The ReMarker | December 2012

r

NEWS Origin of McDonald’s Week p. 4

ARTs Perot SPOrts Junior Museum opened John Garnsey Dec. 1 p. 10 p. 22

“

Life puts you on your back, and wrestling teaches you how to get up. And that’s what I hope my kids get out of it.

Making my guys good fathers.

Good husbands. Wrestling is Page 21 just a product of it.

remarker student newspaper

St. mark's school of texas | DALLAS, TEXAS | VOLUME 59, ISSUE 3 | Friday, dec. 14, 2012

Literary Festival to begin Jan. 10

DIVORCE | INSIDE Heartfelt stories from those who have experienced separation • page 18

’til death With the divorce rate

Four authors, including a former U.S. Poet Laureate and best-selling author, to headline annual event

By Alexander Munoz copy editor every year, Marksmen gather in Decherd Auditorium to absorb the wealth of knowledge from writers from all over the country.

This year, the sixth annual Literary Festival will host four authors Jan. 10. Curtis Sittenfeld, Marion Winik and Sid Balman ’76 will visit to share their writing experiences. In addition, the Literary Festival has partnered with the Dennard Visiting Scholars Program to host former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins.

David Brown, sponsor of the Literary Festival, chose the authors based mostly on diversity.

“We want several genres represented,” Brown said. “So with Collins being a poet, we also like to have a fiction writer and a nonfiction writer, and we like to try to find someone that’s a journalist. We also like to bring diversity culturally, gender diversity or racial diversity, some kind of difference so that we don’t have the all male, white, Texas writers mentality that we get plenty of just being who we are where we are.”

The Literary Festival combined with the Visiting Scholars Program for the first time this year to get Collins to attend, and Brown is excited to see the result.

“Any time you can Sittenfeld get someone of [Billy Collins’] national prominence, his stature, someone who has been the Poet Laureate, someone who’s probWinik ably the most famous American poet in our generation, then you utilize him as much as you can,” Brown said.

For the first time this year, writers will Balman read excerpts from their work to provide students with an example of their writing.

“Students and teachers will hear some Collins of their favorite works or passages or something more recent that they’ve done that they may not have seen,” Brown said. “And I think that’ll be entertaining and interesting and a little different from what we’ve done in the past.”

After planning out all the details and working for months, Brown believes that this year’s Literary Festival will be one of the best yet.

“I think it’s going to be one of the most invigorating, entertaining, informative fests that we’ve had if it’s not the best ever,” Brown said. “Not just because of the quality of the writers that we have — we’ve had great writers in the past as well — but these writers overall have more of a national appeal then we’ve had in the past.”

INSIDE

NEws | 2-8

wrestling coach justin turner

hovering around 50 percent in the U.S., millions of children each year are caught in the crossfire.

Children of these traumatic parental separations often experience strong feelings of anxiety, confusion and anger.

do us part?

a

31.4 27.3 25 41

percent of children do not live with two parents percent of children live with one parent

middle schooler sat fidgeting in his airplane seat. Something

was wrong. He didn’t want the plane to leave.

Otto Clark-Martinek was angry.

Not angry at anything specifically, but in general. Angry at his school. Angry at his parents. And at himself.

The American Airlines flight from Jackson Hole, WY back to Dallas represented more than just leaving behind a summer break of hiking, fishing and whitewater rafting with his mom. It represented living the rest of the year apart from her and, instead, being with his dad — but worse, it meant coming back to a school full of people with whom he wasn’t getting along.

Just as the flight attendants were telling people to turn off their electronic devices, he realized that if they took off now, he couldn’t go back. He hit the call button and alerted the flight attendants that he wasn’t ready to leave. He had to stay.

“I made them stop the plane and tried to get off,” he said. “I

percent of children live with a step-parent

didn’t want to come back. I didn’t want to ever come back here

percent of first marriages end with a divorce

Dad, but I knew that meant I would have to start school soon, and

because it was so horrible for me. I was okay coming back to my

Continued, pg. 18

I couldn’t do that.”

▶ by Daniel Hersh, editor-in-chief and Stephen Rambin, issues editor, stats compiled by Teddy Edwards, staff writer | artwork by Robbey Orth, graphics director and Andrew Goodman, visuals director

Arts | 9-14

Commentary | 15-17

'til death do us part? | 18

sports | 19-23

overtime | 24

paths to ponder | 1B-4B

n

McDonald's Week page 4

NOW. news around campus

The annual Junior Class fundraiser raised more than $18,000 for Austin Street Centre.

THE REMARKER | Friday, DEC. 14, 2012 | PAGE 2

upcoming

next week

▶ The Middle

and Upper School Holiday Band Concert will be held tonight in the chapel beginning at 7 p.m. Four different orchestra groups will be performing .

"It's going to be awesome!"

Orchestra Director Dr. David Fray said. < Orchestra Director Dr. David Fray conducting a rehearsal

the

newsfeed

Senior Milan Savani and sophomore Vignesh Babu

but earned a chance to compete for two wild card spots in the semifinals. The team was disqualified during this round for calling an illegal timeout.

•••

The Leadership and Ethics Committee is trying to increase relations with leadership expert Gus Lee by having him visit more each year. They have established for him to visit three times per year.

Lee ran a seminar here in August and later met with each faculty member who wanted to be

small talk

▶ The annual Gift Drive ends Tuesday.

Collected gifts are given to organizations throughout Dallas including the Salvation Army.

▶ Dennard Visiting

▶ The first Lessons and Carols service will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m.

▶ The sixth annual

Scholar Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United States, will be visiting 10600 Preston Road Jan. 9-10.

▶ The Community

▶ The second

▶ The annual All School Christmas Party will take place Dec. 21 at 11 a.m.

Students are dismissed for Christmas Break at 12 p.m. Classes resume Jan. 7.

▶ The Community

•••

Math Team members came in third place at this year’s annual Texas A&M meet Nov. 17. The competition was based on cumulative points earned by individual performances on standardized tests.

Eleven Upper School students attended the competition at College Station, including co-captains senior James Rowan and junior Victor Zhou.

mid-trimester ends Jan. 11.

Service Habitat for Humanity House build begins Jan. 12.

▶ The annual Com-

munity Service Coat Drive begins Jan. 14.

Chicago Nov. 30 . Her dissertation is titled “The Perduring Sublime: Discovery and Recovery in the Poetry and Poetics of Adam Zagajewski, Miroslav Holub and Allen Grossman”

•••

Bobby Walker ’91 spoke to the seniors at the annual senior leadership dinner, which was held Nov. 14 in the Great Hall. Walker spoke about how the theme of

•••

The debate team traveled to Chicago over Thanksgiving break to attend the Glenbrook Debate Tournament, which coach Tim Mahoney describes as one of the biggest speech and debate tournaments. Junior captain Charlie Marshall says that the team did not do as well as expected. The team is preparing to attend the Blake Tournament in Minnesota later this year.

•••

English instructor Dr. Marta Napiorkowska’s Ph.D. dissertation was accepted by the University of

▶ ‘It’s hot as hell here. Trust me, I would know what that’s like.’ — Chaplain Rev. Michael Dangelo

Moor

This one’s for the girls

I

’ve been privileged to hear some great advice in my time here.

Study Spanish 15 minutes a day.

If you smile big at Mrs. Muratalla she’ll give you an extra burger.

Stay out of the library bathroom.

One of those pieces of advice will stick with me for as long as I live. It came from classmate of mine, Tré Walton. I forget the context and where we were sitting, but I’ll never forget his words.

“Whenever you think of it, go up to your mom and give her a hug,” Tré said.

“Then look at her and say ‘Mom, I love you and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.’”

Just by the nature of single-sex education, our minds are centered on the masculine. St. Mark’s students are macho, manly men, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

But this environment sometimes lets us forget the women in our lives.

Just ask the Hockaday girls in your grade if they think you’re a sexist. You know the answer — of course they do. I don’t want to insinuate that Marksmen are inherently biased against women, mostly because I know most of our “women belong in the kitchen” grandstanding is satire.

But I don’t need to tell you that there’s a little truth in every joke.

A gentleman respects every lady in his life. There are very few people who will argue that. But that’s very hard to remember when your peer group is all guys, all the time for ten hours a day, five days a week.

We forget our manners, our courtesies, and we forget the fact that the girls are quite a bit smarter than we are — sometimes. ome of you who know me superficially are holding this paper ready to call me every vile synonym for hypocrite you can think of. Absolutely, you’re correct.

I have not walked this walk. I’ve treated girlfriends poorly and I’ve given my mom some miserable weeks. I have made every mistake there is to make on this front.

But that’s the thing — I’m trying to learn.

Sure, we go to school to learn how to derive functions and how to analyze Julius Caesar. (He never dies, apparently. Has he been a ghost this whole time?) But even the most cynical among us can cop to the fact that we’re trying to learn how to be men.

You want to see what kind of man someone is? Watch how he treats his mom, his girlfriend or wife, his daughter. People reveal their true colors in how they treat the women in their lives. I’m an imperfect person, but I’m trying to change.

We’re not Knights of the Round Table.

I’m not saying challenge the next guy who walks down the street without tipping his hat to your girlfriend to mortal combat.

All I’m saying is consider Tré’s advice and what it means in the larger picture.

Tell your mom you love her when you get home from school today.

Bite your tongue next time you want to ask a Daisy how things are at Home Ec University. Hold a door even if you’re not going to get a date out of it. I’ll be right there with you.

Because cards on the table, I’ve been smacked in the face enough.

S Bobby Walker ’91

leadership showed up throughout his life both as a student and after.

He stressed the concept of listening rather than leading. Walker, an athlete, had the opportunity to play professional football but decided to follow his interests and go into a field of education.

He now works as an administrator at a private school outside of New York.

comments made by faculty, staff and students around campus

▶ ‘I think I know what Facebook is. Twitter, iPhone, iBox, sandbox, whatever!’ — ­ History instructor Bill Marmion discussing social media

will

St. Mark’s Literary Festival begins Jan. 10 (see story on page one).

Service Board’s annual Gift Drive ends Dec. 18.

assessed individually. The committee is trying to have more interactions between Lee and students.

Lee runs a leadership conference at West Point, NY each year.

opinion

after break

a quick look at news around campus

The robotics team placed 28th out of more than 50 teams from New Mexico and Texas in the Texas BEST Regional Robotics Championship. The team only scored in two of the five preliminary rounds

I was proud when I graduated...but I also felt a tremendous debt to the Page 3 school.

startingout

things to do in the weeks ahead

today

“

Board of Trustees President Randall Fojtasek, Sr. '81

▶ ‘The minimum drinking age in Ireland is

three, so I don’t think that’s a problem.’

­ Victor White Master Teacher David Brown while — talking about a short story in his English class

▶ ‘I licked the paper...I don’t know why.’ — Junior Richard McCants

n

NEWS around campus

McDonald’s Week 4

THE REMARKER | Friday, dec. 14, 2012 | PAGE 3

Robotics 5

S chool

Lengthy Commutes 6

One Reason Recordings 7

Sick at School 8

P hil a nthrop y

In the spirit of giving With a major gift given by the Fojtasek family intended to rename the Lower School, the Centennial Challenge Campaign and the St. Mark’s Fund are breaking school records.

LOWER SCHOOL LEGACY Ackerman Family Master Teacher Alice Oltrogge, who teaches Lower School art, works with first grader Preston Ghafar in the Lower School, which will be renamed in the spring.

N

earburg Hall.

The Robert K. Hoffman Center.

Even the McDermott-Green Physical Science Center, completed in the 1960s.

All buildings whose names themselves reflect upon the legacy of 10600 Preston Road.

Buildings soon to be joined by the Lower School.

Built alongside the chapel and the music building during a renovation period in the 1980s, the Lower School will be renamed in honor of the Fojtasek family following a significant gift

by Board of Trustees President Randall Fojtasek, Sr. ’81.

“I started at St. Mark’s in sixth grade and I had a great experience,” Fojtasek said. “I was proud when I graduated that I did it, that I had gone through the academic rigors of St. Mark’s, but I also felt a tremendous debt to the school.”

But for Fojtasek, it was a debt not only to the school, but also to his parents who had provided him with the opportunity of attending 10600 Preston Road.

“I became very interested in doing some-

thing with my family to thank [my father] for the gift of sending me to St. Mark’s,” he said. “This was the first thing we found really meaningful, to name a building after him, so at the end of the day, that’s what made the gift important to us.”

This same spirit of gratitude resonates with Head of Middle School Warren Foxworth ’66, who has given to the school annually for the past 20 years.

“To me, for St. Mark’s, I’ve gotten so much out of it both as a kid, as a student here, and as an adult and teacher that I want to support it to show that I appreciate what all the people before me have done and to try and make what I do have an impact on those who come after me,” he said. “I believe we do a great job of preparing boys as future leaders who make a difference in other people’s lives, and that’s something I strongly support.”

And that’s what makes gifts like these so special according to Director of Individual Giving Scott Jolly.

“What we’re trying to do,” he said, “is we want to give people in our community the opportunity to support the school in the way that they want to. What we seek to do is really to give the joy to the donor. This is really working hand-in-hand, it’s really a partnership between friends in our community, whether it be alumni or parents or others, and

the school.”

It’s a partnership that shatters the conventional norms of giving for independent schools.

According to Jolly, in the past two years, combined alumni gifts to the St. Mark’s Fund have exceeded combined parent gifts, an unprecedented statistic nationwide.

“Our school has a history of philanthropy from the very beginning,” Jolly said. “People like [longtime benefactors] Cecil Green and Eugene McDermott who really helped us advance to the forefront of education. What we ask is that those who have gone through St. Mark’s really just pay it forward so that we can be the same type of school for the next 100 years that we have been in the past 100. I feel as though stewardship would be the best way to describe the idea.” oth Jolly and Assistant Headmaster David Dini emphasize the importance of the dual-sided giving process. The Centennial Challenge Campaign focuses primarily on soliciting major donations from the entire school community.

While the St. Mark’s Fund, a subset of the whole Centennial Challenge, focuses primarily on supplementing the daily operating budget, the Campaign works towards promoting growth in financial aid, building projects and the addition of prestigious Master Teaching

B

chairs. Having recently surpassed $100 million of the $110 million goal, the Centennial Challenge is nearing completion and Dini is optimistic.

“I think the most important thing about these gifts is that we understand that the school’s mission is clear and we understand what our goals are and we understand that these gifts will strengthen the school in specific and meaningful ways,” he said. “The Campaign has a very simple goal, which is to strengthen support for the faculty and students.”

The Campaign’s success is evident in the addition of three new Master Teaching Chairs, with three more on the horizon.

Other major donations have supplemented the financial aid program.

“This school made me not only a studious person, but really, a whole person,” Fojtasek said. “For that, I think it’s a very, very special place and I believe everyone deserving should have the opportunity to come here to St. Mark’s.”

With this continual, firm spirit of philanthropy, as gifts reinforce the very identity of the school, Jolly asks one question to students, alumni and parents alike.

“Are you willing to support our school’s future?” he asks. “That’s what it all comes down to.”

The Spirit of Giving story by Vikram Pattabi, staff writer | photos by Michael Doorey, head photographer

A look at the gifts • The goal of the Centennial Challenge Campaign is to raise $110 million. fiscal year.

• More than 5,000 different donors have contributed to the Centennial Challenge.

• The cost of a fully-funded Master Teaching Chair is $1.5 million.

• 18% of the Centennial Campaign gifts are used for teacher and faculty support.

•The number of individual gifts to the Centennial Campaign has exceeded 20,000.

DEVELOPMENT PHOTO

• Alumni participation in gifting to the St. Mark’s fund was at a record 56% at the end of the 2011-2012

CAMPAIGNING Centennial Challenge Chairman Ross Perot Jr. ’77 speaks to Campaign donors.

news

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

M cdon a ld ’ s

4

wee k

McDonald’s Week, an annual Junior Class-led community service project, has benefited community organizations like Austin Street Centre for 25 years. This year’s project raised more than $18,000, including an unprecedented $4,000 donation from the Preston-Royal McDonald’s restaurant owner, Roland Parrish. The event also provided 2,000 meals for Austin Street clients. Here’s a look back at how it all began.

MCDONALD’S WEEK The annual fundraiser celebrated 25 years of helping Austin Street clients and entertaining Marksmen with short walks for burgers, fries and shakes.

A

thletic Trainer Doc Browning sat at a table inside the Grandy’s restaurant on Central Expressway. The year was 1987 and around him sat a group of Lion wrestlers, members of Browning’s Thursday Morning Breakfast Club.

On that particular Saturday, they had just finished weighing-in for a tournament. During the meal, someone had an idea: Wouldn’t it be cool if we could pack Grandy’s with St. Mark’s people? Wouldn’t it be neat if our breakfast club grew?

And grow, it did.

Soon, nearly 50 Marksmen joined Browning. Hockaday girls entered the group, too.

Shortly after that gathering, as Browning was falling asleep one night, he was thinking about ways to involve the Dallas corporate community in the CANpaign, a long-running community service effort that made the school the first organization to collect canned goods for needy people in Dallas.

Then, an idea struck him. What if he combined the breakfast club and his community service efforts?

“The entire concept of what we do at McDonald’s now hit me like a ton of bricks,” Browning said. “I came up with the whole idea of we’ll pack the restaurant — it was Grandy’s at the time. I actually got up in the middle of the night when this came to me and wrote it all down on a piece of paper.”

Browning told the students in charge of the CANpaign about his idea and they sent a

proposal to Grandy’s.

Twenty-five years ago, Grandy’s agreed to help.

“When [Jamie Alexander, the Grandy’s executive responsible for handling community service requests] got our proposal, it jumped out at her like nothing she had received,” Browning said.

“Our premise was, ‘We’re not asking for anything for free. Here’s what we’ll do for you.

We will pack your place with people. We will get you publicity. We will have the mayor here. We will make this an event,’” Browning said. “‘We will multiply your breakfast receipts exponentially for that week. What we want in return is you do something for a third party.’ Back then it was Austin Street.”

•••

The fundraiser moved to McDonald’s in

McDonald’s week results • Approximate amount of money raised for Austin Street • Value of meals donated • Number of Austin Street clients fed

$18,000 $6,000 2,000

the early ’90s after the newly constructed restaurant offered to host a fundraiser the next spring and Grandy’s was going through bankruptcy.

McDonald’s corporate mascot, Ronald McDonald, is played by actor Brad Lennon, who has become a frequent visitor to the Junior Class fundraiser.

During one of his meetings with McDonald’s corporate executives, he mentioned the event and the leaders wanted to implement similar programs across the country.

“What we do at McDonald’s here became a pattern for them and they have taken our program and it is now being replicated at McDonald’s all over the country,” Browning said.

“Now, it’s a nationwide program that McDonald’s sponsors to get kids involved in the community and feed needy people and all of that.”

L

•••

ast spring, juniors Matt Mahowald and Harrison Perkins became the heads of this fundraiser, one that Browning doubted would still exist today.

“When I was in first grade, I had a lot of fun going to McDonald’s in the mornings,” Mahowald said. “It really appealed to me to get on the other side of the fundraiser and see what happens when you actually make it happen.”

Perkins was honored by being given the responsibility but understood the work it entailed.

“It was a great experience to know I was doing something that so many people had done before and to know that the people who

chose me really trusted me enough to do that,” Perkins said. “It made me feel really good that I was being trusted with that responsibility.”

Class Sponsor J.T. Sutcliffe sees McDonald’s week two ways — as a class sponsor and as a community member.

“As class sponsor, my favorite part is to watch kids have a chance to step in roles that they haven’t had a chance to play before,” Sutcliffe said. “Of course, it’s always fun to see us take the results down to Austin Street and see the effect we have on people down there.

That’s very satisfying, but in a different way.”

For Browning, however, the satisfaction from McDonald’s Week comes from the knowledge that he started the event that has helped Austin Street for a quarter century.

“One of the things I am very, very proud of at this school is that I know that long after I’m dead, I assume, if I’m still here, McDonald’s Week will still be on the calendar,” he Now, it’s a nationwide program that McDonald’s sponsors to get kids involved in the community and feed needy people and all of that.

