Issue 04

ANNANDALE HIGH SCHOOL

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4 7 0 0 M e d f o r d D r. A n n a n d a l e , VA 2 2 0 0 3

LAS AB T informing the Atoms since 1954

703.642.4229

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WEDNESDAY, NOV. 13, 2002

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BECOMING THE BEST

IT’S—LIKE— SOOO RETRO

Learn how to stay on track and acheive excellence in all school activities.

Go back in time and find out about the ’80s.

20

KICKIN’ IT

WASTIN’ AWAY

See the latest Martial Arts moves and find out where to go to learn more

A firsthand account of student parties on the weekends

Playing with Pride & Predjudice

Cloudy with a chance of rain.

brought to you by NBC 4

NEWS BRIEFS Student struck by car Nearly two weeks after he was struck by a car while crossing Little River Turnpike on his way to school, freshman Terrance Rand is now in stable condition at Mt. Vernon Hospital.

Rand was hit by a white van while running across the street, rushing to school after he missed the bus on Oct. 23. Rand was not crossing the street at a crosswalk or an intersection. According to Rand’s guidance counselor, Kazue Watlington, Rand sustained injuries to the kneecaps and shoulder and was admitted to Inova Fairfax Hospital in critical condition.

In response to the accident, Watlington emphasized the need for safe pedestrian practices. “One can never be careful enough, because there are lots of bad drivers. When it comes to being a pedestrian, it’s not just about you, but your surroundings as well.”

BY LAURA KELLY

Staff Writer If you think dating during the 21st century is strange, or that your parents’ rules for dating are strict, wait until you see the courtship and “dating” customs during the 18th century. Dating today looks easy compared to courtships back then. You will understand what all this means on Nov. 14, 15, and 16 when AHS presents its fall production of Pride and Prejudice based on the classic novel by Jane Austen.

Some students, including some of the actors, thought that this type of play would be rather dull.

Junior Ian McLeland who plays Mr. Bingley said, “When I first heard about Pride and Prejudice, I wasn’t too excited because I didn’t think it would be very interesting, but now that we’re into it it’s been a really fun show to do.”

Pride and Prejudice tells the story of the Bennet family’s problems in finding husbands for their five daughters, Jane (Coury Shadyac), Elizabeth (Bayla Whitten), Mary (Maria Venetsanos), Catherine or Kitty (Kelly Harbison) and Lydia (Ashley Lippolis).

Primarily, the story revolves around the second eldest daughter, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy (Owen Beste) who meet at a party. They fall in love, but they are led astray from finding true love by Darcy’s pride and Elizabeth’s prejudiced heart.

The play is mainly a drama, but there are several humorous scenes centered around the flighty Mrs. Bennet (Meg Stoltz) whose lack of common sense has her constantly running about attempting to find husbands for her daughters. Much of the

MORGAN MCEVILLY

Today’s Weather

52º hi /44º low

VOLUME #48 ISSUE 4

Junior Coury Shadyac, seniors Meg Stoltz and Bayla Whitten rehearse for the upcoming play Pride & Prejudice. The play will be performed tomorrow evening through Saturday evening in the auditorium for $4 presale during lunches and $5 at the door.

JOHN REISS

“Play” continued on p. 6

Tree crushes student’s car Junior Julie Bowe’s car was smashed by a falling limb during R1 on Nov. 6. Bowes’s car was parked on school grounds at the end of Four Year Run. The limb fell by natural causes from a neigbor’s yard, shattering her windshield.

The school is covering the price of the damages.

Clausen wins award Principal Don Clausen has been selected by the National Association of Secondary School Principals as one of five national recipients of the “Bridge Builders Award.” AHS will become a model for other schools around the nation. Schools who are seeking ways to reach out to their increasingly diverse communities will learn from AHS. Clausen was cited for his commitment to a quality education for every student.

Clausen build bridges by supporting the many groups in the Annandale community including Back to school Night’s Information Station, Heritage Night, Parent Nights conducted in five different languages, the Annandale Coalition and the Academic Task Force.

Malvo merits death penalty

Undecided 5%

NO 18%

YES 77%

Do you think that the juvenile sniper, John Lee Malvo, if convicted, should get the death penalty?

—The survey was distributed to 200 students during A, B, and C lunches on Nov. 8.

24 students penalized, 10 suspended after party with alcohol

BY PHILIPPE PODHORECKI Co-Editor in-Chief “I didn’t really want to go over there, but when I found out they were drinking, I felt I had to go,” said Officer Paul Pickett about the party held during school on Nov. 1, senior skip day.

Twenty-four students, most of whom are seniors, were punished for skipping school and attending a party during school in which there was alcohol involved. “[There] may be some more out there that may surface in the next couple weeks,” said Assistant Principal Jon Frederickson.

Ten of these students were given five day suspensions from school for drinking alcohol while at the party.

These students are also suspended from all after school activities and sports. One was given a two-day suspension after forging a phone call to the attendance office pretending to be a parent and calling him/herself in sick.

According to Frederickson, 13

Grading program to be phased in gradually

BY REID EDWARDS Managing Editor

Regulation 2601.15P of the Student Responsibilites and Rights book was used for deciding the disciplinary action for those students caught skipping.

more students were given Saturday school because they were either en route to the party or not drinking alcohol.

Frederickson says that while there currently are only 24 students punished, he thinks there may be more. “You start with four, five, or six names and then things spread,” said Frederickson. He said that more seniors did skip but that he has dealt

with all cases given to him, and also that some may have already come and gone before the administration arrived.

Pickett and Frederickson were informed through teachers who had overheard student conversations.

They had heard rumors of the party and senior skip day the day before and then again early on the morning “Party” continued on p. 6

Va. colleges raise tuitions

BY ANDREW SATTEN Co-Editor in Chief Tuition at Virginia public colleges and universities will be hiked by an average of 11%, one of the most significant raises in years. The price increase comes as a result of the lagging economy and the startling $1 billion budget deficit facing the state.

Many of the tuition increases will go into effect during the second semester of this school year. James Madison approved a $170 spring semester increase, a figure on the cheaper side of the spectrum as compared to William and Mary’s increase of $400.

“This is the first time I know of that prices have gone up in the middle of the year,” said Robin Roth

Attendance monitored online by teachers

who heads the Career Center. Although school officials have vowed that these increases are temporary, 2001-02 2002-03 other analysts predict that University of Virginia $3,382 $3,665 additional charges could be $2,976 $3,576 instituted before the next George Mason University school year begins. $2,510 $2,718 “I don’t think that the College of William & price hike, at this point, will Mary deter kids from applying to Virginia Tech $3,084 $3,334 the schools they had in$1,200 $1,300 tended. We’re not talking Virginia Community thousands of dollars [a College year],” said Roth. junior Zander Roberts.

“College is already expensive Every school in the state has been enough. Even room and board is goaffected by the cuts. The cuts on ining up. I’m thinking about getting a dividual school’s budgets range from job this winter to offset the increase, because I want to have some money “ Tuition” continued on p. 6 to do social stuff in college too,” said

Tuition and Mandatory fe es

Last week teachers began taking class attendance through a new computer program called CLASSxp that sends information directly to the attendance office. Gone are the days of bubbling scantrons to indicate a student’s attendance.

However, the new computer based attendance system has been slow and difficult to access for most teachers, but most teachers have adapted to the system and come to realize that the system is beneficial for taking attendance. The program has been slow for teachers because every teacher in the building is on the same network and attempting to log onto the same program at the same time.

History teacher Jonathan York has said the benefits of the system outweigh the inconvenience of the slow program. “There are a lot of problems initially,” said York, “but you have to go through it. We’re JONATHAN YORK all going through the learning curve now.”

Another problem related to the heavy network traffic is that teachers often lose crucial class time attempting to fill out the attendance. Spanish teacher Felicidad Hunt-Branch has worked around this impediment by altering her class structure. In the beginning of the class, students will read from Spanish books for the first 10 or 15 minutes while the attendance is taken.

Like most teachers, Hunt agrees that the positive aspects of the new system outweigh the negatives. “The adjustments that I’m making are worth it, because you have to read anyway.” Hunt has also continued to keep attendance in the more traditional way, her attendance book, as a backup.

The new system eliminates a circuitous method of attendance collection in which the teachers filled out a scantron which was picked up by an awareness aide before finally being put into the computer “Attendance” continued on p. 6

the

2 EDITORIALS IB Program Upsets Seniors

ABLAST

WED. NOV. 13, 2002

EXPLANATION OF IB POLICY

—Erin Albright, IB Coordinator

Do you think the snipers should get the death penalty?

“I think the sniper should be given the death penalty because he has caused tragedy to all of us.”

BY ANTENEH ADDISU Staff Writer

AMANUEL BEYENE

In the last issue of The A-Blast, Hana Nguyen addressed the frustration some students in IB classes are feeling as they try to find the magical combination of courses rigorous enough to impress colleges, but not so rigorous as to ruin their GPA. As she pointed out, this year’s seniors are in the difficult position of being the first group of Annandale students to take IB classes, so they had no one to compare themselves to as they selected their senior year courses.

In addition, many of the teachers are new to IB, so there are growing pains as they teach new curriculum using unfamiliar approaches. As a result, when classes started in September, some students worried that the college-pleasing schedule they had so carefully worked out last spring would prove to be a barrier keeping them out of college instead of their ticket into college.

Some students fled to their counselors at the end of their first IB class convinced that course was too difficult for them. Just seeing the books or reading the syllabus was enough to make some students panic. Students with strong A’s in the first year of IB courses worried that the second year would be impossible.

Some students got discouraged at grades on summer work, even when they admitted it was done hastily and did not show their true ability. In each case where students asked to drop an IB class, the counselors, administrators and I worked with the students, teachers and parents to determine whether the student was, in fact, misplaced or whether they just needed time to adjust. In many cases, where students were discouraged by low grades early in the quarter, they decided to stay in the classes as they adjusted and saw their grades rising.

We worked very hard to be sure each student was considered individually. As we met with students we discussed their goals, past performance, the class requirements, and overall academic and extracurricular commitments. We tried to gather all the information necessary to make an informed decision. The decision was not the same for each student because each situation was considered individually. I consider this to be the fairest approach to helping students. Giving each student the same decision would not be any fairer than a doctor giving each patient the same diagnosis regardless of symptoms.

In most cases, students decided to stay in the classes and ended up with good grades. They decided to stay for a variety of reasons. Some realized that they could handle the load better than they had thought. Some classes ended up not being as difficult as they imagined. Students figured out how to manage their time better and they wanted to have the strongest possible transcript with the most challenging courses.

I hope that over the course of the year and as they begin college classes next year, another reason for staying in will emerge. In the end, we hope that students will realize that the best reason for staying in the most challenging courses in which they can be successful is that there they will receive the best education. As idealistic as it sounds, the IB classes are about providing a world-class education, they are not just pieces to be manipulated in the college admissions game. They are meant to give you the skills and knowledge you will need throughout your life to try to make sense of your world and then to figure out how to contribute to making this a better world for all of us.

Senior Bethany Augliere- Wheat is upset after finding that she will not recieve the .5.

When senior Bethany AugliereWheat, an IB diploma candidate, returned to school this fall, she was confident that her GPA would be rewarded for the host of higher level classes that she had taken throughout her junior year.

However, she was much dismayed to learn in the midst of the ever stressful college application process, she would not be given the additional .5 for IB Math Methods and IB Physics.

Students like Augliere-Wheat were never told last year when they enrolled that the two classes were not “college level” and did not offer the extra .5 to their GPAs. “IB Physics was really hard. It was a lot of higher level thinking,” said Augliere-Wheat, who believed the class merited the .5 benefit. This addition only occurs after the senior year of the courses.

Miscommunication between AHS IB coordinators and Fairfax County Public School officials resulted in students being misinformed about grading policies.

Even the teachers of those classes were did not know of such a decree. “I

“I think they should because he killed innocent people and a lot of people lost their loved ones.”

—Khatera Taheri junior

“Yeah, because he killed a lot of people, so he should get his own medicine.”

—Jarryd Brokins sophomore

“Yeah, because he killed innocent people.

Taking away someone’s life is not in the hand of a human being. God gives us life and he —Ayesha Abbasi should be the one to take it freshman back.”

the name "IB" is used is beneficial to students. Some other IB schools only utilize the term IB for the second year of a course. Although a .5 is not awarded during the junior year, Albright stresses that an advantage still remains nevertheless.

Last year this mistake affected five sections of IB Math Methods, and two sections of IB Physics, and this problem still has yet to be rectified. Shockingly, the current junior class has little or no knowledge of this punitive miscalculation. Although many know of the circumstances at this present time, both IB coordinators and the administration should publicly and promptly acknowledge and inform the junior class that they will not receive the .5 for IB Math Methods and IB Physics.

At the moment, seniors find themselves with both a lower GPA and a lower confidence level in our administration. It is understandable that IB is relatively new; nevertheless, there is little room for error. Keep your head up seniors, I B a little upset, too.

IMAJINNOLIMIT71@HOTMAIL.COM

Malvo’s role merits death penalty Worldwide, 105 nations have outlawed the death penalty. Three of the few nations that do condone the practice, Iran, Iraq and North Korea, were named by Bush as countries that pose a serious threat to the United States, the so called Axis of Evil. Both the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children decreed that it was illegal to execute anyone under the age of 18. Then why, are U.S. citizens around the nation, particularly in the Washington Metropolitan area, demanding that a seventeen year old boy, John Lee Malvo, be handed down the death penalty?

Is our nation’s anger toward Malvo warranted? After all, he is just a kid. As investigators attempt to piece together the evidence of the three week shooting spree that held a n entire region captive, the ultimate question persists: Does Malvo really deserve the death penalty for his role in the sniper shootings?

The answer: yes.

Malvo was the sole accomplice in what is arguably the most heinous shooting spree in our nation’s history. He aided in the execution of 10 random citizens going about their daily lives, and nearly killed three more, including a thirteen year old boy. He exercised no regard for human life.

Further, it is not as if Malvo is a first time offender. Practically everyday, the media reports on a new murder in another state in which he is implicated, whether it be Maryland, Virgina, Washington state, Alabama, Louisiana, and the latest, Geor-

gia . Malvo has been a cancer on our society, and he should swiftly be brought to justice and removed.

Regardless of how Malvo’s defense attempts to present that their client played a small part in the shootings, the simple fact remains, that it was his role that allowed them to take place. Muhammad could not have executed this plan on his own. Malvo played an integral role in the shootings, whether it be acting as the driver, plotting the next shooting location, personally communicating with the police, or Andrew Satten even being Co-Editor in Chief the one behind the rifle. For the Home Depot shooting in Falls Chuch, the first jurisdiction in which he is being tried, police officials suspect that Malvo was the one who initiated the kill.

Malvo had numerous opportunities to distance himself from Muhammad and the shootings which spanned three weeks. Instead, he made a conscious decision to willingly go along with the act.

Even after being captured and given the opportunity to confess, Malvo ardently denies that he even was even in the Blue Chevy Caprice when police seized the vehicle. Even after this entire ordeal, he still lacks the decency to accept responsibility or to even acknowledge what he did was wrong.

Despite the fact that Malvo is only a juvenile, and opponents of

Making the Grade Serial Snipers get Caught

—Jose Varela senior

was not aware that my students would not receive the .5. I think they are deserving of it,” said IB Physics teacher John Hrubec.

Students were also distraught at the lack of order in notifying them in regard to the grading policy change. Most heard by word of mouth, causing great confusion. In regard to scholastic functions, many expect a certain level of professionalism and promptness, and in this situation, those in charge lacked both.

A simple apology or at least an address to IB students would have prevented much of the discontent and confusion. Additionally, if the course selection manual stated that a .5 would be awarded, how is a student to differentiate between fact and fiction? Although IB institutes the stipulations, officials here at Annandale are responsible for effective communication.

When asked about this issue, IB coordinator Erin Albright said, "I apologize for not having come into classes and notifying students. I sincerely do not believe it will be a disadvantage in respect to the application process to college." Albright also emphasized that the mere fact that

A

After killing 10, and wounding 3, the police finally caught the two serial snipers. With the call of a keen civilian, the police were able to put John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo behind bars. Using great detective skills, and searching from Maryland to Tacoma, Washington, the police captured the illusive serial killers, enabling communities to feel safe once more.

Virginia Tax Legislature failed

B

The Vrginia road tax referendum failed to gain sufficient popular support on election day, Nov. 5. The law would have added .5 cents to the dollar on Virginia sales tax for the increase of Virginia’s transportation infrastructure.

While the long-term goal of increased roadway is important to support financially, there are better uses for such a tax increase, such as education.

Unfounded Assaults on Islam

F

Rev. Jerry Falwell’s recent comments on “60 Minutes” calling Mohammad a terrorist are the lastest in a series of unfounded attacks on the Muslim prophet. Not only are these attacks vitriolic and misleading, they also have fueled a great deal of anti-Islamic sentiment in the United States and anti-American sentiment abroad.

Administrators find Secret Videotape of girls undressing

F

A water polo coach at a Southern California high school has been fired after administrators found a secret videotape of girls undressing in their locker room. Brian Akians, an assistant water polo coach at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, was dismissed over allegations that he was involved in the taping.

the death penalty will claim that he was manipulated, came from an unstable home life, or that he cannot be held accountable for his actions, there is no excuse for killing 10 people.

I am 18 years old, and have many friends who are seventeen years old, some of whom do not have a good home life. They do not take this as an excuse to go out and shoot people. Regardless of the fact that teenagers mature at different rates, by the age of 17, one is aware of the magnitude of taking one person’s life, let alone 10.

There is no excuse for his actions, and he should be punished accordingly.

Our juvenile court system is set up for rehabilitation purposes, and therefore often cuts breaks to teens involved in crimes related to vandalism, theft, and drugs and alcohol. However, Malvo’s crime is of a different magnitude, that should not be addressed using the rehabilitation methods of a juvenile court. His actions merit him to be prosecuted as an adult, hence, the death penalty.

Though some will argue that a sentence of life in prison is a crippling enough punishment for Malvo, he will still remain in the spotlight and be an annual news story for the media.

For example, David Berkowitz, the infamous “Son of Sam,” gets the dignity of being a guest on Larry King Live, among other perks which he should not receive, considering his brutal slaying of six people. Executing Malvo will help to diminish the media hype around this story.

Otherwise, on the anniversary of the sniper shootings for years to come, reporters will stand outside of Malvo’s prison cell, continuing to report on his saga and placing this malicious perpetrator in the spotlight.

S

atten’s oundoff

SATTDOG3@AOL.COM

the Annandale High School 4700 Medford Dr. Annandale,Virginia 22003

ABLAST Vol. 48 No. 4 Nov. 13, 2002

Editors in Chief::

Philippe Podhorecki Andrew Satten Managing Editor: Reid Edwards News Editors: Caroline Friedman Abby Segall Editorial Editors: Edris Qarghah Junaid Shams Academics Editors: Rebecca Kraushaar In-Depth Editors: Hayley Fletcher Hana Ngyuen Features Editors: Martha Amaoko Maggie Owner Atomic Articles Edi- Sarah Bizer tor: Profiles Editors: Laura Hollowell Saman Hussain Cultures Editors: Wala’a El Barasse Rachel Sinaiko Sports Editors: John Bernhardt Jared Smith Sports “Extra”: Paul Gleason David Marin Atomic Athletics Evan Ashe Editor: Entertainment Edi- Alejandro Salinas tors: Katie Stanton Arts Editors:

Crystan Blanco Erin O’Brien

Adviser:

Alan Weintraut

Gallup Award Quill & Scroll 2001-2002

All American National Scholastic Press Association 2000-2001

(703) 642-4229 e-mail: ahsablast@aol.com fax: 642-4197

Weekend Editors:

Cameron Kynes Katherine Kishyama Buisness Manager: Ryan Teichler Ad Manager: Rachel Jones Copy Editor: Meg Nielsen Photography Edi- Chae-Wha Park tor: Photographers: Morgan McEvilly, Chris Rauer, Sean Sullivan, Andrew Menegat, Sarah Sherman Staff Writers: Anteneh Addisu, Kathy Ibarra, Wided Khadraoui, Laura Johnson, Chris Kallander, Laura Kelly, Sohaib Khan, Elizabeth Nowrouz, Fatimah Popal, John Reiss, Erik Rooney, Evan Rowland, Saadia Jamil, Kathy Saupp, Mary Sekandary, Amanda Shaeffer, Sarah Sherman, Kyle Smeallie, Sabrina Stacy, Lauren Sterlacci, Matt Wiest Videographers: Shabier Bahramy, Stephen Benson, Amaneul Beyene,Rachel Johnson, Josh Lewin, Mike Mahn, Javier Sanchez, Brent Sullivan, Oscar Ycaza Principal: Donald Clausen

Trophy Class Virginia High School 2001-2002

The A-Blast is an award winning newspaper that strives to inform, educate and entertain the student body and community. Published every three weeks. The A-Blast will not print any material that is obscene or libelous; or that which substantially disrupts the school day or invades an individual’s right to privacy. Unsigned editorials represent the staff opinions which solely represent the opinion of the newspaper staff. The A-Blast is an independent, open forum for discussion which is printed at the Springfield Plant of The Washington Post. Signed letters to the editor of 250 words or less may be submitted to room 225 or mailed to the school. The A-Blast reserves the right to refuse advertisements. All submissions become property of The A-Blast Copyright, 2002.

EDITORIALS 3 Late to bed, but early to rise the

ABLAST

WED. NOV. 13, 2002

Letters to the Editor

Fairfax County Public High Schools start too early resulting in inattentive students who face health and safety risks

To the Editors of The A-Blast:

The last thing I want to hear is the alarm clock blaring, screaming that it’s time to get up. It seemed like but a prolonged blink from midnight, but I manage to pry my eyes open to see the blurred red lines that make out 6:00 a.m., time to get up for school.

For those unfortunate underclassmen who must take the bus, it could be even earlier. This time jeopardizes the educational value of school as well as the overall health and safety of students county-wide.

Most adolescents need between 8.5 and 9.25 hours of sleep. With teens waking at 6:00 a.m. to prepare for the school day, this would force them to go to sleep at 9:30 p.m. to achieve only the minimum sleeping time. However, high-school students do not emit the sleep hormone “melatonin” until about 11 p.m, rendering sleep prior to this emission near useless and ineffective.

On the other hand, children of elementary school age release melatonin closer to 9 p.m., making an earlier bedtime a much more accepted practice, and making it much easier to wake up earlier. So, how much sense does it make for elementary schools to begin almost two hours after high schools?

