and Apple begin to even out in cost and efficiency for any given use. Assuming two equally priced mid range computers, one an Apple and one a Windows, gaming
would be preferred on a Windows for the sheer fact that there are a tremendous amount of developers designing for Windows. Apple can blame themselves for this because of their strict policy of allowing people to design for them. The key difference between Windows and Mac’s price is their upgradeability. Apple hardware upgrades are also usually higher priced than Windows, and the computers are harder to take apart. To conclude, if you prefer the ability to customize hardware by yourself and don’t mind sifting through large amounts of free software to find the diamonds in the rough, then you’ll prefer a Windows computer. However, if you want a computer that will stay the same, have very good applications and will be easy to manage, then you should go Mac. These computers have slight advantages and disadvantages; however, for the most part they are equal.
school news
A Collection of Random Facts
Lucas Chan ‘14
A list of things that most people don’t know or care about Welcome to Lucas’s assortment of random useless and useful facts! We at the round table love to bring you fun and interesting information that we hope will get most people thinking in new ways. Although we enjoy your readership, we also enjoy pranking, so one of these twenty facts presented is false in some way (Answer at bottom). Have fun! 1. Pokémon holds the world record for causing the most epileptic seizures in a children’s television show.
9. There is a group of people who ride down Lombard Street on children’s tricycles every Easter. It is (ironically) called Big Wheels. 10. Futurama holds a Guinness World Record for being currently the most critically acclaimed animated show. 11. There is an underwater statue of Jesus in Malta. 12. Soy is named after the sauce, not the plant.
2. Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead only had nine and a half fingers.
15. Ken Jeong, also known as Leslie Chow, a star character in the movies The Hangover and Community graduated from high school when he was 16 and has a PHD in medicine. 16. A strawberry is not a berry, but a banana is. 17. Star Trek fans call themselves “Trekkers,”while non-Star Trek fans call the fans “Trekkies”.
3. Theodore Roosevelt lost both his mother and wife on the same day.
18. The Beatles played their last official concert at Candlestick Park.
4. Japan cannot declare war, because it is against their constitution.
19. According to Mr. Campos, the stuffed animal in his room is not a kangaroo, but a wallaby.
5. 3:44 AM is the most average time people wake up at night.
20. In the television show Arrested Development, Gob, played by Will Arnett, married a character played by Amy Poehler, who was Will’s actual wife at the time.
6. Mr. Buckley is the only remaining teacher at Stuart Hall High School since its opening.
Photo by Jean-Luc Seltenrich || round table
8. Leonardo DiCaprio has only won one Oscar in his 20+ years of acting.
13. Regular Show on Cartoon Network features the voice of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). *Leonardo DiCaprio has NEVER won an Oscar.
7. San Francisco was founded before the United States became a country.
14. “Song 2” by the British band Blur is 2:02 minutes long, was the second most played song at sporting events in 2002, and was the second single off their album.
the round table | page 11
specialnews features school
The Question Man
by Jean-Luc Seltenrich ‘13
Jean-Luc steps up to answers your questions. plan is to get a good amount of sleep the night before. These napping places are only backups. I will not reveal my personal favorite place to sleep, but I will let you know about some places that have worked or I have heard about working. Firstly, we have the Columbus Room. It seems too open, too revealing, but that’s the point of it. Why would a teacher look in the most obvious location? They wouldn’t. Sleeping on any Photo by Robeil Andebrhan|| round table of the lunch tables would work, but if you have some paranoia of getting a “you are Q: “Where is the best place in being unproductive” yelling at, school to take a nap?” then the stage and side room are both available. Secondly we have Jay: Taking a nap at school is the library. A little more risky something that neither teachers nor I approve of, but if you have to, there because teachers constantly visit it while proctoring study hall, and are surprisingly many places at I have both seen people get and school where you can sleep or take been caught myself. If you really a nap and be confident in getting need a good nap though, the padded away with it. If you have ever been seats and warm, cozy environment at school, sitting in class, struggling create a perfect place to sleep. The to keep your eyes open, do not fret. gym could be used as a back-up All you need to do is take time out to the library, but remember that of your study hall to come to one you will get caught during frosh these locations. Of course the best
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and sophomore gym class...and you will get yelled at. Finally, the last resort for sleeping, if you do not have a study period, or cannot last until the end of class, why not sleep now? Simply putting your hand on your forehead as if you were resting, turned away from the teacher, pencil in hand, is an easy and convenient way to get some rest while looking like you’re simply thinking. I do not recommend this tactic, but to be honest, I have used it many times. And unfortunately I have gotten caught more than half of those times. But, if you feel you are sneaky enough, then go for it. That is all I have for the “best places to nap,” but again, this is only if you did not sleep well the night before. If you go to any of these places to sleep, be prepared to be abruptly woken up.