Athletic Trainer Doc browning

said. “That’s something that they’ll do forever, and I started it. No matter what happens down the road, I am very, very proud of that fact.”

‘It all Started with a Dream’ story by Ryan O’Meara, news editor | artwork by Zuvya Sevilla, staff artist, archival photos and photos by Riley Graham, staff photographer

Noted scientist visits campus as stop on book tour

By Alex Kim staff writer Paleoanthropologist Dr. Lee Berger visited the school Nov. 12 to speak to students, parents and teachers about his recently published book The Skull in the Rock.

On campus Berger spoke to the sixth and ninth graders in two separate special assemblies and later to an open audience in the evening.

Many middle schoolers as well as parents and teachers visited the evening event, in which Berger talked about his experiences behind “The Skull in the Rock” and signed copies.

“I think a lot of them were genuinely interested and that translated into them wanting to see him and bring their parents,” McDermott Master Teacher John Mead said.

Berger’s visit was thanks to Mead’s innate fascination in paleoanthropology and his decision to initiate a chat with

Berger via Facebook.

“I knew that, if I could, I wanted to have him come answer some questions for our sixth graders,” Mead said, “And I thought, well, it couldn’t hurt to ask. So I saw him online with that little green light, and so I told him starting out, ‘Dr. Berger, you don’t know me, but…’”

Berger is considering maintaining connections with St. Mark’s by exchanging video calls with classes from his laboratory in South Africa, allowing students the learn more about fossils more directly.

“So he could have real fossils there, and our guys can say, ‘Oh, can you turn this fossil this way or that way?’ and can give us a lot more detail than possible otherwise,” Mead said. “That’s unheard of from a middle school or high school situation.”

The school hosted Berger’s visit to Dallas in conjunction with the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, which opened to the public Dec. 1.

SPOKEN Dr. Lee Berger speaks to community members and visitors in the Great Hall during his Nov. 12 speaking event on campus.

news

page

the remarker | Friday DEC. 14 2012

5

R O B O T I C S

Robotics sweeps city competition, falls at regionals

1

2

5 4

A 6 5. The robot’s arm grasping a bottle which was a scoring piece in the last competition.

6. Seniors Michael Gilliland, Milan Savani and Shivum Agrawal practice driving the robot.

7. Junior Andrew Gatherer cuts a piece of pipe using a bandsaw.

8. The wall of tools in the team’s lab.

3

7

8

fter winning first place locally, the Robotics Team moved on to compete in the Texas Boosting Engineering Science and Technology (BEST) Regional Robotics Competition. The team competed Nov. 9 and 10 in Garland against 60 other teams from Texas and New Mexico.

The team’s robot was designed to move bottles up and down and carefully maneuver the holes onto small pegs, all while being timed. The goal of the competition was to mimic a space elevator.

After some last-minute tweaking on the first night, the robot failed to complete one of the tasks.

Although the device fell short of expectations due to mechanical troubles, the team is hopeful for the future.

“I’m hoping for a repeat of a win at Oklahoma this January,” senior co-captain Milan Savani said,” and hopefully a win at internationals this summer.” Here’s a look at the robotics team and how it operates.

1. The skeleton of the most recent robot.

2. Junior Ali Ahmed and senior Milan Savani hold the robot and wait for the competition to begin.

3. A drawing of a prototype for a claw and a gear drive.

4. Senior Adam Rawot drives the robot during a competition round.

ROBOTICS story by Jacob Chernick, staff writer | photos by Andrew Gatherer, staff photographer, Ryan O’Meara, news editor and Doug Rummel, robotics instructor

Mlakar selected to teach online course

By Shourya Kumar staff writer IN ADDITION TO THE school’s decision to join the Global Online Academy, math instructor Paul Mlakar has been selected to teach an advanced math course in multivariable calculus.

According to Scott Gonzalez, the school’s representative to the Global Online Academy, Mlakar has taken a big step forward for the school.

“He is really taking a big step for our school,” Gonzalez said. “And the truth is that Global Online Academy is made up of schools very similar to us in terms of academic performance and rigor.

“And to have a faculty member propose a class and be accepted as an instructor is a very nice for the school.”

Given the potential difficulties of

teaching the new class, Mlakar looks forward to the opportunities this teaching job presents him with.

“Teaching that high level of a calculus class is really exciting to me,” he said. “It’s going to be very challenging material for me to go back and re-learn and then be able to share it with students literally all over the world.”

In addition, Mlakar sees this as an opportunity to explore new technologies, but he also acknowledges the challenges he will face.

“No face to face meeting, just completely online,” he said. “It’s going to be a challenge: time is going to be a challenge. This is on top of my duties at St. Mark’s. And I will be managing meetings with students all over the world in completely different time zones.”

Gonzalez, too realizes the risks, but shares Mlakar’s enthusiasm.

“It’s a big risk, but I think its groundbreaking,” Gonzalez said. “I really appreciate him doing that, and him being accepted as an instructor is quite an accolade for him.”

Courses for the Global Online Academy will be treated as electives.

“I do not know where students got the idea that these courses do not count. They do.” Gonzalez said. “You would get credit for the course, it would go on your transcript, and it would be factored into your GPA.” Overall, both Gonzalez and Mlakar see promise in the program and hope that students will avail themselves of the opportunities it offers.

“St. Mark’s purpose for joining the Global Online academy give access to courses to our students that we don’t currently offer,” Mlakar said, “to give some other opportunities.”

2013-2014 Online courses Fall semester

Spring semester

• Arabic I • Bioethics • Comparative

• Bioethics • Comparative religions • Computer program

governments

ming

• Computer programming • Declaring our humanity • Crimes against human- • Game theory ity • Fiction writing • Digital photography • Graphic design • Global health • International macro • Global voices: poetry economics writing • Intro. to psychology • Intro. to psychology • iOS app development • Medical problem • Multivariable calculus solving • Neuropsychology • Microeconomics SOURCE Dean of Campus and Provost Scott Gonzalez, coordinator of the school’s relationship with Global Online Academy

news

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

l E N G T H Y

6

C omm u tes

From far and wide

For students who live far away from 10600 Preston Road, like senior Adam Rawot and junior Yima Asom, getting to school and back isn’t just a drive—it’s a daily journey.

LONG WAY HOME Though a bulk of students live within mere minutes of school, some don’t. For those who live in places like Allen and Fairview, fatigue is a real factor in getting home.

T

he back room of the Science Lecture Hall had been in a constant state of panic for quite some time.

In the week leading up to the Robotics Team’s biggest fall competition, senior Adam Rawot toiled into the late hours of the night, unwaveringly working toward perfection of his team’s project.

After all, there was no time to lose. So as the night progressed, Rawot and his engineering peers stayed, working.

He certainly did not have the time to commute to his home in Allen that night. So he didn’t. That night, Rawot slept at a friend’s house nearby. The drive home wasn’t worth his time.

“For some of the late nights in robotics, we are in school until after midnight,” Rawot said. “I am simply too tired to drive some-

times. There have also been a couple of times where I have had to get my parents to drive me because I fall asleep trying to get out of the house, and it’s unsafe for me to drive.”

Hour-long commutes to home and back certainly give no advantages to a busy school life. Sleep time is no doubt lessened by hours spent traversing throughout Dallas, yet Rawot finds a plus in the road-trip-like drives he has learned to covet.

“I go to bed very, very late a lot of nights,” Rawot said, “but the commute actually helps me. The longer commute is a good chance to unwind between studying, sports and extracurriculars. I think it makes me go to sleep later, but I think the break it gives me has a much more appreciable effect.”

Rawot has yet to let the expansive distances between his school—the surround-

ing neighborhoods that house most of his friends—and his home affect his social life.

“I find that I am by school so much, it is never really a conflict,” Rawot said.

“The travel time is still considerable, but I have not found it a significant hindrance with social activity.”

Junior Yima Asom tells a different story. Late nights spent with friends are no It becomes quite clear that the chances of me getting in an accident are pretty high. Yes, living far away takes away from my social life. But hey, that’s life.

JUNIOR YIMA ASOM

match for a safe drive to his home in Fairview.

In fact, the drive doesn’t even bother him.

The safety does.

“The driving in of itself really isn’t that bad,” Asom said. “But pair driving with fatigue due to the inevitable late-nights because of soccer. Then it becomes quite clear that the chances of me getting in an accident are pretty high. Yes, living far away takes away from my social life. But hey, that’s life.”

But the two see light at the end of the tunnel. Rawot dismisses the time spent driving as trivial rather than annoying, even finding some relaxation in a long commute home.

“Living further away creates a nice separation of my school life and my personal life,” he said. “I feel like I can get some space and recover before facing another day of challenges, even though I’m not home very often.”

from far and wide story by Noah Yonack, news editor | photo illustration by Robbey Orth, graphics director

Ray W. Gilbert, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist (Ret.) Polly S. Gilbert, M.Ed, M.L.S.

Library Consultant/Tutor Yavneh Academy and Good Shepherd Episcopal School of Dallas, 2008-Present Director of Libraries St. Mark’s School of Texas, 1985-2008 Coordinator SMU Summer Talented and Gifted Program, Four summers, 1988-1991 English Teacher, Head Librarian J. J. Pearce High School, 1975-1985 National Championship Academic Decathlon Coach, 1984 and 1985

Private Tutoring and Academic Coaching for Students of all Ages For over 20 years, TLC has provided academic coaching and tutoring for students from Akiba Academy, Bishop Lynch, Christ the King, The Episcopal School of Dallas, Fairhill, Good Shepherd Episcopal, Greenhill, Highland Park Schools, Hockaday, Jesuit, J.J. Pearce High School, and other Richardson Schools, John Paul II, Levine Academy, Parish Episcopal School, Plano Schools, Prince of Peace, Shelton, SMU, St. Mark’s, Trinity Christian Academy, Urusline Academy, UTD, and Yavneh Academy.

Courses and Services • Algebra • Biology • Calculus • Chemistry • Chinese • College Admissions Counseling • College Essay Guidance • Computer Programming • Economics • English • Geometry • German • Government • Hebrew • Grammar • History/Social Studies

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

ISEE, SAT, and ACT Test Preperation Japanese Latin Math Organization Physics Reading Research Paper Strategies Social Skills Spanish Speech Statistics Study Skills Teacher Pleasing Skills Time Management Skills Writing

TLC Faculty:

We have 26 dedicated professionals, including four retired St. Mark’s teachers, who teach with skill and “tender loving care.” They specialize in teaching bright students who have learning differences, ADHD, emotional difficulties, or particular challenges with study skills, organization, or specific subjects. Our teachers also coordinate correspondence courses for credit through the University of Texas and Texas Tech University. They work with students during the day at various schools, and afternoons, evenings, and weekends at the TLC office. The group also offers summer enrichment courses. Call the office for information and available schedules.

Please call 972-680-9279 for more information.

news

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

O ne

R e a son

R ecordings

Beats for charity

PROACTIVE OneReasonRecordings uses donations and partnerships with musicians across the country to help charitable causes like Hurricane Sandy and African children.

W

hile his peers may have seen community service as a chore, for Johnathan Chen ’11, community service was the mold that guided his life.

Having founded Reaching OUT his sophomore year of high school, Chen now runs OneReasonRecordings (ORR), a non-profit organization looking to raise funds for social justice issues around the world by using music.

By partnering with musicians around the world, ORR raises money for charities by producing and selling albums with songs written and performed by these artists.

With this money, Chen hopes that his charity will transcend country boundaries, aiming to help people from thirsty villagers in sub-Saharan Africa, to victims affected by hurricane Sandy.

With campus representatives at schools around the world, the organization has quickly expanded in the 12 months since its inception.

Here is what Chen had to say about his experiences with community service:

•••

What challenges come with starting an organization such as OneReasonRecordings?

The challenges that come from starting a non-profit are the amount of work it takes to get the organization up and running, to continue to update and maintain it, and to promote the organization so that people begin to know about it. The challenges that come from focusing on the music field in terms of fundraising is

7

Since its inception, Jonathan Chen‘s non-profit brainchild — OneReason Recordings — has partnered with music artists across the country to raise money for organizations fighting for social justice. that the music business is a very tough field to be in right now. Without the right connections, advertisements and social media outreach, it is extremely difficult to be known and extremely difficult to sell music.

Why did you choose music as a focus for the charity?

I think the reason I chose music as the focus is because while the music industry is

Music is such a universal thing.

You find this trend all over the country and around the world.

Johnathan Chen ’11

extremely tough and competitive, there is a lot of untapped potential residing there. There are a huge amount of independent artists that are extremely talented but have no way of getting their name out there or their music heard.

OneReasonRecordings becomes an outlet for artists to join in this massive network of people around the world who love music and also are able to put their name with an organization that takes their music and physically changes the world with it.

Another reason why music became the central theme was because everyone walks around with headphones on, listening to their iPods and MP3 players.

Music is such a universal thing. You find this trend all over the country and around the

world. Music is also what I’d consider a universal language. We can appreciate and enjoy music in a language that we may not understand.

What do you think is the most important result coming from your charity?

So far, the most important outcome resulting from the charity is the proof that it doesn’t take years of experience in order to do something you are passionate about. It’s amazing to face challenges in a real world scenario and be able to figure out solutions. It is also amazing to see the end result of our work.

At the end of this December, we hope to raise $5,000 to fund for the construction of a water well through charity:water. Being able to show people that something as simple as spending $5 on music, written by artists around the country, written exclusively for our organization, can change the lives of hundreds of people on the other side of the globe.

What future plans do you have for ORR? We hope to create a huge community of artists and music fans. We want to end up hosting benefit concerts featuring artists that have songs on our album. In the long run, we hope to open up studios in order to allow ORR to become even more self-sufficient in terms of the music produced.

What about Reaching OUT? When and why did you start that?

I started Reaching OUT around December of my sophomore year.

The idea started because people saw community service as a requirement. Having done

service-related activities all my life, I wanted people to experience that community service could be fun and that the activities and fundraisers we did would be able to help change our community for the better. We wanted students to focus on the bigger picture. Folding clothes at Salvation Army might not be the most fun thing in the world, but in the long run, small actions invoke bigger change.

I started Reaching OUT in high school because I wanted to show that even students in high school could make a difference in the community. I wanted to show that community service was more than a requirement, but that it was something students could enjoy.

How did the idea for Campus Representatives come about?

The idea for campus representatives came about because we wanted to make our non-profit more global. We started our campus representative program with six students.

One currently attends St. Mark’s, one is at Hockaday, one is at R.L. Turner High School, one goes to Texas Academy of Math and Science, one lives in Pennsylvania and goes to Hershey High School and the other goes to Kenyatta University in Kenya.

How has community service affected your life?

Community service has become my main focus point for most of my activities. Coming into college, my activities all relate to community service. It has also come to be the focal point of why I want to go into medicine.

beats for charity story by Zuyva Sevilla, staff artist | photo courtesy Johnathan Chen

Quiz Bowl team hoping for nationals

By Richard Jiang staff writer While

other

competing

quiz

bowl

teams were still sleeping in their hotel rooms in Houston at 4 a.m., sophomore Raymond Guo was at his home in Plano, preparing to meet his teammates at St. Mark’s because of the team’s inability to travel the day before.

“We would get on a bus to drive there, and would sleep on the bus for two to three hours,” Guo said, “and then hang out or study on the bus.”

But, this slight obstacle does not hold the team back.

“It was tiring at first, but I truly enjoyed the experience,” Guo said. “It shows our dedication to competing for our school.”

However, this is not the only disadvantage the team faces.

“Some of the schools we compete against treat quiz bowl like debate.” Marcus Master Teacher Dr. Bruce Westrate said, “In other words, they have a class in which they go over questions and devote enormous amounts of time in preparation.”

However, quiz bowl isn’t just about knowing information; it also challenges the student’s ability to gather information and come up with answers quickly.

“The reason some kids don’t do well in quiz bowl is not because they aren’t smart. It’s because they don’t trust themselves,” Westrate said. “To become a good quiz bowl player, you have to screw up.”

Although, it is not possible for the team to be-

come knowledgeable in such a broad range of topics, the team has developed a unique tactic to give them an edge.

Instead of going over as much information as possible, the team splits up each member of their four man teams into specialties.

“Our top junior, Luke Munson, is pretty good at art and mythology questions,” senior captain James Rowan said, “I specialize in science and math. [senior] Sam Libby specializes in history, and [senior] Alex Choy gets some of the literature.”

And after all of this preparation, the team hopes to make it into the two day national tournament in Atlanta in which they compete with over 200 teams.

“Our ultimate goal is to go down to nationals, have fun, make it to the playoffs and win a match in the playoffs,” Rowan said.

AT THE READY Senior Sam Libby attempts to answer a question on Civil War history during a team practice.

news

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

I ll

a t

school

S ck day d ay

UNDER THE WEATHER Although coming to school sick might seem like a good short-term decision, Marksmen risk receiving lower test grades, exhaustion and exposing fellow classmates to illnesses.

A

ll Marksmen have had that feeling.

The one where they wake up and they know they’re sick but they can’t afford to take even one day off and fall behind on notes and homework.

Everyone’s been there.

However, besides the obvious risk of spreading disease, School Nurse Julie Doerge says coming to school sick can have other drastic consequences.

“When you don’t feel well, you’re not nearly as focused,” Doerge said. “You won’t do as well on a test because you’ve been sick and probably stayed up late studying so your brain doesn’t get as much rest as it should.

“You’re not going to get as good a grade, so it’s better to take the extra day of rest and come back to school when you’re feeling better and focused.”

But not only does coming to school sick lower potential test grades, but also a policy in Lion

8

take a sick day or come to school? School Nurse Julie Doerge explains what students should do when feeling under the weather.

Tracks states that students should not come to school when sick.

The policy states that students should stay home if any of the following symptoms are present in the previous 24 hours: elevated temperature (100 degrees or greater), any rash diagnosed by a physician as contagious, cough due to a contagious condition, pus-like discharge from eyes or nose resulting from a contagious condition, conjunctivitis (pink eye), any known infectious childhood disease, repeated vomiting, diarrhea or lethargic behavior.

“The school wants to prevent the spread of disease within the community but at the same time, they don’t want students to get behind on schoolwork,” Doerge said.

According to Assistant Head of Upper School Dr. John Perryman, if a student misses school due to illness, teachers try to help the student get caught up as best they can.

“Our teachers have an excellent track record of working with students to get them up to speed with

schoolwork,” Perryman said. “We’re more than happy to help students get caught up, and I certainly understand students not wanting to fall behind.

“But we need to have the interests of the community at hand as well, so we recommend that students follow the policy in Lion Tracks.”

Doerge says coming to school sick is most common in Upper School students, and most students, if not all, will come to school sick if they feel borderline ill.

“Since I got sick near the end of the trimester, I didn’t want to get too far behind, although I didn’t come to school while I was feverish,” junior Richard McCants said.

“I didn’t really think of any reper-

cussions besides getting behind.”

However, not all students come to school when sick. Sophomore David Wikman stayed home because he thought it would overall be a better decision than coming to school.

“I missed five days total because I had strep throat and another infection at the time,” Wikman said. “I felt much too sick to attend school, but I was able to make up all my work that I missed after a few weeks.”

Although rest is the best way to get better when very sick, Doerge also recommends prevention when displaying minor symptoms.

“Washing your hands is very important, and covering your cough too,” Doerge said. “Staying

hydrated and avoiding dehydrated foods and energy drinks can also help a lot. And another prevention method that doesn’t often come to people’s minds in terms of everyday prevention is vaccinations, which are also required by Lion Tracks.”

Especially as winter approaches, diseases such as flu, whooping cough, stomach viruses, and more recently chicken pox have been going around the school, and staying healthy is a priority of individuals as well as the community.

“It can be a detriment to both the student and the community as a whole,” Doerge said. “Overall, it benefits everyone if students stay home when sick, recover and then come back to school when they’re back to 100 percent.”