For the developing high school student, sleeping on a regular “biological clock” can be very important. When students get six hours of sleep on a school night, then ten hours of rest on the weekends, it disrupts their sleep cycle and can lead to an increased risk of developing colds and other minor illnesses.

Learning at 7:20 a.m. can be near impossible. Logically, a student working on six hours of rest simply does not have the mental capacity to keep up with the workload in class.

With classes becoming more rigorous and demanding, especially for those in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, paying attention in class is increasingly important.

So what is the alternative? Take easier classes? Sleep in and don’t go to class? The starting time of school is forcing students to choose between sleep and being accepted to a good college.

Along with the educational side-effects of decreased sleep, there stands a great health risk for all students. According to the Highway Traffic Safety Administration, sleep deprivation can be a “silent killer” when behind the wheel.

CHAE-WHA PARK

BY KYLE SMEALLIE Staff Writer

The FCPS School Board has been entirely unempathetic to the sleeping needs of high school students.

Of the 100,000 accidents that occurred due to driver fatigue, people under 25 were involved in more than one-half of these “fall-asleep” accidents. Combined with the inexperience of teenage drivers, not getting a sufficient amount of sleep can have deadly consequences.

In 1997, the Minneapolis School District recognized the hazards of decreased sleep in teens and moved their high school start times from 7:15 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. to better accommodate the biological sleep patterns of the adolescents.

According to a report done by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI), this has appeared to have a positive effect.

In Minneapolis, each high school student is getting about five hours more sleep per week, allowing many students to

No religion on government property Under the cover of night, Alabama it or not) for the betterment of society Chief Justice Roy Moore slipped into in general. It is not sufficient for that state’s Supreme Court building.

Moore’s placement of the Ten ComThe next morning there was a little mandments to be publicly appreciated, surprise waiting for his fellow judges. it must also adhere to the established Occupying a prominent podoctrine designed to protect the rights sition in the courthouse of not just the majority, but the indirotunda was a masvidual as well. sive two ton granite Pastors monument, enand priests graved with the across the Ten Commandstate, and ments.

Mohammad Edris Qarghah the counEditorials Editor The monument try, have is certainly popular been dediin Alabama as it advocates Christian cating prayers to that most righteous morality in a predominantly Chrisact of Moore. They, and other devoutly tian state. The Mobile Register rereligious people, such as Moore himported that 77 percent of Alabamians self, believe that the support the monument, which reseparation of religion ceives bus loads of pilgrims almost from state has led to every day. However, this does not justhe decadence of sotify Moore’s covert placement of the ciety and morality in stone slab. The agreement of the mageneral. jority of a state does not mean that However, while such a blatantly religious icon should, religions do promote or even can, be placed on public propa moral code, often erty. considered to be uniAs our founding fathers most asversal, a lack of relitutely noted, even in a government “of gion does not necesthe people, by the people, and for the sarily result in a deviance from moralpeople” the opinion of the masses canity. The government has established not be entirely depended upon. When laws which promote this code without it comes right down to it, our, and all the intrusion or exclusion of any parother, governments were established ticular group or religion (as per the to control the public (whether they like First Amendment). “Thou shalt not

Q

Commentary

kill” is enforced by the government if Christianity is not.

While most aspects of the Ten Commandments are accounted for in our legal system, the ones regarding moral behavior, we have excluded certain elements, such as “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,” the very first commandment. One of the premier traditions of American government, initiated by Roger Williams upon the founding of Providence, is the separation of church and state. He stated that “forced religion stinks in the nostrils of God.” Without the reference to God, that mentality is the core of our government’s current philosophy regarding religion, as epitomized in the First Amendment to the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.”

Contrary to that philosophy, a monument now stands in Montgomery, Alabama, which not only supports one religion, but alienates others. It must be removed and we must assert that no religious document shall hold political dominance.

E_QARGHAH@HOTMAIL.COM

Skipping for better grades Staggering into my R1 class one frigid October morning, I noticed that the seat usually occupied by one of my close friends lay empty. “Where’s Liz?” I beseeched my fellow classmates. “She’s still at home, working on her English assignment,” was their offhanded reply.

I must say, this reply brought about much dismay on my part. That very day, I had dragged myself through sheer willpower alone, out of my enticingly warm bed and into my inadequately heated car. Then, fighting all urges to turn around and return to the dark, heated recesses of my Kathy Saupp room to catch up on my beauty sleep, I made the torturously long trek from the church to the heavy red doors of the school.

I did all of this not because I wanted to, but because I believe it to be my job. I would expect the same action from my fellow students, but that isn't always the case. However, I do not blame the students for opting to miss class in order to complete their heaps of homework. The fact that homework is taking precedence over the all important time spent in the classroom is at the design of the teachers and the rigorous curriculum, and is truly becoming an alarming and tragic problem in school today.

In the past, I myself have chosen to go home early or

come in late because I needed to complete one assignment or another. While many may argue that this is because of poor planning, or procrastination on the part of the student. However, that is not the case. For many of the students in higherlevel classes and even those in standard, the real work begins after school. It seems to me, many teachers load on the assignments that require inordinate amounts of time and effort with little regard to the other curricular demands placed on their pupils.

What makes this increasing occurrence even more of a problem is the fact that the overabundance of homework leads a student to believe that time in class is secondary to efforts at home. While independent research and application are an important part of the learning process, in-class instruction is the foundation. The time that is spent absorbing and gleaning knowledge from an expert on the subject should be considered the most valuable part of the learning experience. In our homework and out of class assignments, we as students have the chance to exercise what we have learned in school. Yet, if we are not there to learn it, what are we truly getting out of our education?

Actually gaining the knowledge that is necessary to apply in out of class assignments is what will ultimately make us more intelligent people, not our ability to do assigned problems in a textbook. We as students should reevaluate and take steps to truly understand what our job is as a member of an institution. That job should be to learn. Yet, if we are never here, how is that possible?

K athy’s Q uandaries

PHILE09@AOL.COM

have better cognitive skills early in the morning. CAREI’s study also showed an increase in attendance in high schools of this district.

According to the 2002 Sleep in America poll done by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), 80 percent of the respondents agree that high schools should start no earlier than 8:00 a.m. It’s time for Fairfax County Public Schools to realize that its makes no sense for teens to be waking up too early to learn and making them too sleepy to drive.

My solution: switch the high school and elementary school starting times. It’s so simple, it just might work. The longterm effects of a small change in the opening time can mean much more than another hour of rest.

THEWEEMUN@AOL.COM

Suspensions too severe

BY RYAN TEICHLER Business Manager As the student body is probably aware, a party during school hours was inconvenienced when two members of the Annandale faculty arrived in the hopes of getting kids in trouble, and boy did they succeed. While students who were not drinking received Saturday school, the students who were drinking all received fiveday suspensions, some after consuming mere drops of alcohol. A five-day suspension for honor roll students applying for college is rather harsh.

I am not exonerating the actions of these students.

As they were skipping school and indulging in activities that they shouldn’t have, they should receive punishment on a case to case basis. It’s tough enough to get into college in this competitive time. Now many otherwise model students may have to say that they have had a major disciplinary action taken against them. The administraThe administration will tion should show a little try to justify their actions mercy to stuby saying, ‘rules are dents who have been rules’” nothing but beneficial to this school for the past three years.

The administration will try to justify their actions by saying, “rules are rules.” This is a typical display of persiflage from authority figures. It’s the automatic response to the tough question, “Why do you knowingly enforce unjust laws?” Let’s take a step back and look at the possible long-term effects of this situation. By the administration suspending these kids, they may very well have destroyed their chances at the college of their choice. I certainly hope this is not the case because, unlike some people in our school, I would like to see my fellow classmates succeed. I understand that these students made poor decisions and that their actions are nobody’s fault but their own. But a first time offender should not receive the same punishment as a person who causes constant headaches for the administration.

Repeat criminals receive more harsh penalties then first-time transgressors. Likewise, the kids at the party who have repeatedly broken rules should face a fiveday suspension, but not those who have done things right for the past three years. The kids who have caused no trouble in the past should have received Saturday school where they could help clean up. Or, some of the better students at the party should be forced to tutor the students at the party whose grades aren't what they should be. We should try to make some good out of a bad situation.

Punishment is meant to be a deterrent, but is it justifiable to risk the futures of good kids to discourage future acts of this nature? My discontent is based on some logic, but as Baz Luhrmann once said, “the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.” Any underclassman reading this, remember to have fun in high school. It’s a short four years make the most of it. Try not to get in trouble, but don’t try too hard. Think about your actions because there are consequences. And for all you Latin speakers out there, “illegitimi non carborundum.”

“

RTEICH17@HOTMAIL.COM

I am a father of a child who attends Annandale High School. It was with dismay, that I read the comments of Eleanor Shumaker, in the October 16, 2002, edition of The A-Blast. In her letter to the editor, she denounced two students who had defended the decision of Peer Mediation to distribute light blue ribbons instead of red, white, and blue ribbons.

Ms. Shumaker argues that the events of 9/11 were a “distinctly American” tragedy. According to the Department of Justice, citizens of 86 different countries lost their lives at the World Trade Center. The number of dead non-U.S. citizens approached that of the number U.S. citizens killed on that catastrophic day. If September 11, 2002, was to be a day of remembrance for all victims, many people feel that the wearing of a symbol that was not identifiable with any particular country was certainly appropriate.

What is bothersome about Ms. Shumaker’s comments is not her support for another ribbon, but her expressions of parochialism and insensitivity to the diversity that exists at Annandale. Even more distressing is the lack of professional demeanor and temperament she displayed by proclaiming in the student newspaper that the students who did not share her opinion were “wrong.”

To buttress her argument that a patriotic theme was more appropriate, Ms. Shumaker contends that an American is “someone who is a person and who is here.” The absurdity of that definition is apparent when one considers whether Senator John McCain ever considered himself a North Vietnamese. Would Ms. Shumaker think of herself as Chinese if she lived in China for three years? I think not, and I suspect that there are numerous students and parents of students attending Annandale who will forever consider themselves to be Hondurans, Kenyans, Pakistanis, etc., even though they have been physically in the United States for years.

Ms. Shumaker stated that Nikki Ogunnaike was “wrong” when she stated in her letter to the editor that the [neutral colored] ribbons were to inspire a new mentality.” Nikki saw the ribbons as a symbol of the unity and oneness we share as human beings and not as one small fragment of the humanity that inhabits this planet.

The issue was one of preference and not of right and wrong. Whatever point Ms. Shumaker was trying to make paled in comparison to the chilling effect her comments likely had on the free dissemination of ideas among the students at Annandale. As an educator, it is important that Ms. Shumaker realize that professional decorum demands that she should encourage critical thought and debate among peers and not seek to stifle it. It is through the sharing of ideas that we all grow. In short, she should seek to encourage in her students the expression of Constitutional freedoms that she so obviously holds dear.

Good people and good teachers make mistakes. I hope that Ms. Shumaker comes to realize that her letter was ill advised and that she will learn from the experience.

—Timothy J. McKinney, Jr. To the Editors of The A-Blast: I was absolutely outraged at the last pep rally! Several bunches of balloons were carelessly released, without a thought of the damage they might cause to unsuspecting wildlife. I understand that many people may not understand the hazards of balloons for the environment, so I would like to take this opportunity to educate them.

Balloons don’t just float up in the sky and disappear, they have to come down somewhere. Animals often mistake them for prey and ingest the unnatural material, which can cause blockages of the digestive and respiratory tracts.

Many animals die soon after the ingestion of balloons, though it is by no means a quick death, they suffer for quite sometime. Animals can also become entangles in the strings attached to balloons.

Even releasing a single balloon may have a devastating effect on another living creature. Please, take notice of this letter and think before releasing balloons. It may be an interesting visual to add to a pep rally, but this by no means justifies the grave consequences that can result.

— Gina Sobel, Senior

CORRECTIONS ISSUE 3

—In the Oct. 16 issue of The ABlast, Victor Delcid’s name was misspelled underneath his photo in the story titled “Former student dies in fire” on page 1.

4 NEWS Auto Shop offering many services to AHS staff The AHS Auto Shop is offering its Fall Special to all staff members. This includes; Oil change, filter and chassis lubrication, tire balance, tire rotation, full multi-point safety inspection, drain and refill coolant, and tire pressure adjustments. The cost to staff and family members is $35.00 with a $10 service fee. For more information call Joe DeSio at ext. 4213

Shopping online pays dividends to AHS AHS is encouraging people to shop online this holiday season through schoolpop.com or schoolcash.com. These websites allow for the customer to go to certain online websites and order items which AHS whill get a rebate with no extra cost to the customer. Due to this service, AHS has recieved pver $800 in the past two years from just 50 registered users.

Flowers for sale Band students are now seling poinsettias from Behnke’s Nurseries. The sale began on Nov. 8 and will end on Nov. 20.

The flowers will be delivered to the Band room on Dec. 7 for pickup. For more information call Terry Green at (703) 2568771.

Exchange program for AHS students to Germany The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program is offering 300 American high school students full scholarships to spend a year in Germany while living with a host family and attending a German school. The students must be at least 15 years old by summer 2003 and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. It is not required for the student to know how to speak German.

Interested students should contact Mr. Wheeler in room 228 on white days. Application deadline is Dec. 1.

Students observe Ramadan

BY SAADIA JAMIL Staff Writer Muslim students take a step back from their daily routines as they focus more on community, charity, fasting and prayer during the religious month of Ramadan. Muslims depend upon the sighting of moon for religious observances; Ramadan is the ninth month of the lunar calendar. Muslims fast from dawn until sunset abstaining from any kind of eatables and physical relationships during this month. Historically, Ramadan is the month when Allah revealed first verses of the holy Quran (The Muslim holy book) to Prophet Muhammad.

“Services made during Ramadan by our school is really great because it makes all the Muslim students welcomed,” said Junior Madiha Iqbal. There are 14% Muslims in the school so along with the prayers held on Fridays, every year Annandale High School organizes special arrangements for all the Muslims who observe fasting. During Ramadan room #126 is reserved for all the Muslim students during lunch. Students fasting are also excusedby most of their physical education teachers from doing exercise that may make them exhausted or dehydrated.

“In a way it (Ramadan) is good for your health because it demands that you keep yourself hygienically clean and this makes me feel afresh and confident about myself,” said senior Hassan Jamil. Fasting is proven to be very beneficial for health as it provides a break in the cycle of rigid habits or overindulgence. The month of Ramadan it is regarded principally as a method of spiritual self-purification.

“Fasting tests your ability to endure hardship and suffering. Ramadan strengthens my faith in Islam and my Iman (belief) on Allah,” said sophomore Seerat Ashfaq.

The primary purposes of fasting are self control over the body and its appetites and focusing the mind on God or prayer and making a sacrifice for offenses committed.

“Fasting is not just staying hungry but it is a unique moral and spiritual characteristic of Islam that helps me control myself from cursing, fighting and every sin.

Ramadan is the best way to gain control over myself,” said freshmen Saad Cheema. Muslims believe that fasting allows them to build a sense of self-control and will power to deal with temptations and peer pressure. It makes them feel compassionate for those who are less fortunate or underprivileged and offers them time to “purify” their bodies as well as their souls, by developing sense of humility, spirituality, and community.

Ramadan is a way for Muslims to learn thankfulness and appreciation for all of God’s bounties.

“I think that all the Muslims and non-Muslims in Annandale High School should realize this saying of Prophet Muhammad, ‘when any of you is fasting, he should not utter foul words or raise his voice in anger. If then anyone provokes or fights him he should say I am observing a fast,” said junior Rohina Hussein. Fasting in Ramadan is the fourth of the five basic pillars of Islam that is obligatory for all Muslims after the age of puberty. Muslims begin their fast with a light meal right before dawn called Sahur and break their fast after sunset with different traditional dishes called Iftar. Recommended during this month is also a nightly prayer called At-Tarawih or Al-Qiyam, most Muslims do this prayer in a group in the Mosque.

“The big event that I am looking forward to is Eid. After a whole month of fasting Muslims celebrate and thanks Allah for his blessings and celebrate the ending of Ramadan,” said junior Atiqa Raja. After Ramadan,

MORGAN MCEVILLY

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Freshman Hinda Abai resists the temptation of the cafeteria by taking lunch time to read elsewhere. Many Muslim students make use of the classroom set aside during the month of Ramadan.

Muslims celebrate Eidul Fitr. The significance of Eid is that it is the day of thanksgiving to Allah that He gave the opportunity to Muslims to benefit from and enjoy the blessing of the month of Ramadan.

Company Play gets a round of applause

BY ELIZABETH NOWROUZ Staff Writer Ready on stage? Lights, camera, action! This year’s first official Company Day was started with a kick as the white day cast put on a great performance.

Drama Teacher Vicki Farish said, “they are the most talented group I’ve seen in sometime. It’s a large, boisterous, annoying, delightful group.

The IB Drama class presents a short play once a quarter for students during the school day. Starting off this year was the comedy, Tartuff, directed by junior Coury Shadyac.

A Commedia Dell’ Arte style play, Tartuff was about a two faced man. The main character, Tartuff, played by senior Jordan Bonds was the hypocrite of the town, just waiting to be exposed. Pretending to be a humble, loving servant of God, Tartuff is really a sleazy womanizer, taking advantage of everyone. The only one who sees him for the low- life he really is, is Madame Oregon, and no one

MEG NIELSEN

NEWS BRIEFS

the

Seniors Bayla Whitten and Frank Foley perform in the red day performance of the drama departments Company play.

will listen to her.

Tartuff sets his sights on Madame Oregon, played

by Bayla Whitten, just as Oregon, her husband, is plan-

ning to give his daughter’s hand to him. Oregon is blind to Tartuff’s two- faced nature, even to the point of turning against his own son, so Madame Oregon’s only option is to fool Tartuff into making advances on her while her husband is hiding. Oregon, who is played by Noah Crowley figures out his mistake and does his best to set things right with his family and friends. Meanwhile, Tartuff has a few tricks up his sleeve and makes the remainder of the play fun filled and action packed.

Senior Jordan Graves was very excited about the performance he and his classmates put on. “I thought the play was extremely extravagant with its amazing appeal.” Sophomore Jamie Foreman, whose English class attended the play was also impressed. “The play was really good, and the sword fighting scene was excellent,” Foreman said.

The red day cast performed the same play on Friday, directed by senior Cecilia Mallory.

To sum up the play, Farish puts it best. “They really have outdone themselves this quarter.” Bravo!

Caroline’s Cliff Notes

BY CAROLINE FRIEDMAN News Editor

One more chance for seniors to pay class dues If you forgot to pay your class dues of $45, order your cap and gown or place your order for graduation announcements, you can on Nov. 14 during lunches.

Students who don’t pay their dues cannot participate in the graduation ceremony at Constitution Hall.

With all the ferment and excitement of the sniper attacks, little attention was paid to the upcoming election, held Nov. 5. In the week before the election however, the race between the Democrats and Republicans became more prevalent in the media. With such a narrow lead of one seat in the Senate, the Democrats and voters realized that even a slight tip of the scales could result in a shift in majority.

Along with the election of governors, state representatives and senators in various states, Fairfax County focused on bonds for public safety and parks.

Also voted on at the statewide level was whether or not the sales tax should be raised by one-half percent to go to towards regional transportation projects.

The park bond would allow Fairfax County to borrow money in order to provide financing for construction and development of parks and the public safety bond would allow the county to borrow money to provide additional public safety facilities. Both bonds were passed, however the tax increase failed.

As for the seats in the Senate, the majority went to the Republican party. The one seat lead by the Democrats was lost and in turn the Republicans have a four seat lead. This means that the Republicans will control all aspects of the government.

The Republican party has an agenda for how they would like to reform the government. Among those ideas are prescription drug benefits, expansion of community health centers and spending bills to fund biodefense programs, aid rescue workers and increase port and airline security. They also was to pass terrorism insurance legislation, enact a law to make last years $1.35 trillion tax cut permanent, extend welfare reform and ban “partial-birth abortions” and human cloning.

With the shift of power the country will be facing new changes and reformed legislature. Only time will tell how the power switch will affect our country.

10

% off

drycleaning

These are the five students who were featured in the documentary “Teens in Between” From left to right they are; Tureya, Jorge, Mariam, Nhat and Yasmine. All five of them are recent immigrants to the United States and they all attended AHS. “Teens in Between” shows some of the many hard times these students faced in order to adapt to American life.

Video shows five students “in between” two worlds

BY JOSH LEWIN Videographer “Teens in Between” is a film about five students who attended AHS and are recent immigrants to the United States. The film is shot in documentary style and showcases some of the many difficulties faced by immigrants trying to adapt to life in America.

“The film does an excellent job of illustrating some of the challenges our students from other cultures must face while assimilating into an American public school,” said Wheeler, a the former guidance counselor of Mariam, one of the students in the film.

Filmed during the 2000-2001 school year, the documentary is ninety minutes long, and focuses

on the lives of five students from four different countries. These countries are Egypt, Honduras, Somalia, and Vietnam. Although eight students were followed throughout their daily lives, the filmmaker, Debbie Mintz Brodsky, decided that in order to cut the film to a maximum length of only ninety minutes, footage of only five of the students would be used.

Brodsky decided upon Annandale because twenty percent of the students are recent immigrants. In order to obtain the rights to film the movie, Brodsky had to consult with the guidance counselors of all of the students, as well as their teachers and parents.

All of the footage occurs during the school year, but much of it was shot at the students homes, in order to showcase the differences between their cultures and lifestyles.

The students featured are Mariam, from Somalia; Tureya, from Somalia;

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Nhat, from Vietnam; Yasmine, from Egypt; and Jorge Luis, from Honduras. Each of these students struggles with and encounters various obstacles and challenges throughout the year, ranging from Jorge Luis having to drive to work illegally on a learner’s permit, to Mariam being evicted from her house and going to live with an Annandale teacher for four months.

Each of these students stories is incredible in its own right. “It was nice, it was more than I expected.

They filmed me for two years, so the couldn’t get everything, but it turned out really well,” said Mariam, one of the girls in the film.

“Teens in Between” is shown on MHz, which is channel 28 on cable, and channel 53 on regular TV. For more information on the film, visit www.MHzNETWORKS.org/ teensinbetween.

7446 Little River Turnpike

Senior, Veteran, Police and Fire Discount

NEWS 5

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Colleges come to the career center and community

BY LAURA JOHNSON Staff Writer Recently many college representatives have visited Fairfax County Schools to talk with seniors interested in their college.