sportsnews school
The Meaning of the Mat
by Austin Woo ‘15
composed of many things and it represents and means a lot to me. During my last Stuart Hall Dual Meet against Lick Wilmerding, my friend asked me, “Why do you wrestle? It’s painful to watch.” But I didn’t have an answer for Photo courtesy of Wendy Wisniewski ||round table her in that moment. To spectators and newcomers to the During the Suart Hall sport I realize how painful wrestling wrestling season where we ended the seems to be. I understand that for season with a 10-3 dual meet record, many people, it is uncomfortable to my Saturday morning usually begins watch someone almost get “beaten around 5:00 AM with the piercing up” by another person. I remember buzz of my alarm. Slightly irritated seeing my mother cringe and that I have to leave the comforting squeeze her fist tight, at the very warmth of my blankets, I get up sight of me being taken down and and remember that reinforcing my pinned on a wrestling mat. The truth mental strength is an essential is, wrestling is painful. So why do I aspect I require for my wrestling wrestle? matches that are only a few hours There are multiple reasons as away. While I am extremely nervous to why wrestlers, including myself, and worried about my performance do what we do. Some do it for the in my upcoming matches, that glory, some for the discipline and reckless excitement I get from character building, some wrestle wrestling has already bolstered my to get away from the stresses of confidence. life, others do it to become strong Wrestling tournaments are both mentally and physically, while like nothing I have ever experienced others just do it for the pure thrills. before. The gym starts off silent, “Stay warm, get a sweat but as the athletes and spectators going, and be ready.” As the clock arrive, the wrestling venue grows runs down, my match grows ever ever louder and warmer. Within closer and I usually begin to feel 45 minutes after the opening of the even more nervous. Before I step tournament, the gym has become onto the mat, the center of attention a blazing inferno with a bustling where I will be facing my opponent, and boisterous environment. “I love I always take a deep breath, to not the atmosphere,” says sophomore only to relax myself, but also to Charlie O’Connell, “It’s comforting show my opponent that I am ready. and exciting.” Even though most wrestlers are As an athlete, I see wrestling
friends with each other, as we are a fairly small community, none of that matters on the mat, especially during the match. It doesn’t matter who you’re facing, where he’s been, or why he wrestles. There is no sympathy or empathy given on that wrestling mat. All that really matters is who wins, and what you’re willing to do to be the victor. Your match against your opponent reflects upon your character and how hard you’ve worked. It’s either you or him. It’s true that sometimes, you’re just no match for your opponent. I’ve been told by my coaches, “Even if he’s going to beat you, you better make him go through hell.” Simply, you always give it your 110% effort. Being pinned is the worst. Losing a match is more painful than any practice I’ve had and I beat myself up mentally when I lose. I feel like I’ve let my team, my coaches, and most of all, myself down. No one likes losing, but wrestling really teaches you to pick yourself up after a loss. At the end of the match, I always ask myself if I’ve worked hard enough the past week and if I deserved that victory or loss. The results of wrestling are incomparable. Before I started wrestling, I was unathletic, less disciplined, less organized, and pretty overweight. After my first wrestling season, I looked at everything differently. Wrestling really taught me to eat healthier and to exercise daily and regularly. Joining wrestling taught me to focus on things that mattered to me and to not get so easily distracted. I learned to organize my time better and to prioritize the things I needed to do. After wrestling, I really do feel more in control of myself mentally and physically. The results are astounding.
From the eyes of a wrestler.
the round table | page 13
specialnews features school
College Life
by Robeil Andebrhan ‘13
A report from USF.