Mild Symptom Medications • • •

Oscillociccinum Benadryl Halls Lozenges

for flu-like symptoms (over-the-counter) for allergy symptoms (nurse’s office) for sore throat (nurse’s office)

SICK DAY story by Tabish Dayani, staff writer | illustration by Purujit Chatterjee, staff artist

Cluck, cluck AP biology students raise chickens for six weeks

By Shourya Kumar staff writer A DUCK’S VOICE iSN’T usually heard in a biology classroom, but as the little orange feet waddled across the countertop, their each and every action was recorded. That duckling mattered.

FREE FOR ALL Once the chickens and ducks hatched, students let surveyed their eating habits and behaviors as their living experiments strutted around the biology laboratory.

Over the past six weeks, students in the AP biology class have studied embryonic growth by following the life cycle of the both chickens and ducks.

As the birds made their way from eggs sitting in the incubator to little chicks and ducklings, both students and faculty not associated with the AP biology class managed to cultivate an interest in their development.

“It caused a sensation because the animals were just so cute,” Science Department C h a i r Stephanie Barta said.

According to AP biology instructor Mark Adame, the chicken and duck eggs were drilled open at 48 hours, 72 hours, one week and two weeks to take pictures and see how the embryo developed at various stages.

“The students needed to look at the stages of development that these chickens and ducks follow,” Adame said, “and then apply that

to what structures form at different times of development.”

AP biology student Mark Senter said he enjoyed the experiment and felt as though it helped him better understand the behavior of animals.

“While we did not achieve our ultimate goal of having the chicks or ducks imprint us to their knowledge,” Senter said. “We did however witness daily changes in embryonic growth, behavioral changes and the rapid change in growth following hatching.”

Adame’s intention was that his students should observe the behaviors of the species and the ways they respond in comparison to each other.

“The boys loved it,” he said.

“They either really got into the part where they crack the eggs open and see them developing, or they really got into raising and looking after these chickens and ducks.”

Barta agrees with the success of the new experiment.

“This is a pretty positive side of AP biology,” she said. “We’ve never done it in the past.”

Senter found a new apprecia-

tion for animals in the process of raising the chicks and ducklings.

“Throughout my life I have never really had pets,” he said. “So to take interest in the chicks and ducks was something really special.”

Overall, the experiment proved to be a learning experience for each student. Adame is glad they incorporated it into his class.

“It’s a mess, but it’s totally worth it,” Adame said. “I think every boy got something out of it.”

Guitar / Voice / Keyboards/ Composition Instructor Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced

Gary Boren Class of 1973 BA Music from Pepperdine University 300+ TV episodes plus film score experience

469-387-3805

In-Home Instruction

AJ Ortega, DMD, MS

St. Mark’s Graduate of 1993 9440 Garland Rd. Ste. 198 Dallas, TX 75218 Phone: (214) 613-2122 Fax: (214) 6130-2127 www.whiterockorthodontics.com

a

GIFT DRIVE page 11

Senior Milan Savani encourages students to bring gifts — gifts that will bring joy to children across the city.

arts.

Fine ARTS around campus

THE REMARKER | Friday, dec. 14, 2012 | PAGE 9

upcoming

things to do in the Month ahead

The famed “Ave” outside of the Dallas Museum of Art

the

Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, this Sunday, Cowboy Stadium, 3:25 p.m.

This Sunday, the ‘Boys play Big Ben and the Steelers in the next-to-next-to-last game of the season. Both defenses are plagued by injuries, so both teams should be able to score some points. Or maybe just the Steelers. Either way, this game is key for the Cowboys playoff hopes, so we

sketchbook

should fold like a cheap lawn chair.

Fun., Verizon Theater, 7:30, tonight.

“Fun,” the band that has brought us hits like “Some Nights” and “We are Young,” is coming to town right before good ol’ Saint Nick does. The concert will probably be sold out, so get there early. As the band name suggests, the show should be a good time.

Trey Songz, Verizon Theatre, Dec. 30.

If you’re already bored of your Christmas presents, the Mayans haven’t killed you yet and you’re in the mood for some R&B, head on over to the Verizon Theatre on the 30th. The “new Usher” should usher in some good music right before the new year.

month in New York.

••• More than 1,000 pounds of candy were collected for this year’s Candy Drive, according to Laura Day and Jorge Correa, Community Service director and associate director, respectively.

The candy went to many shelters around Dallas such as JC Phelps, Fruitdale Recreation Centers and the Carr P. Collins Salvation Army Center. Additionally, some of the candy was shipped overseas to the military.

••• The winter musical will be High School Musical, based on the movie of the same name. It is scheduled for Feb. 8, 9 and 10. Senior Taubert Nadalini will play the

••• A former visiting scholar, Tim Seibles, and a former participant in the Literary Festival, Ben Fountain, were both up for National Book Awards which were presented last

lead, known as Troy.

••• John Wetzel ’11 designed the back of this year’s “The Shirt,” using the design experience he developed from taking photography courses at St.

darkroom

Trans-Siberian Orchestra, American Airlines Center, Dec. 23 , 3 p.m.

The undisputed master of mixing hard rock with Christmas ballads is also the only band that mixes hard rock with Christmas ballads. They will be playing a matinee just two days before Christmas to help everyone get in the spirit.

This is a huge help to the City of Dallas, as it’s pretty tough to find that Christmas feeling when it’s 70 degrees out.

a roundup of people’s artistic accomplishments

Robert Zorn ’75 has received positive critical acclaim for his book Cemetery John: The Undiscovered Mastermind of the Lindbergh Kidnapping. The book that reveals a new suspect in the famous crime is set to be a basis for a PBS NOVA documentary set to air in 2013. Last month, he was honored at a Celebration of Reading sponsored

by Barbara Bush at the Meyerson Symphony Center.

••• English instructor Dr. Marta Napiorkowska has been named a national semifinalist in the 2012 Norman Mailer Writing Award for High School Teachers for her piece “Beautiful.”

the

Mavs vs. 76ers, American Airlines Center, Tuesday 7:30 p.m.

The Mavs are taking on the Philly 76ers Tuesday night, and in a test of how mediocre a team can be, the 76ers definitely succeed. OJ Mayo and “Sergeant” Bernard James plan to make quick work of their opponents.

Mark’s. “The Shirt” is the official fan shirt of the University of Notre Dame football team and is the largest-selling single-piece of collegiate apparel in the nation. This year 155,000 shirts have been sold. Wetzel will serve as vice president of The Shirt 2013, the campus group that will produce “The Shirt” for next year.

••• A series of planetarium shows will be offered to the public began Saturday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Stephen N. Balog, Cecil & Ida Green Master Teacher in physics and Planetarium & Observatory director, will present “The Star of Bethlehem” planetarium show. The hour-long show begins at 7:30 p.m. with a brief overview of the constellations and planets making up the solar system at the time.

••• The Student Council and Community Service Board run Gift Drive will run from Nov. 26 through Dec 18. Unwrapped gifts and donations will be collected in front of Nearburg Hall and the Lower School.

“

It really can’t be put into words how important the Gift Drive is for so many children. It's so rewarding to make a huge impact on their lives.

Page 11

just

hangin’ out

with Christian cortes

Sophomore Christian Cortes is known for his singing performances, the ability to hit high notes, his Call of Duty victories and, of course, his YouTube videos.

Cortes sat down and shared his interests with staff writer Ford Robinson.

VIDEO GAMES My favorite CD is probably COD Black Ops or COD Black Ops 2.

What I am is a very objective player. The average score per minute is 150 and mine is a 440, which means that I get the most kills and also play the objective at a very high level. In my clan I’m also the number one supporter, meaning that I get tons of assists per game.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those big slayers who everyone knows, but I’m very good at getting other people to be very good slayers.

YOUTUBE I started making videos probably six months ago. The reason I started making them was because I’d been watching Call of Duty videos for three years, and I’ve always wanted to start making videos because people always say I have a good voice for it, like a radio voice. So, since all my friends on Xbox were doing it, I decided to do it too.

My favorite video is also my first video and it’s called Ddosers are losers. I literally got every subscriber I have from that video.

SINGING I’ve been interested in singing and musicals since I was three because of my sister. My favorite part of that is learning how to sing. And I am in fact still learning how to sing. I actually still sing the wrong way. So it’s just a fun thing where you can let go.

TV SHOWS It would have to be Psych, I’ve seen every episode like five times.

BOOKS Cloud Atlas, it was an awesome book filled with tons of great quotes.

PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENT Proudest accomplishment has to be winning the 100 person free for all tournament at the midnight premiere of Black Ops 2 at Gamestop this month.

top photos chosen from photography instructor scott hunt’s program

HIS WORDS

Halbert Bai:

“After extensively studing Ansel Adam’s work, I wanted to capture the urban atmostphere of downtown Dallas. I think this photograph provides a new perspective of downtown that many people overlook.”

Andrew Goodman photo

< Dallas Museum of Art, next month.

Starting next month, the Dallas Museum of Art will make all admission free.

Even better, museum memberships will also be free.

The museum is already a centerpiece of downtown Dallas and the new plan promises to bring in even more people to the museum.

Outreach director greg jones

what

A view of downtown from the Winspear Opera House fountain. The Annette Straus square in the Arts District graces the foreground.

where

In the midst of the new architecture that is turning downtown Dallas into a destination city.

a

arts around campus

Holiday spirit 11

THE REMARKER | Friday, dec. 14, 2012 | PAGE 10

P E R O T

Twins 12

Evan Daugherty 11

Reviews 12

M U S E U M

destination

dallas

With the opening of the Perot Museum and the Klyde Warren Park, the continuation of the Trinity River Project and the spring opening of the Bush Center, Dallas is fast-becoming a hot-spot for people of all ages.

PEROT MUSEUM Lit up at night, the complex Perot Museum architecture is unique. The museum opened Dec. 1.

W

hen people talk about places in the U.S. to visit, many places come up.

New York City, Miami, or Washington D.C. Los Angeles, Hawaii, or Chicago.

Usually no mention of Dallas.

But that may all be about to change. With the opening of the new, state-of-the-art Perot Nature and Science Museum, the Klyde Warren Park, the continuation of the Trinity River Project and the upcoming opening of the Bush Center, Dallas is making itself known.

The main contributors to the funding of the museum are the children of Henry Ross Perot Sr. — Ross Jr. ’77, Nancy, Suzanne, Carolyn and Katherine.

The children made a $50 million gift to the museum to honor their parents. Perot Jr. sees Dallas becoming a destination spot in the near future.

“If you look at the new Arts District, the

Opening Dates • • •

Perot Museum Klyde Warren Park Bush Center

December 1 October 27 Spring 2013

park, the Perot Museum and the upcoming Bush Center, you have huge projects opening in the Dallas area that will put more influence and focus on Dallas,” Perot Jr. said. “In my time in Dallas, I’ve seen so much great

change. The next challenge is whatever the next big project is. There are always great projects and great things to come.”

Perot Museum Eugene McDermott CEO Nicole Small is equally as enthusiastic about the emergence of the Dallas area.

“There are so many exciting things happening in Dallas right now,” Small said.

“Texas should be proud of what’s going on in Dallas right now. I believe we’re becoming a place on the map both nationally and internationally. Especially given the economic times in the past years, this is an impressive accomplishment. “ What’s most important to Perot Jr., however, is not the impact of the museum on the city — it’s the impact on individuals.

“The museum can inspire a student, especially in the fields of nature and science, and lead to a great career,” Perot Jr. said.

“Hopefully it will lead to prosperity and job growth.”

But Perot Jr. is not the only one excited about what the future holds for the Museum.

Small loves how unique the museum is. She knows that no matter what people’s likes are, they will find something that interests them at the Perot Museum.

“There is something in the museum for literally all ages,” Small said. “A lot of the stuff is targeted towards high school kids, so students at schools will love it. Depending on what your interests are, you will like different things. There will always be a ‘wow’ moment.

There’s something in every hall, every room.”

Scott Cantrell, an cultural arts critiz

for The Dallas Morning News, was most impressed with the architecture when he first saw the museum. Yet he knows each individual will find something he or she likes best.

“The sheer quantity of displays at the museum is amazing,” Cantrell said. “There are so many different subjects covered, from birds to football to high-tech things, and I think there is something there for everyone.”

Small believes the best part of the museum is how the museum truly engages the visitor.

I hope that the museum will be a beacon for science and technology. Eventually we hope to have a global impact.

Ross Perot Jr. ‘77

“We’re really hands-on for a museum,” she said. “The museum is an amazingly interactive opportunity for the public to experience. There are things you can only see here.

There are things you can only experience here. ” The museum’s situation is unique because Perot Jr., one of the five children of Ross and Margot Perot, and his siblings all participate in the running of the museum.

In fact, they named the museum in honor of their parents. The story of how the Perots got

involved is simple.

“First, the Nature and Science Board picked the current site of the museum,” Perot Jr. said. “They needed a museum. We visited the Nature and Science Museum in Houston and got very excited about it. My mother especially enjoyed it. Eventually, we decided to be a part of it. My mom is very involved in the fundraising and my dad enjoys the museum very much, so it really is a great family experience.” he word “unique” comes up frequently with the Perot Museum. There is the unique family situation, the unique exhibits and the unique architecture. Cantrell was hard-pressed to find a comparison for the museum.

“Even though we have an amazing group of buildings now that are drawing national attention, there is nothing really comparable in the area,” Cantrell said. “Other museums are less adventurous than this one. This building is amazingly beautiful on the outside and the interior.”

With all the good things being said about his museum, Perot Jr. has many reasons to be confident.

So, he has large goals for the museum.

“It is the newest Nature and Science Museum in the country,” the former Board of Trustees president here said. “It has the newest ideas and technology. It has the newest science. It has the newest architecture and exhibits. I hope that the museum will be a beacon for science and technology. Eventually we hope to have a global impact.”

T

destination dallas story by Aidan Dewar, arts editor, additional reporting by Daniel Hersh, editor-in-chief | photos by Michael Doorey, head photographer

Notable exhibits at the Perot Museum • Test your running abilities against interactive things like Cowboys’ Running Back Felix Jones or a cheetah (top left).

• See an “underground” crawl space revealing root systems and burrowing animals beneath the Texas Piney Woodlands.

• Engage in a multimedia game that illustrates how lifestyle choices can affect your life expectancy.

• Build a model skyscraper to withstand a simulated earthquake.

• Zoom in on your hometown or street as you explore the thousands of miles of oil and gas pipelines that traverse the country.

• View the transition of Dallas from underwater to Ice Age to present day.

• Take a flight with a full-body flight simulator that lets you take to the air as a bird avatar (bottom left).

• See the rare alamosauraus dinosaur skeleton (far right).

• Take a 3D interactive journey through the solar system complete with a rest stop on mars.

fine arts

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

H O L I D AY S P I R I T

‘Tis the season for giving Seniors’ greeting It’s one of the oldest of campus traditions: seniors taking over the campus decorations. Each year, on the Sunday of Thanksgiving break, all members of the Senior Class convene in the school’s courtyard to transform the 80 yard deep space into a seasonal wonderland, with hundreds of lights, greenery — and even a bowtie for the student depicted in the statue that fronts Centennial Hall.

TEAMWORK Doing their part on Nov. 20, seniors Andrew Graffy (top) and Reid Thompson (above) add lights and stockings to the school courtyard.

The bigger gift: Hundreds of gifts have already been delivered in the annual gift drive, coordinated by student council and the community service program. but hundreds more are still to come.

G

rowing up in a low-income household, Greg Jones didn’t have the big Christmases with many expensive gifts that he saw other kids getting.

Instead, he learned what Christmas is really about.

“When I was a kid, we had a hard time,” Jones said. “But I know that the Christmases we had were full of love. So if it was one toy or a used toy or whatever, I knew that my mom did everything she could to have that for me. So our Christmases were just full of joy.”

Now, Jones works as outreach director at the West Dallas Community Church, one of nine charitable organizations that will receive gifts collected from this year’s Student Council and Community Service Gift Drive. The church will distribute the gifts among families that wouldn’t otherwise be able to provide their children with gifts this Christmas.

“When you get to know these kids and their families,” Jones said, “you realize the need for support and resources for their lives.”

This year’s Gift Drive, which started two weeks ago and runs through Tuesday, aims to help provide those underprivileged children across Dallas the opportunity to wake up to gifts on Christmas morning, and it is doing so by striving to reach its goal of 2,013 gifts.

Student Council President Conner Lynch, who helped direct the council in its efforts to come up with a theme and work with the Community Service Board in collecting the gifts twice a day, knows how important it is that the community here comes together to provide gifts to the children who need them most.

“It really can’t be put into words how important the Gift Drive is for so many children,” he said. “It’s so rewarding to

GETTING THE GIFTS Community Service Board members and Student Council officials have been getting up bright and early to greet students with Santa outfits and megaphones as they collect presents for the annual Gift Drive. One of the dozens of boxes filled in the mornings sits full (above left), senior Milan Savani encourages students to harness the season’s joy and donate gifts (top left), and a Lower School student happily donates a gift early one morning (right).

have a chance to make a huge impact on these children’s lives because giving them one gift they otherwise wouldn’t get can truly make their Christmas. It’s imperative that we come together as a student body for this cause and give back to those less fortunate than we are.”

Jones gives back by trying to build new bridges and strengthen old relationships with the families in his community. A big part of that effort is going out and finding the families who can’t provide gifts for their children during the holiday season and helping to solve that problem.

“A lot of our kids are below poverty guidelines,” he said. “It creates a hardship economically when there is no income that really hurts the opportunity for these families to be blessed, so we try to identify things we can do, especially with children, to help shield them from a lot of the problems.”

In her effort to collect and donate more than 2,000 gifts in her first Gift Drive last year, Community Service director Laura Day was amazed by the generosity of the community here. For her, the Gift Drive is a annual highlight and important time.

“Many of the gifts we give are all some kids get for an entire year,” she said. “[We have] to make sure all kids that we work with during the school year receive something that they want or need for the holidays.”

Jones knows firsthand the few gifts the kids receive truly make a bigger impact than seen on the surface.

“Man, these kids get happy,” he said.

“They’re full of joy. They remember you for the rest of their lives.”

The way these gifts change the lives of children inspires Jones to work tirelessly to reach every child he can. He has spent weeks collecting orders for gifts, but he isn’t done yet. The five days before Christmas are his busiest, trying to find any families that were left out.

“We try to get every kid that is missed or fallen in the cracks identified,” Jones said. “I’m not Santa Claus, but there’s a joy and comfort inside of me when I know that kids are happy, and that’s the key. Joy is the key to this whole thing. They will remember us not for they toys. They will remember us because we cared.”

Want to donate a gift?

F

irst off, there’s still time.

Donation boxes are available every school day morning and after schoolwhen Student Council members bring the collection boxes out for each day’s bounty.

Boxes can be found at the school’s main entrance in front of the courtyard or in the entrance to Lower School.

Dec. 19 will be the last day collection boxes will be in place.

The BIGGER GIFT story by Dylan Clark, arts editor | photos by Corbin Walp, staff photographer and Riley Graham. staff photographer

Lower Schoolers explain

What makes this season so magical Lower School students have always played an important role in contributing to the annual Gift Drive, a community effort that traditionally brings in more than 2,000 gifts.

All gifts benefit local children who normally wouldn’t receive presents during the holiday season. Lower Schoolers explained to deputy editorial director Vishal Gokani why they support the Gift Drive and what this season means to them.

Wish lists What do you want from Santa this year?

“A spaceship as big as the world!” < First grader Nathan Meyer

Donating Why should we help the less fortunate by donating to the Gift Drive?

“It’s a giving time, not a getting time.” < Third grader Maxwell Chuang

“A humongous helicopter because my old one broke.” < First grader Bennett Alger

“They deserve presents, but they don’t get them.” < Third grader Henry Schechter

“A tree house so I can hang out.”

< First grader Carter Mank

“We should give gifts without a reward.” < Third grader James Singhal

Christmas theories Why don’t some kids get gifts?

“They don’t get presents because they don’t have a home or a chimney.”

“We should make them feel happy.” < Third grader Owen Simon

< First grader Charlie Hill

“Their parents are very poor and they’re wandering around the world, so Santa can’t find them. They don’t have paper or pencils to write a note to Santa. Also, some might be in hospitals, and there are no chimneys in hospitals.” <

First grader Ryland Ellis

ZUYVA SEVILLA ILLUSTRATION

“You get the feeling you’ve done something good for the world. You know you’ve improved it. < Third grader William Fitzpatrick

“Because I feel happy when I help people.” < Third grader Raja Mehendale

11

fine arts

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

12

T W I N s

They look the same. They talk the same.