The most visited and publicized meetings were at Fair Oaks Mall on Oct. 20 and Hayfield Secondary School on Oct. 21.

In order to prepare for these nights, students were asked to think about the type of college they wanted, whether it be a large or small campus, or what fields they were interested in. Once the nights came around, students asked questions about admissions, student life, environments, programs and financial aid.

Many college representatives visit during Flex periods to have low key discussions with interested applicants. College Representatives held informal discussions about whatever personal questions the

MORGAN MCEVILLY

Various visiting schools come to AHS career center to provide students with information

Senior Leija Lombardi reads over college materials in the Career Center during Flex.

Now is the time when upperclassmen need to focus on what college they are interested in.

students had.

Senior Zarrin Chua visited campuses and had a chance to talk to a representative in the same environ-

ments as would happen in the Career Center. “In general we usually talk about organizations, freshman life, their requirements and personal

NEWS BRIEFS SCHOOL NEWS Women’s Ensemble going to Norfolk The Women’s Ensemble is one of only seven Virginia choirs invited to perform at the VMEA conference in Norfolk. They will be performing at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott Hotel on Nov. 23 at 11 a.m.

interests,” said Chua.

If a prestigious college such as Stanford or UVA were to visit Annandale, they would normally hold the meeting in the Lecture Hall instead of the Career Center.

Overall, a helpful way to learn about colleges is to attend the meetings during most flex periods, or go to the fairs or college nights and ask the representatives questions. Also, every Thursday night from 6-8 p.m. the Career Center is open for students and their parents to research schools, find out more information about choosing the right college and to gain advice on the application process.

“College fairs are a wonderful way to gather information about colleges at one time, and a lot of the time representatives you are meeting are the ones who are reading your applications,” said career center specialist Robin Roth.

Annandale singer perform at the Kennedy Center On Dec 15. 22 and 23 the Annandale Singers will be performing at the Kennedy Center as the featured high school choir with the Grammyaward winning Washington Chorus.

AHS restoring greenhouse The restoration of AHS’s Keller Memorial Green House began on Oct. 5 when students from the Student Achievement Model spent the afternoon dumping trash, emptying gardening pots and organizing the green house.

The green house was in pitiful condition until Shawn Hearn, assistant principal; Brian Dunnell, social studies teacher; and Sarah Farnsworth, guidance counselor, and many students decided to donate their time to making the green house a suitable place to visit.

Orchestra performs fall concert

BY MEG NIELSEN Copy Editor On Oct. 30, the symphonic and advanced orchestras from AHS combined with the orchestra program of Fairfax High School to put on a joint Halloween concert in the Fairfax High School auditorium. With the orchestra concert being the day before Halloween, many orchestra members were excited about dressing up in costumes for their fall concert. The costumes varied from ghosts and goblins to grannies. While costume dress wasn’t mandatory, the majority of the performers chose to dress up anyway.

This was the AHS orchestra instructor Francesca Fitzgerald’s first concert with our orchestra. “I can’t really compare this concert because we were combined with another orchestra, and we only had a few rehearsals with them.” Some main pieces featured were Carmen by Bizet and Smooth by Santana. During the performance of American Heartland, a melody of American songs, the students spread out throughout the auditorium.

To accommodate the Halloween theme of the concert, the finale was a piece entitled Rosin Eating Zombies from Outer Space. Mahalet Gurma was featured with a solo vocal scream during the presentation of this piece. “The

White House ornaments on sale The class of 2004 will be selling 2002 Christmas ornaments which commemorate the 1902 restoration of the White House.

The ornament is acrylic and brass. Orders will be taken until Nov. 29. For more information contact Greg Reed in room 268.

costumes were definitely the highlight of the night,” said Fitzgerald. Alvaro Luna won the best costume award for his granny costume.

“We really improved a lot over rehearsal week. We had a lot of fun and we played well,” said advanced orchestra member sophomore Stephanie McKinney. The orchestras have high hopes for the next main performance, which is planned for Dec. 17. “We are really looking forward to the winter concert on Dec. 17, which will feature choral students. We will perform at the choral concert on Dec. 19 in their finale as well,” said Fitzgerald.

“This performance went well. The kids were dressed nicely and sounded good.”

Donate a car to the AHS PTSA By donating a vehicle to AHS PTSA, the students in the Auto Shop will be able to use the vehicle for training. Donation receipts will be given. Call Mr. “D” for further information at (703) 642-4213 between 7:30 and 2 Mon-Fri. Free towing can also be arranged if needed.

German students complete visit to AHS Hallo! Guten Tag! These are some of the expressions students learned during the German Cultural Exchange program from October 21st to November 4th.

The German students stayed with host families and chorus members who volunteered to host them for two weeks. There were 41 choir members and 6 adults who experienced the day and life of a typical American family.

The German choir ranges from 9th through 12th grade boys and girls, who participated in the exchange program.

“The people are very friendly and they have nice stores here,” said German student Lilly Stamatescu. The Germans endured the experience of coming to the United States and were able to perform for the AHS community on Oct. 27.

Each day the German students schedule was fulfilling and adventurous with many activities planned. On Oct. 22 the German choir came to school for the day with the host students. This experience let the German students see what and American school day is like. “It was fun, and a little bit different from German days at school,”

said German student Elisa Adler.

The choir also visited Washington D.C. to visit various memorials and museums. Visiting D.C. for the first was very thrilling. They got to see the history behind Washington and what our country has become.

On Oct. 25 they traveled to Lancaster, PA. While they were there they visited Amish families and saw their towns. They had the opportunity to shop for blankets, pottery, and food in Amish run stores. The Germans got a taste of different American life-styles, from downtown D.C., to the country life in Pennsylvania.

On the weekends the host families were able to spend some time with their guests and take them on there own adventures. Some families took them to see a movie and to the mall, others took their guests to amusement parks and to play laser tag. Some exchange students speak better English than others, and it was fun for them to learn new English words and for them to experience and adapt to American culture.

Both choirs worked very hard for their performance together. With their special guest, the Dietrch-BonhoefferGymnasium Choir from Eppelheim, Germany, the AHS choir performed Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein and additional music by Schutz, Hassler, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Stanford. The German and Ameri-

Model U.N. goes to UVA

CHRIS RAUER

BY SABRINA STACY Staff Writer

The Dietrch-Bonhoeffer-Gymnasium Choir from Eppelheim, Germany performed with the AHS choir on Oct. 27. The choir stayed with members of the AHS community and traveled to Washington, D.C. and Lancaster, PA during their stay.

can students had the opportunity to get to know each others countries better. “I’m very excited about the musical cultural exchange, we have a very good choir, and I’m excited about making new friends from Germany,” said choir teacher Carleen Dixon. Music is the universal language and these two groups collaborated in a beautiful display of cultural exchange and appreciation.

The Model U.N. took a trip to UVA to participate in an International Relations Conference from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4.

AHS acted as delegates from U.K, India, Portugal, and Singapore. Students were given different topics such as world health, and security council. The students assumed the identity of the country and wrote a paper on the issue.

The topics discussed in this conference were Israel and Palestine, the Kashmir Issue, Alternate Fuel sources, Urbanization, Child Juvenile Justice and Terrorism.

Awards were given throughout the conference to delegations which excelled in performance.

“My award was in honorable mention. I am glad that I got an award because I was in a tough committee and put several hours in research both at home and at the UVA library,” said sophomore Carter Koppleman. Many students won awards for their work as delegates at UVA. “I won a verbal commendation for my committee which was United Nations development program. I represented the U.K and had lots of fun arguing with the Germany,” said junior Susan Lanier. Juniors Matt Wiest and Ted Gibson were some other students who also did a great job at the conference.

The next Model U.N. conference takes place Dec 13 - 14.

Following this will be a trip at the end of January to University of Pennsylvania.

6 NEWS Tuition goes up for VA colleges

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Party punishes students

NEWS BRIEFS SCHOOL NEWS

continued from p. 1

New Teacher joins AHS staff Government teacher Andy Suddarth joined the AHS staff for his first day on Monday, Nov.11. Suddarth attended Annandale and went to college at Mary Washington and George Mason. Before coming back to AHS he had teaching experience as a substitute. Other than teaching, Suddarth hoped to coach lacrosse. Suddarth wanted to teach because, “I wanted a job where I could interact with people. And one where I could see the results, and make a difference.” He decided to come back to Annandale because, “it’s a familiar place. I already know my ways around. It gives me a chance to experience high school from the other side of the desk.”

change the form in which it is allocated. “Because financial aid will have to cover more, there will be less free money,” said Roth, who believes that there will be less money available in scholarships and grants, but more to be received in loans.

Despite the fact that private schools are not under the Virginia State School System, students attending these institutions will be just as affected as those attending public schools. The Tuition Assistant Grant (TAG) which provides money to Virginia students attending private schools is threatened. It already has been reduced from $3,000 to $2,800 a year, and in months to come it is endanger of being depleted even further or eliminated altogether.

AHS and the Career Center play a very active role in educating students and parents about the costs of college and how to go about applying for financial aid. The College Partnership Program for years has aided AHS students in getting into and paying for college. Financial aid workshops have been held at AHS this fall, and another one is scheduled for Jan. 8 that will address how to fill out the FAFSA form that is used to apply for federal aid money.

Roth believes that one of the best ways to offset the college tuition increases is to apply for scholarships. “Kids need to be looking for scholarships, as soon as they finish their applications. They need to visit me. I know what scholarships come in, and I can toss them their way,” said Roth.

7.5% to 14.7%. Therefore, school officials from each school have chosen to deal with the budget cuts allocated to their school in a different fashion. George Mason opted to raise its tuition by a startling 25%, an increase that could have serious ramifications for AHS students. Last year, AHS sent 46 students on to George Mason, second only to Northern Virginia Community College. Tuition for community colleges will be raised $350 for the entire year.

Aside from the tuition raises, colleges and university are being affected in other ways. Many schools have opted to decrease their workforce, as the predominant expense of most institutions is their payroll. Radford plans on eliminating 50 faculty members due to these cuts. This action will result in larger class sizes and deplete the highly publicized teacher to studio ratio that is often taken into consideration by students in selecting a school.

“The programs that have very few people and have high costs to run will be totally wiped out,” said Roth. Already, Christopher Newport University has slashed its Nursing and Education program and Recreation, Sports and Wellness Management program completely for next fall, despite the fact that these are very hot fields in which there is a demand for employees. Many athletes seeking scholarships are also looking very closely at how budget cuts may affect a school’s athletic program.

The budget cuts will not deplete financial aid, but

New online policy

Fall Play starts Thursday continued from p. 1

Suddarth pictured with classmates in 1997 at AHS

Homecoming wraps up The excitement that surrounds Homecoming week had to be postponed due to the events of the sniper. This caused mixed feelings among many.

“The date change made everything really awkward,” said sophomore Max Maples. “It threw off the balance. Having to go to a football game during the week made it hard.”

All the spirit days and the homecoming dance were moved to the week of Oct. 28 and the football game was the following Wednesday. Powder Puff was cancelled, but the parade and pep rally still went on Friday.

“What I liked best about pep rally was it gave you a chance to socialize,” said freshman Kaity Burdette.

The pep rally went on to introduce the fall athletes, the dance team, the marching band, and the most anxiously awaited announcement of the homecoming king and queen. Loren Sexton and Cecilia Mallory were granted the titles of Homecoming king and queen.

Friday was also the day of the parade, where class floats were finally revealed. This year’s theme being board games, the floats were representations of games such as Life and Monopoly. In the end, it was the junior class that claimed the prize for best float with their theme of Clue.

There were also mixed feelings about the homecoming dance.

“This year wasn’t as good as last year’s homecoming because last year was my first experience.” said sophomore Tiffany Merchant. “You didn’t know what to expect.”

AHS had their homecoming game against TC Williams in which the atoms did exceedingly well, wrapping up the game with a score of 42:6.

“Everyone had a lot of school spirit,” said sophomore Lilian Tetteh. “It was a chance to get our minds off of school because we all need a little break sometime.”

humor is also centered around the whining of one of the younger daughters, Kitty, and the flirtations of the youngest daughter, Lydia.

Even though there is not much time to get ready for the play, the preparations have been going well.

“We don’t have as much time as we would like,” said Lippolis, “but we have wonderful people acting and doing tech, so it should be a great performance.” Director Vicki Farish said, “Everything seems to be going well. We’re just pushing to get things done.”

It is always impressive to see how much effort the tech workers put into to making the show the best it can be even if they are not the

of the incident. Once they found out where the party was Pickett and new administrative intern Curran went to the location of the party.

Pickett went around the right side of the house and Curran on the left side, several students vacated the premises, while others stayed. Those that stayed were told to return to school and were interviewed by Frederickson and were given breathalizer tests. Most cases were not considered legally drunk and just showed light drinking.

He talked with many parents in person as well as every parent on the phone. Also, any parent of a child who was caught was given a personal letter that explained the punishment and the reason.

There were no charges pressed against the students by the police. Pickett, AHS police officer, decided not to cause the students anymore trouble. Frederickson was behind the decision, “The disciplinary action will go on the students record as being off school grounds. [It’s] not going to affect [them] that much,” said Pickett.

Frederickson believes that in some cases, students convinced their parents to call in and excuse them from school.

Some students that were not punished agree with this action. “The police action taken that day was an overreaction. They treated it like a different situation than it should have been,” said senior Michael Nakamura.

“I think the they only gave that punishment because if it got out that [the administration] didn’t do anything, [the administration] could have gotten in trouble.” said senior Michael Flint.

However, not everyone thinks that the punishment was too harsh. “I think because of their actions of skipping school and drinking, being suspended was the right punishment.” said senior Virak Kchao.

Pickett has seen the effects of such actions in other schools, “I don’t want to see any of my students [get hurt].

Seniors should be careful because they could make a mistake that could last a lifetime,” said Pickett.

continued from p. 1

cneter of attention. They construct and paint all the sets, make the costumes, arrange the props, and set the lights.

Being a stage manager also consists of a lot of extra work. Stage manager Amanda Green said, “I have been doing set designs, publicity.” This can be very stressful for just one person. Many people think that acting is stressful and competitive, but working backstage consists of the same amount of pressure. “I pick a very selective crew that is willing to work hard,” said Green.

Overall, the play should be excellent and it will be interesting to see students perform an adaptation of this classic English novel. The performances will be on November 14, 15, and 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium.

database by the administrative assistants in the attendance office.

“Its taking a lot of pressure off us,” said administrator Kenny Williams. “We can truly do our jobs now. We can be where we are supposed to be, doing what we are supposed to do.”

Now staff is aware of a students attendance status at any point during the day.

IntergradePro and Abacus are included with the ClassxP software. These programs will replace the scan-tron grade reports that teachers currently use, allow teachers to create tests and quizzes and will measure the abilities of students in certain areas of the subject.

Technology assistant Rebecca Bartelt believes that the software is a beneficial use of technology in schools.

PHILIPPE PODHORECKI

Suddarth

continued from p. 1

Parent signs book based on AHS’s diversity Former AHS PTSA President Eileen Kugler held a book signing on Nov. 7 at 2:30 and 7:30 in the lecture hall. The book, Debunking the Middle-Class Myth: Why Diverse Schools are Good was Kugler’s first publication. 100 percent of the proceeds go to IB/AP testing funds at AHS.

Check a Date 10 17 24

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FLEX: W8/R1 Veterens day Report cards mailed 5:00pm-Tech Rehearsal, Fall Play

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Clubs and Organization Pictures 1:30pm- Ice Cream Social

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White Day FLEX: R3/R5

-Kathy Ibarra Staff Writer

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Winter Sports Pictures 2:30pmChildren’s Play Auditions

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5:00pm- Tech Rehearsal, Fall Play

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FLEX: R7/W8 SGA Blood Drive 7:00pm- PTSA Meeting

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4:30pm- V Wrestling v. Lee (A) 7:00pm- Red and White night

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FLEX: R3/W2 Hearing and Vision Screening 2:00pm- Dress Rehearsal, Fall Play ABLAST ISSUE 4 DISTRIBUTED

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Club and Organization Pictures 6:00pm- Fall Sports Banquet

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White Day NO FLEX

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Hearing and Vision Screening

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FLEX: R5/W6 ASVAB Testing (Cafeteria)

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7:30 pm- Fall Play

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White Day FLEX: R1/W2

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Thanksgiving No School

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Red Day

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FLEX: W6/R7 2:30pm- Children’s 2:30pm- Children’s Play Auditions Play Auditions 6-8pm-V girls/ boys 7:00pm- V GymnasBasketball v. Woodson tics v. LB/Mt (A) Vernon (A) ABLAST ISSUE 5 DISTRIBUTED

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White Day FLEX: W8/R1

SAT’s at AHS 6-8pm-girls/ boys Basketball v, 7:30pm V track v Hayfield, Lee, Centerville (H) Langley 6:30pm-V swim/ 8:30pm- swim/dive dive v Lake v West Springfield Braddock (A) (A)

ACADEMICS 7

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u p m u p P A A P P G G tthhaatt Dear Adam A. Plus: I have trouble concentrating on my homework, what do you suggest I do?

Find a secluded spot where you will not be interrupted. Put up an away message and tell your sibling to answer the phone. Make sure that you have everything you need ( reference materials, pencils, rulers, etc.) with you before you start to work.

It may help to have some soothing music in the background, or try some floral scented candles and potpourri. They’re actually supposed to help with the learning process. If that doesn’t do the trick, then at least you’re binders will smell sweet.

Now you need a plan of attack. It’s a good idea to jot down your homework goals and the amount of time that it will take you to get them done. This method will at least ensure that you stay on task and provide the motivation to continue.

It’s important to make goals realistic and specific. For example this goal: “I will read my physics textbook” is not as helpful as: “I will read pages 55-68 tonight and write down notes and unfamiliar vocabulary.”

Don’t forget to reward yourself for the good work that you do. Tell yourself that for every five questions that you answer you will get five extra minutes to watch TV. Stay positive and your homework grades will change from a minus to a plus.

Dear Adam A. Plus: I’m doing all my work, but I’m still getting a bad grade in the class. What’s the problem?

First of all make sure you understand the teacher’s grading system. Every teacher weighs things differently. Know how many points your homework, projects, quizzes and tests receive.

Some teachers also mark class participation in their final grade. Open your mouth every once in a while and say something intelligent. Also, investigate extra credit points. Know their system so your final grade isn’t a guessing game.

You are your own manager and have to take charge of your grade. Teachers have hundreds of students and have very little vested interest in your grade. However, they like to see that you really care about how you’re doing in their class.

Always ask questions. You have every right to understand what you need to do to succeed. Ask about when you can stay after school, extra credit opportunities, and how to boost your grade.

Don’t be obsessive, though.

Teachers get annoyed when students freak out about their grades, but don’t make the effort to improve them. They’d like to know that you’re also interested in what you’re learning.

Dear Adam A. Plus: I’m having difficulty in my class, but I’m too afraid to ask for help because my teacher hates me, what do you think I should do?

Don’t flatter yourself. Your teacher has hundreds of other students and chances are he doesn’t see you any differently than the other 999. Sure, you might not be the teacher’s pet, but most likely the teacher doesn’t despise you.

Teachers actually appreciate students who ask questions when they don’t understand something. It shows that you are taking an interest in their class and that you’ve got guts. There are no dumb questions, only dumb people who are afraid to ask them. Chances are your peers have the same questions, but are just as afraid to look dumb.

ADVICE ON HOW TO SUCCEED AT AHS?

“Work hard and study, and do your homework the night you get it.”

—Eric Simmons freshman

REBECCA KRAUSHAAR

Not happy with first quarter’s report card?

Ask Adam A. Plus how to improve your study skills and raise your grades

WHAT’S YOUR

However, if you really do get under your teacher’s skin, evaluate what you can do to change. Do you dose in their class? Talk to your friends during the lesson plan? Pinpoint the bad behavior and make an effort to change it. I’m sure your teacher will notice and warm up to you.

If your situation with the teacher is too strained, get a tutor or ask one of your friends who’s doing well in the class to give you a little help. It’s better to be proactive about your grades than to sit back and suffer.

Dear Adam A. Plus: I try to pay attention during class, but I just zone out. Afterwards, I realize that I don’t remember anything the teacher has said. How do I stay focused?

Adam A. Plus

where you sit, make sure that it is free of distractions and noisy friends.

Once you realize why you’re drifting off, you can change your behavior. You might also what to try new study tips to ensure that you get everything you need to out of your classes.

Note taking is the oldest trick in the book, but it does work with effective results. Taking the teacher’s lecture or notes down, makes the information your own. This is an important step in integrating new knowledge into your memory bank.

After the class, review in your mind what the teacher went over. If possible get out a new sheet of paper and jot down what you remember. Every new time that you study, start out by doing this.

You’ll cement in your head what you know and remind yourself what you need to work on.

the grade myself”, said junior Brian Bagot.

Freshman Brian Fletcher doesn’t cheat because of the values he was As the bell rings, your stomach brought up to believe in. Fletcher does a flip. This is it, the first big stated, “I have never cheated because test of the year, the test which may I’m a good Irish Christian.” very well dictate the rest of the year.

The policy on cheating at AHS is As you begin, your heart races when very strict. In the AHS you come to a question which you agenda, there is a terse have no idea how to answer. and effective portion What do you do? It can’t hurt concerning “unauthoto take a glance over rized collaborating someone’s shoulder, right? or falsifying either WRONG. Cheating alone or with anis becoming a bigger other student.” and bigger problem in In addition, there school. Not because is a short meseveryone thinks it’s sage at the bothonorable, but betom instructing cause, in the heat of students to the moment, everyspeak to their one wants to pass. teachers There Most students will are severe conadmit to having sequences for cheated a time or Michael Nakamura [photo illustration] cheating, such two, and some as failing the aren’t ashamed. test or class, or having a parent conSophomore Caroline Cherney feels ference. this way. “If you don’t study, there’s However, not all students think no other way to pass unless you the policy is harsh enough. Sophocheat, so...it’s whatever.” more Maggie Purdon said, “The poliThis is not the feeling expressed cies here are too lenient, because only by everyone, however. Many simply a few people get caught, like my don’t cheat because it just feels brother.” wrong. “I don’t cheat because I’d always feel guilty because I didn’t earn PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CHAEWHA PARK

“Do your homework and don’t procrastinate. When you do that everything goes easier.”