Photo courtesy of Michaele Andebrhan || round table
College is the next big step after high school. It is the next phase in becoming more independent and finally getting the chance to live on your own. Some college students decide to stay home rather than go to a different state or county. Those students have their reasons, whatever they may be. Michaele Andebrhan ‘11, my brother and also an alumni of Stuart Hall High School, has decided to stay local and attend the University of San Francisco. His reasons to stay in the city were that he wanted to be around his family and because his school is so conveniently close to his home, where he is living. Going to school for him only takes about ten minutes by bus. Being able to work on campus is another great pro. Proximity to home was the number one factor in his decision. Although he does live close to school, he does not spend a lot of his time at home. He spends a lot of time in the library because of the workload at USF. There are many essays to write for his classes. He is working on his major in sports medicine. He has taken classes
the round table | page 14
in health and nutrition so far. He is also taking Spanish because he is interested in learning a new language. Of course, there are a lot of great things about college. He spends a lot of his time on campus hanging out with some friends. I interviewed him, and this is what he had to say:
1. What is the biggest difference between high school and college? The biggest difference I find between high school and college is that you have more freedom in college: freedom to pursue the academics you choose, to use your free time how you wish, and to lead your life how you’d like in general. 2. How is living at home instead of living on campus? I love living at home. I get to see my family on a regular basis, I enjoy homemade food, and I get to sleep in my bed. I would rather live at home because my friends are always telling me about how they hate their roommates or the food on campus. However, living on campus does give you the opportunity to experience living with others your own age. 3. Are you still involved with things on campus? I am involved with things on campus such as fraternity and sorority events, as well as visiting friends living in dorms. I also am given the ability to regulate how much involvement I have on campus.
There is a lot going on on campus and it’s to me to decide what to participate in. 4. How is the workload compared to high school? The workload in college is different than that from high school because you are given more assignments that take longer to produce such as essays and projects, but you are also given ample time to do them, and do them thoroughly. Another difference is the length of the essays. They are much longer in college! 5. How does your schedule look compared to high school? I have much more time to do things like work, workout, and hang out with friends because my classes never meet for more than two hours and they are spread throughout my week. I am currently taking 4 classes and they meet about 2-3 times a week, unlike high school in which you are in classes from 8am to 3pm. Michaele had much to say about his life in college so far, but he wanted to stress the amount of freedom that you get in college. With the abundant amount of freedom that is given there has to be a responsible way of handling it. Getting through college makes you more independent and responsible, as you have to organize your time and start to depend less on your family. In Michaele’s case, he was lucky to live at home and not have to worry about sleeping in a room with someone else and making his own food. College is the next big step after high school and if you want to live far away from your parents then you have to be prepared to become more independent and responsible.
specialnews features school
Animals Becoming Endangered The Slow loris is Incredibly Cute.
a rice ball. This animal is so endearing, that a 2.5-minute video is dedicated entirely to watching this animal eat. The sad part about this, which is unknown by many people watching the video, is that all these loris’ in the videos are being held illegally, and have been taken out of the wild against the law by poachers to be sold as pets or killed for medicine. After being removed from the wild, Illustration by Jean-Luc Seltenrich|| round table many times their front teeth are cut off with nail clippers YouTube has helped to make them seem more popularize many things and bring appealing to potential buyers. This light to interesting people and is also done because they have a animals since its creation. However, poisonous patch on their arms which unfortunately for the Slow loris, they suck the venom out of before an animal found in South and biting, making their bites poisonous. Southeast Asia, this attention has With no teeth, it makes them safer helped set it on an awful course. to own, and makes their bite less In case you haven’t already, poisonous. go onto YouTube and look up “Slow They are then sold to owners, loris Eating A Rice Ball.” There you where they are usually treated will find possibly the cutest animal poorly and kept in small cages, to ever live being fed, you guessed it,
by Stephen Everest ‘15
as seen in the videos of them on YouTube. These animals are used to living in the trees with lots of space, not tiny cages in someone’s living room. Also, the Slow loris is a nocturnal animal, and usually not active during the day. However, when being held as pets, their sleeping pattern is usually reversed, which makes them uncomfortable and inactive during the day. So while you may think that the video of the Slow loris is the greatest single thing you have ever seen, realize that these animals are being put through torture in homes around the world, many times without the owners even realizing it. This is why the loris should remain in the wild, and is not suited to be a pet.
round table Trivia
Get all the trivia correct, win an iTunes giftcard How well did you read this issue of the round table? Be one of the first 10 people to answer the trivia questions that James Hernandez ‘15 put together and we’ll throw your name into the drawing for a $15 dollar iTunes card. Scan the QR code or go to http://goo.gl/YaXgS. May the best reader win!
the round table | page 15
school news
the round table | page 16
best of 2013 (so far)