But are they the Same?

T

DOUBLE VISION Eighth graders Frank and Hyer Thomas are one of three pairs of identical twins at 10600 Preston Road.

TWO OF A KIND

hey stand side by side. Others struggle to tell the difference.

They have the same eyes. The same shade of hair. The same tone of voice. To the casual observer, they’re one and the same.

But looking at these identical twins, they’re just about as different as twins can get.

They have different likes and dislikes. They have unique personalities. One may be gregarious, meeting new people easily, while the other may be shy, preferring quiet and silence.

And while they may look the same on the surface, each twin is a unique person making contributions to the school’s community.

Freshmen Jonathan and Justin Berry both wear the same style of glasses. They both wear the same gray sweatshirt to proudly support the football team. They also wear the same long grey pants that make up the uniform of a Marksman.

But when they begin to talk, their similarities in dress and appearance become less and less important as their personalities begin to shine through. Jonathan is the laid-back one, taking everything in stride, while Justin is more excitable. The two brothers begin to joke around and needle each other as their strong bond comes into play.

“My brother gets mad at me a lot faster,” Justin Berry said.

“Well, my brother doesn’t have as much self-control as I do,” Jonathan Berry said. “You know that’s true.”

The Berrys then begin discussing their various likes and dislikes, slowly filling in the

individual details about their lives and painting a clearer picture of each person.

“My brother, he likes soda, but I don’t,” Jonathan Berry said. “And I don’t like candy.

I’ll only eat gummy bears. That’s the only candy I’ll ever eat.”

“But we both hate chocolate.”

Because the Berrys have different lunch periods and attend different classes, their circles of friends are different. But they share the same sense of loyalty to those different friends.

“If they’re my brother’s friends, they’re my friends,” Justin Berry said.

The Berrys are a tight unit, and they have a strong brotherly relationship. They always have unwavering support for each other.

“Yeah, we fight a lot, but that’s what brothers do,” Justin Berry said. “But we don’t fight all the time, and when we do, it’s usually just a little argument. Mostly we work together and do things together.”

While Jonathan and Justin usually enjoy the unique experience of being identical twins, people can sometimes get on their nerves.

“When people say we’re the same person or make cheesy jokes like ‘oh, I’m seeing double!,’ it makes me a mad.” Jonathan Berry said.

Although the jokes can annoy Jonathan Berry, the twins agree that having an identical counterpart has its upsides.

“But we do enjoy being twins,” Justin Berry added. “We don’t know what life would be like otherwise.”

Eighth graders Frank and Hyer Thomas may not wear matching sweatshirts

like the Berrys, but it’d still be hard pressed to tell them apart based on physical appearance alone. They both stand at the same height and have the same beach-blond hair. But personality-wise, they couldn’t be any more different.

Hyer, a three-sport athlete, enjoys the outdoors tremendously and does things at his own leisurely pace. Frank, on the other hand, is more focused on his studies and academics.

And while Frank and Hyer are clearly unique, they sometimes get frustrated when people treat them the same.

“Everybody knows that you are two different people, but sometimes people just treat you like there’s no difference,” Hyer Thomas said. “People will buy the same present for both of us. You always do everything together, and everything is basically shared.”

But the brothers credit their parents for helping to foster their sense of identity and for supporting them every step of the way.

“Our parents just think of us as two separate people,” Frank Thomas said. “They’ve always supported everything that we’ve done no matter what.”

And while having a sibling that looks exactly like you has its joys, it can also be a frustrating experience.

“Sometimes it’s nice to always have someone to ask questions to on school-related stuff or life in general or to have someone to play games with,” Frank Thomas said. “But sometimes, it’s a little difficult because you’re always Frank and Hyer. You’re never an individual.”

When sophomores Aakash and

Vik Pattabi were young, it was impossible to tell the difference between them. They had the same exact facial features, wore the same clothes, and participated in the same activities.

But as they grew older, the differences between them also grew.

“A lot of things change when you get older,” Aakash Pattabi said. “When you’re young, people treat you exactly the same. But when you’re older, you start to do different things, and you start to grow apart. It’s interesting.”

And even though the Pattabis have grown older and forged their own identities, they still sometimes get the same stupefied reactions from people who meet them for the first time.

“It sometimes irritates me, to be honest,” Aakash Pattabi said. “But people sometimes don’t know better, so I’ve come to accept it.”

And while the differences between the Pattabis have increased as they age, one thing remains the same: their motivation.

“We’re both pretty competitive, we both like to do well,” Aakash said. “I guess we’re pretty similar personality-wise, but the way we apply ourselves to different things is sometimes different.”

Some people either really enjoy or truly despise being identical twins, but for the Pattabis, life as an identical twin is just normal, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“At this point it doesn’t particularly bother me,” Aakash Pattabi said. “Vikram is there, and we’re brothers, and I don’t see anything wrong with it. We’re twins, and that’s just the way things are.”

TWO OF A KIND story by Alex Munoz, copy editor and Aarohan Burma, staff writer | photo by Andrew Gatherer, staff photographer

Seniors Gilliland, Orth named YoungArts finalists

ANDREW GATHERER PHOTO

By Richard Jiang staff writer YoungArts, a program that nationally recognizes aspiring high school artists recently named seniors Michael Gilliland and Robbey Orth as finalists, a prestigious level of artistic recognition for thousands of high school artists in the nation.

Both finalists are shocked to have been chosen to be the 150 finalists over 10,000 other applicants.

“It was far beyond my expectations to be a finalist,” Gilliland said.

Orth experienced similar feelings when notified of his accomplishment.

“I am still very shocked and surprised at the fact that I am a finalist,” Orth said, “There was a National Portfolio Day some time ago and when looking at the other kids’ artwork, I thought, ‘I have nothing com-

BUDDING ARTIST Senior Robbey Orth stands next to three of his YoungArts submissions.

pared to those.’”

From photos to artwork and graphics, both seniors sent in portfolios containing countless hours of work.

“Preparing for it, I started freshman year,” Orth said, “As a visual artist, drawing something or painting something takes a very long time. I’ve had pieces that I have worked on for three months.”

The competition doesn’t stop here. The two finalists will travel to Miami with all of their expenses paid in order to showcase additional work to contend for the title of a Presidential Scholar of the Arts.

“Young Arts Week in Miami is when you work with master teachers,” Orth said, “They watch how you interact, how you create, and from there you are chosen for how much scholarship money you can get.”

Both artists are looking forward to Young Arts Week, which begins early January at the Miami Museum of Art. Although both artists are looking forward to the trip, both are anxious to get more than just competition out of it. The two finalists have created a list of things to do once they fly in.

“I’m really excited about working with and meeting a lot of the master teachers -- to have master teachers to work with me is huge,” Orth said. “Obviously, I want to become a better artist after this trip, and I’d love to meet new people and make connections.”

Gilliland has similar goals for this trip.

“Young Arts Week should be a great opportunity to expand my knowledge of photography and to hopefully advance the level of my work,” Gilliland said. “Finding out what professionals consider to be the best of photography and how to get closer to that ideal will be an invaluable experience.”

Better teen driving, bigger discounts.

Richard Ramirez, Agent 9400 N Central Expressway Dallas, TX 75231 Bus: 214-320-3000 www.richardramirezdallas.com

Check out our Steer Clear Program.

When your teen gets ready to drive, we’re there. They learn safe driving and you get lower rates.

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

GET TO A BETTER STATE .

CALL ME TODAY. ®

®

™

1001000.1

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, State Farm Indemnity Company, Bloomington, IL

culture

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

E V A N

13

D AU G H E R T Y

Snow ‘write’

Following his dream to Hollywood, Evan Daugherty’s ’00 career has taken off as his original Snow White and the Huntsman script hits the big screen, with a $155 million gross

S

itting down with some treasured free time at New York University (NYU), Evan Daugherty ‘00 thought he’d get a head start on the trade he’d been preparing for since high school. After finishing his unique adaptation of the fairy tale Snow White, he couldn’t find anyone to believe in his project.

The screen play sat on Daugherty’s computer for seven years. He had forgotten about his college project until Tim Burton directed the creative twist on Alice in Wonderland in 2010.

After making up his mind to continue his efforts and two weeks of soliciting, he sold his original Snow White screenplay for $3.2 million to Universal Studios.

“As soon as I saw Alice in Wonderland, I thought to myself, ‘I have one of those, too,’” Daugherty said. “So I tracked down Joe Roth who produced Burton’s fairy tale. He understood what I was trying to do.”

So how did he get from just merely an aspiring Hollywood writer to making the cut? Rewind back seven years to Daugherty graduating from NYU. “I came back to Dallas after college and got restless very quickly. I wanted to get my life underway,” he said. “I moved out to Los Angeles way too early and failed miserably.”

Daugherty attributes to those premature years as the “lean years.” He scraped by working as a video editor — a trade that he picked up at NYU and set up for himself in California.

“I barely paid the bills,” he said. “I ate a lot of bologna sandwiches in those years. I was the classic struggling artist.”

PRIDEFUL Standing in front of his movie’s poster, Evan Daugherty ‘00 has finally found major success in Hollywood as a screenwriter.

His work is now in high demand as he pursues his passion in literary arts through screenwriting.

Slowly and surely, Daugherty found work in Hollywood.

His first project as a screenwriter was adapting a script called He-Man and the Masters of the Universe based off of a toy line from the 1980’s. The project never made it to the screen.

“It’s kind of the life of the screenwriter,” he said. “I write a lot of work that never gets published.”

During these years as his career was just starting, his Snow White adaptation was the furthest thing from his mind.

When he was fresh out of college, Daugherty sent his screenplay to numerous producers and agents without hearing encouraging news.

“I sent my script everywhere,” he said. “No one understood what I was trying to do with it.” ast-forward to 2010 when Daugherty received a beacon of hope from Tim Burton, and, with Joe Roth’s blessing, he hired an agent, a manager and a lawyer INTO FRUITION Universal studios bought Evan Daughand commercializes the project. erty’s ‘00 screenplay for $3.2 million.

The team went after Disney first because of Disney’s recent work on Alice in Wonderland and a more traditional the industry.”

The movie has gone on to gross $155,136,755.

Snow White a few years before. Disney passed Daugherty and Daugherty is quick to credit his high school education for his team off.

“For a week or so, I was devastated,” Daugherty said. “I some of his success for two reasons.

“I learned how to really tap into the analytical part of my was trying to deal with that fallout. But it was hard because brain in high school,” he said. “Also, the standards are so high if Disney wasn’t going to take my screenplay, no one would.”

Daugherty attempted to prove himself wrong, and went at St. Mark’s that when you get out into the real world, you are after every major studio. By the end of the next week, he was at an advantage.”

With some credibility and a great success under his belt, in the middle of a full-fledged bidding war on his original screenplay between industry titans like Paramount Pictures Daugherty is busy with new projects. Many of which he is not and Universal Studios­— Disney even got back in the mix at liberty to discuss. But he can say that he has sold two televiat that point. At the end of the haggling, Universal Studios sion shows to NBC Studios, and one may go into production bought the script under the condition that they had to pro- in 2013.

“I hope this success is one of many to come,” Daugherty duce the screenplay for $3.2 million.

“At the beginning of the week, I was dealing with a huge said. “It was such a massive confidence boost. Work is really disappointment, and I didn’t think my screenplay would sell coming my way now. This is where I want to be and what I at all,” he said. “By the end, I was hoisted to a new echelon in want to do.”

F

snow white story by George Law, deputy managing editor | photos by Michael Doorey, head photographer

28 photographers’ works featured in ‘Best of Texas’ photo book CITED IN BOOK

Halbert Bai Dylan Birch Adam Brobjorg Ritodhi Cha terjee Kahan Chavda Rodney Chen Ben Chesnut

Otto Clark-Mar tinek Jeff Eichenholz Michael Gilliland Bear Goldstein Andrew Graffy Riley Graham Getty Hall

Justin Harvey David Henry Scott Hunt Josh Izzard Greg Kinman Aidan Kirksey Giovanni Lincon Conner Mullen

Max Nasek Reid Stein Charles Thompson John Wetzel Max Wolens Hayden Wolf Ross Yudkin

rs

NEW PERSPECTIVES Featured photographs from juniors Reid Stein (left) and Halbert Bai (top) and sophomore Mason Smith (bottom) exemplify the outstanding work from the photography program.

By Ford Robinson staff writer Twenty-eight photographers from the last four years were featured in Volume III of the Best of Texas High School Photography Book, which was released last month at the Journalism Education Association’s national convention in San Antonio.

More than 26,000 images were considered for the book, but it was narrowed down to only include 160 photographs.

Included with the 28 students in ATPI’s (Association of Texas Photography Instructors) book was photography instructor Scott Hunt.

“I didn’t realize that I was in the book,” Hunt said.

“These books should be about up and coming talent and should showcase student work. It should be mentioned,

however, that I am very grateful to all the folks with ATPI and the publisher who have made this happen.”

Marksmen photographers were exhibited in Volume II of this book, but Hunt does not recall any from Volume I. Hunt is proud of his photographers not only for producing such outstanding images, but also for taking advantage of the technology, tools and instruction given to them.

“It [having 28 of my students featured] tells me that with proper instruction and the tools to accomplish the task, that St. Mark’s boys can be artistically gifted as they are academically gifted,” Hunt said.

“I know other teachers who can quickly name the most talented student they’ve instructed. I can’t because that list is approaching the size of a football team.”

reviews

page

shelf screen

the remarker | Friday Dec. 14, 2012

14

from

to

[ m o v i e

r e v i e ws ]

With J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit hitting theaters today, and Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables soon getting the big-screen treatment, this holiday movie season is all about adaptions. Before you visit Middle Earth, though, here are some other literary classics making a cinematic splash this holiday season.

Excellent effects make Lee’s Pi a visual feast

C

onsider it just one more entry in the ever-eclectic career of Ang Lee. Perhaps you’re a fan of the director’s kung-fu classic, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, or his Os-

I

car-winning Brokeback Mountain, but you probably don’t remember (or, you’ve intentionally chosen to forget) his notorious Hulk-ing misstep.

Lee may not be bulletproof, but he’s done far more right than wrong, and he’s nothing if not ambitious. It comes as no surprise then, that his Life of Pi, an adaptation of Yann Martell’s 2003 novel, is awash in an ocean of ambition and imagination. And thankfully, the power of digital effects can finally keep up with Lee’s vision.

As we follow the film’s eponymous protagonist, lost at see with nothing but food, water, and a tiger named Richard Parker, Lee delivers

Tolstoy Adaptation IS A CREATIVE AFFAIR

a feast of simply stunning imagery. Try remembering, with such beautiful backdrops of surf and sky, that every ocean scene was shot in a tank against a green-screen. Try remembering that the majestic, menacing tiger was one-hundred-percent animated, constructed in a lowly computer program. The film is populated by gorgeous effects, perhaps even Oscar-caliber ones.

Despite what the colorful, trailers might suggest, it’s not the feel-good family film of the holidays. There’s darkness swimming below the bright surface, but Lee’s made Pi an awe-inspiring slice of beauty.

— Cole Gerthoffer, reviews specialist

A-

Hopkins’s Hitchcock doesn’t quite thrill

t’s about time Hollywood took a movie-based movie and made a movie about it. It’s like that time they put a dream within a dream within a dream. Thanks, Fox. In Searchlight Pictures’ latest film, the legendary Anthony Hopkins takes on a challenging role in the even more legendary Alfred Hitchcock.

Through using the 1959 filming of Psycho as a story device, Director Sacha Gervasi dissects the relationship Sir “Hitch” had with his wife, Alma Reville, played by Helen Mirren. I don’t want to pitch any plot

spoilers, but Hitch did have a little obsession with his leading girls (old men gone bad). Hopkins success as Hitchcock goes far in brightening a dark movie, but let’s be honest: they look nothing alike. At all. Wow. But hey, they’re both British.

Hitchcock’s real beauty is in the incredible redevelopment of the ‘50s, the attention to detail and the brilliance of the acting (Scarlet Johansson, boys, Scarlet Johansson).

But apart from that, Hitch’s out.

Good evening.

— Cyrus Ganji, staff writer

B-

Breaking Dawn Part 2 will break your soul in two

W

elcome to the world of bad fantasy film, where connections are forced, hair is quaffed, and literally everybody gets what they want. While the rest of the audience members gurgled in estrogen-induced comas ogling at Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson, we esteemed ReMarker critics sat confounded in the back.

Neither of us had seen any Twilight movies beyond the first one, and sure, we were predisposed to hate Breaking Dawn Part 2. But consider our audience. We approached the film with exactly the same expecations as any other snarky teenaged male reading this review would, so, when you think about it, our bias only made us fairer as critics.

We spent many a befuddled minute deciphering the strange Twilight lingo (words like “Volturi” that you could only find in the Assassin’s Creed video games), pondering the physics of decapitation

by Spartan-kick, and, most importantly, wondering why, for the love of Sharkboy, Taylor Lautner is in love with an infant.

But really, major plot mind-melters aside, the cherry on Dawn Part 2’s garbage sundae is the still the writers’ sheer au[ rest a u r a nt

B

oys, Anna Karenina has some judgments to pass on our gender as a whole, and, well, it doesn’t cut us any breaks. Never fear, though; I have some opinions of my own. For starters, the title character, played by Keira Knightley, isn’t exactly faultless herself.

Lured away from her boring, workaholic husband (Jude Law) by a persistent cavalry officer (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Anna plunges into adultery wholeheartedly. True, it was the men in her life who made her miserable, but we aren’t all bad.

There’s the gentlemanly Levin (Domhnall Gleeson), a wealthy country bumpkin utterly devoted to Oblonsky’s sister-in-law Kitty (Alicia Vikander). But, as far as respectable males go, that’s about it.

So there. That should be enough plot to make you realize that no matter what she says, this is not a date movie; it’s a trap, and you need to either tie up any loose ends or start practicing your poker face.

Ideological quarrels aside, the filmmaking is nearly irreproach-

dacity. Seventh graders could have written more compelling dialogue, and the writers know it — but they don’t quite care, because no matter what they force Bella to say, Twilight junkies will still buy tickets in the millions and purity rings blazoned with Lautner’s abs in the thousands.

The movie’s a nausesating contradiction. Apparently vampires are cultured creatures, inhabiting Frank Lloyd Wright homes, reading Shakespeare, and composing piano sonatas at the age of seven days — but at the same time, they can turn around and deliver oh-so-thoughtful one-liners like, “Dude, you’re not motivating her,” or “Nobody’s ever loved anybody like I love you.” Lines like these mutilate whatever progress the plot has made and remind us all that it’s just a huge fantasy written by, not surprisingly, incompetent

reviews ]

able. Tom Stoppard has written a concise, lively screenplay based on Leo Tolstoy’s novel, and director Joe Wright (Atonement) adds a whole new dimension to the story by setting all of the proceedings in a single theater, on- and offstage.

Every character now doubles as a performer, with 19th-century Russian society in the audience.

The scene changes are beautifully choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and, together with the ballroom sequences, they make Anna Karenina into a ballet of sorts.

In a simple plot where actions speak louder than words, nothing conveys the triumph of passion over reason better than music and dance. The extravagant costumes seem completely appropriate to the film, which is, after all, a sensual affair. A constantly audible rhythm and recurrent train imagery vividly communicate the sensation of violent emotion steadily breaking free of its restraints.

Keira Knightley occasionally dims her star power enough to let her character shine through, no small feat for an actress of her stature. But the standout performance is without doubt Jude Law as the cuckolded husband. Watching his self-righteous anger come to a blaze elicits more empathy than any of Anna’s suffering.

All told, Anna Karenina is a mostly exceptional reinterpretation of a familiar story.

— William Sydney, staff writer

B+

yuppies who likely dress in Ed Hardy and secretly wish they were real people, too.

Finally, you know that battle scene they depict on literally all their posters?

That’s a lie, too; that never happens.