—Tamara Friedler sophomore

GPA: 3.4 Honors classes: algebra II, English, government, chemistry Extracurricular Activities: drama, chorus

Dear Adam A. Plus: Ask yourself why you aren’t paying attention. When is the class? If it’s in the morning make sure to eat breakfast so you’ll be wide awake. If it’s in the afternoon have some protein in your lunch to keep you going.

Is this class over your head? You might be bored because nothing is sinking in. Try asking questions instead of letting yourself give up easily. Stay after with the teacher and work on areas of difficulty. You’ll be more motivated to succeed in a class if you see yourself taking the right steps.

Conversely, the class could be too easy for you. You might be telling yourself that you already know everything and figure that you don’t need to listen to the teacher. However, this attitude is self defeating. Being apathetic about the class tells the teacher that you don’t really care. They’ll think that you won’t care about your grade either.

Don’t overlook where you sit in your class either. It’s best if you sit near the front where all the action is. The class will feel more intimate and you’ll be less likely to drift off. However, no matter

I’m so busy! How do I balance school, sports and a social life?

You have probably heard a thousand times that time management is the key to success. So let me repeat it once more: Time management is the key to success.

Knowing that, how do you achieve a balance in daily life? The first step is to prioritize.

Right now, school is the most important aspect of your life. However, that doesn’t mean that you need to stop talking to your friends and skip tennis practice, but you should make schoolwork your number one priority.

Say no to your friends when you need to and fit in time to do your work.

This could be on the bus in the afternoon or between school and practice.

Make monthly goals for yourself and on a daily basis evaluate whether you are meeting what you set out to.

Don’t take on more than you can handle and make sure that you’re doing what you want to do. If you’re stressed out and not happy, then why bother?

aids create conSay no to cheating Study troversy for students

BY ELIZABETH NAWROUZ Staff Writer

GPA: 3.3 Honors classes: none Extracurricular Activities: frosh. football, key club

BY LAURA JOHNSON Staff Writer Calling all procrastinators, for last minute projects you are probably turning to resources such as Spark or Cliffs Notes.

Many students, especially those taking higher level IB classes often find it is their last resort. Is this considered plagiarism? The Annandale policy does not specify this as a violation, but some students view it as a violation of the honor code.

For those students who have never used Spark or Cliff notes, they provide information about famous literature such as plot summaries, theme, characterization, and study questions. Spark notes can be found on the internet (www.sparknotes.com) and Cliffs Notes is a series of published books that can be bought in most book stores.

Many English students, including sophomore Alisa Kieffer, use the notes for literature projects. She said, “I think it helps give you ideas for what to use for projects as long as you don’t copy every single idea

verbatim.” Sophomore Diana Hollingsworth also said, “Being a student who procrastinates, it ‘s very helpful to finish last minute projects.

All English students and their parents sign a plagiarism form at the beginning of the year, and some students, including freshmen Julia Singer, think the idea of using the notes to finish a paper qualifies under this policy. There’s a big difference between using Spark notes and cheating. It’s the difference between learning from a teacher’s example and using the example for your own work.

It’s plagiarism.

Is using the notes considered cheating in the eyes of the school and English department? According to English teacher, Vince Randazzo, “Everybody uses them.

They are okay to get general information, but students should not use them as the sole source.”

To stop this trend, many teachers have started using the website turnitin.com. This website checks the work of a student for plagiarism automatically.

The majority of students do not think that they should be penalized for getting ideas from these resources, but they cross a fine line when they plagiarize information and turn it in. Spark and Cliffs notes are the ideal resource for procrastinators, or those who are just stuck.

A+ “Don’t overload yourself.

Challenging classes are good, but be careful about which ones and how many.”

—Keris KrennHrubec junior

GPA: 3.8 Honors Classes: IB theatre, IB HL Math, IB English, IB environmental systems, IB French Extracurricular Activities: drama, French Honor Society

“Organize your time so you can get all your work done and don’t be afraid to ask teachers for help.”

—Mary Burke senior

GPA: 4.0 Honors classes: AP gov., IB English, IB math methods, IB Spanish Extracurricular Activities: marching band, NHS, MHS, V soccer

8 FEATURES YOU KNOW YOU’RE A CHILD OF THE 80S IF...

—You have walked with a noticeable tilt to one side due to the number of plastic bracelets on your arm

80

—You have ridden in the back of a station wagon and you faced the cars behind you —You think “Celebration” by Kool & Gang is the ultimate party song —You have multi-colored earrings that touch your shoulders —You have the tendency to turn up the collar of your polo shirts —Everything in your wardrobe is either pastel or fluorescent —You wear a bandana tied around your leg and/or a ponytail off-center on the side of your head —You are hoping for a New Kids on the Block reunion tour —You know who shot J.R. —http://www.geocities.com/ absolute80s/page1.html

TOP TEN 80S ALBUMS 10. Tracy Chapman — Tracy Chapman (1986) 9. Shoot out the Lights — Richard & Linda Thompson (1982) 8. Murmur — REM (1983) 7. Thriller — Michael Jackson (1982) 6. Born in the USA — Bruce Springsteen (1984) 5. Graceland — Paul Simon (1986) 4. Remain in the Light —Talking Heads (1980) 3. The Joshua Tree — U2 (1987) 2. Purple Rain — Prince and the Revolution (1984) 1. London Calling — The Clash (1980) —Rolling Stone

TOP TEN 80S MOVIES (based on sales)

10. Top Gun (1980) 9. Back to the Future (1988) 8. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) 7. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 6. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 5. Return of the Jedi (1983) 4. Rain Man (1988) 3. Batman (1989) 2. Indiana Jones and the Last Cruscade (1989) 1. E.T.: The Extra-Teresstrial (1982)

BY SABRINA STACEY

Staff Writer The 80s. Big hair, big earrings, heavy make-up, skin tight jeans ripped at the knee, leg warmers. The decade distinguished by the rise of music legends Michael Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston and the plummet of music catastrophes Milli Vanilli, Tiffany, and Right Said Fred (the onehit wonder who graced the world with his song “I’m too Sexy”).

Some AHS students would rather forget the excessiveness of this decade. “I think that the ’80s were the decade of bad taste. Everything seemed to be over the top, and people put no thought into their appearance. Everyone and everything looked so tacky,” said senior Hana Sarsour.

“The outfits were ugly and so were the leg warmers,” said freshman Nicole Mott.

However, others disagree. “I think that the ’80s were about creativity. People got the chance to try new styles without the dread of being laughed at,” said senior Bonita Sakason. “Everything was just so carefree. The music was fun and so were the movies.” “’80s music is really fruity and makes you want to move your head like the guys in Night at the Roxbury,” said sophomore Andrew Molchany.

Whether it is d i s missed for i t s tastelessness or applauded for its c r e ativity, the ’80s were a decade in which the music scene was revolutionized and teen culture dominated movies and television.

MUSIC The music industry was reborn with the premiere of MTV on August 1, 1981. It immediately captured the imagination of teens. In this era of self-indulgence, image was everything. Artists defined and redefined popular images in their music videos which were replicated by teenagers.

The muSenior Bonita Sakason sic scene was characterized by catchy dance tunes that appealed to the teen subculture. Young artists such as Cyndi Lauper, Tiffany, and New Kids on the Block ruled the charts. However, while some ’80s artists soon faded into oblivion, others created successful music careers.

Personifying the self-indulgence and materialism of the teen culture, Madonna enjoyed great success. In 1984, her second album, Like a Virgin, went quadruple platinum. She catapulted into superstardom while wearing a wedding dress and singing “Like a Virgin” at the MTV Music Awards. By 1985, every teenage girl was wearing fluorescent bracelets, white lace tights, and tube skirts.

Undoubtably the biggest pop star, Michael Jackson dominated the music charts with his eye-catching dance moves PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MARTHA AMOAKO

—You need a shopping cart to carry your personal stereo with you

ABLAST

WEDS. NOV. 13, 2002

a blast to s the past

the

—You remember when Michael Jackson was actually considered something of a sex symbol Jackson —Your first Walkman weighed 10 pounds and was the size of a brick

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and his astonishing musical versatility. His 1982 album, Thriller, became the most profitable album of all time, and he became the first black artist to enjoy stardom on MTV. Other music artists enjoyed success in this decade.

Prince’s eclectic album Purple Rain earned him the praise of music critics and fans, and Tina Turner resurrected her career with her album Private Dancer and her hit single “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” Bruce Springsteen instilled a sense of nationalism with his album Born in the USA..

MOVIES Teen-oriented movies were prevalent in the ’80s.

A group of young actors and actresses known as Brat Pack dominated the movie scene. These actors represented the ambitions and dilemmas of teens in movies such as St. Elmo’s Fire, Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club. They enthralled the public with their flamboyant lives. However, Demi Moore is the only one from the group to achieve great fame.

The ’80s was the decade of Steven Spielberg movies. His movie E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial became a cultural phenomenon, a must-see movie for every grade school kid that became a global hit. His other movies Raiders of the Lost Ark and Back to the Future were also huge blockbuster hits.

TELEVISION SHOWS “Who shot J.R.” on Dallas ,the hottest primetime show, was the question on everyone’s mind in 1980.

This soap opera portrayed the lives of dysfunctional rich family. Another soap opera, Dynasty, also dominated primetime television.

As the first television show to feature African Americans as an affluent middle class family, The Cosby Show kept millions of families glued to their televisions for nine seasons. It became the epitome of American families.

Another ground breaking family sitcom, Different Strokes, depicted the lives of a mixed-race family.

The plot centered on the adoption of two black brothers by rich, white man. Facts of Life represented the carefree atmosphere of the era.

Many children in the 80s watched Saturday morning cartoons like a sacred ceremony. Cartoon such as Smurfs, Thundercats, The Transformers, and Rainbow Brite captivated the minds of children.

1. What was the first music video played on MTV? a. “Like a Virgin” b. “Relax” c. “Video Killed the Radio Star” d. “Roxanne” 2. The discovery of the virsus that causes AIDS was announced in Washington D.C. in what year? a. 1980 b. 1981 c. 1983 d. 1984 3. In 1984, Michael Jackson’s hair caught on fire while filming a commercial for what company? a. Pepsi b. Coke c. Shine and Glow d. Vidal Sasoon 4. In Punky Brewster what was Punky’s real name? a. Susan b. Patty c. Francis d. Penelope 5.What comedy was noted for its groundbreaking portrayal of an affluent African American family?

—www. eightiesclub.net

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1987, age 17

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6. What was Madonna’s first single? a. “Holiday” b. “Like a Virgin” c. “Everybody” d. “Papa Don’t Preach” 7. What was the name of RUN DMC’s debut album that became the first rap album to cross over to the mainstream? a. Raising Hell b. RUN DMC c. Straight Out of Compton d. Krush Grove 8. In The Breakfast Club, what was Molly Ringwald’s special talent? a. She could play the piano with her toes. b. She could shave her armpits with one fin ger. c. She could bend over backwards while eat ing a bowl of cereal. d. She could apply lipstick using her bra strap.

9. What singer played Willis’ girlfriend on Different Strokes? a. Toni Braxton b. Janet Jackson c. Madonna d. Vanessa Williams

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Check out the teachers who were were at AHS in the 80s.

80s Trivia

—http:topten-results.tripod.com/ 80sMovies.ghtml

TOP TEN 80S TELEVISION SHOWS

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Name: Address: Phone: Sport(s):

9 PROFILES Spanning the height spectrum: tall vs. short WED. NOV. 13, 2002

the

ABLAST

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

— Amy Suddharth sophomore

15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18

Conteh, Hawah 9 Galindo, Gustavo 9 Mohamood, Zuhur 11 Park, Soomi 10 Rahman, Mohammad 9 Rodriguez, Jose 9 Tsegaye, Kidist 11 Ventura, Mayra 10 Wilbur, Joseph 9 Gonzalez, Davon 10 Hall, Matthew 10 Lam Ngoc, Anh 10 Miranda, Carlos 12 Sloan, Lloyd 12 Suddarth, Amy 10 Byrd, Casey 11 Garcia, Elvis 10 Kalyani, Sushil 9 Montelongo-Cruz, Israel 9 Saeed, Mohammad 11 Tabbah, Lena 12 Yasar, Amna 12 Bagnulo, Katherine 11 Flowers, Christopher 11 Grandon, Kevin 12 Hawkins, Andrew 10 Hernandez-Santos, Dora 9 Hinkle, Robert 9 Jama, Samsam 11 Mohamud, Mohamud 10 Orr, James 9 “My friends already threw a surprise party for me, so I guess I’ll just hang o out out with my friends.”

— Sabina Fedrowitz freshman

18 18 18 18 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 21 21 21 21 21 21 22 22 22 22 22 22 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 24 24 25 25 25 25 25 26

Peyton, Michael 12 Ruiz, Virginia 9 Wise, Rebecca 12 Wyatt, Darren 11 Hayat, Salman 11 Jacobs, Amy 10 Nieves, Rachel 9 Perez, Hilda 11 Shuniak, Erin 11 Campos, Jose Luis 12 Hernandez, Cristian 9 Le, Hung 12 Nguyen, Philong 11 Rodden, Scott 11 Aquino, Eddi 12 Asmeron, Moushaline 11 Flores-Juarez, Johana 10 Khatib, Ramzy 12 Samson, Michael 10 Virmani, Divya 12 De Leon Escobar, Lusbin 9 Hassan, Mahad 9 Parker, Michael 10 Reilly, Bryan 10 Stroud, Jr William 11 Tadesse, Tigest 9 Beyen, Benyam 10 Frouk, Sharef 12 Garcia Ayala, Scarleth 9 Han Seung, Yeon 10 Hassan, Ashalul 9 Hermogenes, Carcel 9 Payne, Katherine 11 Safioleas, Amalitsa 11 Khanna, Madhu 12 Tefera, Hiwot 9 Ayala Chacon, Claudia 11 Bhatty, Sean 12 Jama, Hibo 11 Jama, Hodan 11 Perla, Sindy 9 Bangura, Khalimatu 10 “I’m going to the movies with my friends and having dinner with my family.”

— Doug Pelenberg freshman

26 26 26 26 26 26 26 27 27 27 27 27 27 28 28 28 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29

Jan, Ali 9 Jones, Ashley 11 Kim, Bridgette 9 Mohammad-Amin, Mobila 11 Singer, Julia 9 Velilla, Kelly 10 Whitney, Eboni 11 Hanna, Jessica 9 Hoang, Anh 11 Kim, Kyung 12 Ober, Eric 11 Papee, Vannesa 12 Peebles, Emily 10 Hesham, Sorosh 9 Moeller, Breton 9 Sahlemariam, Egela 12 Andrade, Alexander 11 Castro Vargas, Juan 9 Hall, Christopher 9 Huynh, Bao 10 Popal, Fatimah 12 Romero, Alex 12 Salinas, Alejandro 12 Scott, Angel 11

AHS is one of the most racially diversified high schools in the country, but it is also diversified in the height of students. Of the 2,400 attending students, junior Stephanie Lugar and junior Billy Purdon are allegedly the tallest and shortest students.

“I’m a proud 4’ 10 1/2,” said Lugar, and she is pretty sure that she’s done growing. Lugar has been given all sorts of nicknames like: “Little one,” “Half pint,” “Light weight,” “Smurf,” and “Mini-me.”

Being one of the smallest students in school isn’t always a disadvantage though. Lugar can still get into a lot of things for free, and the majority of her clothes are from Abercrombie Kids. Once when she was eating out, her friend Lauren Sherman told the waiter that Lugar was only 12 and she got a free piece of pizza.

Lugar’s happy to say as of last year she has grown enough that now she can go on every amusement park ride with her friends, except the “Shockwave.” When Lugar goes out with her friends to get fast food, she can now look over the counter when she orders, “but Subway presents a problem,” added Lugar.

Inevitably though, being short does come with its problems. She has been stepped on a few times, and sometimes she gets scared that she is going to be eaten by other people.

“I don’t like not being able to fit into ‘big girls’ clothing, and I’m always last in line to get my picture taken!”

Lugar’s friend, junior Lindsay Miller said, “Sometimes she is mistaken for a garden gnome, but I still love her.”

“I was always short, but At 4’10,” junior Stephanie once i got to high school, evLugar takes advantage of her short height by getting discounted or even free amenities. (Actual height not shown)

eryone shot up and I just stayed the same,” added Lugar.

Junior Billy Purdon on the other hand is one of the tallest students at AHS. At a towering 6’ 5,” he’s been called an assortment of nicknames from “the Jolly Green Giant,” to “Big Country,” to “Tall White Boy.” He says he’s probably going to grow about one to two more inches taller. He likes how he can see over everybody in the halls.

When Purdon was 13 years old, he went down to Virginia Tech with his cousin and people mistook him for a freshman in college.

Junior Johnathan Chris said, “Real short people run into him a lot. I have to jump to give him a high-five; it’s not fair to play water basketball when he’s on the opposite team.

If he stands sideways with his tongue out he looks like a zipper.”

Purdon has hit his head on doorways before, and says it’s hard to drive some cars because his legs are so long that he ends up in the back seat to drive.

He bought a Homecoming suit, and the jacket sleeves were two inches too long, so he had to get it specially tailored. When he’s in class, it’s difficult for him to sit in some desks because his legs are so big, he has to sit away from the desk.

But being so tall is an advantage for Purdon when he plays basketball, he can get rebounds over people and block shots easily.

“I think it’s very ironic how I am just the average height in a school full of short people,” said Purdon.

• I have been at AHS since 1981 as a P.E. instructor • I graduated from the University of Richmond • I am related to the person who collects the AHS football team kicking tee.

• I am an avid model railroad enthusiast • I coach Mat Rats Wrestling • I am a former Weight Training teacher • I love doing yard work and cutting grass • I love to go to PSU games • I dislike lazy people, getting dressed up, and hot weather • My biggest pet peeve is a disrespectful person • I’ve played on championship teams, I’ve coached championship teams, I know what it takes to be successful.

• My motto in life is “What goes around comes around.”

—Facts compiled by Evan Rowland We know the suspense is killing you but you’ll have to wait until the next issue (December 3) for the riveting answer. If you think you know the answer to this issue’s Who Am I? drop by room 225 and bring a slip of paper with your answer, name and grade. If you are the first correct entry, you will receive a special prize.

Guitar teacher Russell Kee was last issue’s Who Am I? Kee has been teaching at AHS for 10 years.

At 6’5” junior Billy Purdon is often challenged by his tall height while pursuing common activities.

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10 IN-DEPTH Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (NREM) About 80% of adult sleep is NREM and is divided into four stages:

Stage One Stage one of sleep is considered a transitional sleep stage and occupies approximately 2-5% of a normal nights’ sleep. This period is a drowsy transition from waking to sleeping.

Stage Two Stage two is intermediate sleep and occupies approximately 45-55% of a normal nights’ sleep. During this time, arousal is more difficult than in stage one.

ABLAST

WED. NOV. 13, 2002

WED. NOV. 13, 2002

DIFFERENT TYPES OF DREAMS

e l i h Wu were yo

Daydream

DANIELLE RUMBER, SENIOR

Amy Suddarth, sophomore

CARTER WILSON, JUNIOR

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY HAYLEY FLETCHER

THE SLEEP CYCLE

IN-DEPTH 11

the

KELLY BURNS, FRESHMAN

Stage Three

Stage four is when the body experiences the deepest sleep. At this stage, there the body feels little contact with external sensations.

Stage three and stage four combined occupies 13-23% of a normal nights’ sleep.

Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (REM) REM sleep is often known as the dreaming stage of sleep, although dreams actually occur during all sleep stages. Unlike NREM sleep, REM sleep involves a high level of mental and physical activity including: • Increased brain activity • Increased and variable blood pressure • Increased and variable heart rate • Increased blood flow to the brain • Increased and variable respiration WWW.CAREALLIANCE.COM

SLEEP ARCHITECTURE Sleep usually begins with a cycle that consists of 80 minutes of NREM sleep followed by 10 minutes of REM sleep.

This 90-minute cycle is repeated three to six times each night. The different sleep stages serve different functions and it is clear that humans need each type. Getting the right amount of sleep is important. Do not underestimate the importance of a “full” nights sleep.

SYMPTOMS OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION • • • • • • •

Excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue Irritability Depression Problems with attention span, concentration, and memory More frequent illness Lost productivity Workplace accidents or auto accidents

GOOD SLEEPING TECHNIQUES •

•

• •

• • •

•

The room or area you are sleeping in should be dark, especially if you are sleeping during the daytime. Put light-blocking shades or drapes over windows or wear an eye mask to eliminate all light. The absence of light during sleep perpetuates an uninterrupted night of sleep.

Too much noise of any kind can ruin your sleep. Wear earplugs to reduce noise, unplug the telephone, or use a fan to generate “white noise,” which can help mask outside noises.

Use your bed or bedroom for sleeping only, and not for other activities such as watching television or eating.

Keep the same bedtime and rise at the same time everyday including your days off. People, especially students, who try to catch up on sleep during the weekend throw off their body clocks.

Exercise in the late afternoon to help unwind but do not do so too close to bedtime.

Do not eat large meals before bedtime, however, a light snack may help promote sleep.

Following popular belief, a glass of warm milk may really help induce sleep.

Avoid alcohol before bed. Alcohol may help induce sleep but tends to result in disrupted sleep later on in the night.

Maggie Purdon, sophomore

BY AMANDA SHEAFFER Staff Writer Despite the fact that many people suspect that they are idle during sleep, those with the sleep walking disorder Somnambulism find that they are quite active at night. There are a host of other sleeping disorders in which people accomplish other feats during their nighttime rest.

There are many people who get most of their eating done while they are asleep. People who suffer from a nighttime eating disorder actually get up in the middle of the night to eat. Many devour anything they can find.

Gregory Mader, membership director of American Sleep Disorders Association, found some of the strange creations that people make to eat while sleeping. They turn out to be as odd as bread brewed in coffee and cigarettes in peanut butter.

“Tackling furniture while thinking they’re a football player is very common among sleepwalkers,” said Mader. “Although some people think sleepwalking is humorous, it can also be very hazardous. Some people walk outside into a blizzard and don’t wake up.”

Of the 5,713 people in the American Sleep Disorders Association, 1.4% had began sleepwalking since their childhood. Many students

also do strange things during their sleep. “One night my mom woke me up and found me sitting in the hallway pulling all of the stuff out of the hallway closet,” said junior Kate Bagnulo. Many students feel that while they are sleeping, nothing happens and if something does happen, then they won’t remember.