We would’ve been surprised, but, after slogging through two hours of sewage, not even the terrible Shyamalanian twist could’ve roused us from our Twi-stupor.

Other critics have called Breaking Dawn Part 2, the “best of the Twilights.” As we said, our Twilight knowledge is limited, but we can only imagine that this is true.

Unfortunately, that label is like saying that a tapeworm is the “best of the intestinal parasites.” Perhaps it’ll wreak the least lasting havoc on your soul, but, at the end of the day, it’s still a bloodsucking drag.

— Cole Gerthoffer, reviews specialist and Henry Woram, editorial director

D+

Bite Sized

Searching for sushi in Dallas-Fort Worth

RA Sushi

- 7501 Lone Star Drive RA’s overhyped reputation, young crowd and snazzy décor resemble a trendy nightclub, but the atmosphere just doesn’t spell out authentic Japanese – and

neither does the food. It brings to mind the ancient sushi adage - “Patience, Grasshopper, Quality Sushi Takes Time” and RA just isn’t putting in the hours.

B

Sushi & Rice Express - 8131 Forest Lane

Sushi restaurants have to rank somewhere between pet shops and infant-delivery on the scale of “terrible ideas for drive-thrus.”

Sushi and R i c e

Express didn’t seem to get the memo, since it serves its questionable, potentially mercury-soaked sushi rolls straight to your car. Be afraid, very afraid.

D

Sushi Axiom

-2323 N Henderson Ave If you’re really in the mood for hardcore, authentic Japanese sushi, this isn’t the place for you.

But if you want cooked, saucedrenched, completely Amer-

icanized sushi, you can’t miss Sushi Axiom. Try the Crab Dynamite rolls. They taste just as good as they sound.

It’s the Chili’s of sushi, in all the best ways.

A

Reviews compiled by Cole Gerthoffer and Cyrus Ganji

x2vol 15

THE REMARKER | Friday, dec. 14, 2012 | PAGE 15

Students deserve more feedback on grades

A

ZUYVA SEVILLA ARTWORK

+ AA ? ? ? A ?

[x2vol reform]

Our suggestions for a better X2VOL

M

any students met the Community Service Board’s new system for recording community service hours, x2VOL, with complaints about the program’s drawbacks. After hearing the criticism, Community Service Director Laura Day contacted x2VOL’s staff and is in the process of requesting several changes to the system. Suggestions from students are welcome.

Here are some additional improvements that will help enhance the community service experience for all Upper School students: • x2VOL should include separate sign-ups for Community Service Board members so that the Board has a representative at each project. These representatives should make sure that all students carry out their responsibilities and take roll at the projects. Misbehaving or leaving early from projects would lead to consequences.

• The system of “goals” should be eliminated. Currently, Marksmen have to apply their hours to specific “goals.”

For example, students have to select the “Second Trimester” goal for current projects. This system has confused many students, and some hours have not been logged because of this confusion.

• Students should not be allowed to drop out of projects at the last minute.

Some students “reserve” spots by signing up for many projects. Then, they drop

out of the projects they can’t attend. This improvement would fix this problem.

• To see if there are spots available for projects, students using the website have to click on each project individually.

Marksmen should be able to see project descriptions and availability without having to click on each project.

• The mobile app needs development.

Currently, students have to use a computer to sign up for projects. The app should include all the features of the x2VOL website.

Certainly, it takes time to communicate with x2VOL’s staff and update the computer software. We recognize x2VOL’s staff might not be able to make all of these improvements this school year. hile x2VOL’s staff may need more time to meet the Upper School’s needs, we hope Day requests these changes and continues communicating with x2VOL’s staff. While x2VOL may not be perfect by the end of this school year, continued communication will lead to the gradual evolution of x2VOL. In this way, the next generation of Upper Schoolers will connect with the local community using an improved, organized, effective version of x2VOL. The next generation of student leaders will use this tool at its optimum capacity, further strengthening the impact of the school’s Community Service Program.

W

students, especially in high schools, sometimes need grades to provide an incentive for studying. Grades provide another incentive for students to work, and sometimes, if a student has no intellectual interest, they provide the only incentive. It’s only natural for a student to ask for his grades, and we feel that teachers should provide this information, if requested, at certain times — other than the marking periods. ith information as influential in a student’s life as grades, we think there should be a uniform, blanket policy regarding how frequently teachers may reveal grades to individual students. This way, no student is left with gaps in information about his grades.

Information about grades should be revealed methodically on an objective basis, not sporadically on a subjective basis.

A week or two before a marking period, students should be able to see their grades if possible, and if not they should be able to get a general idea from their teacher about their grade. The week preceding the mid trimester and the end of trimester has been historically loaded with major assignments, and students during this week often study especially hard to boost their grade as much as possible. Access to year averages or at least estimates during this week will give students with grades on the border the extra incentive to excel.

This is a win-win situation — the student gets his desired information, and the teacher gets more intense study from that student in return — and the school would benefit from such a policy.

W

longstoryshort

concise opinion

the

GOOD

Scheduling

Thanks to smart scheduling, students — especially juniors — were not completely overloaded with tests and papers during McDonald’s week. We applaud the administration for their adept scheduling.

the

SO-SO CORBIN WALP PHOTO

B+?

B? B?-

part from the mid-trimester and end trimester, teachers have no obligation to disclose grades to students. There simply isn’t any rule on the subject of disclosing grades. Outside of official marking periods, it is up to individual teachers to decide whether they reveal a student’s grade privately to that student.

The issue with not having a policy regarding grade information is that situations arise when a student can walk into, for example, one of his instructors’s offices and get his grade instantly — but can’t get the same information from another instructor until the end or middle of the trimester. We think this is problem.

We realize that certain teachers cannot produce a grade instantaneously, and we are not asking teachers to give grades at any time in the year to a student.

Often, these averages cannot be calculated between grading periods. We do ask, however, that teachers be willing to sit down with students and talk about their grades.

Because there is no policy dictating how teachers give that information outside of the marking periods, students must rely on the teacher’s judgment to decide both to whom and when to reveal grades. We feel this puts teachers and students in a precarious position, and should be altogether avoided.

In effect, we need another time, like the already established marking period, in which it is acceptable for students to access their grades.

Though teachers may bemoan the fact,

?

editorial

short and tweet 17

RILEY GRAHAM PHOTO

editorial

heat index 16

Gift Drive spirit

We appreciate the wilingness of Student Council members to get up early on cold winter mornings to solicit gifts for the Gift Drive. More spirit would help. The rowdier and louder the Gift Drive Santas get, the more gifts students will bring.

the

BAD

Student store bills

Although payment is always the responsibility of the students, it is often hard to remember the existence and exact amount of the bill once at home.

Quicker payments of the bills could easily be accomplished if the bills were posted on the new school website.

SMTEXAS.ORG

c

commentary on student affairs

commentary

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

Fifth down, hook ‘em Cowboys? Probably.

dylan

Kirksey

I

have a confession — a deep, dark secret.

A hidden truth that weighs on me constantly, harassing me in every passing period conversation or lunchroom shouting match. A truth that, especially at a school like St. Mark’s, might ostracize me or make others feel uncomfortable.

Here it goes.

I know nothing about professional football.

It’s not that I don’t understand the rules (three strikes for a touchdown, right?), and it’s not that I don’t enjoy watching games. I’ve just never been able to wrap my head around the intricate web of players, coaches, owners and franchises.

You know those Japanese soldiers they find on islands in the Pacific who still think they’re fighting World War II? They know considerably more about the draft than I do.

Fall and winter make up a terribly uncomfortable half of my year because, as a teenage boy, professional

football permeates just about every situation in my dayto-day life. The Great Hall turns into an arena for fantasy football trash-talk. Twitter and Facebook periodically transform into podiums for football-centric rants. Super Cuts employees ask about my favorite football team like it’s part of their contract.

I’m a male who’s old enough to dress himself. Surely I follow at least one franchise.

The Cleveland Braves? I’m pretty sure that’s a thing.

If you’re like me — even though, statistically, there’s a better chance of lightning striking a winning lottery ticket out of your hand as you ride a unicorn — you’re probably a master of vague generalities. You might not know stats, names or schedules, but you know how to make it sound like you do.

Yeah, last night, wow, what a game. I mean, the Cowboys, am I right?

A for effort and all, but it doesn’t work — everybody knows you’re lying. Just look busy and hope your friends are merciful enough to let it go.

And please, for the love of God, don’t offer up an opinion or ask a question that’s not explicitly asked of you. I did it a few times, and I regretted it just as many. I did, however, learn a few things.

Joe Montana is in no way related to Hannah Montana.

Robert Griffin III was not the king of England in the 1600s. Or anytime. Ever.

Yes. He’s talking about that Michael Vick. Apparently he plays football, too.

Despite the name, fantasy football does not involve goblins, trolls, or elves of any sort.

People who play fantasy football do not enjoy it when you insinuate that it involves goblins, trolls, or elves of any sort.

And don’t mistake asking why they call it football as any sort of clever joke. It’s not, and now everyone hates you.

If you get pressed, say something about the Achos.

People at St. Mark’s love the Achos.

THE ROAST

[SQUARING OFF]

THE TOAST

Get a grip, hairpiece

Remember the Alamo

ambo, please. Just stop. I know that seceding from the Union would allow us to legally invade Oklahoma. I know that seceding from the Union would make your borderline psychotic obsession with Texas football seem less weird. But think of what you would lose. First, your Captain America costume (seriously, that thing is awesome) would be grounds for treason, and second, you would lose your life’s greatest joy: voting against Democrats.

So before you and Corbin Walp put on your boots, write our Declaration of Independence on a Patty Melt wrapper and march to Washington to declare our almost certainly doomed state as sovereign, remember that you’re making Rick Perry, who is essentially a hair-doo with a big wallet, your king.

It’s okay though, because this time he’ll totally, probably, maybe remember the third massive segment of government he plans to reform.

oram, the solution here is simple. Haven’t you ever heard the South will rise again? While Washington insists on leading the rest of the nation straight off the fiscal cliff to imminent destruction, I, and the rest of Texas, will have no part of it.

We can’t keep allowing the other, lesser states to keep dragging us down. I’m pretty sure California is responsible for half of the nation’s debt, and why do we continue to insult ourselves by sharing the same national flag as Oklahoma?

For everyone who is convinced secession is a bad idea, let me ask you this — what would Big Tex (may he rest in peace) do?

In conclusion, I’ll leave you with the wise words of John Steinbeck: “Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession.

Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word.” #realtalk

R

W

Texas Secession Editorial Board members Henry Woram and Stephen Rambin square off on the hot topic of Texas secession.

— Henry Woram

— Stephen Rambin

The

End of the world | On fire

Time to shine | Never been hotter

What’s hot — and what’s not — around 10600 Preston Road

Fellow Lions, we have our work cut out for us during these winter athletic seasons.

Because of injuries and other unexpected losses of players, our beloved teams are facing adversity.

It’s our time to step up and show the support that we are all capable of. So let’s get out in the bleachers as we defend our SPC soccer title. Let’s crowd the gym and overwhelm the competition as we dunk our way to SPC. We need to surround the mats and encircle the pool. It’s time to win.

ANDREW GATHERER PHOTO

MICHAEL DOOREY PHOTO

No, literally, on fire. Let’s face it, in about a week, we’re all basically hosed. Assuming the Mayans were right, the Doomsday Preppers are about to make us look like a bunch of idiots.

The ReMarker’s official advice? No matter how you go, make sure you look good doing it.

If the movie 2012 was any indication, there will be some sweet waves to surf on the way to the grave.

Also, you can’t go wrong with outrunning a firestorm.

heat

iCelebrate marketing | Dippin’ low Look, iCelebrate is the bomb. It’s given us some solid videos and “Skippin,’” which is apparently a thing. But the word is most definitely out about it — we don’t need 55 posters covering every hexagonal thing in the quad. People have to post other things there for us to ignore.

How is the Fine Arts Committee supposed to lambast us for not reading their fliers if the fliers aren’t visible in the first place? Two or three posters will suffice.

Old artwork | Shivering Student artwork is great. You know what’s even better? Variety. And if variety is the spice of life, the second floor of Centennial Hall has been painfully bland for the past two years.

Now, the works currently hanging there are beautiful (although one of them clearly unfinished — like, one kid clearly just did not complete the piece and then tried to pass it off as ‘modern’ or something), but the art in the Student Lounge should be a representation of our current students’ best artistic work.

16

commentary

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

Wishing hymn well

Henry

Woram

I

’ve never been good at singing.

Even as a little boy in Mrs. Livengood’s class, I dreaded singing. I was much happier wildly smashing a mallet against a glockenspiel in the back than trying to force notes from my discordant throat at the front.

As a survival tactic, I perfected the art of lip-syncing, which would later come in handy in chapel. There, if it didn’t begin with the words “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” I didn’t sing it. But as a slightly older, pubescent boy, the consequences of public humiliation grew more drastic, so I shunned singing entirely.

Songs were minefields in which, undoubtedly, some voice crack lay lurking,

W

hellbent on extinguishing the identity of manhood that I so adamantly pursued.

Then came Upper School, and slowly but surely more members of my class filled our cavernous chapel with their voices. But I stayed silent.

It wasn’t until this year that I started, finally, to sing in chapel.

Don’t think it’s because my voice got any better; though my voice doesn’t crack anymore, my singing voice is still flatter and more desiccated than the most gruesome sixth-period mini taco.

But singing in chapel does not require and never has required actual singing talent.

It’s not about creating musical art.

And, contrary to the Christian ethos of the chapel, it’s not about praising Christ either. To me, it’s about singing for the sake of singing. It’s about communion — committing

your voice, no matter how atrocious or artful, in unison with your teachers and friends to the sacred air of the chapel.

Alone, my voice is shrill and elicits discomfort, not admiration. But, backed by the more skilled voices of Dr. Westrate to my left and Alex Tassopoulos to my right, I can contribute to something more beautiful.

In fact, when I do it right, I forget I’m even singing. All that remains after both my anxiety and self-consciousness fade is the collective voice of the community thronging the chapel and resonating in my chest. And it feels good At the all-school Convocation before Thanksgiving break, I found myself deliberately singing louder in the hope that my little buddy Justin would join me.

I desperately wanted to see him sing. I desperately wanted to see his face lit with the joy of contributing. But, despite my efforts, he

It’s just them protecting themselves against lawsuits. I don’t really go to concerts so it doesn’t affect me.

— Senior Cole Labhart

”

a peek at students’ tweets

“

I don’t think it’s a fair rule at all. Punishing all the minors at Dallas for the actions of a few — it prohibits us from seeing the bands we love.

”“

The Palladium’s decision is probably a good one. However, It doesn’t fix the problem that led to this decision in the first place; bad choices.

—Rev. Michael Dangelo

stayed silent.

In retrospect, my choral butchering of “My Country, Tis of Thee” probably coerced him into silence more than it coaxed him into song.

But that doesn’t matter to me. When I graduate it May, the fact that Justin didn’t sing at convocation won’t bother me at all. Even if he doesn’t sing for the rest of his life, I won’t be bothered.

What will haunt me, however, is if after my graduation, he proceeds through his entire career at St. Mark’s silently.

If he lip-syncs his way through assignments and class discussions. If he gravitates toward the back of his class, afraid to take risks because of perceived consequences. If he prefers to sit safely on the sidelines, reserving his talent and promise, than to throw himself in the arena.

If he loses his singing voice.

#shortandtweet

ord on the street

The Palladium Ballroom, a popular concert venue in Dallas, has recently banned minors from its concerts due to problems with underage driniking. We asked students, “What is your opinion on the Palladium’s ruling?”

17

@

CarlDickson95 about it, Beethoven

@

DaBear94

@

mgenecov

@

MikeyMurffy

If you really think

was the first real master of dubstep

Who’s the real hero down there? The belt loops or the belt?

—Junior Kellam Hall

I think that it’ll have a large effect on the minors because kids love going there to party at a concert. It doesn’t really affect me though, because the only concert I’ve ever been to was a Taylor Swift one.

— Freshman William Caldwell

Puttin away pie like cartman puts away KFC #thanksgiving #mmmm...pie looking like a long night #dueweekpolicy #notgucci #swerve

Dylan Kirksey cartoon

Keep these toys out of the Gift Drive Mr. Potatohead

Rubik’s Cube

Anything with a sample button

It’s all fun and games until someone makes this emotionally scarring, cubist monstrosity.

While it takes just 26 quick turns to solve one, it also takes 26,000 frustrating turns to get absolutely nowhere.

I will play with it until it runs out of battery or I realize that I’m twenty minutes late to 3rd period.

r

remarker student newspaper

editor-in-chief managing editor, operations managing editor, content deputy managing editor issues editor editorial director special projects editor business manager visuals director head photographer

Daniel Hersh Paul Gudmundsson Will Moor George Law Stephen Rambin Henry Woram Rachit Mohan John Caldwell Andrew Goodman Michael Doorey

news editors Ryan O’Meara Noah Yonack arts editors Dylan Clark Aidan Dewar sports editors Charlie Golden Sam Khoshbin opinions specialist Dylan Kirksey deputy editorial director Vishal Gokani news coordinator

Alan Rosenthal reviews specialist Cole Gerthoffer copy editor Alexander Munoz graphics directors Nic Lazzara Robbey Orth staff artists Zuyva Sevilla Purujit Chatterjee staff photographers Halbert Bai, Otto Clark-Martinek, Michael Doorey, Richard

Eiseman, Andrew Gatherer, Andrew Graffy, Riley Graham, Justin Harvey, Parker Matthews, Corbin Walp staff writers Aarohan Burma, Jacob Chernick, Matthew Conley, Tabish Dayani, Teddy Edwards, Cyrus Ganji, Andrew Hatfield, Richard Jiang, Alex Kim, Shourya Kumar, Ryan Miller, Nabeel Muscatwalla, Jack O’Neill, Vik Pattabi, Ford Robinson, Umang Shah, William Sydney

beat reporters Bradford Beck, Kent Broom, Jack Byers, William Caldwell, Cameron Clark, Will Clark, Will Diamond, Matthew Dominguez, Kevin He, Noah Koecher, Akshay Malhotra, David Marsh, Roby Mize, Philip Montgomery, Zach Naidu, Matthew Placide, Avery Powell, Anvit Reddy, Philip Smart, Abhi Thummala, P.J. Voorheis adviser Ray Westbrook

student newspaper of st. mark’s school of texas • dallas, texas 75230 • 214.346.8000 • www.smtexas.org/remarker Coverage. The ReMarker covers topics, issues, events and opinions of relevance and interest to the St. Mark’s School of Texas community.

Letters. Send submissions to the editor at 10600 Preston Road, Dallas, 75230 or via email at remarker@smtexas.org. Letters should be brief and signed, although the writer may request anonymity. Letters may be

rejected if libelous or obscene material is contained therein.

Editorials. The newspaper’s opinion will be presented in each issue in the form of editorials, which are clearly labeled and appear on the Commentary pages.

Columns. Personal opinion is expressed through by-lined columns, which appear throughout the publication.

Advertising. Contact the business staff at 214.346.8145. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement.

Distribution. Press run is 3,800 copies. Copies are provided free of charge to students, faculty and staff at various distribution sites on campus and at our sister school, The Hockaday School. More than 2,600 copies are mailed out to alumni

courtesy of the school’s offices of External Affairs, Development and Alumni divisions.

Membership. The ReMarker maintains membership in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, New York City, NY; National Scholastic Press Association, Minneapolis, MN; and Interscholastic League Press Conference, Austin.

Online Viewing. Each issue of

The ReMarker, along with archival copies, can be viewed online at the school’s website, www. smtexas.org/remarker.

Reader lnvolvement. The ReMarker encourages reader input through letters, guest columns and story ideas. Contact the appropriate editor for submissions. Suggestions will be given due consideration for future publication.

divorce

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

‘til death

18

do us part?

‘A lot of people see divorce as a negative thing. I would say that’s not always the case.

It would not have been better had my parents stayed together.’ • senior Gio Lincon

I

n fifth grade, the first school year after his parents divorced, Clark-Martinek couldn’t handle the stress anymore and struggled at school to cope with the divorce.