Meagan Olgetree has also experienced some peculiar sleeping incidents. “I was practicing my dance moves while I was sleeping, and I kicked the wall. I woke up the next morning and there was a dent in the wall,” said Olgetree. There are many cases in which people injure themselves while sleeping and don’t even feel the pain at the time.

“The weirdest thing I have ever done while sleeping was I turned around completely. My pillow was where my feet were and my feet was where my pillow was. My sheets were covering my body, but not my feet,” said junior Julie Stone. “I don’t know what makes me squirm so much in my sleep. Maybe I had a scary dream and I didn’t’t realize it.”

Almost everyone has some story to tell regarding something humorous or peculiar that they completed in their sleep. Many of these habits can prove to be very annoying, and certain chronic cases can prove to be very serious.

Recurring Dreams

Approximately, how many hours of sleep do you get a night?

8 7

CHAE-WHA PARK

About how many times do you remember your dreams?

About how many times do you suffer from frightening nightmares?

Healing dreams serve as messages for the dreamer in regards to their health.

Dreams of this nature may be sending the dreamer the message that he/she needs to visit the doctor or dentist.

6.6

Females

6.85 6.75 6.9

10%

7%

Prophetic Dreams

6.4

6

5.65

5.8

6

24%

—Nicole Mott freshman

—Emily Dawson sophomore

“Once, I actually drank a slurpee in my sleep. I was like 7 years old. I asked my dad for a slurpee, then I fell asleep. I drank it, not remembering a thing.”

—Susan Lanier junior

“I was spending the night over at Thonnie Grisby’s house and they said I was cursing and slapping myself, while I was sleeping.”

—Bryan Williams senior

—Joel Jepson History Teacher

Students deprived of sleep

BY SARAH SHERMAN Staff Writer As she cracks open her IB Math Studies book at 10:47 p.m. senior Lindsey Grant sips her Red Bull energy drink and rubs her eyes. After a hard day of varsity field hockey practice, studying 3D coordinate geometry is the last thing Grant wants to do. The worst part is she still has English homework and, as the editor in chief of the Antenna, a stack of copy to review for the yearbook. It will be two and a half more hours before Grant can call it a night.

Sound all too familiar? Grant is just one of the students suffering from abnormal sleep cycles as the school year sets in. More books, more tests, and less time means something has to be cut down. In many cases, it’s rest.

“I knew the first part of my senior year would be tough,” said Grant. “But I had no idea it was going to be like this. I haven’t gone to sleep before 10:30 once this year, and I wake up early every morning, even on Saturdays and Sundays to either practice or do homework.”

The shift from the first quarter to the second quarter can prove to be quite the challenge mentally, physically, and emotionally. After what is usually the lightest quarter of the year, students attempt to prepare themselves from the long winter nights of cramming and homework.

Larger doses of work are not the only obstacle students must overcome.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), also known as the “Winter Blues” and “Winter Depression,” is a common disorder experienced by both children and adults during the change from fall to winter. This disorder generally makes people sluggish and at times depressed

during the winter, distracting them from work and school. SAD causes a chemical imbalance that lowers the body’s temperature. When people go to sleep, their body temperature is low. When they wake up, their temperature is raised,

“

I get yelled for putting my head down for a minute in class. It’s getting to the point where I can’t keep my eyes open anymore

—Alex Silano junior

because of their increased activity. SAD makes it harder for temperatures to raise when waking up, thus making people sluggish and turned off to physical activity.

SAD’s symptoms are not limited to sleep. A general drop in attitude is apparent as well as severe emotional outbursts and isolation from friends or relatives. People with SAD are often turned off to bright lights and are prone to anxiety and violence.

“I hate waking up to the bright lights.

They’re so unflattering,” said senior Cailin Yarouch. “I get more headaches and feel even more tired from [the lights].

It’s like I can’t even open my eyes sometimes. Waking up in the winter is even worse.” Yarouch, like many students, shows early signs of SAD. Last year, Yarouch had IB History I during R3. This year, she has IB History II, a much more rigorous course, during W8. Because she is drained of energy by the end of the day, Yarouch’s grades have suffered. “I could wake up and get history over with last year,” said Yarouch. “But this year I’m dead by flex.”

The zombies that enter the double doors every morning at 7:15 a.m. fit the sluggish profile. Waking up to cold weather and added work would make anyone stay in bed. Students who play sports and participate in other activities, in addition to seniors filling out their college applications, are bogged down with extra work. Social lives and sleep are being put on hold for homework.

However, teachers are becoming more frustrated with the increase in students falling asleep in their classes.

“I tell my students that if you’re up late doing homework until 3 am, you’re doing something wrong,” said history/ government teacher Mary Richardson.

“Time management is one of the toughest lessons you’ll ever have to learn, but there is no reason why students should be staying up that late. Students have to learn to set priorities and practice good time management.”

According to the 2002 survey by the National Sleep Foundation, 60% of children under 18 are being reported as constantly tired, and 15% are falling asleep in class.

Junior Alex Silano is enrolled in four IB classes this year. His usual bedtime on school nights falls between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. “I spend all my time doing my IB history homework,” said Silano.

“It’s crazy. They never told us it was going to be over seven hours of homework every night. And I get yelled for putting my head down for a minute in class. It’s getting to the point where I can’t keep my eyes open anymore.”

According to Mary Carskadon, Ph.D., the NSF Pediatric Council Chair and the director of the Bradley Hospital Sleep Research Laboratory at Brown University, today’s teens are a sleep-deprived generation that drinks more caffeine, gets up earlier for school and goes to bed later. This requires teens to stay awake in order to accomplish everything in their busy lives. After testing over 3,000 sleepdeprived teens’ behavior, Dr. Carskadon stated that “lack of adequate sleep slows reaction time, causes lapses in attention, and exacerbates emotional and behavioral problems.”

As the school year progresses into the winter seasons, students with SAD or sleep deprivation tend to struggle with keeping grades up. As students dive into the winter months sleep becomes a precious commodity. Saturday mornings are treasured by sleeping until noon and slugging around the house. The number of heads down during classes will only continue to rise through December and January, which will soon push students at Annandale into the spring sport madness and testing period. When will students ever get some shut eye?

“Summer,” answers Silano as he rubs his eyes. “But even then I’ll still have homework.”

Prophetic dreams, also known as precongnitive dreams, are ones that could foretell the future. One rational theory to explain this phenomenon is that the dreaming state is ideal for piecing together bits of information and observations that is overlooked. In other words, the subconscious mind knows what is coming before the conscious mind realizes this.

33%

39%

34%

5

3-4 times a week

25%

16%

1 time a month

8%

1 time a week

Junior

Never

Senior

WWW.DREAMMOODS.COM

DREAM TIDBITS

4%

• In your life-span,

Class

“My mom told me once, when she came to tuck me in, I took up and played an imaginary guitar and started singing to her.”

Healing Dreams

Males

Freshman Sophomore

“I was spending the night at my friend Jessica’s house, and my friend found me in the bath tub sleeping with the dog.”

Recurring dreams repeat themselves with little variation in the story or theme. These dreams may be positive, but most often they are nightmares.

Dreams may recur because a conflict depicted in the dream remains unresolved and ignored.

On Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, The A-Blast surveyed 416 students through English classes to compile information about sleep deprivation and dreams. These are the averaged results of the poll.

2 or more times a week

“When [my sister and I] were sleeping in a hotel [on vacation], I punched her and she woke up and told me the next morning.”

Lucid dreams occurs when you realize that you are dreaming in the middle of your dream. Most dreamers wake themselves up once they realize that they are dreaming. Still, other dreamers have developed the skill to remain in the lucid state of dreaming and become an active participant in their dream.

A nightmare is a disturbing dream that causes the dreamer to wake up feeling anxious and frightened.

Nightmares are usually a response to real life trauma situations. Research by the NSF shows that most people who have regular nightmares have contemplated suicide or is a participant in a rocky relationship.

Dreaming the Night Away

4

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve done in your sleep?

Lucid Dream

Nightmare

MELISSA SIELATY, JUNIOR

JUSTIN WADE, JUNIOR

Sleeping strangely Hours per night

Stage Four

BRIAN BAGOT, JUNIOR

GRAPHS CREATED BY HAYLEY FLETCHER AND HANA NGUYEN

do you have •

Sweet Dreams?

BY CRYSTAN BLANCO Arts Editor It’s a bright, sunny day and 2year-old Henry is outside playing in his sandbox. He begins to dig a hole and then a huge spider crawls up the shovel and onto his hand. When he tries to flick it away, more come and they don’t stop!

Henry is deathly afraid of spiders, and now he’s covered in them. When he screams, he wakes up and his mom is at his side coaxing him into her arms, saying, “It’s okay, baby. It was only a nightmare.”

But what baby Henry experienced wasn’t a nightmare; it was a night terror.

Though nightmares and night terrors are often confused, both are very different from one another. “Nightmares take place in REM sleep, while night terrors take place in Non-REM sleep,” said Psychology teacher Scott Hambrick. “Normally, people wake up in the night having a

night terror, not a nightmare, because you are paralyzed during REM sleep. The body is inactive.”

According to Dictionary.com, Rapid Eye Movement, often called REM, is “the rapid, periodic, jerky movement of the eyes during certain stages of the sleep cycle when dreaming takes place.”

RRM is part of a cycle of five stages; stage one, stage, two, stage three, stage four and REM. Each stage leads up to the next one until REM is reached, then the cycle begins again.

Some people find that if they have dreams, they realize that they have had one, but cannot remember it. “I usually have dreams, sometimes I remember them, but it depends, I think, on how much sleep I get. If it has been a long day and I don’t get much sleep, I tend to remember those dreams more than if I was well rested,” said junior Lindsey Miller.

People only remember their dreams when they have just waken up from them.

“Chances are if you wake up in REM, you will remember because you are coming out of sleep,” said Hambrick. “You don’t dream in Non-REM sleep.” A

person cannot dream in non-REM sleep, but as he or she is approaching it, while the sleep stage is still in stage four.

Although, people agree that dreams do occur, whether they are remembered or not, people cannot determine the meanings of dreams.

Sigmund Freud is author of The Interpretation of Dreams and considered by many to be the most gifted scholar to study dreams. He believes that dreams are wish fulfillment, such that dreams are manifestations of unconscious wishes.

Additionally, symbolic imagery and characters found in dreams may hide sexual strivings, hostility and aggression.

In some dreams, impulses are aroused by recent events. The recent experiences that enter in dreams are called “day residues.”

“My dreams tend to coincide with whatever I’m thinking about before I fall asleep,” said senior Lauren Simmons.

“Often times my dreams are day residues.”

In Freud’s theory, repressed urges are

• so disturbing that they can only appear in disguise when the person is asleep. “I think that dreams are signs of something you want to happen,” said senior Ryan Daggle.

In any case, any dream you have is significant. The meaning may not be obvious and may initially be confusing, but often can be explained in later events.

•

• • •

you would’ve spent about six combined years sleeping. This is more than 2,100 days in a “different world.”

Everyone dreams. Simply because you do not remember your dream does not mean that you did not dream.

Humans dream an average of one or two hours each night and often have four to seven separate dreams in one night.

Blind people do dream. Although their dreams may not consist of vivid images, blind people can recall and describe the sounds they hear and the textures they come in contact with during their dream.

Five minutes after the end of a dream, half the content is forgotten. After ten minutes, 90% is lost.

Men tend to dream more about other men, while women dream equally about men and women.

In a poll by the National Sleep Foundation, 67% of Americans have experienced Deja Vu in their dreams, occurring more often in females than males.

HOW TO INTERPRET DREAMS Step One Write your dream down in brief, putting the events of the dream in chronological order. Make sure you list details such as emotions, dreams, colors, time of day, and the mood of the dream.

Compile a list of symbols or words to look up in a dream symbol dictionary by asking the following questions: • How am I feeling emotionally in the dream?

• What am I doing physically in the dream?

• What symbols were important in the dream?

Step Two DRAWN BY KATHY SAUPP

Stage three is the beginning of “deep” or “slow-wave” sleep. This period is called “slow-wave” because the brain actively slows down dramatically.

Studies by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) show that humans have the tendency to daydream an average of 70-120 minutes each day.

Daydreaming is classified as a level of consciousness between sleep and wakefulness. It occurs during our waking hours when the mind wanders and our level of awareness decreases.

Pick out key words (symbols) in your dream and look up these words in a dream symbol dictionary to find out the meaning to each word.

Step Three Take brief notes on what each symbol means and compile the meanings together to relate it to your life. Ask yourself, What is happening in my life right now that this dream relates to?

WWW.GEOCITES.COM

12 CULTURES Keepin’ the faith: a student’s religion explained the

ABLAST

WED. NOV. 13, 2002

IN GOD WE TRUST?

The Equal Access Act forbids public schools from excluding religious or political extracurricular clubs if they allow others. It was recently brought up when a student in Seattle was not allowed to run a Bible Club in her school. When the case went to the Supreme Court, the student won because of the Equal Access Act. For more information about religious clubs at AHS see the sponsers: Teresa Lusby & Justin Hambrick : Vacant Cross (room 256) John Nemeth: Muslim Students Association (room 206) Eleanor Shumaker: Jewish Culture Club (room 111)

RELIGIOUS BOOKS

Muslims believe the Quran is the last revealed Word of God, recorded by the Prophet Mohamad through the angel Gabriel. Muslims use the Quran as a source of inspiration and a guide to daily living.

Thoughts from a...

Students speak out about their beliefs

Agnostic “I went to church and they told me I was going to go to hell, so I thought, why bother? I’m already doomed.”

called the “Kitab-i-Aqdas.” Baha’is temples are scarce in the United States, Chua visited the only temple last year.

“The only Baha’i temple in the United States is located in Wilmette, IL,” said Chua. “But I attend Sunday classes, and participate in my religious community gatherings in Virginia.”

Baha’is pray three times a day: in the morning, afternoon, and evening.

“Sometimes I forget [my daily prayers], but I do what I can,” said Chua.

Just like Chrisitans and Muslims, Baha’is also have their own holidays. Baha’is celebrate “Ayami’ha,” which falls in February this year.

Chua is impressed with the different types of peple that adhere to the Baha’i Faith. “There isn’t one culture or ethnicity that dominates it. The Baha’i faith might have its origins in Iran, but there are members everywhere. Look at me! I’m ethnic Chinese from Malaysia, I’m an American citizen, and I’m a Baha’i.”

Jew “It gives me a set of beliefs and values that structure the way I think about things.”

Catholic

—Stacey Marin freshman

sophomore

Religious diversity at AHS This survey was distributed to 358 students on Oct. 31 & Nov. 1 during all R5 and W2 English classes to determine students’ opinions on religion and their personal beliefs.

Religious breakdown of AHS students Christians believe the Bible was written by God. Around 1400 B.C., God began to reveal to mankind what He wanted written. The final chapter was written around 95 AD.

4% :1 am Isl

MOMENT OF SILENCE

Do you approve of the moment of silence?

Disapprove: 19%

Approve: 40%

Christianity: 61%

These results were obtained from the same 358 students surveyed above.

“By praying five times a day and observing the month of Ramadan, I feel that I have grown spiritually.”

—Blade Ronetz

—Rohina Hussain

sophomore

junior

junior

Over the years, do you feel you have become...

Unsure: 19%

Less religious: 35%

Christian Sects Baptist: 15% Catholic: 34% Episcopalian: 3% Lutheran: 3% Methodist: 16% Presbyterian: 5% Other: 24%

Yes: 67%

The same: 30%

How often do you attend church, mosque, etc.?

Muslim Sects Sunni: 65% Shiite: 6% Other: 29% Agnosticism: 5% Atheism: 30% Bahaism: 2% Buddhism: 52% Hinduism: 1% Mormon: 3% Other: 29%

More religious: 35%

No: 14%

How important would you say religion is in your life?

Once a month: 11%

Only on holidays: 24%

Other: 25%

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Very unimportant: 9% Unimportant: 17% Very important: 37%

Once a week: 35%

703-536-2020 No opinion: 41%

Muslim

—Jimmy Connor

Do you believe in a supreme being?

Other Religions While it has frequently been contested by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Moment of Silence has continued to be practiced every morning in Virginia schools. The ACLU claims the Moment of Silence violates the separation of church and state.

However, Virginia lawmakers say it is constitutional because students may choose how to spend the minute.

Atheist “Technology and free will have destroyed the need for religion.

Religion tends to be an opiate of the masses.”

“To me, my religion is a set of rules to live by and it is a way of explaining the world and why we are here.”

—Colleen Nolan

Jewish people believe that God revealed the Torah, both the written and oral Torah, to his people on the Exodus.

Chua reads her Baha’i prayer book. “I carry it around with me in school,” said Chua.

WALA’A ELBARASSE

EQUAL ACCESS ACT

is considered the most recent messenger in this line.

“We believe in progressive revelation, that all religions come from the ”The Earth is but one country, and same God and that God sends down mankind its citizens,” said the founder messengers every once in a while to of the Baha’i faith, Baha’u’llah. educate and guide humanity,” said The Baha’i Faith, a Chua. monothestic faith originatThe central theme ing in Iran, is the youngof Baha’ism is that est of the world’s religions. humanity is one It is now established in 235 single race and that countries and territories the day has come for throughout the world. The its unification in one 5 million followers come global society. from 2,100 ethnic, racial, “We believe in and tribal groups. priniciples like equalOf the 358 students ity between men and surveyed at AHS, two perwomen, the removal cent are of the Baha’i of prejudice, there is Faith. Senior Zarrin Chua one God, etc.,” said is a follower of the Baha’i Chua. faith.

Chua wears her Baha’i charm Other principles “I am named after a on her necklace. The 9 point that the Baha’i faith martyr of my religion. My star symbolizes the Baha’i promotes are the renamesake, Zarrin Muqimi, Faith. sponsibility to each was martyred in Iran in person to independently search for 1985,” said Chua. “She was 26.” truth, the recognition of universal eduBaha’is believe that each of the great cation, and recognition that true relireligions brought by the Messengers of gion is in harmony with reason and the God—Moses, Krishna, Buddha, pursuit of scientific knowledge.

Zoroaster, Jesus, Mohamad— repreBaha’is have a number of religious sents a successive stage in the spiritual books, one of which is a “Book of Laws” development of civilization. Baha’u’llah

BY WALA’A EL BARASSE Cultures Editor

WALA’A ELBARASSE

The House passed a bill early this October that reinforced support for the religious references in the Pledge of Allegiance and the U.S. motto.

The phrase “under God” in the pledge was questioned by a California man who objected to his daughter saying it while reciting the pledge.

Critics of the “under God” statement and the national motto, “In God We Trust,” claim the phrases are violations of the separation of church and state.

More than once a week: 10%

Never: 20%

Somewhat important: 37%

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the

ABLAST

Wed. Nov. 13, 2002

Better Late

PHOTO 13 Homecoming 2002 Class floats

than Never...

Theme: Boardgames

Homecoming Seniors Loren Sexton and Cecilia Mallory were both crowned as the royal pair during the pep rally. In the past years, the Queen was announced at the Homecoming game’s half-time show.

“

“

2002 Homecoming Queen

Senior Ashleigh Wayland’s carport

Dinner before the dance is a must. But instead of the usual dining out, Senior Preston Gisch held a dinner party at his home, inviting only a few of his closest friends.

I couldn’t believe it! I didn’t move I was so shocked when they from the spot and Danny had to called my name. But after pull me to the middle of the field. that I was just hoping that I remember looking up to Loren Cecilia would be my queen and saying,’I’ve waited four years because she means everyfor this!’ thing to me.

—Cecilia Mallory

“Life” SENIOR KATIE BURTON

Due to last month’s sniper threat to students’ safety across the region, AHS Homecoming and allrelated activites were postponed for the week of October 28th.

2003

was the place-to-be when massive float building took place.

R E N N2004 I W

“Clue” Junior class president April Brassard and Junior Elizabeth Gill both

—Loren Sexton

opened up their houses to host

2002 Homecoming King

float parties.

2005

“Candyland”

W YA TT

RY AN SENIOR MA N

NO

V

For the ladies, getting ready for Homecoming normally consists of getting manicures and “up-dos” at salons before they slip on their Homecoming dresses. Junior Tracie Hiatt rushed to “Positive Image” after her Saturday Field Hockey game to get her hair styled before the evening’s events started.

DA RR EN

The sophomore float got its start in

R

the Culinary room until sopho-

NIO

JU

more Jennifer Brackett hosted the float parties towards the end.

2006

Sophomores Naomi Updegrove, James Huff, John Appleton and Carolina Delgadillo took professional pictures as a reminder of this year’s Homecoming.

SEN

IOR

CAIT

LIN

MCK

INNE

Y.

Some of the senior football players stopped to pose for a picture. This was their last AHS pep rally. Sadly, the excitement of the pep rally was diminished by the sudden rain and overall dreary weather.

SENIORS GINA SOBEL AND ZARIN CHUA

“Monopoly” The freshmen class proved that they were a formidable force when it came to float building. Their float was constructed at Freshmen Alex Barker’s and Matt Cowan ‘s houses.

(LEFT TO RIGHT) SOPHOMORES SUSAN RAUCH, JULIA BIZER AND JOAN BARYLSKI, FRESHMEN KAITY BURDETTE, KAITLIN MOLAVI, KAITY BURDETTE AND SUZANNA VAN DER EJIK, SOPHOMORES ANDREW MOLCHAMY AND TAMARA KINNEY, AND SENIORS ELAINE FILEDELFO, ASHLEY WELCH, KATIE BURTON, CECILIA MALLORY, MICHAEL NAKAMURA, JEN STEWART, AMIE SHARAF, JORDAN BONDS, AND ANDREW MCQUILEN.

PAGE DESIGN AND PHOTOS BY CHAE-WHA PARK

Senior Dae Yoon received special mention from Varsity Football Coach Adams. Yoon, a line backer was seriously injured during this season after enduring several hard blows to the head. After undergoing two life-threatening surgeries in attempts to ease swelling around the brain, he is currently at home recovering.

Despite the rain, wind and cold, Seniors Nary Kim and Bridget Agresti displayed their hardcore Atoms spirit by attending the annual Bonfire.

14 ARTS Police Officer Bruce Lee has to go over seas to investigate illegal championship fights. He tries to dismantle the illegal organization and eventually does so.

Self-Defense and discipline play big role in martial arts Tae Kwon Do Moves To get it right, you

BY CRYSTAN BLANCO AND MIKE MAHN Arts Editor and Videographer

Jean-Claude Van Damme plays two twins separated at birth when their parents are murdered by a Hong-Kong criminal gang. The two meet up after years of separation to avenge the ones who murdered their parents.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon A Li Mu Bai decides to stop fighting and gives up a special sword, while the sword is being transferred it is stolen. The entire movie he tries to get the sword back.

need to know the moves!

Commonly re-

ERIN O’BRIEN

Double Impact

Imagine a person you do not know is threatening you. You are stuck in a situation that seemingly cannot be avoided without a violent confrontation. How do you resolve the situation?

Being disciplined is the key to many of the hundreds of martial arts that could get you out of a dangerous situation safe and unharmed.

Martial arts is the study of fighting styles. For the most part, they are to be used in self-defense, but they are also frequently applied in controlled atmospheres such as sporting tournaments.

Many styles or disciplines are deeprooted in philosophy and transcend combat; they can be much more spiritual.

"Everyone tries Karate or Kung Fu. It didn't work out for me, but I earned immense respect for those masters," said senior Vincent Keung. "I appreciate the discipline and what it has to offer."

All martial arts are completely mental sports. If you are not focused, you will not succeed. The elements of the art make it more mental then physical.

“Martial Arts is all about concentration,” says Keung. “You will get beat and you will not be able to keep track of the other person’s moves.”

Like tee-ball and soccer, millions of kids practice martial arts as well. As they mature, the number of people actively training dwindles; however masters of

David Lee Alvarado demonstrates a punch commonly used in many forms of martial arts. Lee Alvarado has been practicing seven years and is a second degree black belt in Tae Kwan Do.

these fighting styles become self-made weapons. Through dedication, education, and hours of work, masters are forged into some of the most potent athletes in the world.

Martial arts has physical benefits: training makes you much more flexible, it tones your muscles and improves your cardiovascular endurance. It can teach you self-confidence and self-esteem. But most importantly, it can be a positive mo-

As you walk through the glass door, distinctly labeled in big print, “Mountain Kim Martial Arts,” it is impossible to overlook the hard-working group of kids being taught by their instructor.

You can see the bright lights over the matted area used for stretching. Because it is open six days a week, there is plenty of opportunity to go in, get involved, and even get a free trial membership. Many people get involved with Tae Kwon Do each year at

Bloodsport

LAUREN STERLACCI

Jean-Claude Van Damme is an American solider at large in Hong Kong. He joins an illegal kickboxing tournament and tries to win the tournament and become the champion.

Mountain Kim Martial Arts, found in Ravensworth shopping center on Braddock Road, is home to many local Tae Kwon Do players.

Instruction is offered six days a week to people of all ages.

Jackie Chan goes to visit his uncle in the Bronx and help him stop a gang from terrorizing his store. He eventually single handedly breaks up the gang and saves his uncles store

Mountain Kim. Tae Kwon Do is originally from Korea, while Karate is originally from Japan. Tae Kwon Do is said to be approximately 70% kicking and 30% punches. It is undoubtedly the most widely practiced martial arts in the world. With its physically demanding techniques and serious amount of work, Tae Kwon Do became an Olympic sport for the first summer Olympics in 2000.

During 2000, American Steven Lopez won the gold medal.

Before that it was merely an exhibition sport, but not considered to be something practiced on the Olympic level.

Mountain Kim is offering a Trial Period about two-three times a week for those interested in getting to see what the world of Martial Arts is all about. Each class period runs from 50-60 minutes and there are about 15-20 people per class. The statistics of calorie loss is higher than any other sport around. They have set classes for everyone, including men, women and children. The different levels of Tae Kwon Do are divided between three different colors-white (beginner), green (intermediate) and black (advanced) which inevitably list your kup (rank).

On average, a Tae Kwon Do class consists of stretching for 20-25 minutes, then onto basic skills (these are different techniques for different levels), and then working with a target/partner kicking. Program Director for Mountain Kim Martial Arts Debbie Cassidy stated this about why teenagers as well as other age groups should try this new outlet, “It is for anyone who is looking to increase their self-confidence. along with any number of other reasons. It is challenging and most importantly, fun. The one thing most people do not realize is that with this sport you are only competing with yourself, and making yourself better.”

ferred to as the “Side Kick,” this is one of the most effective and most often used techniques in sparring.

Each time it is given, the opponent receives a hard kick to the stomach. This kick may even be given while backing up.

This kick that allows the leg to become almost completely vertical is called the “Axe Kick.”

It is used often in sparring and is aimed towards the head of opponents. The kick can be performed in a few varieties and awards the kicker two points.

The “Double Knife Hand Block” is both an offensive and defensive move. While blocking the opponent with one hand, you can grab their wrist or punch with the other.

Although a punch may seem a simple move, it takes just as much practice as anything else. When you punch, you punch things as hard as skulls.

To perform the moves in matches and not hurt yourself, technique is required.

Reiss’s Pieces

Rush Hour

Rumble in the Bronx

tivating force that benefits you in all facets of life.

Sensei Kijamato Hagashi of Kim's Dojo, a Kung Fu dojo, preaches to every student the techniques of Kung Fu. They learn the fighting style, the training style and the life style. It takes much more than athleticism to get by as a true disciple of Kung Fu. "We live by the code, we fight by the code, and we die by the code," says Hagashi.

Mt. Kim is big hit in Annandale

BY LAUREN STERLACCI Staff Writer

A rich Chinese girl is kidnapped and the L.A.P.D assigns Chris Tucker to the case. The Chinese girl's father hires a special agent, Jackie Chan, to help find out who the kidnappers are. Chris Tuckers job is to solve the case and make sure Jackie Chan does not interfere with the L.A.P.D.

O’BRIEN

Enter the Dragon

ABLAST

WED. NOV. 13, 2002

ERIN

MARTIAL ART MOVIES

the

Paintings resemble a surreal dream

BY JOHN REISS Staff Writer In painting and sculpture, surrealism is one of the leading influences of the 20th century. Its followers in the graphic arts include the Italian painter Paolo Uccello, the British poet and artist William Blake, and the Frenchman Odilon Redon.

From 1924 German Max Ernst, Frenchman Jean Arp and American painter and photographer Man Ray were among members of the movement, which was led by Andre Breton.

Later members of the group included the French-American Yves Tanguy, and the Swiss Alberto Giacometti.

The Catalan painter Salvador Dali joined the surrealist movement in 1930 but was later denounced by most surrealists because he was held to be more interested in commercial-

izing his art than in surrealist ideas.

Although for a time he was the most talked-about member of the group, his work is so idiosyncratic as to be only partially typical of surrealism.

Surrealist painting exhibits great variety of content and technique.

Dali’s, for example, consists of more or less a direct and photographic transcription of dreams, deriving its inspiration from the earlier dreamlike paintings of de Chirico. Arp's sculptures are large, smooth, abstract forms, and Mire, a formal member of the group for a short time only, employed, as a rule, fantastic shapes, which included deliberate adaptations of children's art and which also had something in common with the designs used by the native Catalan artists to decorate pottery.

The Russian-American painter Pavel Tchelichew, while not a mem-

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ber of the surrealists, created surrealist images in his paintings as well as in his numerous ballet designs. An American offshoot of the surrealist movement is the group of artists known as the magic realists, under the leadership of the painter Paul Cadmus. The group also includes George Tooker, Ivan Le Lorraine Albright, Philip Evergood, Peter Blume, and Louis Guglielmi.

The assemblage sculptor Joseph Cornell began as an acknowledged surrealist, but later pursued his highly individual art. The surrealists' attitude toward free creation was a major influence on the beginnings of abstract expressionism in New York City. A representative collection of the graphic works of the surrealists is in the Museım of Modern Art and of the magic realists in the Whitney Museum of American Art, both in New York City.

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ABLAST

SPORTS XTRA 15 HS Athletic History

BY PAUL GLEASON Sports Xtra Editor Opening game, 1972. Both sides of the stadium are packed beyond capacity. The fans, the papers and all of the Patriot District are waiting to see which of the two powerhouse teams will win. This is not just any normal opening game. The defending state champions, T.C. Williams Titans, and the well respected Annandale Atoms are playing what is more of a grudge match than just a regular season game. During the previous season the two teams were faced off to determine the Patriot District championship. AHS was predicted to win, but T.C. snatched the championship out of their hands. This game was a way for AHS to get back the respect they deserved.

Many of the fans and teams thought that this game would predict the leaders in the Patriot District. Annandale crushed T.C., and went on to win the state championship that season.

This is one of the finer moments in AHS’s long history of sports. Being one of the oldest schools in the area there has been a lot of time for great teams, and great athletes to come and go in the school’s athletic program. There have been All American football, lacrosse, basketball, and baseball players; state championships won and lost, and many teams that captured district titles.

AHS’s varsity football team has made a name for itself throughout the life of the school. It has brought in 6 state championships, more than any other team in Northern Virginia. The team won them in ‘65, 67’, 72’, ‘78, and the latest ones back to back in ‘93 and ‘94. Although a state championship has not been won in the past 8 years, there was a 15 year gap between the ‘78 and the ‘93 state title, so history shows that the Atoms can still be a force to be reckoned with.

“Playing at AHS was one of the best experiences of my life,” said Assistant athletic director and head football coach Dick Adams, “We(the football team) were always

Wed. Nov. 13, 2002

second or third in the area, and all the players were driven to get the state championship.”

Some athletes from the years of the past have still left their mark on today’s athletic program. Throughout the years there have been 6 All American athletes, two football players, two wrestlers, one female basketball player, and one female soccer player.

Most of the best athletes at AHS have appeared in the past 15 years. With two all American athletes, 1988 was a good year for the athletic program. Seniors Amanda Cromwell(soccer) and Marie Lee Kennedy(basketball) both became all Americans, and the only girls in AHS’s history to acquire the title. In 1994, Maurice Daniels, as well as becoming an all American he also became the first AHS athlete to be recruited by Penn. State.

State championships have been won in recent years as well. In ‘97 the Boy’s Lacrosse team won the first state championship game for the sport in Virginia. Two years later they followed that up with a district championship title. AHS is now recognized throughout Virginia as a dominant lacrosse team.

Ironically, there would be no AHS sports history without the other schools in the area.

Some of the oldest rivalries in the school’s history have been against schools like Robinson, T.C. Williams, and Hayfield.

Annandale has generally done well against these teams in the past. However, performing well and winning championships is getting harder as new schools are being built to accommodate the growing population in the area. This population boom is creating new rivalries. After the AHS football team defeated Westfield in the 5th sudden death round, there was a lot of newspaper coverage, thus setting the stage for years of rivalry between the two schools.

This rivalry was shown when the newspapers and the fans made a big fuss about the game, between Westfield and AHS. Westfield came out victorious setting the stage

for years of rivalry to come. Competition like this give our school sports its ups and its downs, and add to the excitement of these sports.

The community around the school is very integrated into the teams. Today, many businesses from the area are participating in the “Atoms Gold Card” program, which students sell to raise money for the athletic department.

In the past, businesses have helped the school by donating money, and buying ads in some of the team’s programs.

“Everyone, the teachers, the students, and the community are very supportive of AHS’s athletic program, and they always have been,” said James Carryannis, gym teacher and coach.

As more talented athletes come to AHS, although competition in the district is increasing as a result of a growth in population, AHS still has the tradition and experience of time to keep it going.

BY SCOTT LEWIS Staff Writer ‘88 After starting the season with an upsetting loss to Lake Braddock, the girls’ varsity basketball team ended their season, ironically enough, by defeating the only team to mar their otherwise perfect record. March 12 will go down as a red-letter day in AHS sports history as the girls’ varsity basketball team captured the Virginia AAA State Championship by defeating Lake Braddock, 43-34, at the Robins Center at the University of Richmond.

Senior Ann Kennedy paced the Atoms in the state final with a game-high 17 points and set a tournament record by making 18 straight free throws during the tournament. Many of the Atoms made valuable contributions throughout the tournament. In the finals, senior Asia Berkley had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals; and se-

w o N Then & Gene Funkhouser (left) and Travis Johnson (right) are simiar in that they are two of the best pitchers to come out of AHS. The only differnece is that Funkhouser was leading the team 33 years before Johonson even started playing for AHS

EVAN ROWLAND Staff Writer Tieing up their cleats, getting on their gear, preparing for two-a-day practices in the scorching summer heat, both the field hockey and football teams are still determined and hard at work just like the teams of the past generation. The coaches are still yelling at their athletes to execute plays correctly, but new technology and increased athlete diversity are playing a significant part on the achievement of teams today.

With all the different factors of present time, some have created a change, but a great deal has stayed the same.

“Today, athletes are bigger, faster, stronger, and put more into their sports,” said varsity football coach Dick Adams. He feels that athletes of AHS teams back in the early days

-Dick Adams ’74

Asst. Athletic Director/ Head Football coach

“I considered AHS to be a classy place, then and now. I remember how everyone, including the staff was really supportive of the teams.”

‘02

’74

P.E. teacher/coach

Four of the six trophies the football team earned for winning the state championship on display in jock lobby

niors Karen Bradshaw and Amanda Cromwell each conThe Atoms defeated the Falcons, 60-50, while Lake tributed 6 points.

Braddock beat Cave Spring to enter the semi-finals. In The game was really won by free throw skill. AHS hit the second round, the Atoms crushed Lee, 53-40, as Lake 14 of 16 attempts in the fourth quarter and made 19 of 22 Braddock beat edged out Granby, 39-36, to earn both AHS throughout the game. The Atoms set a new tournament and Lake Braddock a place in the finals. The rest is hisrecord as they hit 77 from the line during tory. the tournament.

“We were glad to play Lake Braddock This year, the Atoms got off to a rocky in the finals, because we played them to start by losing their opening game, 54-50, get to state’s. It took three overtimes to to the team they would defeat for the state win, then beating them a week later championship, Lake Braddock. After that proved that it wasn’t a fluke that we deupset, the girls got down to business and served to be state champions,” stated sestarted a winning streak that would end nior Salene Green.

28 games later with the Virginia State “Our strength this year was that we Championship--the first one ever won by all go along and really worked for a comthe AHS girls’ or boys’ basketball teams. mon goal,” said coach Laura Hagan, After winning the Potomac District, AHS named coach of the year by The Washentered the Northern Region Tournament ington Post. with their first game against McLean. The “We haven’t really had time to enjoy Atoms stomped McLean, 41-21, trounced our success. Everyone has moved on to W.T. Woodson, 52-50, and went on to deother sports, but I have gotten a lot of perfeat Langley, 59-42. Their victory over sonal satisfaction from this.”

Langley gave them a spot in the finals The 1987-88 basketball season not against Lake Braddock and also gave only brought AHS its first state champithem a berth in the state tournament. onship, but it also put some talented playThe stands were packed Feb. 26 at the ers on the team in the spotlight; Kennedy match up between the top two teams in was named first team All-Metropolitan the region. The tension-filled game went by both The Washington Post and The Ann Marie Kennedy drives into three overtimes, but the Atoms fin- toward the hoop against Lake Washington Times. She also was named ished on top after a baseline jump shot by Braddock also MVP of the Potomac District and the junior Janine Fonczek with five seconds Northern Region Tournaments and was remaining. Cromwell was fouled with one first team All- region and All-district. The second left. She hit one of two free throws to end the game, list does not stop there. Berkley was named first team 49-46. This victory made the Atoms the number one seed All-District and second team All-region. She also made from the Northern region in the state tournament and both the region and district tournament teams. Bradshaw gave Lake Braddock the consolation on the spot. was named second team All-District and was selected to AHS played Virginia Beach’s Frank Cox High School, the district tournament team. Cromwell was selected to March 10, in the opening round of the state competition. the region tournament team.

How AHS athletes today compare to ones of the past of the school were a little tougher by nature, and worked harder. “It meant a little more to be part of the team,” Adams said.

The reason for this, said Adams, is that there are more sports today to do. “Coaches were more diversified back then, but presently, coaches are mostly specialized to one sport.” Adams said athletes today share the same benefits as past teams such as “learning teamwork,” “loyalty,” and “overcoming adversity.”

Communities have also experienced change. “The community now is so much more diverse than back then. In the early years of AHS, on a Friday night it was all about football in the community,” said Adams.

“Kids being involved is as important or more so than back then. It [extracurricular activities] is a great way to draw a diverse community

“They were the best years of my life. I had a tremendous amount of pride in ’02 football. I was always thinking about the state championship.”

—James Caryannis

Girls basketball wins states The following article was reprinted from the March 29, 1988 edition of the ABlast

What do you remember most about your playing days at AHS?

BY PAUL GLEASON

the

together. It gives every student a chance to find something good,” Adams said.

When Special Education Instructor Chris Seager attended AHS, he was on the State-Championship football teams of 1993 and 1994. “We had a different mix of guys back then, a lot of whom were jerks and a lot of good guys. This year we have a good team, it’s just a different mix of athletes. It takes more that one, two, or three great guys to win,” said Seager.

Between coaching soccer, lacrosse, field hockey varsity field hockey coach Cindy Hook so far has logged a total of 55 seasons coaching at AHS and has experienced many teams of athletes. She feels the present athletes are “equally as committed as athletes in the past.”

“Athletes now have an increased number of responsibilities outside sports. More are attempting to work

jobs and take advanced classes. The need and desire for money takes students away from sports,” said Hook.

Many of the coaches presently share the same outlook that the community has become more diverse and therefore less involved. They go to other sources for entertainment now such as cable television, the Internet, and DVD’s.

Coach Hook said, “The three-peat student athletes are lessening, and feel the need to specialize in one sport to become successful, but I oppose the idea. I am an absolute fan of threepeat athletes.”

AHS’s tradition makes for more “competitive” students, said Hook.

Most coaches have noticed improvement in the level of skill of the present athletes, but “ kids are kids, and they still make the same mistakes,” said Adams.

AHS’s most accomplished athletes Mike Lucido: Football class of ‘73 4 time All district,3 time All region, 3 time All state, 3 time Allmetropolitain, All-American Maurice Daniels: Football class of ‘94 3 time All district, 3 time Allregion, 2 time All-metropolitain, 3 time All-state, American Gatorade player of the year, metropolitain player of the year Scott Reese: Wrestling class of ‘95 State Champion, 4th place All American Michael Herlands: Wrestling class of ‘96 State Champion, 2nd place All American Amanda Cromwell: Soccer class of ‘88 4 time All district, 3 time Allregion, All-state, 2 time Allmetropolitain, All-American, metropolitain player of the year Ann Marie Kennedy: Basketball class of ‘88 3 time All district, 3 time Allregion, 2 time All-metropolitain, All American

How many titles does each team have?

Fall Sports Football: State: 6 Regional: 8 District: 12 Cross country: State: 1 Regional: 1 District: 1 Field hockey: Regional: 1 District: 5 Golf: State: 1 Regional: 2 District: 3 Girls tennis: District: 3

Winter Sports Wrestling: State: 7 Regional: 16 District: 59 Swim/dive: District: 5 Basketball: Girls: State: 1 Regional: 1 District: 8 Boys: District: 3 Girls gymnastics: District: 9 Indoor track: District: 1

Spring Sports Lacrosse: Boys: State: 1 Regional: 1 District: 2 Soccer: Girls: State:1 Regional: 1 District: 5 Boys: District: 7 Baseball: Regional: 1 District: 1 Softball: District: 6 Spring track: District: 3 Boys tennis: District: 1 Boys gymnastics: State:1 Regional: 1 District: 1

AB T 16 SPORTS Football dominates T.C. in belated Homecoming game the

WED. NOV. 13, 2002

LAS

SPORTS BRIEFS AHS SPORTS

Football Rescheduling Completed Annandale’s Varsity football games have been moved.

The final game to be made up @West Potomac will be played this Sat. Nov. 16.

The Northern Region football playoffs will start the following Friday.

BY LAUREN STERLACCI Staff Writer

Field Hockey Team Advances to Regionals The varsity field hockey team fell to Woodson 2-1 in a hard fought Northern region 2nd round game. The Atoms won their first round game 6-1 versus Falls Church and finished their season with a solid 11-3 record and second place in the Patriot District.

“

Although we were on a threegame losing streak we geared up in all red and we defeated T.C. and now we have momentum for our other two games

MORGAN MCEVILLY

The Atoms notched their biggest victory of the season beating TC Williams 42-14 in their “Homecoming Game” last Wednesday.

Seniors Monte Moyer and Travis Johnson led the way with big games on offense.

And seniors Ehab Awadallah and Jose Varela held down the defense.

PROFESSIONAL SPORTS

Redskins’ 2 game win streak broken by Jaguars After consecutive victories over the Indianapolis Colts and the Seattle Seahawks, the Redskins lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-7. This puts them at 4-5 overall and third in the NFC’s eastern conference. The Redskins will play division foe N.Y. Giants this upcoming Sunday.

SPOTLIGHT ATHLETES

Kari Krauss Grade: 12 Sport: Field hockey Position: Attack Honors: 1st Team AllDistrict, 2nd Team AllRegion Personal: Kari works at Lids in Springfield Mall and has a GPA of 2.7

Davis Murillo Grade: 10 Sport: Football Position: Wide Receiver Personal: Starts on varsity football as a sophomore and leads the team in receptions

Volleyball falls short in districts, ends season

BY KATHY IBARRA Staff Writer

Volley ball defeated

by LB, finishes 2-13

The varsity volleyball team suffered defeat by Lake Braddock at the Patriot District Tournament with a score of 0 to 3, also ending the 2002 season with a final record of 2-13.

“I had hoped that we would win a couple of games, such as the one against T.C. Williams, but the other teams were taller and faster, and that really became an obstacle to us,” said Head Coach Ruth Johnson.

The game against LB began with the Atoms putting up a good fight, but the match went to the Bruins with a score of 4-15. The Atoms’ spirit still remained, and the team retaliated in the second match beginning with a score of 4-0. However, LB surpasses their score by four points. The Atoms crawled back up, but the Bruins were tough and terminated the match at 8 to 15.

The third match began with a closer score with a tie of 4 points, but LB broke the tie, eventually bringing the Bruins to the brink of victory at 14 points. However, LB lost the ball and AHS took advantage of the opportunity and scored another 2 points before LB finished the match up as well as the game and season for AHS with a score of 7-15.