“That was a situation where I had literally no control whatsoever,” Clark-Martinek said. “So that caused me to be angry because there was something that I didn’t like happening and there was nothing I could do to fix it. There was also the typical divorce children problem of wondering if it’s your fault, which made me angry too.”

The anger he had at home overflowed into his school life. Constant visits to the counselor and having a tough time finding friends made it even worse.

“When you start Middle School, it’s honestly a really horrible time at this school,” Clark-Martinek said. “It was bad. It was my fault because I was not a nice kid during that time, but I did not really have any friends. I was angry about my home-life and going to school every day wasn’t fun.”

To make matters worse, coming home each day wasn’t always easier. Clark-Martinek sometimes felt he had a parent in each ear, each telling him conflicting things.

“If parents are divorced and fighting and all of a sudden you are in the middle,” he said, “you can be used as a bargaining chip and manipulated when parents are playing you against the other one. That’s horrible, and that happens.”

Carrie Beaird, a family therapist and president of Co-Parenting Solutions, Inc., sees firsthand the potential, harmful conditions that a divorce creates for children.

“What happens sometimes is there’s an alienation, manipulation going on, where one parent is saying bad things about the other co-parent,” Beaird said. “Then they’re trying to get the child on their side, and unfortunately, that puts the kid in the middle.”

Certainly, some of the most difficult times of the year for families who have experienced divorce are the holidays. With Christmas just around the corner, David Brown, Victor F. White Master teacher, acknowledges that old wounds tend to reopen a r o u n d the holidays.

“It’s unbearable,” he said. “It’s still that way. I still

grieve. I grieve every day about what happened.”

Brown, whose two daughters are grown with one married, even looks to the future and the problems that his divorce will cause in the coming years.

“The grandkids are going to have to endure this God-awful separation of going to one house and then another house,” he said.

“I hate all of that. It’s so unfair.”

Sophomore Kyle Weinstein, whose parents divorced six years ago, is already dealing with the task of balancing the holidays between two families. Complicating the holiday mash-up even more, Kyle was raised Jewish, but his father has been dating a Christian woman for four years now, so Weinstein has learned to mix manger scenes, Santa Claus and Christmas trees to the menorahs, dreidels and latkes of his early childhood festivities.

Victor White Master Teacher David Brown knows first-hand

‘Divorce is never pretty’ When David Brown got mar-

ried, the Victor White master teacher knew it was for life. As he stood at the altar in 1979, divorce never entered his mind.

“I was married for over 20 years, and like most people, I think, when I got married, it was for life,” Brown said. “Divorce was not an option. That was never going to happen to me.”

Unfortunately, when his two daughters went off to college, an already rocky marriage quickly worsened.

David As a parent, he Brown tried as best he could to keep all lines of communication open throughout the process.

“Many [couples] stay together for the children, which is what, in a way, I had been trying to do,” Brown said.

Because he kept communication going between him, his now ex-wife and his daughters, they were never in the dark about what was going on in the family. Brown believes this effort helped his daughters cope better with the divorce.

“Because we kept talking, because we kept communication lines open and didn’t

really keep anything from them, especially if they asked it,” Brown said, “things went about as well as they can go in a situation like that.”

But no matter how much effort Brown put into making his daughters feel comfortable, he still fears for their future relationships.

“I’ve seen [the effects] with my own daughters,” Brown said. “My younger daughter is 29 and single and has not even had a serious relationship. I suspect that part of the reason is that she may be frightened of being hurt or of the relationship’s not lasting. But we do talk about the issue together.”

That long-lasting effect is just one of many wounds that never fully heals in a divorce. The effects are felt permanently, no matter how amicable the break up might happen to be.

“There are no two ways around it,” Brown said. “Divorce is never pretty; it’s always ugly when children are involved.

And people hurt for a long time. There is no way to get past it. Children can get help and some healing, and it is important to move on, but the consequences of divorce are always lifelong consequences. I hate the thing.”

“At first, I felt uncomfortable,” Weinstein said. “But as I got to know her family better, it wasn’t as awkward for me. They have parties for all the holidays, so I usually go over there in combination with my family’s holidays.”

Perhaps one of the most difficult parts of divorce on the children comes when they must accept a step-parent into their lives.

Weinstein has experienced this issue with both parents.

“I think it was almost harder with my mom having a boyfriend because I had a close connection with

my d a d ,” We i n s t e i n said. “At first, I wouldn’t talk to him and just leave when he came over, or I would just stay in my room. So it took a couple months or a year to get used to him and talk to him.”

Clark-Martinek echoes Weinstein on the inherent weariness a child has for letting a step-parent enter his or her life.

“As a child, for whatever reason, you don’t appreciate them as much as you should and you don’t welcome them so it puts a strain on the relationship,” Clark-Martinek said. “So to have someone else come in, even if they are doing their best and trying to do everything right, it’s still hard to have that other person there.”

Unlike Weinstein and Clark-Martinek, however, senior Gio Lincon didn’t experience the addition of a step-parent into his life after his parents divorced. In the earlier years, before he re-established a close relationship with his father, Lincon had to look to his mother, Karina Puente, to fill the role of both parents.

“My mom taught me how to be a man,” Lincon said. “She taught me a bunch of things about respecting girls, so she took on the role of both parents. It sounds weird, but my mom was the male role model. I couldn’t look up to my dad because he wasn’t there when I was younger, so I really looked up to my mom to get me through a lot of things.” hile divorce is never easy on the child, Lincon acknowledged that his parents were able shield him from a lot of the negativity surrounding their marriage and divorce because he was only five when it occurred.

“I adapted to it,” Lincon said. “I imagine if I was a lot older and understood everything that was going on then it probably would have been rougher. I didn’t know any details, however, so that helped me move through it.”

Many people might think the passage of time can reconcile all harm done, but Brown sees it differently.

“Time is not a healer,” Brown said. “I don’t think time heals things completely, because there will always be, in these kinds of situations, scarring. And I think it’s scarring that lasts a lifetime.”

Clark-Martinek agreed that the impact a divorce has on a family can never be completely resolved.

“No matter what happens,” Clark-Mar-

W

tinek said, “you’re never going to be totally okay at home after that. It doesn’t bother me anymore, but I’m not happy about it.”

While the ramifications of divorce

might stick with the people involved their whole lives, Lincon has found some positives.

“A lot of people see divorce as a negative thing,” Lincon said. “I would say that’s not always the case. It would not have been better had my parents stayed together.

Instead of staying together and making us live through hell, they realized that wasn’t smart.”

Weinstein, in fact, has actually seen his relationship with his father improve after the divorce.

“Before, my dad was really busy with work,” Weinstein said. “But having a week that we are required to spend together, I see him more than I did before, so I’ve gotten closer with him. I’ve had a better interaction with him than I did before the divorce.”

Regardless of how good or bad the children and parents end up after the divorce, the process itself is never easy. With that in mind, Clark-Martinek encourages those who know someone going through a divorce to offer support and try to connect with the effect- Gio Lincon ed person.

“If you [are a kid] and go through divorce, just realize it’s not your Kyle fault and the Weinstein only way it’s going to be ok is if you just accept it,” Clark-Martinek said. Otto “There is noth- ClarkMartinek ing you can do to change BONDS Lincon, Weinstein it. As some- and Clark-Martinek share body who has how divorce has impacted gone through their lives. a divorce, it’s great to have somebody who reaches out to you and makes an effort to be nice to you. If you know somebody is having a hard time with that, you’ll make a really big impact on them if you reach out.”

Divorce Statistics • Percentage of children who come from a divorce that view divorce as an inadequate solution • Divorces in Texas in 2009 • Rate of divorce per every 1000 people • Percentage of second marriages that end in a divorce • Number of times more likely children of divorce are to be depressed

▶ by Daniel Hersh, editor-in-chief and Stephen Rambin, issues editor | photos by Michael Doorey, head photographer and Stephen Rambin

70%

76,900 3.4 60% 7

s

Because there is no schoolsponsored hockey team, Rawot helps keep the storied tradition alive.

sprint. sports around campus

THE REMARKER | Friday, dec. 14, 2012 | PAGE 19

upcoming

“

Senior kendrick spraglin

Eric Rawot page 22

Sporting Events in the week ahead

At the same time, I set a goal for myself, I want to be part of the 2016 Olympics so wherever I go I will try to be a part of the track team.

Page 20

thesideline

today

weekend

▶ Basketball has

a home game tonight against Lake Country Christian at 7:30 p.m. in Hicks Gym.

▶ The soccer team

faces Greenhill at 7 p.m. in Hunt Stadium.

▶ Wrestling

hosts the JV Tournament this afternoon in Spencer Gymnasium.

the

tip-off

▶ Basketball is back

at it again this Saturday, with a 4 p.m. match-up at W.T. White.

▶ Following up JV,

varsity wrestling hosts “The St. Mark’s Invitational” Saturday, with matches starting at 8 a.m. and lasting until the late afternoon.

team has an away game against W.T. White at 2:30 p.m.

Saturday

▶ As students leave

•••

The varsity volleyball team came away from Fort Worth with an SPC championship, defeating Greenhill in straight sets 3-0. Coach Bart Epperson’s football squad finished with a 7-2 record, losing to Houston Kinkaid in the SPC semifinals. Finishing behind champion St. Andrew’s and second place St. John’s, cross country finished third at SPC.

remain prepared, heading into the long stretch of their season.

•••

The eighth grade gold basketball team started the season with a 2-2 record, while the eighth grade blue team began the season 0-2.

The seventh grade gold team lost their first game 22-31, and the seventh grade blue team began the year with a 2-1 record.

•••

The JV soccer team has

▶ Soccer team

members advance through their schedule against Trinity Christian Academy Dec. 17.

▶ In the final game

of 2012, head coach Cory Martin and his soccer squad square up against Prestonwood Christian Dec. 20.

hotshots

included a tournament at John Paul II last weekend.

•••

Last Thursday, when the soccer team played Trinity Christian Academy, senior Conner Lynch drilled home a goal to tie the game at two.

This goal not only tied the game, but it was also head coach Cory Martin’s 900th goal during his tenure as the varsity coach.

A week before that, on Nov. 30 against ESD, assistant coach Stephen Houpt recorded is 100th career game on the sideline.

After the 1-0 loss to ESD, he was given a ball signed by the whole team to commemorate the milestone.

•••

•••

The freshman basketball team is 8-0 and finished first in both the South Garland and West Mesquite tournaments Nov. 17 and Dec. 1, respectively. The team has also shelfed two wins against John Paul II and the Dallas Thunder. The squad and head coach Josh Friesen

Volleyball team members celebrates their SPC title

proceeded to a 3-1 season record, recording their sole loss against Bishop Lynch Dec. 4. Led by head coach Craig Congdon, the team prepares to move forward throughout the rest of their season, which

The Middle School swimming team has gotten off to a smooth start since the Nov. 29 Time Trials, performing to high standards in the North Hills/ Bishop Dunne and Westwood meets.

Head coach Janis Oprea’s squad is looking forward to continued success in 2013 with the initial North Hills and Westwood meet.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES IN LIONS’ ATHLETICS

JGswish Sophomore Jack Gordon has provided an immediate spark for the varsity basketball team. Gordon has 60 points with a 67 percent field goal percentage, 63 percent free throw percentage, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 steals through Dec. 1 .

charlie

school on Dec. 21 for Christmas break, basketball remains busy with a 7:30 p.m. home game vs Bishop Lynch.

a roundup of studentS’ athletic accomplishments

The seventh grade soccer team lost its first home game to Good Shepherd 2-3 Nov. 27. Forward Houston Engleman scored both goals. Eighth grade soccer is 0-1-1, losing to Prestonwood Christian 1-2 with Leo Weiser scoring the only goal. In their second game of the season they tied with a second half goal by Wesley Hibbs.

next week

▶ The JV basketball

< Junior Nick Brodsky wrestles Highland Park

Opinion

JG2 Junior John Garnsey hasn’t slowed down since his 2012 SPC soccer championship gamewinner, scoring two goals against Bishop Dunne Nov. 17. Moving forward, Garnsey hopes to become an even bigger contributor to an SPC repeat run.

Golden

Who is this guy?

A

re they really gonna make us work out on the first day of school?

Standing in the weight room in my full school uniform — minus the shirt — I felt a little betrayed.

Fall after-school conditioning had previously been a “laid-back,” program in which students joked around with their friends and threw in a few weight-lifts here and there. But last year, basketball coach Greg Guiler made the program a relatively intense cardio regimen, and this year, as we were about to find out, the program changed again.

Coach Guiler started by introducing us to his new partner in the conditioning program: Justin Turner, the new wrestling coach — or, as we all knew him at this point: that big, scary, new guy.

Turner didn’t say anything as Guiler went through the expectations, reminding us to bring athletic clothes and not show up in Sperrys, the shoes that virtually every Upper-Schooler wears daily.

Then, Turner interrupted, asking what Sperrys were, giving the first clue that he did not come from a private school background. When Guiler explained what they were, Turner’s response made that point even clearer: “Oh. At my school you got beat up for wearing those.”

Who is this big guy?

How much is he going to hurt me?

••• The next day, Coach Turner told us about the new plan.

In this new format, we would alternate lifting with a partner at five different stations without stopping for 45 minutes. Then we’d go outside and either run or do body weight exercises.

Almost immediately, I shared eye rolls and sighs with the other students as the majority of us all thought the same thing: This is going to be terrible.

The first week, I hated it. I was sorer than I’d ever been and struggled to finish the workouts.

Coach Turner scolded us for not working hard enough. He wanted the weight room to be filled with straining weightlifters, shouting and encouraging each other as we finished our sets.

It sounded ridiculous at first, but as the program continued, it began to happen more and more.

••• After two weeks, people began buying into Turner’s system, working harder and harder. The culmination came in the seventh week, when we maxed out again to see how much we had improved.

Already having improved my power clean max significantly, I was determined to complete one more lift at a higher weight, and after three consecutive failures, something building up inside burst out. A scream came out of me, and I strained, completing the lift successfully.

This fired everyone up, including Coach. Soon we all gathered around each other, shouting words of encouragement as, one after another, people obliterated their previous maxes.

••• If you’d told me at the beginning of the year that, at one point, I would beg my parents to let me go to PE when I was sick, I’d have laughed.

But that happened this year. And that’s 100 percent because of Coach Turner.

Now, it’s not like I’ve been lifting every day since PE ended. I haven’t lifted that much at all. And I’m not suddenly a star athlete.

But Coach Turner’s system worked.

He took a group of kids, many who were looking to simply fulfill a PE requirement while doing the minimum amount of work, and inspired them to work hard. In my case, harder than I ever had before.

He took an environment of apathy and transformed it into an encouraging, dedicated atmosphere.

He changed what was just a few years ago a blow-off class for many into a major benefit for everyone involved.

Good enough for me.

s

sports around campus

THE REMARKER | Friday, dec. 14, 2012 | PAGE 20

Justin Turner 21

Hockey 22

Basketball 23

Overtime 24

recr u iting

The role of recruiting THE FACTORS The overwhelming, exciting and occasionally scary world of sports recruiting done by colleges plays a large role in many student athletes’ college decisions, but kids have different opinions on the how large the magnitude of this role should be.

Surprise.

Think it’s easy to get an athletic scholarship? Think again. On average, less than one percent of all high school male student athletes get full-ride or partial scholarships to colleges and universities across the United States. Here’s a rundown of athletes, number of scholarships offered and the surprisingly low percentage of scholarships granted.

Baseball National participants — 478,029 Number of college scholarships — 2,956.1 Pct. earning scholarships —

.6%

Basketball National participants — 552,935 Number of college scholarships — 4,046.7 Pct. earning scholarships —

.7%

Cross Country/Track and Field National participants — 548,821

Sports or academics? High school athletes looking to play on the college level go through a difficult process when making decisions.

W

hen Coach John Turek told then-junior Kendrick Spraglin that he would make him a Division 1 athlete, he paid it no

mind.

During Spraglin’s freshman year, his only goal was to secure the Lions’ seventh straight SPC championship. And even today, his main priority is to secure what he calls, “our decade of excellence.”

But while Spraglin was achieving his personal goals, Turek’s prophecy inevitably came true, and Spraglin, with a little surprise, received his first letter of interest from the University of Houston.

Since then, his experience while applying for college has been radically different from what it would have been had athletics not been a part of the picture.

Being recruited for sports does not exclude the letters coming in from colleges for a variety of other reasons – academics, extracurriculars, and leadership roles – it only builds up on top of the letters coming in for an already solid student.

An athlete being sought after for college sports in no way makes the college decision process easier.

It only makes it more exasperating.

From being contacted on Twitter to being scouted at competitions, college recruiters use a variety of methods to contact players they are interested in. Facebook, phone calls, emails and snail mail – they use it all.

And although the sheer abundance of contact may overwhelm at times, it is, without a doubt, a good thing. Because in terms of choosing a college, more op-

tions is always good.

Spraglin admits he gives the big D1 schools a leg up because of their athletic prowess, but he notes that the school’s academic reputation and scholarships play a big part too.

“I’m taking the approach that I’m at least respecting the schools that sent me a letter,” Spraglin said. “But as far as the top schools like LSU, Houston and Tulsa, I’ve given those a special look. I’m basing it off of if the school has the program I want to major in and is offering a scholarship at the current time.”

Even though the level I’m not going to run anywhere for the sake of doing so. For me, academics come first.

Senior Bryceson Holcomb

of competition Spraglin and other Marksmen competing for athletic scholarships face is not as intense as some of the larger public schools in sports like football and track, Spraglin and his peers are looked at for their individual performance.

Spraglin attributes this high level of individual performance to not only dedication, but the great relationships he has had with his coaches.

“I know for a fact that both Turek and [assistant track coach] Dilworth have my best interest at heart,” Spraglin said. “And they will do nothing but help me get a scholarship. I think that having a good relationship with people in general really helps, so that’s what I’ve been trying to do these past four years.

Not to try to get a scholarship somewhere, just to be able to say I had a good relationship with my track coach.” wo of Spraglins fellow Lions share his sentiments – to a point.

Junior lacrosse player Tommy Addy looks forward to the possible opportunity of playing lacrosse in college for the sake of the sport and for the experience that college athletics can offer.

For senior Bryceson Holcomb, competing in track during college does not play a role in his decision making process other than the fact that track may give him more options as to where to go to

T

college.

Both Addy and Holcomb understand that sports at the collegiate level have grueling practices, trips, and competitions that can take time away from the academic responsibilities college classes demand. And for them, academics come first.

“I’m not going to run anywhere for the sake of doing so,” Holcomb said. “For me, academics come first. So when I’m comparing colleges, I look for the university that will offer me the best academic experience and caters to my choice of major.”

Addy thinks college sports might actually be beneficial for the overall college experience.

“I want to play a sport in college,” Addy said. “I have a brother who plays lacrosse in college because I know it’s a great way to stay in shape and it teaches you to manage your time well. It is a good way to stay in line and not get too far off track in college.”

But Spraglin has a larger desire to compete in track during college and beyond.

“I’m still a little undecided,” Spraglin said. “I’m kind of at the point where if I have to, I’ll do it for the sport.

In other words, if the school gives me full scholarship then I’ll probably end up going there. At the same time, I set a goal for myself, I want to be part of the 2016 Olympics so wherever I go I will try to be a part of the track team.”

Number of college scholarships — 2,481.7 Pct. earning scholarships — .5%

Football National participants — 1,108,286 Number of college scholarships — 15,997.2 Pct. earning scholarships —

1 .4%

Golf National participants — 159,958 Number of college scholarships — 999.1 Pct. earning scholarships —

.6%

Soccer National participants — 383,561 Number of college scholarships — 1,683 Pct. earning scholarships — .4%

Swimming and Diving National participants — 111,896 College scholarships — 891 Pct. earning scholarships — .8%

Tennis National participants — 156,285 Number of college scholarships —925.6 Pct. earning scholarships —

.6%

Wrestling National participants — 259,688 Number of college scholarships — 696 Pct. earning scholarships — .3% Source: The Houston Chronicle website: http://www. chron.com/sports/college/article/College-scholarships-rare-for-high-school-athletes-1700917.php

Recruiting story by Samuel Khoshbin, sports editor | artwork by Purujit Chatterjee and Zuyva Sevilla, staff artists

sports

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

J U S T I N

21

T U R N E R

TIME

GAME

after legendary wrestling coach rick ortega retired last spring, justin turner TOOK OVER THE STORIED PROGRAM. faced with HIGH expectations, turner is confident in the program’s future.

READY TO ROLL Following long-time coach Rick Ortega, Justin Turner has some big shoes to fill. However, having coached wrestling all of his adult life — ­­­ four programs, three of which he started, the 35-year-old father of two is well equipped to continue the success and tradition of Lions’ wrestling.

J

ustin Turner set the tone for this year’s wrestling season at the first practice: Burn ‘em.

“The first day,” junior Zach Papin said, “Coach made the comparison of our team being like the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes in that he burned all of the ships used to get this far. He said that we can either move forward and do something great like conquering the Aztecs, or we can turn back and die because there’s no way to leave. This led to our team motto: Burn ‘em. All our ships have been burned, and there’s no turning back.”

More than to anyone else, this motto applies to Turner. He burned all of his ships by leaving Vista Ridge High School and the highly successful wrestling program that he started there in 2003.

Now, he’s the new guy — the one who has to follow Rick Ortega.

He’s the coach who has to follow the winningest coach in Lions sports history — the one who brought in 17 state championships, 25 SPC championships, 657 dual meet victories and 67 individual state champions — the third-highest number ever for a high school wrestling coach in the nation.

In the first year of the post-Ortega era, people are accustomed to Lions wrestlers winning, and expectations are high.

But Turner isn’t worried — at all.

“I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t think I could do better,” he said.

Younger, smaller squad gains experience

T

he mats are out. The yelling and pounding can once again be heard in Spencer gym.

Old bruises on students eating brown rice and water at lunch can once again be seen. And while the wrestling team may be the smallest it’s been in years, thoughts of another SPC and perhaps even state victory are once again back.

Two tournaments over thanksgiving break gave the wrestling team its first test of the season.

“We’ve been to a Martin tournament and a tournament in Oklahoma,” wrestling coach Justin Turner said, “We didn’t put a full team out, but the kids who wrestled did well.”

Juniors Zach Papin and Winston Brewer and senior Jimmy Papin each took third in their weight class at Martin and each got close to placing at the Oklahoma open.

Despite the team’s impressive past, Turner plans to bring some new changes in during his first year as coach.

“I’d like to bring back some toughness.” he said. “I’ve talked to a lot of guys about that. I think that a lot of these guys are good guys and nice guys. Sometimes you just can’t be a nice guy on the wrestling mat.

They just need to get a little tougher.”

Turner is also working with the team on the technical aspects of wrestling — learning “how to wrestle.”

However, this year, the team faces an obstacle larger than toughness or finesse: a record low in the number of boys wrestling.

“For the high school team, our numbers are low,” Turner said. “That’s our biggest obstacle as far as large team success, but that’s something we can rebuild with time.

The guys that are here, the 16 guys that are around are working hard and doing everything asked of them.”

In addition to underclassmen rising to the challenge, a strong eighth grade class also helps the future of the wrestling team look a little brighter.

Team members still hope to add another year to their banner.

“The team is preparing week in and week out for February,” Jimmy Papin said.

“We focus each week on getting better and wrestling hard in each tournament with February in our minds.”

— Teddy Edwards, staff writer LION PRIDE Because Turner’s first Lions squad is small, sophomores like Andrew McClain get a chance to make their mark.

Those who are familiar with Turner also know that he has the credentials to back up his words.

The 35 year old, who most recently coached for Vista Ridge High School (near Austin), has been involved with wrestling since his sophomore year in high school in Dumas.

“My high school wrestling coach was a huge influence in my life,” Turner said. “We started the wrestling program my sophomore year of high school. Before that, I was big into FFA, and before that I assumed I would go into farming or ranching or some sort of [agriculturally] related field.

“He kind of transformed me and woke a passion in me that I didn’t know was there. I went out for the wrestling team because I thought it would be easy to get a letter jacket as a sophomore. He hit a spark and ended up leading me to a career.”

Immediately liking the “autonomy” of an individual sport, Turner knew just a year later that he wanted to coach wrestling. This longterm view led him to go to Oklahoma State University, a school which has now won 34 national wrestling championships.

“I had some offers to go wrestle at some smaller schools,” he said “but I chose to go to Oklahoma State simply because I thought that that would be a better place to learn to be a wrestling coach. I knew I might never start, but just the experience of being a part of that program would service me so much better in the long run.”

And it certainly did. Immediately out of college, Turner founded and served as head coach for the Richland High School (near Ft. Worth) wrestling program before starting another program — this After interviewing here and seeing the way that the community is, I thought, ‘Not only is this where I want to work, but this is where I want my boys to go to school.’

JUSTIN TURNER

GAME TIME story by Charlie Golden, sports editor | photos by Michael Doorey, head photographer

one in Pampa, TX. Next, he became an assistant at the highly touted Broken Arrow High School wrestling program in Oklahoma.

Finally he started the Vista Ridge program in 2003. This program also proved successful, yielding many wins, including two over the Lions the last two times the schools met.

Then came the opening he had been waiting for.

“I’ve known Coach Ortega since I was six years old,” Turner said. “His children and I wrestled together.

His son Aaron beat me at the state championship my senior year. I’ve just always thought that St. Mark’s was a phenomenal place to be a part of.

“It was one of only three jobs that I would leave Vista Ridge for. After interviewing here and seeing the way that the community is, I thought, ‘Not only is this where I want to work, but this is where I want my boys to go to school.’” oming into the job, Turner was well aware of the expectation for the program to dominate after Ortega’s tenure of more than 30 years.

But he wasn’t the least bit fazed.

“I’m harder on myself than anyone else could be, so any expectations are really irrelevant,” Turner said.

“Obviously this transition had some casualties, and there’s going to be a growth process and a lot of rebuilding.

But I’m not [Ortega], and I can’t try to pretend to be him. I think I’m a great coach, and I think he had some great accolades. But [any outside pressure] never bothers me at all.”

In his first season as the Lions’ head coach, Turner will be focused on winning—as he always has and always will be.

But as the post-Ortega era begins and Turner starts to establish his own legacy, he has a more long-term goal in sight.

“Coaching wrestling is great, but I’m here to raise men,” he said. “Life puts you on your back, and wrestling teaches you how to get up. And that’s what I hope my kids get out of it.

Making my guys good fathers. Good husbands. Wrestling is just a product of it.”

C

sports

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

22

hoc k e y

A BREAK IN THE

ICE

RISHI KSHATRIYA AND ERIC RAWOT MOVE ON FROM ST. MARK’S HOCKEY

T

hey walked out of Farmers Branch Dr Pepper StarCenter, heads up and proud.

After years of waiting to become a part of the Lions’ hockey team, then-freshmen Rishi Kshatriya and Eric Rawot finally won a championship.

But there was one thought that stuck in the back of their heads — this would be their last time walking off the ice in blue and gold. Their last time as a team.

They ended their final Lions season with a boom — a comeback victory over the Plano Senior Wildcats in the third period.

While that championship season of 2012 was a great moment for Rawot and Kshatriya, they had been looking forward to a career in high school hockey since day one.

“We both came to St. Mark’s in third grade,” Kshatriya said. “We both tried out for the same team that summer. When we met there, we both realized that we were going to the same school the next year and became friends.”

This team, the Texas Aces, is a travel team that has taken Rawot and Kshatriya around the nation in tournaments since they tried out in third grade.

“Each season we usually have a OPEN ICE Sophomore Eric Rawot takes hold of the puck in his game Dec. 1 for the Texas Aces. He scored one goal in their 5-2 victory over the Oklahoma City Oil Kings, the second place team in the league.

few small trips to places like Oklahoma and Louisiana,” Kshatriya said. “Then we have one big trip where we go somewhere across the country.”

With the tournaments come many practices and in-state games.

“Travel hockey is completely different from high school hockey,” Rawot said. “You can’t play the highest level of both. They’re both huge time commitments.”

Rawot and Kshatriya were targeted by older students when they were in sixth grade.

“They told me I would be eligible to play in eighth grade,” Kshatriya said. “So, I went to a few games the years leading up to eighth grade and then they recruited Eric and I for the team. So we played in eighth grade and ninth grade.”

Then the team fell apart. While Kshatriya feels the return of St. Mark’s hockey is unlikely, Rawot still remains hopeful.

“It is possible for the team to come back,” Rawot said. “We played last year with not too many people. If we can get like four more people, we could have a team by next year. It wouldn’t be that hard to make it come back. If people really wanted to play, we could have a new team.”

Kshatriya blames its demise on the lack of popularity for hockey.

FIRST PLACE Sophomore Rishi Kshatriya, number 66, skates down the ice at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in McKinney during their 5-2 victory over the Oklahoma City Oil Kings. His team, the Aces, is currently in first place.

“When the team was around,” Kshatriya said, “the upper schoolers were the only ones who knew about it, and no one ever came out to the games.”

It is possible for the team to come back. If we can get like four more people , we could have a team by next year. It wouldn’t be that hard to make it com back. If people really wanted to play, we could have a new team.

Sophomore Eric Rawot

However, this problem has only existed for the past few years.

“From what I’ve heard,” Rawot said, “before lacrosse came, hockey was the really popular sport. It died out as lacrosse became more popular. We really died out, though, because the games aren’t on campus. Students can’t come watch at a familiar place like the football stadium.”

For now, though, they’ll both remain loyal on the Aces while Kshatriya also plays for Plano West’s squad.

“I really miss playing high school hockey for St. Mark’s,” Kshatriya said. “It was one of the most chill teams that I’ve ever been on.”

A BREAK IN THE ICE story by Matthew Conley, staff writer | photos by Andrew Goodman, visuals director

By Matthew Conley staff writer Injuries and the loss of veteran players have forced the varsity soccer team to look to rookie players for major contributions and a new groove.

Coming off of an SPC championship last year — their first in 27 years — Captains Danny Koudelka and Kareem Itani have their minds set on the here-and-now.

“Although it’s very tempting, we are trying not to think about SPC yet,” Itani said. “We are right now focusing on becoming the best we can be before the start of counter season.”

As of now, the majority of the teams the squad has played are outside the SPC Conference.

“This is a year where every game is important in order to qualify for D1,” Koudelka said. “Once a team reaches D1 it’s really about who wants it more.”

The team started 2-3-1. However, their overall skill is more important to Koudelka than their record.

“We haven’t really found our stride yet,” Koudelka said, “but the way the soccer season works is none of the games count toward the SPC until after Christmas, so we still have time.”

While they do not have a winning record, all of their losses have been

within two points.

“Our biggest competitors are ESD, Holland Hall, Greenhill and Fort Worth Country Day,” Itani said. “We played ESD already and lost 1-0, but both teams were missing a few players.”

However, these teams have also lost players from last year.

“Holland Hall only lost a few players from last year so I will expect them to be good,” Itani said. “Fort Worth Country Day lost the majority of their team but we still can’t rule them out as they have been a good team for the past few years. Greenhill beat us last year and are a quality team this year.”

Koudelka still hopes to win an SPC championship his senior year.

“The beautiful thing about soccer,” Koudelka said, “is that the margin between the best teams and all the other teams throughout the league is very thin, so we are definitely still contenders.”

Itani, a veteran on the team, knows that he will have to lead many new players as captain.

“We are a new look team from last year,” Itani said. “We lost many seniors, but I can’t say that any one missing player was more significant than the rest because all of them had a major part on the team.”

MICHAEL DOOREY PHOTO

Injuries to key players force soccer’s rough start

VETERAN SKILL Senior Kareem Itani dribbles the ball against Bishop Dunne.

MENUS STARTING AT $10 FOR LUNCH ($8.50 BOX LUNCHES) AND $14 FOR DINNER

Holiday Catering and Parties Whether you’re planning a big celebration or a small get-together, let Blue Mesa Grill bring the flavors of the Southwest and seamless professional service to your event.

Three levels of catering service full service, set-up service or "no frills" pick up or delivery.

DALLAS 7700 W. NW Hwy. @ Central 214.378.8686

Party planning and rentals Private and semi-private dining rooms in all locations

ADDISON 5100 Beltline @ Tollway 972.934.0165

PLANO 8200 Dallas Parkway 214.387.4407

Catering & Party Menus

sports

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

23

B a s k etb a ll

‘Those seniors want to play their guts out.’

Guiler’s basketball team hopes intense practices, athleticism will translate into wins

T

hey go through grueling conditioning workouts. They push each other past their limits in physical practice after physical practice. They make sacrifices for each of their teammates. They fight for each other.

Their backgrounds don’t matter. It’s just their goal. Their purpose. They do what’s best to benefit each other. And that’s what brings them together.

Sitting at the table of their season, the basketball team knows its place. With an appetite for success and a hunger to be satisfied.

It’s the Last Supper; We Hungry.

Building on its motto It’s the Last Supper; We Hungry, the basketball team has gotten off to a quick start, winning six of ten games through Dec 8.

“Similar to last season, we found our roster filled with individuals who weren’t necessarily the biggest and tallest kids compared to some of our opponents,” senior guard Alexander Tassapoulos said. “We’ve focused our game plan on playing full court defense and getting the ball up the court to create fast break situations to utilize our speed and quickness. We make an effort to outthink and outlast our opponents in every game.”

According to senior guard Harrison Hewitt, the team not only has great shooters, allowing them to spread the floor, but they also have a lot of depth, with many talented players coming off the bench.

“We don’t rely on one person to get everything done for us,” Tassopoulos said. “We are extremely versatile and have already had multiple players shine. I think the juniors and seniors on the team would all say that our youngest members including [freshman] William Caldwell and [sophomore] Jack Gordon have really stepped up as big time players.”

Gordon has established himself as a valuable asset to the team by shooting the

ball well and hitting big shots down the stretch of a game.

“As a sophomore, I look up to everyone else, but my success has been from executing defensively and offensively,” Gordon said. “I feed off the enthusiasm of other teammates and play within my strengths.”

Head coach Greg Guiler sees this group of senior players as special — bringing both grittiness and scrappiness to the game.

“Our seniors in general have been really, really good leaders,” Guiler said. They’ve set the tone with their work ethic, and they’ve just been excited; I don’t know man, I’m really proud of them. The seniors, man, they’re a team, and we want the ball in their hands.” ith seven seniors on the team, the team looks to use that maturity as an advantage.

“The team really has a veteran presence,” Tassopoulos said. “We are defined by our maturity and basketball IQ. We’ve got a lot of guys who really know the ins and outs of basketball.”

Playing hard and leaving it all on the floor allows the team to keep a strong mentality. But more importantly, the team’s intense conditioning gets the players through games while continuing to play at a high level.

“Coach Dilworth puts us through some

W

agonizing workouts halfway through our practice,” Hewitt said. “So, after the workout, we have to learn to play when we are exhausted.”

In Guiler’s opinion, the SPC is the most competitive conference for private high school basketball in Texas. However, the team has managed to stay positive and keep motivated.

“Coach Guiler is an amazing coach,” Hewitt said, “and I think we all want to practice with high intensity and full effort because we know Coach Guiler is doing everything he can to make us better.”

Guiler says the team has segmented out the season to set short term, broken-up goals, keeping the team from constantly thinking about the end. But most importantly, it’s all about putting in the work at practice.

“The way you practice is the biggest motivator for how you’re going to play,” Guiler said. “If you’re practicing hard and you’re getting after it — and that’s why these guys have reason to anticipate being a good ball club because they play hard, they practice hard, they condition hard. They do things, hard. And as a result, I think they’re going to be ready by the end of the year.”

DRIVING DEUCES Senior Harrison Hewitt evades a defender of Plano West en route to the basket. The Lions went on to lose 54-72.

Upcoming Games

• Tonight; 7:30 @

Home vs Lake

County Christian • Tomorrow; 4 p.m. @ W.T. White • Dec. 21; 7:30 @ Home vs. Bishop Lynch • Dec. 22; 12 p.m. @ Home vs. Dallas Thunder

Basketball story by Shourya Kumar, staff writer | photo by Andrew Goodman, visuals director

48 swimmers, a record number, seeking to continue culture of success for coach

By Cyrus Ganji staff writer Team cohesiveness, an abundance of talent and strong leadership virtues are the central strengths surrounding the swimming team as they prepare for a bright 2013 season.

A record number of 48 swimmers compose this year’s squad, with equal talent spread out across all grade levels.

“We’re very fortunate to have a core group of seniors who’ve been with us for a long time,” head coach Mihai Oprea said. “They’re truly good leaders and they take it very seriously. Not only the five senior captains, but all eight seniors. Then we have the juniors and the sophomores, they also want to lead, but we have good swimmers across the board – especially great freshmen.

I would say this is actually the best team we’ve ever had, in terms of talent and depth.”

Oprea and the Lions will again be seeking the SPC title, which they have lost only once since 1974. Despite the team’s competitiveness, talent and hard application, there’s more to the swimming program than conference championships.

“We can’t get spoiled with winning SPC,” Oprea said. “We can’t make that the most important thing for the season. Obviously we want to win SPC, but the most important goal should be to bond together, to be the best team we can be, to enjoy the season and to help each other out. We want to be a team sport, and that’s our goal. So we’re looking for excellence too, and obviously we want to win. But it’s more than that for this team; they’re more than that.”

As a result of Oprea’s philosophy, the swimming program consistently embodies great team chemistry.

“We’re fortunate that the spirits are good, that the

guys are getting along, and we want to build off that,” Oprea said. “It’s so important and so difficult to achieve this with so many kids that have many different interests, levels and ages. You can always build on that and it’s a challenge, and we are very proud of our progress.”

Furthermore, the team’s strong leadership values help cement that healthy spirit. The 2013 senior swimming captains, Warren Smith, Rajat Mittal, Will Chang, Otto Clark-Martinek and Michael Gilliland, work to assure their team’s strengths.

We’re very fortunate “It’s pretty obto have a core group of vious, especially to seniors who’ve been the juniors and sewith us for a long time. niors, that we’ll be They’re truly good leadone of the fastest ers and they take it very teams we’ve ever seriously. had – probably the Coach Mihai Oprea fastest ever in history,” Smith said.

“But it’s not that that I’m looking forward to the most about this season. It’s about getting to know these guys and growing with them. That’s always great.”

Oprea also views success as an essential aspect of the program. However, he believes that what causes the success truly matters.

“The most important thing is to have great memories and to have a great experience,” Oprea said. “To look back and be proud of having been part of this program. We want to win, it’s a great feeling when you get on the podium there and you win, but that comes and goes. What stays is the experience. And that, for me, is really rewarding. The SPC’s are on the banner –everybody can see them. But what’s behind them, that’s the most important thing.”

ICEBOWL VI It’s a battle of Titans. The time for literary and design men of 10600 Preston Road to take it to the field. Nerdpaper and Jockbook will strap on the flags as the two staffs will be looking for a W and, more importantly, the rights to the Raymond T. Westbrook Cup.

r

remarker student newspaper

St. Mark’s School of Texas 10600 Preston Road Dallas, Texas 75230

Q: Who will win ICEBOWL VI? ▶ ‘Are you kidding? Google ‘Aarohan Burma truck stick’ and I think you’ll have your answer.’ ­— ReMarker managing editor Will Moor

▶ ‘Conservatively, I’d give us a 100 percent chance of victory. Jockbook all the way.’ ­— Marksmen 10600 editor Matt Mahowald

▶ ‘All I know is that I’m pretty terrified of Caldwell, so I imagine they’re even more scared.’ — ReMarker news editor Ryan O’Meara ▶ ‘Yearbook, no doubt. The best football comes from Southern California.’ ­— Marksmen head photographer Riley Graham

Ov

6th Annual Ice Bowl Teams Date Time Site

Nerdpaper vs. Jockbook Dec. 21 2 p.m.

Bailey Field

24

the back sports page the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

e r HIDING HALLS t i m e We know that Lions have always found success in sports. But many in the community don’t know about some of the most remarkable feats of years past — achievEments that hide in plain sight.