Over the season the girls, have improved, especially Leija Lombardi, according to Coach Johnson. “The goal of this season was to pass well so next year we can work on hitting and blocking,” said Johnson. “We’ve built a foundation this year.” The end of the season is also an emotional time for the team, with five seniors leaving AHS this year. “I have enjoyed coaching the girls,” said Johnson. “They’re a good group of girls and they’ve worked hard, and I appreciate that.”

Excuse T he Interjection with John Bernhardt, Jared Smith, and Reid Edwards We are through 9 weeks of the NFL Season. Who have been the surprises and who have been the busts?

John: So far, this year has been predictable for the most part. However, there have been a few surprises. The Rams started miserably and have a losing record to show for it.

Green Bay has been the powthis year, led by vet• NFL Halfway erhouse eran QB Brett Farve. San Diego has also proven themselves point with a 6-3 record in the tough • The Capitals AFC West conference. The Redskin’s season has been predictable—average.

• NCAA Reid: One of the surprises predictions...who in my mind is the improvement of the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo’s acwill make up quisition of Drew Bledsoe appears to be a brilliant front ofthis year’s fice move. Bledsoe has carried the Bills’ offense on his back Final Four while making two average receivers, Eric Moulds and Peerless Price, two of best rated in

Topics Of Discussion

the league. Midway through the year I believe that the Chief ’s Priest Holmes is the obvious candidate for MVP while leading the league in both rushing yards and touchdowns.

Jared: Predictable? No way John. Each week has been a rollercoaster ride with upsets and wild finishes every week. I mean last week we had a tie. The last time we had a tie in the NFL we were in elementary school. One of the biggest surprises this year has been the comeback sub .500 teams like St. Louis who is 4-5 after starting 0-5 and the NY Jets who are only one game back of the AFC East lead after starting a dismal 1-4. Backup QB’s are also surprising this year with no-names (like Tommy Maddox, Marc Bulger, and Chad Pennington)—all leading their teams to victory over the last two weeks.

Last year the Capitals high expectations weren’t accomplished partly due to many injuries. With all their players healthy, the Caps have been able

SEAN SULLIVAN

The Angels won their first world series on Sunday Oct. 27 defeating the San Francisco Giants 4-1 in a dramatic Game 7. The win capped off a cinderella season in which the Angels won the wild card. The Angels had a combined record of 11-5 in the playoffs and defeated the defending AL champs New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins before defeating the Giants in the World Series.

Junior offensive lineman Noah Crowley stuffs pads into his pants. The football has a team dinner before every game and spends time cleaning their equipment.

“

Atoms Roll in Homecoming Game

Angels Capture 1st World Series Title

With the games back on schedule, the Atoms brought home a spectacular Homecoming game victory with an impressive 43-13 win over T.C. Williams.

Coach D i c k Adams s a i d , “They’ve [T.C. Williams] been t o u g h these past couple of weeks, and we were able to score a lot against them, which made it become much less competitive.”

Senior Anteneh Addisu said, “Although we were on a three-game losing streak we geared up in all red and we defeated T.C. and now we have momentum for our other two games.”

The Atoms are now respectively 4-4 in the Patriot District. Senior Jose Gonzalez said, “It was really nice to have a game where we just dominated and had few worries. It wasn’t too difficult and we all just had fun out there.”

Before the Homecoming game, the Atoms faced tough rivals Oakton and Lake Braddock.

The game vs. Oakton, which was held in Staunton on Oct. 19, was a 19-36 loss.

Coach Adams said, “We gave up about four or five plays on defense. We were up 19-13 and we gave up two plays on offense. We had plenty of opportunities to score and then fumbled five times and lost two. We threw three interceptions and then just gave up. It was unfortunate because we had Monte hurt with —Anteneh Addisu Senior his hamstring, Davis Morello out and we lost Pat McMurray. The kids played hard under the circumstances for throwing mistakes.”

Senior Travis Johnson said, “We played hard in the first half but their size wore us down. Because we had been practicing inside it really affected our passing game. We turned the ball over too many times.”

On November 1, the Atoms played at Lake Braddock and ended with a loss. In the coming week the Atoms will face West Springfield and West Potomac in hopes of keeping the momentum in their favor. Results for the West Springfield game not available at press time.

The Atoms volleyball team huddles around head coach Ruth Johnson for advice during their game against district opponent Lake Braddock. The loss to LB ended the girls season.

to get off to a winning start. Will the Caps be able to go on their perennial hot-streak or will they fall apart?

Reid: This year could be the one that the Caps return to the Stanley Cup. The Caps had a strong off-season in which they acquired forwards Robert Lang, Mike Grier and Michael Nylander. Adding these scorers to a high-powered core which already includes Jamorir Jagr, Peter Bondra, Steve Konowalchuk and Dainus Zubrus. The key this year is keeping Jagr, Bondra, Gonchar, and Olaf Kolzig healthy throughout the year. It should also help that the Capitals are competing in a weak division which hails Tampa Bay and Carolina as its top teams.

John: Starting off with a winning record is a major accomplishment for the Caps. They normally start slow and turn it on in the second half of the season when they make their play-off run.

However, sometimes the Caps are to far behind the leading teams, they are unable to make the playoffs. If Bondra, Jagr and Gonchar can stay healthy, they will stabilize the Caps. If the Caps remain around .500 or higher, when they make their late season run, the Caps will be able to make the play-offs.

Jared declined comment on this topic claiming he was uninformed.

However, this leaves one question.

Why has Jared responed to any topic?

The NCAA men’s college basketball season is just around the corner. Maryland, the defending champion, lost many key players to the NBA leaving this year’s title up for grabs. Which team has the talent and senior leadership to get them to a National

Championship?

Jared: The Arizona Wildcats have got what it takes to make a championship run. They have been there before, losing to Duke 83-72 in the 2000 game and Jason Gardner is the best PG in the country, period.

Also with and experienced coach in Lute Olsen, they are primed for a championship run. A surprise team to look out for this year is Pitt. Brandon Knight is one of the most underrated players in the country and in a weak Big East conference they could come out of the regular season with a high seed going into March.

John: Although Duke lost Jason Williams, Mike Dunleavy and Carlos Boozer, they will still be one of the dominant teams in the country.

Other ACC teams lost their stars such as Maryland losing Dixon, Baxter and Wilcox, which will make winning the ACC an easier task for Duke. Arizona has a great shot in the Pac 10 with PG Jason Gardner and forward Luke Walton.

Reid: Oklahoma should be one of the best in the nation returning three of their top players: Hollis Price, Ebi Ere and Quannas White.

Another great team could be Arizona which has the best point guard in the nation in Jason Gardner and a solid big man in Luke Walton. Texas, who was led by freshman sensation PG T.J. Ford will be a force. The ACC should be terrible this year after losing an amazing amount of talent from its top teams including Jay Williams, Mike Dunleavy and Carlos Boozer from Duke, and Juan Dixon, Chris Wilcox and Lonny Baxter from Maryland.

SPORTS 17 Field hockey season ends with regional loss to Woodson the

ABLAST

WED. NOV. 13, 2002

WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW

Field hockey ends season with a winning record, bright future

The varsity field hockey team lost to the Woodson Cavaliers in the second round of the regional tournament on Nov. 4. The Cavaliers, who were undefeated in the Liberty District, outplayed the Atoms early on with their strong play in the first half and scored two goals before the half.

Senior Kari Krauss scored for the Atoms in the second half. However, Woodson would hold its lead and go on to win the game 2-1 and draw an end to a successful season for the Atoms, who finished 10-2 in the regular season, 11-3 overall.

“We had a tremendous performance at the game. We showed our stick skills, passing, and defensive abilities and played good hockey. It was the best game of the tournament,” said Coach Cindy Hook.

Previously, the Atoms played the West Springfield Spartans in Richmond on Oct. 19. Strong offensive and defensive play and a shutout from senior goalie Courtney Thieghberger left the Atoms with a 2-0 victory.

The following weekend, the girls went to Quantico to play two games, one against the West Potomac Wolverines, the other against the district-rival Robinson Rams. A win over West Potomac and a commanding 3-0 victory over the Rams would conclude the Atoms regular season, putting them in second place in the district, just a

Junior Matt Hubacher

game behind the Lake Braddock Bruins.

The girls were very satisfied with their performance this season. “We worked hard the entire season,” said junior Tracie Hiatt. “I think our record reflects our focus and determination.”

Coming off one of their best seasons yet, the Atoms hope to improve during the off-season and finish next season with a district championship. “We played our hearts out this year, but I think if we all work hard and prepare, we’ll be able to do even better next season,” said junior Chrissy Castaldo.

As the girls bid farewell to the seniors, they look for players to replace the positions that will be vacant come next fall.

The ladies hope to find their replacements for such positions in the muchimproving junior varsity and freshman teams.

Overall, the girls were very pleased with their performance this season. “The team had a great season this year,” said junior Julie Stone. “It would have been nice to go further in regionals, but we can’t complain. We played so well this year and I think we all can agree that this has been one of our strongest seasons.”

Only two losses, one to the first place finishers, the Lake Braddock Bruins, and the other to district powerhouse Robinson, show the enormous success that the team experienced this season.

“No matter how well we play, people are going to look at our last game and think of all the ‘should haves’ and ‘could

BOYS BASKETBALL Key Players: Mike Yurko, Matt Hubacher Last Year’s Record: 11-13 Tournament Play: Lost in 1st round of Regional tournament to Fairfax Coach’s Outlook on upcoming season: “We have young anxious group that is ready to learn. I think we can do some good things and surprise some people,” said Coach Pat Hughes.

PHOTO BY SEGALL-MAJESTIC

BY MATT WIEST Staff Writer

Junior Julie Stone battles for control of the ball during a game in Quantico, Virginia. The Atoms had a sucessful season finishing 11-3.

haves.’ This was a tremendously successful season. Our 10-2 record was the best since Annandale has entered the Patriot district and it’s the closest we’ve

ever finished to first place,” said Hook. “We were in a hunt for the title until the last game and I don’t have a single complaint for the entire season. We rocked.”

Sophomore Samantha Muchmore

GIRLS BASKETBALL Key Players: Becca Frece, Nakia Williams, Sam Muchmore Last Year’s Record: 3-18 Tournament Play: Lost in 1st round of district tournament Coach’s Outlook on upcoming season: “Its going to be a young team and a big rebuilding year. We’ll be looking for senior leadership from our returning players,” said Coach Lori Barb.

Cross country captain barely misses states

BY JOHN REISS Staff Writer All’s well that ends well, a quote that holds true as senior Mike Flint crossed the finish line at Burke Lake, finishing the cross country season for the Atoms.

After weeks of delays due to the sniper shootings in the area, the Northern Virginia Regional meet for cross country was finally held last Thursday at Burke Lake park.

Senior Mike Flint was the only member of the team who qualified to participate in the meet, and he finished 16 out of 120 with an incredible time of 15:36 in the 3-mile race. Despite this extraordinary placing though, only the top 15 runners are taken to states, which doesn’t include Flint, ending his running season.

Even without reaching states, Flint plans to attend the Coast Guard Academy and continue running there.

“I am really happy with the way the season went, despite the fact that we lost some of our top runners last year,” said Flint. “We’ve really improved this year, from previous seasons and everyone gave it their best.”

The Atoms made a good showing and finished strong in the Patriot District meet as well. The boys team included

“

seniors Lam Vu, Cameron Mittleman, Mike Flint and Publio Agrafas, juniors Kevin Judson and Ayoob Jan and freshman Brian Plunkett.

Each of the boys had a good showing, which was equally matched by the girls varsity team, made up of senior Victoria Dinh, junior Lauren Edwards, sophomores Samantha Muchmore, Katie Littlefield, and Enwei Liber, and freshman Sabina Fedrowitz and Sara Terry.

Both teams defeated T.C. Williams at districts, even though the Atoms cross country had been forced to cancel practices leading up to districts, due to circumstances beyond their control.

“I am very pleased with the way the season went,” said head cross country Coach Robert Christie. “The girls team did incredible at the William and Mary invitational, better than they have in years, and the boys Robert Christie team ran remarkably at our Cross Country Coach home meet and beat T.C. Williams, West Potomac and Hayfield for the first time in several years.”

The cross country team is looking eagerly towards future seasons, and hope to gain more members ever year.

“Most other schools have 100 members, but we only have around 50,” said Christie. “Every cross country team member represented Annandale with determination and class throughout the entire season.”

Senior captain Mike Flint nears the end of his 3-mile race. Flint finished 16th in the region with a superb time of 15:36.

“

JOHN BERNHARDT

Every cross countr y team member represented Annandale with deter mination and class throughout the entire season

Junior Dan Boyd

WRESTLING Key Players: Ehab Awadallah, Mendralt (Jegs) Peralta, Dan Boyd Last Year’s Record: 4-3 Tournament Play: Sent 3 Wrestlers to the state tournament including returning senior Ehab Awadallah Coach’s Outlook on upcoming season: “Our season is going to depend on practice. We’re not ranked very high because we lost a lot of seniors, but we have the potential to be in the top five in the region,” said Coach Will Stravino.

Senior Mike Flint

WINTER TRACK

Final Look at the Fall Sports Season FOOTBALL Robinson 8-0, (4-0) West Springfield 5-3, (3-1) West Potomac 5-3, (2-2) Annandale 4-4, (2-2) TC Williams 2-4, (1-3) Lake Braddock 4-4, (2-3) Hayfield 1-6, (0-4) *Note Mondays results were too late to post

2002 SEASON FOOTBALL STATS Passing Travis Johnson, Sr., 85/188 1,294 yds. 6 TD/10 INT *1st in district Rushing Monte Moyer, Sr., 90 Att., 420 yds. 9 TD *6th in district Larry Asante, So., 52 Att., 220 yds. 1 TD Ben Clark 20, Jr., 20 Att., 85 yds. 2 TD Receiving

FIELD HOCKEY Lake Braddock 12-2 (9-1) Annandale 11-3 (8-2) Robinson 6-3 (5-2) TC Williams 6-5 (4-6) Hayfield 4-7 (4-5) West Springfield 2-7, (1-6) West Potomac 0-8, (0-7)

Davis Murillo, So., 25 Rec. 425 yds. 3 TD *1st in district Monte Moyer, Sr., 22 Rec. 371 yds. 4 TD *2nd in district Kelly Beam, So., 11 Rec. 130 yds. 2 TD *6th in district Loren Sexton, Sr., 8 Rec. 105 yds. *9th district

Key Players: Mike Flint, Publio Agrafas Last Year’s Record: Boys: 8-2, Girls: 5-5 Tournament Play: Boys 4x800m relay won district and region, and was ranked in the top 25 in the nation.

Cheerleaders advance to regional tourney The cheerleaders had a strong showing in the district tournament finishing 4th out of the 7 teams. This strong finish gave the Atoms a berth in the regional tournament.

The district tournament was held at Lake Braddock High School on Oct. 30th. Lake Braddock took the top spot with Hayfield and West Springfield finishing 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

The regional berth for the Atoms is their first since 1998. The regional meet was held last Sat. at Robinson High School. The Atoms had a disappointing finish and did not qualify for the final round, finishing 6th out of the 8 teams in their group. Chantilly won the regional tournament with Lake Braddock finishing 2nd.

Looking forward to next year, the Atoms have 17 returning lettermen and only 6 seniors departing making for a strong squad next year.

Junior Miranda Brackett

SWIM/DIVE

SEAN SULLIVAN

Patriot District Standings and Statistics

The Atoms cheerleaders perform a stunt at the district tournament. The Atoms finished 4th and earned a spot in the regional tournament.

Key Players: John Kreitler, Miranda Brackett Last Year’s Record: 6-1 (boys swim), 4-3 (girls swim) Tournament Play: Guys finished 4th at the state meet, girls finished 15th in state meet.

Coaches Outlook on upcoming season: “If the season goes strictly by numbers, I’m optimistic since we have more swimmers and divers than ever,” said Coach Bruce Fisher.

AB 18 ENTERTAINMENT Astrology: science or simple entertainment? the

WED. NOV. 13, 2002

NEW

LAST

RELEASES

DIE ANOTHER DAY

CAST Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, John Cleese, Judi Dench, Rick Yune SYNOPSIS James Bond is back with another mission that takes him from Hong Kong to Cuba and London: this time, 007 is on a quest to unmask a traitor and prevent a disaster of catastrophic proportions.

RELEASE DATE Nov. 25.

THE TWO TOWERS

CAST Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, John Rhys-Davies, Viggo Mortensen SYNOPSIS The Two Towers follows the continuing quest of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and the Fellowship that has joined together to destroy the One Ring and stand against the evil of the dark lord Sauron.

RELEASE DATE Dec. 11.

CHICAGO

CAST Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Renee Zellweger, Queen Latifah.

SYNOPSIS A new interpretation that takes the awardwinning Broadway show into fresh and expansive cinematic realms, Chicago is a story of intrigue, rivalry, betrayal and spectacular fantasies of music and dance. A night club diva (Zeta Jones) and an aspiring performer (Zellweger), both in prison for murder, compete against each other for the media’s attention.

RELEASE DATE Dec. 15

STAR TREK:NEMESIS

CAST Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Majel Barrett, LeVar Burton, Steven Culp SYNOPSIS The crew of the Enterprise is dispatched to Rumulus for an Unexpected peace conference. Once there, Jean Luc-Picard and the Enterprise crew are thrust in to the center of a plot that could lead to the destruction of the earth.

RELEASE DATE Dec. 18

“Astrology is about the relationship between the larger cosmos around us... and the cosmos within.”

BY WIDED KHADRAOUI Staff Writer Would you change your schedule according to the planets’? Do you plan your whole week around the inner strength of an intergalactic orbital?

Probably not, but you’re most likely to glance at your horoscope every once in a while to see “what’s in store for you.”

Many people don’t know whether to believe in astrology or not, but, then again, testing this type of science isn’t exactly possible. “I believe that astrology is a science because I think the planets and stars are definitely there for a reason,” said sophomore Enwei Liber.

Astrology is used for people to better understand and improve their personality. Its basic concept is that all things are in motion: Every planet turns on its own axis, and each moves at different speeds in orbits around the Sun. An astrologist uses these orbits to determine aspects of your personality. The circular movement of the planets (the moon and sun are included as “planets”) is spliced into 12 segments, each representing one of the 12 signs (i.e., Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc). An astrologist takes the time of your birth and the place where you were born and uses sets of charts that plot where the planets were at specific times to find out their positions in the sky the moment you

Do you believe in astrology and horoscopes?

entered the world.

Each of the planets represents a different part of your life or personality. For example, the Sun represents a generalized summary of your basic nature, and Venus tells you about your romantic side. The astrologist will then create a birthchart, measuring the exact positions of the planets when you were born and organizing it so he/she can explain to you exactly how you are.

Of course, everyone is different, and they may not conform exactly to each textbook definition of a sign. Yet astrologists believe it is the combination of the 12 planets’ effects on a person that creates their distinct and unique personality.

Astrology, confusingly enough, can be said to be both a science and an art. Technically, it can be called a scientific study of the influence on human character by the cosmic forces emerging from astronomical bodies.

Yet the art of astrology lies in the astrologer’s capability to bring correct amount of psychological, spiritual, and humanistic understanding to the way cosmic energy affects our lives.

“I believe in horoscopes because most of mine turned out to be true, and after that you have no choice but to believe in them,” says sophomore Tiffany Merchant. There can also be confusion as to who is a real astrologist: seeing Miss Cleo on TV advertis-

“Yes, I’ve experienced the presence and influence of the stars.”

—Zaineb Bajwa freshman

“Yes, I find it hard to believe that things happen by coincidence and that there is no reason behind our actions.”

—Natalie Freeman sophomore

ing “true love in near future” doesn’t immediately make her an expert in the field.

True astrologers take astronomy classes in order to understand planetary movements and research information about past orbital changes.

Receiving a well thoughtout astrologist education is possible, for ex-

ample, the American Federation of Astrologers (AFA) is a worldwide organization of more than 3,500 professional and amature astrologers. It offers correspondence courses, and exams for three levels of proficiency: student, professional and teacher.

Exams are $25 each, and given twice a year.

Editor’s note: The ABlast Horoscopes, found on pg. 19, are expertly foretold

by Entertainment Editor K a t i e Stanton, resident cosmic genius.

Junior Susan Lanier ponders her future in the stars.

“No, I don’t believe in astrology because everytime I do what it says, it never comes true!”

—Meghan Johnson sophomore

“I believe in the things we had to learn for school purposes, but otherwise I don’t care.”

—Jeanie Adkins senior

“I believe in astrology to an extent because most of the horoscopes I read come true. But I don’t believe in Ms. Cleo.”

—Hugo Salvatierra senior

New rock acts cause a musical ‘revolution’

BY KATIE STANTON AND ALEJANDRO SALINAS Entertainment Editors You’ve been missing out: some of the best rock music around comes from bands and artists nobody’s heard of. With a little digging and good Internet access, musical genius is moments away.

Aimee Allen Tired of the Avrilish tunes being overplayed on the radio lately? Are you searching for a fresher alternative? If so, Montana-native, underground rocker Aimee Allen’s record is the 180-musical shift you’ve been expecting.

Presently, aspiring performers, especially women, have to demonstrate musical proclivity and great talent before being taken seriously by the record indus-

Aimee Allen’s debut album contains collaborations with a motley emsemble of rock producers.

try and the public. After all, this generation has witnessed everything: from the “spiritual awakening” of a former antisocial, enraged Canadian (no, its not Avril), to a teen queen’s transformation into a porn princess.

Armed with potent rock chords,an old style rocker chic attitude and raspy vocals, Allen defies stereotypes. Her album, a blend of electronica, rock and urban rhythms, boasts contributions from present authorities in the rock world: A Perfect Circle’s drummer, Josh Freeze

Jared Leto’s (far right) foray into the rock world with his new band, 30 Seconds to Mars, is surprisingly successful; some actors really can sing.

makes a guest appearance on the album’s first single, “Revolution.” Other collaborations include bassist Mike Eliz, who previously worked with Eminem and Dr. Dre; Deftones’ guitarist, Stephen Carpenter; underground rapper Pharaoh Monch; and Trust Company’s guitarist Kevin Palmer.

Chances are you’ve already heard Allen’s first single, which serves as a theme song for the WB’s show Birds of Prey. Its unpretentious, potent rhythm combined with Allen’s anguished lyrics, make this track an attractive alternative for those seeking something with more substance than a “sk8ter” tune.

30 Seconds to Mars They just played at the 930 Club with Our Lady Peace on Oct. 22 and 23. 30 Seconds to Mars, featuring celebrity Jared Leto as its lead singer, is on the rise. Their under-hyped, self-titled debut came out in August, and they’ve been on tour with names like Puddle of Mudd and Incubus since their release.