IN THE

Athletic Director’s Cup

seconds

53.06 100m backstroke time for freshman Caleb Crowe, a new school record

27

Started by the larger schools in SPC, including Kinkaid, St. John’s and St. Mark’s, this cup is given annually to the most succesful athletic program. The school has won this honor nine times in a row.

Where to find The Athletic Director’s Cup resides in the featured trophy case in the Commons.

takedowns

executed by junior Winston Brewer as of Dec. 5, the most on the wrestling team.

eight players

out of 22 who practiced with the injury-ridden soccer team Dec. 7.

6

goals

scored by senior captain Kareem Itani, before injuring his arm Dec. 1.

14 miles

National Academy Championship 1984 SPC Archery Trophy Previously, when Preston Hollow was not as populated, students could take advantage of their archery skills right here on campus.

For over a decade, the Lions dominated the sport.

Where to find SPC archery trophies line both trophy cases in the Commons.

Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin, this famous tournament attracted schools from the Midwest down to Texas, including The Terrill School.

After placing second in 1929, the team won the championship in 1930.

Where to find The 1930 team photo is in the featured trophy case in the Commons, while the second place tropy from 1929 resides in the office of Director of Alumni Relations Jim Bob Womack.

Jerry Lacey in Sports Illustrated

average distance swam per week by each varsity swimmer

players

15

on varsity basketball, the most since Greg Guiler became head coach in 2007

In 2002, after coaching varsity tennis to a 15-0 record including 109 straight match wins, coach Jerry Lacey was featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd. The team topped off the year with an SPC championship.

Where to find This historic magazine cover can be found in the Hicks’ Gym trophy case.

12 19 wrestlers

on varsity or JV who are healthy.

HIDING IN THE HALLS story by Andrew Goodman, visuals director and Charlie Golden, sports editor | photos by Andrew Goodman, visuals director

a

“ ponder

CAreer Counselor Michele Wahlder

You need to be self-aware and know what your strengths and talents are.

People who know how to do that are much better than people who try to do everything and end up only being mediocre at a lot of things. Page 3B

addendum special section

a remarker special section | St. Mark’s School of texas | Dallas, Texas | Friday, Dec. 14, 2012 | page 1b

Paths TO

Michael Doorey Photo

CAREER SELECTIOn, self-identity and the pursuit of happiness

Physicist, banker, Top Ch

ef baker?

? ace-maker e p is any d l r o w r, o t thing c a , n o Surge but p For today’s Marksmen, redic table t n e m l il lf u f r e e r to ca the road

CAREER COMPASS Coming out of high school and even college, not all St. Mark’s alumni know what they want to do with their lives professionally. What’s the best way to figure it out?

inside Life as a professional

The pursuit of passion

By the numbers

With the advice of numerous professionals, managing editor Paul Gudmundsson and special projects editor Rachit Mohan explore the importance of finding a career path early in life.

Everyone knows that some careers are more common than others. After their peers and classmates flooded into the medical, business and law fields, these alums are trying to find their own paths.

Copy editor Alex Munoz and staff artist Zuvya Sevilla compile all that statistics you will need to now about life in the profressional word. From earning potential to the most popular job choices, look no further for your statistical needs.

Page 2-3

Page 3-4

Page 4

a

F addendum special section

[ Career

inding ‘th

THE REMARKER | Friday, dec. 14, 2012

teache

r?

actor?

socc

er p

physician?

laye

r?

neer?

i l eng

ica naut aero

co m

pu

te

lawye

r sc ien

r?

tis t?

It’s not as easy as the nursery rhyme says: “The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker.” Optio to district judge to furniture designer. With all the opportunities available, how do students mak

W

ho are you?

When you think of someone, you might think of their dark hair, their passion for the piano, or their bubbly, outgoing personality.

A newlywed might say he’s a husband. In the delivery room, an expectant woman will identify herself as a mother. Throughout the halls

of 10600 Preston Road, ask the students who they are and they’ll say, “I’m a student.”

But the most common response? Nearly always, it will be career-oriented. I’m a plastic surgeon. I work as a defense attorney in a firm downtown. I’m a marketing executive.

With more and more people joining the workforce and spending hours of their days on their jobs, career paths have grown to become a fundamental definition of oneself — and not just professionally.

With careers and their accompanying choices playing such a vital role in the creation and operation of an independent young adult’s life, pursuing the right career path has become more important than ever before. To have a successful life, young professionals must consider many factors to find the right career — a job which will often determine the satisfaction they glean from their lives.

“If you choose a career that you don’t really enjoy, it affects all parts of your lives,” life and career coach Michele Wahdler said. “It affects your relationships with your wife, family or parents. There’s all these undercurrents that go on if you’re not happy with your job. I think it happens more commonly in affluent families.”

Wahlder, who is married to Michael Kerber ’77, works as a career counselor for her company Life Possibilities LLC, a business dedicated to creating meaningful personal and professional direction.

In her experience, she has noticed a trend of careers burning out because of people’s rigid plans and early-life dedication to a career that may not be the best fit for them.

“I think having the wrong career leads to a great deal of unhappiness, even though sometimes it takes awhile,” she said. “You can only do it for so long. I nor-

mally see people burn out in some sort of job that they didn’t choose, but it’s more like what their parents think they should do. They get pegged into thinking they have to be something specific, and they don’t think outside the box. You can only last in that for a certain amount of time.”

Many students choose their career paths based on the exposure they have received to certain professions, often reflecting those of their parents according to Casey Gendason, associate director of college counseling.

“When faced with that question,” he said. “I think you go with what you know.

If you have a parent who works in those fields, has been successful, many people want to follow in those footsteps. Many people don’t know much about careers.”

Some students like senior Rajat Mittal also contend that parents tend to influence their children to follow in their footsteps.

“Growing up, I’ve definitely felt pressure from my parents, who are both doctors, to become a doctor,” Mittal said.

“They want what’s best for me, so they’ve always suggested I enter the medical field, saying that serving as a doctor is an incredibly rewarding profession. They’ve stressed that doctors live lives of financial stability and genuine service.”

But rather than being influenced by the pressure, Mittal feels that the exposure his parents have given him to the medical field has confirmed that medicine is, in fact, not the field for him.

“After explaining my decision, they’ve accepted it,” he said. “Ultimately, they want me to be happy, no matter which field I enter. My decision to reject my parents’ suggestion isn’t an act of rebellion, but I simply do not want to be a doctor.”

Mittal is still undecided on his career path and intends to explore fully all his options prior to making his final decision.

“I have no idea as to what I want to do with my life, and I prefer it this way,” he said. “If I committed to a single profession now, I’d regret not fully exploring all my other academic interests. I take it step by step. As of right now, I’m applying to universities that specialize in engineering, but even then, I’m not fully committed to becoming an engineer.”

Other students, however, are more decided about their career paths. Senior Sam Libby felt he experienced an “epiphany” following the Affordable Care Act debates, after which he began personal investigation about legal arguments surrounding the case. This exposure prompted his desire to pursue a career in law.

“Working in that area, particularly the political sector, is where I would like to end up,” Libby said. “I have no idea beyond that, but the bottom line for me is that there are multiple paths, multiple places and hopefully multiple jobs avail-

able to me, so I d path in one prof Libby feels role in presenti plore any career “St. Mark’s both general an said, “so that no of major discipl history, science but I also have strengthen my o eadma that St tory sc reer preparatory preparation her developing skill board and hon career paths.

“We have a cus that means t variety of discip English and liter and sciences,” he of providing stu tion so that they step into their can develop fou But with a the “right caree find a professio interests? What consideration?

“The type o portant,” Wahld a balance betwe life, interests an for. I think it’s r thinking about conscious and l also let your sub the stuff you fin Wahlder e “Three E Metho a method that c

H

Finding ‘the one’ story by Rachit Mohan, special projects editor, Paul Gudmundsson, managing editor, Alexander Munoz, copy editor and Nabee

pages

r paths ]

he one.’

2B, 3B

seth sachson ’88 | the animal whisperer

The pursuit of his passion Alum follows mom’s advice; dedicates life to work with animals

W ?

n?

essma busin

Rock musicia

n?

ee?

Refer

ons for today’s generation range from recording artist ke the choice about the career that will define them?

don’t feel like I’m stuck on one fession for the rest of my life.” the school has played a vital ing him with the skills to exr option. has given me a set of skills nd specific in nature,” Libby ot only do I have a firm grasp linary areas, such as English, e, math and foreign language, e the specific knowledge to overall focus.” aster Arnie Holtberg stresses t. Mark’s is a college preparachool, but not necessarily a cay school. Much of the career re is implied in the focus on ls that can be useful across the ned specifically to individual

a liberal arts and sciences fothat students are exposed to a plines: languages, the study of rature, mathematics, fine arts, e said. “We are in the business udents with a strong founday’re well educated for the next careers but also so that they undations for life too.” all the concern over finding er,” how does a young adult on that fits his wants and his t factors should be taken into

of lifestyle you want lead is imder said. “Career choices are een earning potential, family nd what you have an aptitude really important when you’re a career not only to let your logical mind play a part, but bconscious, your dreams and nd interesting to play a part.” employs what she calls the od” to answer these questions, consists of exploration, evalu-

ation and execution. By exploring a person’s strengths and interests, she can help him or her evaluate potential careers and execute the right decisions to reach his or her goals.

“I think a career should be a basic container with a bunch of different options within that container,” Wahlder said. “Say for example you want entrepreneurship. If you say, I am going to be a jewelry store entrepreneur for the rest of my life, that’s way too specific.

But if you know you have an entrepreneurial spirit, and leave yourself room to adapt, I think that’s the only way you can approach your career.”

With a changing global economy and constantly shifting career trends, the question of choosing a career is further complicated by the need to look to a career’s future when beginning to pursue it.

This question is so large, in fact, that it lends itself to a branch of study called futurology, which is dedicated to predicting all kinds of trends that will impact the world.

Jim Carroll, a futurist, author and columnist, is known for his keynote presentations and consultations with corporations to help them benefit from complex change and opportunities in the future. He contends that one trend that will be important going into the future is participation in technical fields.

“Quite clearly, the US is going to fall behind if it is doesn’t graduate more with math and science degrees; I believe in that assessment,” Carroll said. “Science is at the root of many discoveries that change the world; math is a skill set that is coming to provide the foundation for many leading industries, including computer technology. This is a huge challenge.”

Another potential consideration for the future in an increasingly global world, will be to consider career options across the world, not just in the United States. Currently, American students often limit their possibilities, not approaching the world openly. This, Carroll says, has to change.

el Muscatwalla, staff writer | photos by Michael Doorey, head photographer

“I find it appalling that so few Americans have passports and travel the world,” he said.

“This leads to insularity, a narrow world view, a sense of us-and-them. If the US worked harder to understand the rest of the world, it would find that it would see the rest of the world as full of opportunity rather than a potential threat.”

Wahlder stresses the importance of highlighting specific strengths and interests when choosing a career. A person without a well-fitting career, much like a fish out of water, can easily find himself floundering in uncertainty.

“You need to be self-aware and know

Life coach Michele wahlder’s 3 E’s To finding the right Career • Exploration of strengths and interests • Evaluation of potential careers • Execution of decisions to reach goals

what your strengths and talents are and how to develop those talents into strengths,” she said. “People who know how to do that are much better than people who try to do everything and end up only being mediocre at a lot of things.”

In an ever changing world, professionals must also be able to adapt. While a career plan can be helpful to keep a person on track and focused, deviations from the plan are not always a negative thing.

“Don’t be afraid to explore,” Wahlder said. “If you find something that’s interesting but not in your plan, don’t be scared by enjoyment. Just flow with it and see what comes.

You might just meet new people, you might just find a new hobby or you might have a whole career transition. Careers are like life.

You have to be able to be flexible and change to the things that come your way.”

— Paul Gudmundsson, managing editor

Canine Captain

PHOTO COURTESY SETH SACHSON ’88

chemist

hen Seth Sachson ‘88 drives into work with his nine dogs every morning, he doesn’t feel out of place. He doesn’t care about the hair gathering on his floor mats nor the continuous din of panting that floods his ears.

Instead, he welcomes the relative craziness as part of the life that he loves. Part of the life that he has always wanted. Part of the life of the director of the Aspen Animal Shelter.

“I’ve always been passionate about dogs since I was a little kid,” Sachson said. “When I graduated from college, I came out to Colorado to be a dogsled musher. Then later that year, I was hired as the director of the Aspen Animal Shelter. The rest is history.”

Epitomizing the pursuit of personal interests in the form of a career, Sachson has thrown himself into his profession, expanding the Aspen Animal Shelter’s boundaries from just a shelter into a pet shop, boarding kennel and grooming shop all during his 20-year career. Since the beginning, he has fully immersed himself in his job.

“It’s more of a lifestyle than a career,” Sachson said. “My personal life blends together with my professional life. It’s all an incredibly fine line. I just live it, and I breathe it. Some might look at that as a positive, some as a negative, but for me, it’s my everything. I have nine dogs and they all come to work with me. Every day I do what I love. I work hard, but I’m excited to come to work in the morning every day.”

From the actual care of the dogs, to the I love having a benefits held by celebcareer where I feel rities like Cesar Milan like I’m helping the community and I’m and Bernadette Peters, part of the community. to even the mundane accounting of the shelter, Sachson enjoys Seth sachson ’88 everything about his job, appreciating the way it has thrown him into his community.

“Running an animal shelter has really helped me become a part of the fabric of my community here,” Sachson said. “It feels really nice to be accepted and respected by my fellow citizens here in Aspen as a part of a small community. I love having a career where I feel like I’m helping the community and I’m part of the community.”

Ultimately, Sachson appreciates his ability to live out his passions in his daily life, acknowledging his life as a true culmination of his dreams.

“The quote in my senior yearbook was from my mom,” he said. “‘Do what you love, and happiness will follow.’ People always say to follow your dreams, and that’s what I’ve done. That’s not to say that it’s been all happiness and ease, but it’s definitely been a cool ride. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Right out of college, Seth Sachson knew what he wanted to do with his life. Pursuing his passion for animals, he became a dogsled musher in Colorado for one short winter before settling down as the director of the Aspen Animal Shelter. In the picter, on the left, Sachson appears on the cover of a local Aspen newspaper that profiled his efforts at the shelter.

addendum

page

the remarker | Friday dec. 14, 2012

The many ways to make a dollar Three alums, three different routes to professional satisfaction conner youngblood | recording artist

Turning a hobby into a profession

A

google images PHOTOS

s his senior year at Yale University came to a close, Conner Youngblood ‘08 needed to make some decisions. He had no particular interests while in college, and with very little exploring time left, he did the most logical thing he could think of.

He turned his hobby into his profession and became a musician.

“The past few years in college I’ve just been recording, posting stuff online for free, and trying to get picked up by blogs,” Youngblood said. “That’s built up a sort of momentum. I’ve recently been contacted by more and more people in the industry, and I’ve finally signed with a manager and agent. It’s really just now starting.”

But music, for Youngblood, goes all the way back to seventh grade, where he learned how to play the guitar and banjo. Later, in his senior year of high school, he started to write and sing his own songs.

“I didn’t get confident in my abilities until I hit college,” he said. “I’ve realized that this is something that I can survive off of without having to get a real job. Why not do it?”

To Youngblood, being undecided in college gave him a chance to explore. It also gave him four years without a need to provide and feed himself while he figured things out.

“Going to college, for me, was the way to go,” he said, “because it gives you four years to figure out what you want to do. And so for me as a musician, Youngblood I pretty much had four years of no pressure, because I wasn’t forced to live out on the streets. I used that time to get better at my music.”

College has also been helpful to Youngblood because of how it makes a student think about his future. Youngblood says he started to think more and more about music when he saw everyone but him applying for jobs.

“Really, throughout college, it was me keeping my fingers crossed and just hoping stuff would work out,” he said. “As bigger opportunities have been coming my way, I’ve realized that this could be something bigger than I thought it would be.”

TOP 3

jonathan park | architect

Dr. David Genecov | craniofacial surgeon

‘Making things’ leads to career

Pursuing the creative element

W

hen he graduated from St. Mark’s, he knew he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, an orthodontist.

But he added a twist.

Dr. David Genecov ’82 became a craniofacial plastic surgeon.

Genecov chose the path because he appreciates the additional creative element of craniofacial plastic surgery.

“I like the creative aspect of taking a patient who has a significant visual problem and creatively thinking about how to solve that problem,” Genecov said.

“And then ultimately, everybody sees your result. So you have to work pretty hard because everybody’s out there judging your work.”

Now an internationally recognized expert surgeon, Genecov still cites the school as the source of his work ethic.

“I think St. Mark’s taught me to work hard and not to be so dependent on immediate results — knowing that a lot of hard work for a long period of time leads to that outcome, that delayed gratification, that delayed opportunity,” Genecov said. “Even though in a year I may not have not achieved the goals that I wanted to, if I continued to work hard, eventually I’d get there. And I did.”

After graduating, Genecov went through 16 years of education after high school.

“That’s a long time to work toward something, and if you don’t know that the ultimate benefit will definitely outweigh the difficulty going through it, then you’re likely not going to choose that long road.”

“I’m really fortunate,” Genecov said. “I get up every day and I’m very excited about the Genecov opportunity that I have to go to work and spend time with my patients and create changes that affect them and their families in a very positive way.”

After finding such enjoyment for craniofacial plastic surgery, money became secondary to his love for his patients.

“If all you do is make money in life and you go forth and you work hard and the end result is money, the value is only whatever that money is,” Genecov said. “Money doesn’t make you happy. There are a whole lot of people with a lot of money that are miserable. But I know that I can get out there and positively affect the lives of children and their families.”

#1

W

hen his college acceptance letters started coming in the mail, he finally knew what he wanted.

What he would spend the rest of his life doing.

Jonathan Park ’05 would be an architect.

“I was always interested in making things throughout my life,” Park said. “So I knew I had to enter a field of work related to that. I applied to several schools for engineering, a couple for architecture and I even applied to a couple for business.”

After receiving an acceptance letter from Carnegie Mellon’s School of Architecture though, Park realized it was his calling.

“Something clicked inside my mind and I said, ‘This is perfect,’” Park said. “That was when I decided to become an architect.”

Working at the architecture firm Glance and Associates as a project manager, Park is six months away from obtaining his architectural license. He created his own company to design and build sustainable homes, Research Assembly Workshop.

“The company really grew over the past couple of years because the work was very enjoyable, and I have a team of incredibly skilled and passionate people,” Park said.

Park says passion is the most important step to choosing a career.

“It takes a lot of effort to find what you are passionate about,” Park said. “You have to get out there and try lots of different things. In many cases, it is something unexpected that you would never think of doing until you try it one day and you find out that doing it really makes you happy.”

To find an enjoyable career, Park claims the most important thing is to do something —anything — without fear of failure or mistakes.

“It takes a lot of effort to find what you are passionate about. You have to get out there and try lots of different things. In many cases, it is something unexpected that you would never think of doing, until you try it one day and you find out that doing it really makes you happy.

TOP PROFESSIONS

5 24% 4 3 3% 2 HIGHE$T PAID JOB 1

MOST COMMON JOBS

RETAIL

SALESPERSON CASHIERS

choice for careers amongst teen boys

ENGINEER chosen by

OFFICE

CLERKS

MOST DANGEROUS JOB

GDP is projected to grow by

FISHERMAN avg. $25,590/year

SURGEON

annually.

according to USNews

Database 33,900 new jobs in 2012 Unemployment: 7.9% Median Salary: $73,490

ADMIN

Assistant MEDICAL

162,900 new jobs in 2012 Unemployment: 5.5% Median Salary: $28,860

Pharmacist 69,700 new jobs in 2012 Unemployment: 5.5% Median Salary: $111,570

Developer SOFTWARE

143,800 new jobs in 2012 Unemployment: 7.9% Median Salary: $64,690

Nurse REGISTERED

711,900 new jobs in 2012 Unemployment: 5.5% Median Salary: $64,690

ways to make a dollar stories by Rachit Mohan, special projects editor, Alexander Munoz, copy editor and Nabeel Muscatwalla, staff writer | Artwork by Zuyva Sevilla, staff artist

4B