Ideal for A Perfect Circle fans, Leto’s voice sounds a lot like Maynard (the lead singer of Tool, the more popular band that Maynard lends his singing to) and adds skilled vocals to synthesized guitar and beats. Their music is full of adrenaline, mixing essential rock elements with underlying electronic themes, reminiscent of Powerman 5000 or the relatively unknown, now-defunct rock group Stabbing Westward. 30 Seconds’ first single, “Capricorn (a brand new name),” is the first

example of this brand-new sound, unique opposed to new music’s current inclination towards pop and hip-hop.

30 Seconds hails from southern California, and co-produced with Bob Ezrin (who has worked with memorable names like Pink Floyd, KISS and Alice Cooper) to create their first powerful album. Unexpectedly, Leto does surprisingly well in the transition from actor to singer, something not many actors have achieved (remember Russell Crowe’s and Kevin Bacon’s bands? Does anyone?). He’s acted in several movies and as Claire Dane’s occasional love interest in his acting debut, the TV series My So-Called Life. However, Leto lets the band speak for itself, not using his fame for promotion or to garner fans.

Overall, for music fans seeking an escape from the usual manufactured poprocks acts, 30 Seconds to Mars is worth checking out.

Visit http:// www.thirtysecondstomars.com for downloads and tour info.

Ben Kweller If acoustic guitar and upbeat lyrics are more your style, you can’t miss Ben Kweller. He and his band have come to 930 Club twice in the past year, and have most recently completed a tour with The Strokes.

Kweller began his musical career early, learning to play the piano by the time he was 8 years old, and learning guitar and drums by his teen years. In 1993, when

he was only 12 years old, he assembled the band Radish and was signed on Practice Amp Records in Texas. They released 2 albums and an EP, going on European and American tours. Radish disbanded in 1999, and Kweller relocated to Brooklyn, New York, signing to Island Records as a solo artist in 2000. Kweller’s a veteran at 21, and his single “Wasted and Ready” has been featured on MTV2 and Muchmusic; his latest album, Sha Sha, was produced by Stephen Harris (U2, Dave Matthews Band).

His shows are tame (crowdsurfing and mosh pits are surprisingly uncommon) and the audience always sings along as the unnaturally good-natured star plays folksy guitar and rocks out to piano riffs. Despite the potential for a cheesy sound, Kweller’s

Ben Kweller: the happiest guitarist you’ve never heard of.

music is actually a lot deeper: lyrics sound like poetry, and songs like “In Other Words” make Kweller’s natural talent even more obvious. He often plays acoustic guitar in addition to singing and piano playing, and is backed up by merely a guitarist, a bassist and a drummer.

Despite the low range of instruments, Kweller’s music is surprisingly kaleidoscopic and refreshingly guitar-driven; one of his more popular requests is a spoof of Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice, Baby,” called (ironically enough) “BK Baby.” There’s just something about hearing a short, scrawny, white rock musician strumming an acoustic guitar and singing the lyrics, “Dr. Dre ain’t got nothin’ on me” that reassures even the most disappointed of listeners: not all new music was written for the mainstream.

the

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WED. NOV. 13, 2002

ENTERTAINMENT 19

Eminem goes the extra ‘Mile’ Surprisingly, Eminem gives an Oscarworthy performance as he portrays a movie version of himself.

BY PHILIPPE PODHORECKI Co-Editor in-Chief With more than $50 million made in the first weekend, 8 Mile is not only a box office success, but an inspirational pseudo-biography of Eminem. While only loosely based on his life, the similarities are abundant, taking MOVIE REVIEW E m i n e m ’s 8 MILE crude exterior image and giving him a softer, human side GREAT ACTING AND with which REMARKABLE PLOT. most anyone can identify.

T h e movie revolves around Jimmy Smith Jr. (Eminem), or Bunny Rabbit on the streets, and his tribula-

A

The notorious Eminem, in his first acting role in a feature film about, well, himself.

HOROSCOPES

tions as he tries to prove that he can rap. Of course, there are other “interesting” events that occur as he tries to make it to the top, including a graphic sex scene, a troubled home life and a few fights that in two cases prove to be humorous rather than violent.

Surprisingly, Eminem gives an Oscar-worthy performance as he portrays a movie version of himself. While the gritty scenes of violence and life with his friends seems like Eminem’s personality, the scenes with Kim Basinger (his mom in the movie) and his daughter seem like they would have been more difficult, but he pulls them off perfectly.

Eminem makes his film debut alongside Kim Basinger, who plays the role of his mother in his Basinger turns in a good first box office smash. performance as always, but is the rest of the movie projects. hardly the overpowering presence does he freestyle before the end. Yet Brittany Murphy and Mekhi she usually delivers. She and when he finally does “drop bombs,” Phifer, who play Alex and Future, Eminem have great chemistry as the wait is well worth it. Taking place both turn in good supporting perforthey bring a love-hate relationship in a shelter on 8 Mile (the road), the mances. Phifer doesn’t miss a beat to the big screen. Basinger‘s rendifinal freestyle battle is so fantastic with Eminem and his rapping budtion of the alcoholic-sex-crazed that the excruciatingly long wait dies, and Murphy seems at home as mother of white trash is every bit as that the audience is put through is the trashy wannabe model. terrible as Eminem’s portrayal in his finally justified.

8 Mile is definitely a good movie, songs.

8 Mile is sure to please Eminem but what holds it back from being Cheddar Bob, played by Evan fans, but it is much more than simgreat is also what makes the end so Jones, is the comic relief, and he reply an Eminem movie. Great acting exciting: Eminem’s rap ability. With ally is funny. Providing quick quips and directing along with an upliftas much “freestyle” rapping in the and stupid comments as well as being message that anyone can idenmovie as there is, Eminem raps relaing the focus of all jokes, he lifts the tify with allows 8 Mile to rise above tively little. Only about two times audience from the dramatic overture the rest.

Potter’s return is no ‘secret’ It’s that time of year again: the unnatural phenomenon known as Harry Potter has returned to the big screen to lure back his faithful followers. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Harris, is back with more wizardry in the second in-

A scene from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Harry faces off against his nemesis, Draco Malfoy, in a “friendly” classroom competition.

stallment of the wildly popular and highly anticipated series.

In the somewhat complicated plot based on the book, Chamber begins as Harry is on vacation at his magic-less family’s home, the Dursleys. Warned of impending doom at Hogwarts Academy (Harry’s school of wizardry), he is rescued from house arrest by his friend and classmate Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), but their attempts to get to their school when the Hogwarts Express Train leaves without them ends in semi-disaster. To make matters worse,

the mysterious Chamber of Secrets has opened at Hogwarts again, causing disorder as students are (literally) petrified into statues, and Harry starts hearing voices from his creepy classmate, Tom Riddle, through a talking diary (confused yet?).

While Chamber has a darker tone than its predecessor, children and adults alike are anticipating J.K. Rowling’s latest feature film: advance tickets went on sale weeks ago, and entertainment coverage of the sequel hasn’t ended since the last movie hit your local Blockbuster.

Chamber will also be aimed at an older teenage audience, with more violent scenes (watch for a faster-paced, more aggressive Quidditch game) and improved specialeffects. Harry and his friends are also getting older, with notably deeper voices and more confidant attitudes. Despite a few tweaked action scenes and some new roles, Chamber sticks to the original plot even as it’s hero matures.

A new addition to the Potter cast comes with Kenneth Branagh, who plays Hogwart’s newest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart. It is an ongoing gag in series that Hogwarts cannot keep a Dark Arts teacher for more than a year, and new actors will be cast for each upcoming movie.

However, for future Potter releases, a new Hogwarts headmaster will have to be found. Richard Harris, the venerable Professor Dumbledore in the first and second movies, died on Oct. 28 of Hodgkin’s disease, leaving new director Alfonso Cuaron to search for a replacement. Harris, 72, had signed on to appear in all potential Potter films.

The rest of the main Potter cast (namely Harry, Ron and their friend Hermione) may grow out of their roles.

Seven movies have been slated to come into production, although the success of all seven of these is doubtful. Pot-

ter fans have been waiting for three years for the next novel in the critically-acclaimed series; the book, entitled Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is 15 months overdue, and has no set publication date.

However, the phenomenon has continued for three years and fans can look forward to bigger and better things for our favorite wizard in the years upcoming.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets will be released in U.S. theaters on Nov. 15.

Daniel Radcliffe stars as Harry Potter in the latest adaptation of the hit novels.

tive, Oscar-caliber story that goes entirely too quickly. The entire story mode can be completed in less than 10-20 hours of game time. This obviously does not include the endless supply of extra missions, odd jobs, and property WITH missions that one can try, but the story nonetheless seems Philippe Podhorecki like it was cut short.

VC has the best plot and character development of any game ever made; it’s simply that great. The plot is filled with twists that aren’t as obvious as the standard plot of GTA3. Also, the story GAME REVIEW is interGTA: VICE CITY twined perfectly with the game’s progresTONS OF OPTIONS, A s i o n .

HUGE CITY TO EXPLORE CompletAND LIMITLESS FUN ing certain missions opens up new options, such as flying a helicopter or wearing certain weapons and clothes.

Also, the advancement of the story opens the second island as

P

HUN HIL

A

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You’ve lost touch with some old friends, and you might be missing out. Something is telling you to let loose; don’t ignore this good advice. Sagittarius plays an important part of a future obligation.

Gemini (May 21- June 21) Even if you don’t see your loved ones as much as you’d like to, rest assured that they still care. Don’t feel jealous of a Aquarius who’s close to you; what you have is actually a lot more meaningful.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) You feel like you’ve been cut free as of late, and now’s your time to shine. A Gemini has always been there for you; make sure they feel appreciated.

New love is on the horizon. Make a move.

Virgo (August 23-Sept. 22) A Capricorn in your life is bringing you stress; tell them exactly how you feel. Any misunderstandings between you will just make it worse.

Use your time wisely as your to-do list grows.

No ‘vice’ in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the sequel to last year’s hit Grand Theft Auto 3, brings all the excitement, mayhem, and decadent action as it’s predecessor with an ‘80s flavor. There are more weapons, cars, prostitutes, radio stations, missions, people and anything else anyone could ask for. This game is simply amazing.

However, there are a few unimproved points in the game that, while minor nitpicks, hinder it from being perfect. The graphics in this game (and GTA3) were never fantastic, but the point of the game was not graphics, but gameplay. The game looks absolutely identical, except for the 80s scenery and tacky colors, to GTA3.

VC still looks decent, especially without the blur effects.

With them the graphics become distorted and can cause headaches. Furthermore, the graphics maintain a steady framerate and keep the basic look, with a much larger city landscape open at a time.

The only other minor problem is short story length. Unlike GTA3, this game has a provoca-

Aries (March 21-April 19) After a period of confusion, you’ve regained your good sense. Finances are lacking at the moment, take precautions and save your money.

Trust your instincts regarding an important decision.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Hard times are over for a while: life is as good as you let it be. You will be making a big purchase soon, but it might mean more if it’s for someone else’s benefit. Make sure you’re thinking of others.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ALEJANDRO SALINAS

BY KATIE STANTON Entertainment Editor

If today is your birthday: You may have an inclination towards fantasy; perhaps you find yourself daydreaming often. You have plenty of friends, but plenty of insecurities too; remember, there’s always something to look forward to. Anticipate capital gains, especially since you haven’t been keeping track of funds lately. Watch for a sensitive Cancer or a witty Gemini to play a role in your near future.

well as provides at least two huge surprises as one progresses through the game.

The premise is that Tommy Vercetti, the player, goes to Vice City (a Miami look-alike) in the ‘80s to make a deal for a crime family, when everyone dies but him and the lawyer. He soon has to get the money back that was stolen and work his way towards becoming the You play Tommy Vercetti, working your way to become the king of crime in the newest Grand Theft Auto. king of crime in Vice well, but now with the addition numerous indoor locales added.

City. of the pizza boy. Driving around Many of the buildings, includMissions consist of more than as a pizza boy, cop, paramedic, ing a mall, your houses, and even just driving to some purple dot taxi driver or a fireman is a quite the police station has an indoor on the map and killing a group a thrill and provides a nice section to them among others. of people, as in GTA3. Story mischange of pace from the hectic These indoor areas are not barren sions alone consist of stealing a chaos of the rest of the game. at all, containing junk sprinkled boat and racing past a group of These missions can be fun, throughout to create the feeling of other mariners to get to your but the real fun lies in using the a “living city.” This feeling is conboss’s headquarters, to shooting multitude of weapons to kill and structed perfectly by way of the out of a helicopter or even “conmame the innocent citizens of characters and their superb Holvincing” a couple of jurors to vote Vice City. There are sniper rifles, lywood acting as well as the many “not guilty.” machine guns, pistols, a butcher radio stations that contain real Side missions are so superfluknife, a hammer, a rocket ‘80s songs and a variety of sarcasous that it puts GTA3 to shame. launcher, grenades, and assault tically cynical, fake DJs and comThere are missions from every rifles that can be used to commit mercials. type of gang and even from a loany type of criminal act. Store GTA:VC is the perfect sequel cal businessman who wants clerks can now be held up when to a near perfect game. With so property prices to drop.

Tommy has a gun, thanks to the many options and missions, this Vehicle missions are back as adventure will keep you going for

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Talks with old friends have brought back old feelings, but you need to decide whether or not you made a mistake. A sentimental Pisces can help you with this problem. Get obligations out of the way so you can enjoy yourself.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Your future plans may not coincide with someone else’s.

As much happiness as you find with a Virgo, don’t let them control you. Thoughts of business and money are on the rise.

Sagittarius (Nov. 21-Dec. 21) Confusion, caused by the negative influence of a Pisces, will cast a shadow on your life in the following days.

Trust no one and avoid any type of confrontation. Avoid business deals during this period.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) After many complications in the recent past, you’ve been hoping everything will clear up. Make sure everything is resolved before you move on.

Look to close friends for advice if you need it; they’ll tell it to you straight. Aries remains an influence.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Finances have the potential to be very good for you soon, but it’s your decision. Make sure you’re paying attention to everyone who loves you other than your significant other.

You’re missing out on some good times.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) A relationship could develop with someone you never expected. Follow your instincts and look for hidden signals. Business affairs that have been bringing you down will be resolved soon.

20 WEEKEND The life of the party

the

ABLAST

WED. NOV. 13, 2002

What’s your opinion of underage drinking?

“In Germany, the drinking age is 16, so the teenagers can know their limit before they drive.”

—Preston Gisch senior

“Personally, I’m against underage drinking, but if it happens, it happens.”

—Kendra Adams junior

Take a behind the scenes look at one senior’s weekend experience as he recalls an unfortunate incident at a typical high school party.

“Underage drinking is a serious problem that I think people need to pay more attention to.”

—Michael Krzywicki sophomore

“I’m not against it. I think it’s okay in some cases.”

BY JACK SHEA

Contributing Writer Drunk! Drunk, I am drunk... and where the hell’s my other shoe? Picking out a few choice words, I keep stumbling through the dark damp woods at 11 p.m. Friday night, following some people who I desperately hope know their way. Questions rush through my head. Who am I following? Will my liquor be where I left it? Where the hell is my ride right now? How many shots did I down? Damn my foot is cold right about now; I wonder who got away.

OH MAN, puddle, bye-bye muddied sock.

Before finding myself in this predicament, I had been peacefully chilling with a bunch of friends at a house, where no adults were present. Everything was going well, a few people who had alcohol were socially drinking, but plenty of others weren’t. This was just another normal quiet party; it wasn’t out of hand. People felt secure enough to take off their shoes at the door. I had my own bottle of Vodka that I was sharing with people who requested, but not offering to those who didn’t. It would be just an hour or two into the party before the crises started arising.

“Neighborhood Watch is here!”

Standing up on something that made her seem ungodly tall and powerful, our host cautions us that authority is coming, inferring we should leave.

However, few take this warning seriously. It is believed to be a ruse to end the party early, however some decide to leave to move their cars to a better getaway spot.

I decide to walk out with some people too see what is really going on. In the parking lot there is nothing but a group of out-of-place juniors that showed up and were apparently debating whether or not to enter. Out of their group came assurances that this neighborhood had no watch, and everything was still aces.

I go back inside, some juniors come

—Stephanie Malguy freshman

“I am against underage drinking, but even people who are over 21 should drink responsibly.”

In the past 30 days12th graders53% have consumed alcohol 10th graders36% have consumed alcohol 8th graders21% have consumed alcohol In the past 30 days12th graders31% have binged on alcohol 10th graders17% have binged on alcohol In their lifetime12th graders77% have consumed alcohol 10th graders61% have consumed alcohol 8th graders42% have consumed alcohol

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CAMERON KYNES

Physics teacher

A county-wide Youth Survey Report was conducted by the Communities That Care, to provide scientifically sound data to the community. The reults were used in assessment, prevention planning, and intervention planning.

The report described the administration of the survey and its findings. According to the 2001report:

Student Drinking Habits

0 1

2-3 3+

35% 20% 15% 20%

43% 16% 12% 29%

—John Hrubec

AMONG FAIRFAX COUNTY STUDENTS

in too, but only to leave again moments later finding few people they knew inside. The party continues for a while more, I decide to take a quick step outside. Slipping on my shoes which are by the doorway I look up, and approaching the door no more then eight feet away is a cop walking up the steps to the door.

“Ahh!” letting out a yelp I instantly spin around and clumParties often end up with drunk sily run down the students who if caught can crowded stairs yellface severe punishments. ing “5-O 5-O,” I am right now concerned. I cannot afford another arhad left the party before it got busted rest, and I feel hopelessly trapped had came back to save us, and let pick up our shoes (mine had magiinside the house. In the basement about nine of us cram into his hatchcally flown about 20 feet away from I throw my liquor into a pile of back. the fence), search in vain for our random objects and follow people He darts us over to another liquor or beer, get into our abanout the basement door onto a panearby friend’s house; most of us are doned cars and head on home to tio, then I jumped the 5-foot hammered, tired, shoeless, without our respective curfews. Another wooden fence head first, quickly our cars or rides, cold, and possibly good night, the only question that discovering why this is not the drunk. We just chill here for a while, now arises is what’s going on tomorway to do it. The combination of playing pool, relaxing in the hot tub, row? vodka and excitement really left watching TV, and making calls. Its me bereft of basic motor skills and learned that only one guy who had my right shoe gets caught, sendmade a foolish dash to a car had goting it flying. I bend down to look ten caught, the host was in a little for it with the meager light of my trouble, and most of our alcohol had cell phone while people keep landvanished. ing on my back, a couple people At 11:45 p.m. we cram back into stop to help, but I quickly decide the cars that had taken us there and its not worth it and take off to the return to the house of the party. We woods.

Upon reaching the woods I dive behind a tree and attempt to call my ride, his cell isn’t on so I keep running. I find a few people standing around about 30 feet 285 students were surveyed during English classes about their drinking into the woods. After waiting for habits in the past 30 days. The results show the prevalence of alcoholic ina few moments one of them devolvement at Annandale. cides to make a run for his car, I follow him because I want out of the woods. He turns out to be a lot more sober, and so he’s a good bit ahead of me when suddenly a fat guy I asIn the past 30 days: sume to be a cop steps into How many times have you How many times did his path. attended parties with you drink at these “Ahh!” I spin alcohol? parties? around yet again and sprint back to 0 times O the woods, praying to god the fat 1 time man doesn’t want a chase, later I find out that he was 2-3 times just a nosy neighbor. I find the group again and 3+ times inform them that the cops probably caught the guy who ran, so we continue on deeper into the woods until we reach a large field. We wait at the edge On how many occasions did How many times did you of the field for several minyou witness others drinking drink and drive? utes, and eventually by the and driving? moonlight we see silhouettes of other kids making the run across it. Not really knowing the group I’m with, I decide to take my chances with the mystery figures, I run over and catch them, discovering to my extreme luck my ride home is amongst this group. Even luckier they were actually running to a way out of the cold, wet confusion we were in. A blessed angel who

19% 18% 23% 40%

75%

10% 3% 12%

The party patrol tells the rest of the story Question and Answer with Safety and Security Specialist Cornwell Q. How long have you worked as a safety and security specialist?

A. I have worked 7 years at Annandale high school and 26 years in the system.

Q. On average how many parties with alcohol are busted per year?

A. I would say at least several per year.

Q. Is Annandale any worse than other schools you have worked at?

A. I would say Annandale is about average.

Q. Is there anyway to stop the constant problem with alcoholic parties involving students?

A. I think we do everything we can.

We try to keep students and parents aware of the issue and the problems and consequences involved.

Q. What would you say to a student

who is thinking about getting involved in the drinking scene?

A. I would honestly just say don’t drink. Their are consequences and penalties, but more importantly you could hurt yourself and others. In my 26 years of working in the school system, I have seen many people hurt and even killed. And it’s not just the families that get hurt, but the whole school community. It’s something that they will have to live with forever.

Q. What do you do when you get to a party where you know alcohol is present?

It’s all about safety, we identify who is there and get a hold of their parents. We don’t want anyone drinking and driving.

Most people think its all about the penalties, but our main concern is the safety of students, consequences come later.

Q. How do you hear about these parties?

“

Most people think its all about the penalties, but our main concern is for the safety of students, consequences come later.

—Cliff Cornwell Safety and Security specialist

A. Sometimes we have people give us advertisements or notes that they find circulating around the student body. In fact, we found a few laying out back just a couple weeks ago. We also have neighbors call the school sometimes rather than the police.

Q. How can you prevent parties from ever happening in the first place?

A. If we hear about parties in advance, we try to notify the parents because they

will often be out of town. We can also notify the police, and if we have enough advance notice, we can talk to the students involved. It’s hard because parties are okay, it’s the alcohol that is the problem, and we often don’t know which parties have alcohol and which are fine.

Q. Is there anyway to prevent the students from getting the alcohol in the first place?

A. We had the project last year here about IDs. The police notified us of the problem and we took action with the amnesty box, because that is how they get a lot of it. There is an example that we are not trying to punish the students, our first priority is safety. They can also get it from older friends which is hard to stop.

Q. What is the most shocking thing you have seen in relation to underage drinking?

I once found a student drinking in a bathroom at 7:30 in the morning. Students drinking at schools is not a big problem, but every few years you will find a student who is truly an alcoholic.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CAMERON KYNES

WEEKEND UPDATE